The Depths We Sink To (NC-17) - Sequel to Deep In The Bottle - Chap 40 (8/20/12)

[TheAmazingApe]

I was recently given two lovely banners for this fic. Just thought I'd share them as alternate "book covers." Banners by Purplemoon123 and Bkwurm1 respectively.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q_Xi24p7LEc/T56AsLhymwI/AAAAAAAAAE0/NExsx4SNGbs/s400/depths_a.jpghttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OA-hcJfGNV8/T56CZ5ZV6uI/AAAAAAAAAFE/y1iL5wyp0m8/s400/Depths_fix2+(1).jpg

Title: The Depths We Sink To
Author: TheAmazingApe
Pairing: Chlex (maybe others featured. Not sure yet)
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: sequel, smut, angst, missing scenes
Spoilers: All of season seven so far
Short summary: Sequel to Deep In The Bottle. Chloe tries to cope with the fallout from that night and a Luthor who gives her no peace, not to mention the horror that is 2008.

Much like Almost Clark, I'll be inserting my own missing scenes, both to manipulate offscreenville to Chlexiness and to make some damned sense out of this stupid season.

Spoilers for Persona.

PART ONE

Chloe had always wanted to work under the Tiffany lamps upstairs. She just never thought it would be filing and at the request of Lex Luthor. It was some bizarre monkey's paw version of her own wish. And she knew why he'd done it. He wanted her to see. He wanted her to watch him dismantle her paper, her dream, one person at a time.

She slammed the file drawer closed as she stared at the door of Lex's office. Peterson had just gone in and she knew how he'd come out. It would be a storm-off, angry and bitter. A lot of them came out, wide-eyed and nearly in tears, but Peterson wouldn't. As much as he complained about the long hours and the time away from his family, he loved this job. He'd been here over twenty years. And he hated seeing this paper go to the dogs with "Lex Luthor and his space-mongering."

"I didn't sign up to work at The Weekly World News," he'd said.

Of course, he'd said this at the wrong time and to the wrong person. How was he to know that Lex would be doing one of his basement walk-throughs at the time? That was another little treat he gave her. He had to make sure she saw him, that she knew he was watching her.

"Space-mongering." She herself knew it wasn't exactly Weekly World News material. In this tri-county area, it was all too true. After her years of bringing it to light, it was ironic that she was now sitting on things that could have had her under these lamps a year ago. But that was for the best. What Clark was doing, what she was doing... The world didn't need to know. Not if Clark wasn't ready to come out of the superhero closet as Ollie and his team had. They might not understand. They might fear Clark. They might... hurt him.

And they would if Luthor succeeded in painting aliens as some kind of dark threat and nothing else. It was another of the many reasons she suspected he'd acquired The Daily Planet. She didn't kid herself that Luthor was finished dabbling in mad science. He probably had a few more Ares and 33.1 operations up his sleeve.

It was almost inspired and she wondered that she hadn't seen it coming. Get the people aware that we're not alone, get them good and scared. Maybe then when the next 33.1 came along and came to light, he'd be painted with a hero's brush.

And she would know it wasn't true, yet she'd be forced to watch it. She wondered if she could.

Still, she was here. As long as she kept him from finding proof, The Daily Planet would be okay.

And so would Clark.

She couldn't leave. She'd play along as long as she could. A nurse doesn't leave her post when she's needed the most.

She glanced up as the door opened. It wasn't exactly a storm-off. Peterson looked very calm, except for the stiffness of his walk as he moved past her. "Peterson? Did he..."

"Yes, he did," Peterson said through clenched teeth.

"I'm sorry."

He stopped and turned to her. "Don't worry about me, Kid. I wouldn've quit by the end of the week. At least this way, I get a severance package." He squeezed her shoulder. "I mean this in the nicest way, Sullivan, but I hope you get fired, too. There's plenty of papers in this state alone that aren't run by rich boys that don't know sh*t about the business."

She watched him walk away, a lump in her throat. They'd lost so many this week. Good reporters, some who'd been there decades. She'd always thought she'd be one of them. Now...

"Sullivan?"

She took a deep breath before she turned. "Mr. Luthor?"

He was standing at the door of his office with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Can I see you for a moment?"

It was about the same thing he'd said to all of them. She smiled back tightly. "Of course."

She had to give him credit for surprising her. She was so sure he'd want to play with his food a little longer before destroying it. Of course, it didn't seem he was done playing at all. He held the door open just far enough for her to pass, but not far enough that she could avoid brushing against him as she did so. It was another game he played. Without saying a word, he constantly reminded her of that night by looking her way, standing too close, inconsequential brushes that said nothing to the average observer, but said only too much to her.

She pressed back against the frame and stepped in sideways, keeping space between them.

It didn't seem to faze him. He only smiled and gestured to a chair in front of his desk. "Would you care to sit?"

"Thank you." She turned from him as she heard the door close, but stopped as she felt hands... his hands on her shoulders. She froze. She didn't know what to do with this. It was too overt. Should she shake him off? Slap him? she gasped slightly as one hand left her shoulder and brushed against her neck.

"Tag's sticking out," he said near her ear. She felt his finger in the neck of her blouse... just a little too long. "There. Don't you look buttoned-up and professional?"

As opposed to naked and underneath you, I suppose. "Thank you." She quickly stepped away and seated herself. "It's good to know I haven't been called in for a dress-code violation."

"Of course not." He moved around to his desk and perched on the edge in front of her.

And now I have to look up at you? Nice power move. "Then why?" she asked, done with the games.

"Just wanted to issue a friendly warning. I realize the basement staff has been significantly diminished. And it may be some time before I find suitable replacements."

Malleable replacements, her mind corrected. "I see."

"Just want to make sure you and the remaining staff stay on top of things. I don't want this paper to become sub-standard due to some minor staff changes."

Like losing half the staff? "I'm sure we can handle it."

"Good. I'm sure there will be many late nights. But I'll be right here as well." He smiled and stood, his hands moving to his tie, loosening it. It was when he started on the buttons of his shirt that she stood as well.

"What are you..."

"Just changing shirts." He shrugged it off and moved to a cabinet, pulling it off as he went. "You don't mind, do you? I have a Luthorcorp meeting at eleven and I can't show up in these Planet rags."

"It's fine," she said through her teeth. They both knew that wasn't the reason he was striding around shirtless, not even an undershirt. It was just another reminder that she'd seen much more of him. And she wanted to turn away, but she didn't... or maybe she couldn't. Maybe she didn't want to give him the satisfaction.

Or maybe these reminders were working and the way her eyes were glued to the muscles in his back until he pulled another shirt up over it was all part of the plan. She raised her eyes to his face as he turned, smirking, shirt open in front. "Pretty cold to go without an undershirt," she remarked, turning away.

"Hmm. You may be right."

She gave in and turned fully away as he took the new shirt off, her insides clenching. "Are we done?"

"You tell me."

Yes. We are. I am never touching you again, you slimy, shirtless... "I have about a million things to do and you don't want us basement dwellers to get behind so..."

"Of course. I'll be seing you this evening, I'm sure. You can run away for now."

She turned slowly, glaring as he buttoned up.

He smiled. "Oh... I mean run along."

"Will do. Thank you, Mr. Luthor," she said tightly as she stalked toward the door. "Pleasure working for you, Mr. Luthor," she muttered as she nearly stomped down the steps. No elevator for her. She had some rage to burn off. After watching the employee scale-down, then enduring Lex's own personal version of chasing the secretary around the desk, she didn't know how much more she could take. "Can't wait for those late nights," Mr. Luthor, she hissed as she hit the basement. I'll be right here as well, he'd said. Could she do her work safely locked in archives? Maybe he wouldn't find her there. Because she wasn't sure what she'd do if he did. Slap him? Kick him? Fu... No! No, no, no, no, no!

Lois had finally wised up and stopped seeing Grant. And for real this time. What kind of a hypocrite would she be if she let herself cavort with none other than Lex Luthor? She just had to stay clear of him... if he'd let her.

"Jesus, I don't know what to do." Megan, one of the young interns, was staring at the fax. She turned wild eyes to Chloe. "I mean, the apps... I'm supposed to mark and file them, but look at this!" She pointed to the mound of paper on her right. "I'm going to be here all night. They won't stop coming. I can't..."

"Take a break," Chloe cut in. "I'll take over for a bit. And you won't be here all night. I'll help you get out of here before then." Hopefully, I'll help me, too.

"Thanks," the girl breathed.

Chloe squeezed her arm. "We basement dwellers need to stick together."

"Yeah. If we don't want to lose our job to all these people." She glared at the faxed resumes and applications before moving to the break room.

Chloe stared at the fax. She'd just bet Luthor wanted to look over every single applicant himself, see who he cold manipulate best.

"Looks like some people lost their jobs."

Chloe looked up. Clark was coming down the steps. She'd hardly seen Clark since he'd been back. Maybe he understood all she had on her plate and was giving her some space. She didn't exactly want it. Ever since Lana had moved in, they had little enough time. She can hardly remember the last time they'd curled up with cocoa for a movie, even just to talk. With all that had happened, with Lex... Her life was missing the clear bright spot that was Clark. "Casualties of the new commander in chief, Lex Luthor," she quipped, trying for flip. "Out with the old, in with the new and easily controlled. What's up?"

"I need you to help me find someone -- a Kryptonian scientist."

It was nearly a welcome distraction. But a part of her resented that he was only here because he needed something. Not even a nod to the fact that he'd stayed so clear of her. "Another Kryptonian?" She moved with the new app to the file cabinets. "Jeez, Clark, I'm starting to think that Earth was your home planet's top tourist destination." She glanced at him over her shoulder. "How'd you hear about this guy?

"Jor-El told me."

"Look, Clark, usually, I'm right there to help, but right now, my hands are so full." She pulled the book down for the A to J's and placed the app in. She thought he understood that. She thought that was why he'd stayed away. "And, uh, no offense, but Kryptonians aren't exactly low maintenance." This would mean hours on the computer with nearly no leads. Kryptonian scientist wasn't exactly a top hit on Google. And she didn't want to be here tonight... Not at all.

"Chloe, the only way I'm gonna find this guy is to hunt down the tracking device. Now, there's a rumor that some people found it. I thought the planet's archive might show a record."

He seemed strangely short with her. "Clark, look around. Lex launched a torpedo through the hull of the Daily Planet, and I'm just barely hanging onto the lifeboat. Can't this wait?"

"It will only take a second, Chloe." There was that tone again. "As soon as I find out who has this shield, I'll be out of your hair."

She stared at him. "Shield? Don't you already have one of those?" He only stared back. "The Kryptonian S.O.S. from the time capsule? Remember -- beauty pageant, gorgeous gold diggers..."

He nodded, pursing his lips. "Yeah," was all he said.

His eyes. there was something so off about them. They were the same, but... different. He'd been gone. Maybe his time in the fortress had changed him, hardened him somehow. She didn't know how to deal with him, especially not when his internal database was so off. "Clark," she turned him. "why don't you go home and just take a breather, and I'll call you later?" She wasn't sure she would. Maybe she should give in and have a talk with Lana. She might have noticed something off, too... She stopped as her arm was caught in a strong grip. A little too strong. Nearly painful.

"Where is it, Chloe?" She looked down at her arm, then at him, hurt and shock coursing through her. What was wrong with him? He smiled and released her. "I'm sorry. I just really need to find it. I was hoping you could jog my memory."

"You never forget anything. Your mind's like a titanium trap." So are your hands. And they never hurt me.

"Look, do you remember where I put the shield or not?" He added a smile. Not a real one, though.

"Sorry, Clark. I can't help you." She watched him leave with wary eyes. Lana. She had a lunch coming and she'd use it to talk to Lana. She'd have to talk to her. They'd been under the same roof. She had to know if something was wrong with him. Whether it was a new kind of kryptonite or whether this change was... permanent. Either way, she had to get that shield. She didn't want it in the wrong hands. And she was no longer sure that Clark's were the right ones.


TBC

[jem]

omg YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

yay yay yay *and jumps for joy squealing*

this is a fic i feel its soooo juicy i could sink my teeth into it!

the intricacies of the chloe/lex relationship (anger/revulsion/companionship/and knee buckling lust) are so well written..

please please please update soon!

[dagney]

I'm ecstatic Hurray! I loved the dialog, The not so subtle touching and the visual of lex parading around shirtless. Chloe's wise mind fighting the war against her enemy and her libido wanting to do the lambada. Dagney

[somethingeasy]

Much like Almost Clark, I'll be inserting my own missing scenes, both to manipulate offscreenville to Chlexiness and to make some damned sense out of this stupid season.

squeee! I was psyched and ecstatic to see that you were starting up on the sequel to ‘Deep in the Bottle’, AmazingApe. I’m sorry for your intense frustration with the Chlark, but I really can’t be sorry that THIS was a result of that frustration ;)

I feel I should tell you ONE very important thing… I admire that you’ll be trying to ‘make sense’ of Smallville through this fic, but I beg you NOT to try and kill yourself trying to make logical sense of everything. Some of these episodes just don’t have any rational explanation, and it’s impossible trying to insert reason and meaning in it. Feel free to cut yourself away from Smallville and go into AU anytime you want.

But your first chapter based on an episode turned out fantastic, and it fit in seamlessly with the episode… or at least everything that I heard about it as well as the few clips that I happened to watch. Like I said, I stopped watching Smallville quite a while ago, and only have a vague idea on what happened during this latest season.


Chloe had always wanted to work under the Tiffany lamps upstairs. She just never thought it would be filing and at the request of Lex Luthor. It was some bizarre monkey's paw version of her own wish. And she knew why he'd done it. He wanted her to see. He wanted her to watch him dismantle her paper, her dream, one person at a time.

This fic started off on a very painful note. I could feel Chloe’s frustration and heartbreak as she looked at in horror at how Lex was perverting her dream. It must have been devastating for her to stand by helpless as Lex destroyed everything that she loved, respected and admired. Especially since she suspected that SHE might have been one of the reasons for Lex choosing to do this.


Of course, he'd said this at the wrong time and to the wrong person. How was he to know that Lex would be doing one of his basement walk-throughs at the time? That was another little treat he gave her. He had to make sure she saw him, that she knew he was watching her.

ouch! Poor Peterson. I can’t imagine how horrifying it must have been for the poor man to turn around and see LEX staring at him with that cold, smug, arrogant ‘You’re going to be SO fired’ expression on his face. It IS the most horrible thing in the world, isn’t it? To turn around and find out that the LAST person you want in the world to be listening to you just happened to be eavesdropping on your rant.

LOL! But I rather enjoyed the visual of Lex ‘prowling’ around the newsroom, JUST for the sake of jumping out at Chloe at random moments during the day. ROTFL! That petty bastard!


It was almost inspired and she wondered that she hadn't seen it coming. Get the people aware that we're not alone, get them good and scared. Maybe then when the next 33.1 came along and came to light, he'd be painted with a hero's brush.

And she would know it wasn't true, yet she'd be forced to watch it. She wondered if she could.

Still, she was here. As long as she kept him from finding proof, The Daily Planet would be okay.

And so would Clark.

She couldn't leave. She'd play along as long as she could. A nurse doesn't leave her post when she's needed the most.

Wow! I LOVED this, AmazingApe. It actually helped to know that Lex’s SOLE motivation for taking over the DP wasn’t JUST because of Chloe. Although I firmly believe that it WAS his prime motivation, but he wouldn’t be Lex Luthor unless he was satisfying at least six different objectives with this one action, LOL! And it WAS a brilliant move for Lex to take over the DP as a means of controlling the media of Metropolis, and getting the general public primed and ready to think of him as a ‘saviour and hero’ who will protect mankind from alien threats.

This part not only painted a perfect picture of Lex as a ‘mock hero’, but ALSO helped us see Chloe as the REAL hero of this battle. Even Clark is not the hero over here, because he’s being represented as a whiny, broody kid who needs to be kept ‘safe and protected’ from the bad guys. CHLOE is the one who risking herself as well as dedicating and sacrificing her time, energy and resources to protect Clark… as well as The Truth that the DP is supposed to stand for.


He stopped and turned to her. "Don't worry about me, Kid. I wouldn've quit by the end of the week. At least this way, I get a severance package." He squeezed her shoulder. "I mean this in the nicest way, Sullivan, but I hope you get fired, too. There's plenty of papers in this state alone that aren't run by rich boys that don't know sh*t about the business."

She watched him walk away, a lump in her throat. They'd lost so many this week. Good reporters, some who'd been there decades. She'd always thought she'd be one of them. Now...

Wow, AmazingApe! I am in awe on how quickly you can make your readers fall in love with your side-characters. Even *I* felt such respect and admiration for this tough, no-nonsense, honest, moral reporter, Peterson. And I also wanted to weep for his ‘passing’ alongside Chloe. It was EVIL of you, AmazingApe to use this example to illustrate how nasty Lex is being. It IS horrible to see how the DP is being gutted of it’s finest reporters in this malevolent manner.


"Sullivan?"

She took a deep breath before she turned. "Mr. Luthor?"

He was standing at the door of his office with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Can I see you for a moment?"

It was about the same thing he'd said to all of them. She smiled back tightly. "Of course."

Heh, I LOVED the first Chlex meeting in this new fic. You can sense the hate, hostility, memory and even deeply buried longing between them, but they’re doing a masterful job of hiding ALL of it, LOL! It’s slightly creepy and disconcerting as well as thrilling to see what magnificent LIARS both of them are, ROTFL!


She had to give him credit for surprising her. She was so sure he'd want to play with his food a little longer before destroying it. Of course, it didn't seem he was done playing at all. He held the door open just far enough for her to pass, but not far enough that she could avoid brushing against him as she did so. It was another game he played. Without saying a word, he constantly reminded her of that night by looking her way, standing too close, inconsequential brushes that said nothing to the average observer, but said only too much to her.

She pressed back against the frame and stepped in sideways, keeping space between them.

ROTFL! That evil, sneaky bastard! I LOVED getting this example of just ONE of the ways that Lex has managed to turn every random, ‘innocent’ bit of interaction between them into a taunt as well as a power-struggle. Chloe is going to be kept on his toes throughout this entire fic, isn’t she? But I’m sure she’ll figure out a way to also make LEX suffer too, LOL!


"Thank you." She turned from him as she heard the door close, but stopped as she felt hands... his hands on her shoulders. She froze. She didn't know what to do with this. It was too overt. Should she shake him off? Slap him? she gasped slightly as one hand left her shoulder and brushed against her neck.

"Tag's sticking out," he said near her ear. She felt his finger in the neck of her blouse... just a little too long. "There. Don't you look buttoned-up and professional?"

As opposed to naked and underneath you, I suppose. "Thank you." She quickly stepped away and seated herself. "It's good to know I haven't been called in for a dress-code violation."

ROTFLMAO! Like HELL the tag was sticking out!!! LOL! I was shocked at Lex very blatantly crossing over into Chloe’s personal space in this manner… and then amused when I heard the excuse he gave her. *snort* a sticking out ‘tag’, huh? LOL!

And I loved the sardonic, patronizing and ‘edging into cruel’ comment he made about how ‘nice’ it was so see her looking so professional and ‘buttoned up’. ROTFL! I LOVE the way he chooses his words to be as cruel as possible in their double-meaning, without actually blatantly crossing over into offensive and insulting.


Malleable replacements, her mind corrected. "I see."

"Just want to make sure you and the remaining staff stay on top of things. I don't want this paper to become sub-standard due to some minor staff changes."

Like losing half the staff? "I'm sure we can handle it."

Heh… oh poor Chloe! I can tell it absolutely GALLS her that she has to keep her smart comments and sharp observations to herself while presenting a submissive ‘yes sir’ attitude to her new boss. And the hell of it is that you can SEE Lex is getting such a HUGE kick out of this situation. He LOVES having this kind of power over Chloe. He’s lording over it.

Actually it’s rather fun and thrilling as well as amusing seeing him taking such playful (although petty) pleasure in bullying Chloe… BUT I’m looking VERY forward to seeing what Chloe does to turn the tables on this situation. It’s going to be great fun to see him ‘get his’, LOL!


"Good. I'm sure there will be many late nights. But I'll be right here as well." He smiled and stood, his hands moving to his tie, loosening it. It was when he started on the buttons of his shirt that she stood as well.

"What are you..."

Oh holy &%¢#¡€¢∞# HELL! What is he doing?!?? He made a comment about ‘spending nights with her’, and then he starts undressing and stripping down in his office right in front of her?!?? I was in shock (but also drooling a considerable bit, LOL).


"Just changing shirts." He shrugged it off and moved to a cabinet, pulling it off as he went. "You don't mind, do you? I have a Luthorcorp meeting at eleven and I can't show up in these Planet rags."

ROTFLMAO! Oh that evil, sick, twisted BASTARD!!! ROTFLMAO! I love it! :lol:
I loved the way that he took such sadistic pleasure in shocking Chloe like this, and gave a very, thin, pathetic excuse that she just ‘happened’ to be there while he needed to change, LOL! He KNEW that she knew exactly what he was doing, but didn’t care how obvious he was being in his taunts. LOL! Actually, I think it’s a ‘tiny bit’ of a compliment to Chloe that he doesn’t bother hiding what he’s doing, because he knows she’s going to see through his excuses anyway… so might as well make them pitifully unbelievable, LOL!


"It's fine," she said through her teeth. They both knew that wasn't the reason he was striding around shirtless, not even an undershirt. It was just another reminder that she'd seen much more of him. And she wanted to turn away, but she didn't... or maybe she couldn't. Maybe she didn't want to give him the satisfaction.

Or maybe these reminders were working and the way her eyes were glued to the muscles in his back until he pulled another shirt up over it was all part of the plan. She raised her eyes to his face as he turned, smirking, shirt open in front. "Pretty cold to go without an undershirt," she remarked, turning away.

"Hmm. You may be right."

ROTFLMAO! It was really SO funny how Lex jumped onto her comment as yet another excuse to strip AGAIN, LOL! He’s decided he’s not going to waste time being ‘subtle’, has he? LOL!

I have no doubt that Lex is partially taunting Chloe with reminders about what they’ve shared ‘that night’…. But I’m also certain that he’s making it clear to her that he really, REALLY wouldn't object to ‘another round’ with her. He’s fulfilling multiple objectives with as few actions as possible… taunting, enraging and embarrassing Chloe AND seducing her at the same time. LOL! The sneaky bastard!


She gave in and turned fully away as he took the new shirt off, her insides clenching. "Are we done?"

"You tell me."

Yes. We are. I am never touching you again, you slimy, shirtless... "I have about a million things to do and you don't want us basement dwellers to get behind so..."

Heh… ‘never’, Chloe? Never, ever, EVER?!? I love the way that she added on the word ‘shirtless’ in her inner-rant of running insults. Oh OUCH, shirtless! LOL!


"Of course. I'll be seing you this evening, I'm sure. You can run away for now."

She turned slowly, glaring as he buttoned up.

He smiled. "Oh... I mean run along."

ROTFL! Oh I just LOVE that bastard! It’s probably sick and wrong of me to enjoy seeing him taking such sadistic advantage of his power over Chloe, but DAMN it’s fun seeing him being so playful in his vengeful pleasure.

Also, I have no doubt that Chloe will be gaining the upper hand on him again soon. So I can enjoy Lex ‘beating’ Chloe at this battle, because I know she’ll be putting him through equal (or excessive) suffering later with HER revenge, LOL!


"Will do. Thank you, Mr. Luthor," she said tightly as she stalked toward the door. "Pleasure working for you, Mr. Luthor," she muttered as she nearly stomped down the steps. No elevator for her. She had some rage to burn off. After watching the employee scale-down, then enduring Lex's own personal version of chasing the secretary around the desk, she didn't know how much more she could take. "Can't wait for those late nights," Mr. Luthor, she hissed as she hit the basement. I'll be right here as well, he'd said. Could she do her work safely locked in archives? Maybe he wouldn't find her there. Because she wasn't sure what she'd do if he did. Slap him? Kick him? Fu... No! No, no, no, no, no!

Lois had finally wised up and stopped seeing Grant. And for real this time. What kind of a hypocrite would she be if she let herself cavort with none other than Lex Luthor? She just had to stay clear of him... if he'd let her.

Heh… it seems like Lex has adopted the perfect strategy against Chloe to seduce her. He’s got her passionately wound up and stressed… She NEEDS some kind of release now, and it’s only a matter of time before stamping her feet and slamming DP doors just WON’T be satisfying enough. She’ll be wanting to attack Lex soon… in very interesting ways, LOL!

But I do admire how Chloe is keeping herself strong and resolved for now. And reminding herself about Lois’s ‘relationship’ with Grant is a great way for her to keep her perspective on the inherent ‘wrongness’ of this situation.

Hmmm, perhaps it’s ok of both boss and employee ‘do’ each other on the week-ends only? How about during the VERY late hours when they’re working past over-time hours?


Chloe squeezed her arm. "We basement dwellers need to stick together."

"Yeah. If we don't want to lose our job to all these people." She glared at the faxed resumes and applications before moving to the break room.

Chloe stared at the fax. She'd just bet Luthor wanted to look over every single applicant himself, see who he cold manipulate best.

Heh… it sounds like the ‘old team’ of DP is going to be sticking together in their suspicion and resentment of any ‘new people’ who might be brought in from this day forth. I almost feel sorry for the newcomers… it’s not actually going to be THEIR fault that they were chosen specifically by Luthor because they best served HIS needs.


"Look, Clark, usually, I'm right there to help, but right now, my hands are so full." She pulled the book down for the A to J's and placed the app in. She thought he understood that. She thought that was why he'd stayed away. "And, uh, no offense, but Kryptonians aren't exactly low maintenance." This would mean hours on the computer with nearly no leads. Kryptonian scientist wasn't exactly a top hit on Google. And she didn't want to be here tonight... Not at all.

"Chloe, the only way I'm gonna find this guy is to hunt down the tracking device. Now, there's a rumor that some people found it. I thought the planet's archive might show a record."

He seemed strangely short with her. "Clark, look around. Lex launched a torpedo through the hull of the Daily Planet, and I'm just barely hanging onto the lifeboat. Can't this wait?"

"It will only take a second, Chloe." There was that tone again. "As soon as I find out who has this shield, I'll be out of your hair."

I have to admit, I was ALSO rather irritated by the abrupt, arrogant and entitled way that Clark barged into Chloe’s office and started demanding that she drop everything on her plate to help HIM! I’ve actually always been irritated by the way Clark treats her with as much care, warmth as affection as he would a computer Net-Browser. But I have to admit, he seemed even ‘more’ abrupt than usual over here.


"Where is it, Chloe?" She looked down at her arm, then at him, hurt and shock coursing through her. What was wrong with him? He smiled and released her. "I'm sorry. I just really need to find it. I was hoping you could jog my memory."

"You never forget anything. Your mind's like a titanium trap." So are your hands. And they never hurt me.

woah! Clark can actually be a pretty scary dude under the wrong circumstances. I can see how his size and strength can be reassuring when you see it in light of his goofy grin and sweet, self-effacing nature. But, at moments like these, he can be freaking scary! I wonder how Chloe can stand being friends with a guy who can be so unpredictable in his behaviour. After all, he’s changed his personality several times whenever he’s come into contact with weird forms of rocks in a variety of forms, so I can imagine any normal person learning to ‘fear’ any kind of erratic behaviour from him.

I’m glad that Chloe had the sense to ‘gently’ tell him that she couldn’t help him… even though I’m pretty sure she has a good idea on where that shield actually is. Don’t you just LOVE her keen sense of observation and discretion? :D


And I can’t wait to have that answered. Because I think that it could be quite possible that Lex is simply going after her because 1) he can’t have her 2) he can’t let go of that momentary feeling of somehow having a connection with something good and pure, even if he might be fooling himself 3) it’ll piss of Clark to know that Lex has had both of “his women”. In fact, it might piss Clark off more with Chloe because he’s never gotten to have her himself. He’s always pulled back and stayed in friend mode, despite his feelings, and then Lex swoops in a gets what Clark has denied himself? Yeah, I don’t see him being overjoyed about that.

I loved this part especially because I adore the way that Lex can take the most innocent of gestures and make them menacing…and hot. lol I love the way that he can quietly twist the knife the same way that Chloe can attack head on and cut someone to ribbons verbally.

ROTFL! It doesn’t matter how much I ramble on in MY review… MY personal feedback can NEVER compare to the sharp, astute and brilliant observations that Skauble makes. I agree completely with everything that she said about all of Lex’s possible motivations for his current behaviour… Except that she forgot to mention option 4): All of the above reasons, LOL! Let’s face it, I think it’s VERY likely that Lex is bring driven to acquire the DP and pester Chloe for ALL the reasons that Skauble mentioned (in varying degrees of course).

He might be telling himself that he only wants revenge on her for making him feel weak and too ‘inadequate’ to be worthy of her… but I think there’s a good chance that a deep part of him is HOPING desperately that something deeper and more meaningful to arise between the two of them.

Oooh, and Skauble raised an interesting question on what might happen if Clark starts noticing how desirable Chloe is because of the attention that Lex starts giving her. Do I see the possibility of a triangle forming here? Or a possible threesome? LOL!

This was a great start to the new fic, AmazingApe. I look forward to seeing how the story is continued. LOL! It’s going to be fantastic fun to see these two opponents cutting into each other at every given opportunity… AND breathlessly watching and waiting to see whether anything ‘deep, needy and beautiful’ arises between the two. There was definitely the suggestion of need and longing from Lex when he left her ‘that morning after’, so I wonder whether that’s going to be followed up on.

Good luck and best regards!

[MelBee1985]

omg!!!! You did a sequel! I'm so glad!!!

I love the beggining and I really can't wait to see what Lex will do. And this time, Chloe can't use the alcohol reason if she flinch - and we all know she will. lol Lex seems so evil, yet in a sexy way...

And Clark, nice from Chloe to have noticed (the only one good thing they did this season too, having Chloe noticed quickly). Now she has two problems to deal with... hehe

I can't wait for the next chapter!!!!!

[westwingwolf]

Woo Hoo to the sequel! I love the manipulative bastard that is Lex. And I'm really hoping that Chloe can't resist him for much longer. But I'm also glad that she hasn't lost her wits about her when it comes to noticing differences in people. I wonder if this is going to go down the same way as it did in Persona or if Chloe is going to find another way to stop Bizarro.

[lj715]

Yeah...a sequel!!!! Love it & can;t wait to read more.

[hfce]

Great start to this wonderful sequel. I can't wait to see what happens next. :D

[deia]

Awesome new story! I loved it that you gave "Deep in the bottle" a sequel, it was such an interesting, poingnant fic and hardly any writers still keep somewhat connected to canon and to the show anymore, which I totally understand seeing as I only watch it now if I have nothing else better to do but your story made me want to check it out again so mad props to you for that the CW advertisement department should totally hire you LOL Please update soon!!!

[Impress]

Yeah, sequel! Good start on it. I'm curious as to how Chloe deals with Lex. I don't imagine her letting him have the upper hand for to long. If anyone is Lex's equal it's her. More soon.

[TheAmazingApe]

Thank you all for your kind support in these dark times. I'm using Chlex to work off some of the anger. Lex is gooood for that.

Still spoiling Persona. This is in the aftermath of Bizzaro!Clark saying he and Lana were leaving.

PART 2

I wasn't gonna say anything until it was official, but after Lana and I tie up a few loose ends, we're leaving Smallville...together.

Leaving Smallville.

Leaving.

"Chloe, I'm totally swamped, here. I was wondering if you're done lunch, if you could... Chloe?"

"Huh?"

Megan was leaning into her, peering at her. "You okay?"

"Fine." She blinked at Megan, then at the basement around her.

"Oh, good," she said breathily. She transferred the stack of papers to her other arm. "Not that I'm not totally grateful you helped before, but I was wondering if you could help me again. Apparently, Luthor has sent down word that he now wants these filed, not alphabetically, but in order of experience, from pro to high school intern material and..."

How did she get here? She hardly remembered the drive back. She must have been on some kind of auto-pilot, her mind too took up with the end of everything that meant anything to her. First, her workplace was invaded by a Luthor and now... Something had changed in Clark. He'd said he was leaving, smiled as if this was nothing but good news. Smiled disinterestedly at her. As if she no longer mattered.

"...and we all know it's total bullsh*t. He's making us all jump through hoops so he has an excuse to fire more of us. I totally know it and I'm totally freaking out."

"I don't matter," she said dully, hardly hearing anything else but the echo of that thought.

"Chloe?" Megan was staring at her again. "Are you sure you're okay?"

She tried to speak, but she couldn't. She managed a weak nod.

Megan took her by the arm, leading her to the break room. "Maybe you need some coffee."

"Yes. Coffee," she whispered.

"And don't worry about me. Got this totally covered. Um... Unless you can get some time to help, in which case I totally don't." She smiled weakly and rushed off.

She turned to the shelves above the counter, waiting for her eyes to focus. She was not going to cry now. She'd managed a long drive without crying and she wouldn't do it now. She'd wait until tonight. When she was alone. She'd obviously have to get used to being alone.

"Bit of a long lunch, don't you think?"

She closed her eyes and breathed deep before turning. "I had a personal errand," she said to Lex Luthor, lounging against the doorway. A man eating a donut at the table quickly dropped the rest and rushed out past him. "I'll obviously be staying late tonight. I figured I should get it out of the way." She tilted her head. "I hope that's not a problem."

"Not at all. But I'd appreciate some notice next time."

So you can follow me? Not a chance. "Duly noted."

He looked past her. "That coffee fresh?"

She turned away and grabbed her mug from the shelf. "Probably sludge compared to the coffee upstairs. I'm sure you'd prefer that coffee. They'd probably serve it to you in a crystal mug."

"I'm sure they would." He was at her side, taking one of the styrofoam cups stacked on the counter. "But I could have that coffee whenever I wanted. I prefer tasting something... different."

"Slumming it? How quaint." She poured her own with shaking hands. She couldn't take his innuendo, not on top of everything.

"I woudn't exactly call it that." He held the styrofoam cup in front of her. "Do you mind?"

She clenched the pot, reluctantly bypassing his hand and pouring into the cup instead. He was baiting her and she wouldn't rise to it. She knew where it led, where it had led them that night.

"Thank you."

She didn't say "You're welcome." He was not welcome. She just concentrated on pouring some powdered creamer in, mixing it quickly. The sooner she could get out of here, the less chance of her doing something stupid. Her hand froze mid-stir as she felt him behind her.

"Have any sugar for me? For the coffee, I mean."

One hand clenched on her mug as the other reached up, grabbing the box of sugar packets. She turned and held it out to him, but he didn't take it. He only moved closer, reaching... past her.

"I'm sorry," he said, close, but not touching her. "I actually wanted the artificial sweetener." His hand came back with the pink box, though he didn't move away. "They say it's just like the real thing." He looked down at his box, then the one still in her hand. He reached to her side and placed it on the counter. "Never mind. I'd rather have what you've..."

She slammed her mug on the counter beside her and moved past him. She was letting him get to her and she couldn't do that, not if she wanted to stay, keep the Planet afloat until she could find a way to get him out. A sexual harrassment suit might be one way, but she knew it would just roll off him with his money and power. Besides that, everything he was doing was not exactly that. Every calculated moment could be taken as completely innocent if she didn't know better. If this was months ago, if she'd never slept with him, her reaction might be mild annoyance instead of this clenching and churning and... crying.

She quickly ducked into the supply room, letting the tears fall just for noe. She moved further in, her breaths coming out in tiny gasps. "Clark..." She pulled the scarf from her pocket and unwrapped it, staring at the shield. She'd only meant to hold it for him until he seemed more himself. Then she'd talked to Lana... to him. Lana was right, in a way. She had been holding on all these years. At the back of her mind, there was always that hope that he would look at her again, see her for what she was. What she'd always been to him. But now... It wasn't just that he was with Lana. It was who he seemed to have become. Maybe she should let go. Maybe she needed to. Maybe for good. She wasn't sure if she wanted to hold on to a Clark who grabbed her, hurt her, told her he was leaving with a smile -- as if it would do anything but destroy her.

She heard the door behind her and quickly stuffed the scarf and shield behind a large box of paper.

"Hiding out, Sullivan?"

Lex again. She quickly swiped one hand under her eyes and grabbed a box of staples. "Just needed these," she said, not turning.

The door closed, but he wasn't gone. She just didn't have that kind of luck today. "Long lunches, extended stays in the supply closet... What's an employer to think?"

"You can think what you want, Luthor." She almost wished he'd fire her now. She could crawl into bed and forget this day, this life. She turned, jumping slightly to find him so close behind her. She wondered what he'd pretend to reach for this time.

"I'm trying to decide," he said, raising an eyebrow.

She clutched her staples and stood her ground. She was done running away. "Decide what?"

"What I want to think. I don't want to think a bright, young girl would just shirk her duties. I just wonder what's behind all the running off. And didn't Clark stop by? Why exactly..."

Her staples dropped to the floor as her hands grasped his lapels, pulling him down, smashing her lips against his. There was only a muffled gasp before he was pushing right back. The metal shelf swayed behind her and she pushed back harder, pushing him toward the glazed door as his tongue tangled with hers. Glazed door. Someone could see. She hardly cared. After a day like this, she wanted to feel something besides agony. But she cared just enough to push him to the wall at the side instead, pressing him against it, tasting him. He tasted like coffee and cigars. Probably from his meeting, rich men smoking cubans and griping about the bottom line.

Rich man. Boss. Even as her mind screamed these words at her, she pushed them away. She needed to feel. But he wasn't doing anything. She couldn't carry this. He had to do it. He had to... She took his hands, moved them to her hips. They moved up instead and she moaned into his mouth, but they passed her breasts. They moved to her shoulders and pushed her away.

"No," she breathed. "Don't... Just please..." She squeezed her eyes shut, but a tear slipped past anyway.

He stared hard at her. "What's wrong with you?"

She opened her eyes, felt the tear tricking down her cheek to her chin. She didn't care anymore. Let him see her cry. Let averyone see it. As long as she could feel something better... She worked her hand between them and cupped the front of his pants. "Does it matter?"

He was hard. Very much so. She'd been concentrating so hard on the idea that he was only torturing her. Only thinking of her own reactions to him all this time, her fear of her own reactions, but now she wondered... Was he this hard every time? Around her? For her?

He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. "Not really," he said through clenched teeth before leaning into her.

He brushed so lightly against her lips, grasping her waist, pulling her to him even as her hand still worked between them. One hand left her waist and she dimly registered the click of a lock. "Yes," she gasped. "Now."

"God," he breathed into her mouth. "Chloe..."

TBC

[Esther25jm]

Yay!!! We've got a sequel and I love it!! WOOHOO!! Ooh, the UST is flippin' hot, and I don't know how long Chloe will be able to not jump Lex. Goodness, I wanted to jump him. <eg> Ahh, you're def. doing a great job with Clark, too. <g> Can't wait for some more!!

ETA: Just read the second chapter and HOT DAMN!!!!!! *faints* More, please! I beg of thee!!

[somethingeasy]

Thank you all for your kind support in these dark times. I'm just taking Chlex break to work some of the anger. Lex is gooood for that.

ROTFL! Lex is always willing to provide… special services to help ladies deal with frustration and tension. He’s very generous in that regard. *disappointed sigh* why is it that he doesn’t get credit for being so sweet and self-sacrificing this way?


I wasn't gonna say anything until it was official, but after Lana and I tie up a few loose ends, we're leaving Smallville...together.

Leaving Smallville.

Leaving.

I loved, LOVED how this chapter began with Chloe being devastated… not because of all sadistic, focused torture LEX was putting her through, but because of a careless comment that ‘Clark’ made. It really puts things into perspective about WHICH man in Chloe’s life really has too much power over her. A power-hold that needs to be broken away from as soon as possible.


"Oh, good," she said breathily. She transferred the stack of papers to her other arm. "Not that I'm not totally grateful you helped before, but I was wondering if you could help me again. Apparently, Luthor has sent down word that he now wants these filed, not alphabetically, but in order of experience, from pro to high school intern material and..."

ROTFLMAO! Oh that twisted, petty bastard! He’s having FUN, isn’t he, in randomly making up new ways for the basement workers to suffer? He’s being so OBVIOUS about it as well, as if he doesn’t care how he’s perceived as a petty, arrogant, tyrant as long as he has his fun.


How did she get here? She hardly remembered the drive back. She must have been on some kind of auto-pilot, her mind too took up with the end of everything that meant anything to her. First, her workplace was invaded by a Luthor and now... Something had changed in Clark. He'd said he was leaving, smiled as if this was nothing but good news. Smiled disinterestedly at her. As if she no longer mattered.

I’m sure Lex’s latest move would have enraged Chloe and probably set her to imagine stomping and gleefully jumping up and down all over Lex’s bald, beautiful head. But as things stand right now… she’s in too much despair and heartbreak to muster up even the slightest semblance of anger for this latest taunt.

Now I’m not angry at Lex… I’m mad as hell at CLARK!!! Granted, I know it was Bizarro who actually said those words to her… but it doesn’t change the fact that CLARK is the one who holds this kind of power over Chloe, and can send her into such horrible depression at merely a word or a careless glance, without even realizing it. The damned farmboy has been keeping her in his backpocket for far too long, and it’s horrible to consider how he can DESTROY her in ways Lex can never even contemplate.


Megan took her by the arm, leading her to the break room. "Maybe you need some coffee."

"Yes. Coffee," she whispered.

"And don't worry about me. Got this totally covered. Um... Unless you can get some time to help, in whic case I totally don't." She smiled weakly and rushed off.

It was actually quite frightening seeing Chloe running on ‘auto-pilot’ this way. Where is that sense of determination, focus and purpose that we’ve come to love, admire and respect in her? I can see even Megan is freaked out by Chloe’s behaviour… it was very sweet (and even insightful) of her to gently bring Chloe to a course of sustenance and comfort (dear, sweet beloved coffee), and then leave her alone with it to recover.


She turned to the shelves above the counter, waiting for her eyes to focus. She was not going to cry now. She'd managed a long drive without crying and she wouldn't do it now. She'd wait until tonight. When she was alone. She'd obviously have to get used to being alone.

Poor Chloe. It was anguishing seeing her heart breaking right in front of us. DAMN that Clark for keeping her feelings in stasis like this for him for so damned long. Her dependence on Clark has become an integral part of her. Perhaps this will provide her with a wake-up call that it IS time to let go of a person who ca hurt her so easily, and not notice or really care.


"Bit of a long lunch, don't you think?"

She closed her eyes and breathed deep before turning. "I had a personal errand," she said to Lex Luthor, lounging against the doorway. A man eating a donut at the table quickly dropped the rest and rushed out past him. "I'll obviously be staying late tonight. I figured I should get it out of the way." She tilted her head. "I hope that's not a problem."

"Not at all. But I'd appreciate some notice next time."

So you can follow me? Not a chance. "Duly noted."

Heh… what a time for Lex to enter on the scene. But perhaps he can provide a distraction and re-awaken the ‘fire’ inside her again? ROTFL! I liked how the two of them were keeping to the civil ‘boss /employee’ script on top, but were actually maintaining a completely different conversation underneath, LOL! I LOVE seeing the two of them communicate solely via double-meanings.


She turned away and grabbed her mug from the shelf. "Probably sludge compared to the coffee upstairs. I'm sure you'd prefer that coffee. They'd probably serve it to you in a crystal mug."

"I'm sure they would." He was at her side, taking one of the styrofoam cups stacked on the counter. "But I could have that coffee whenever I wanted. I prefer tasting something... different."

"Slumming it? How quaint." She poured her own with shaking hands. She couldn't take his innuendo, not on top of everything.

ROTFL! Even in this despair-ridden state, Chloe can make some pretty sharp, cutting comments. Excellent! She’s holding her own against Lex while he’s circling and making barbed innuendos… I love seeing them both verbally battling each other, and I’m so impressed that Chloe can hold her own even in this devastated state… even though you can tell she’s not going to be able to last too long.


She didn't say "You're welcome." He was not welcome. She just concentrated on pouring some powdered creamer in, mixing it quickly. The sooner she could get out of here, the less chance of her doing something stupid. Her hand froze mid-stir as she felt him behind her.

"Have any sugar for me? For the coffee, I mean.”

ROTFLMAO! ‘got any sugar for me’?!? I can’t believe Lex was shameless enough to use a line like that. I honestly think if Chloe hadn’t hated him so much, she probably would have burst out laughing at his brazen, outrageous flirting.


"I'm sorry," he said, close, but not touching her. "I actually wanted the artificial sweetener." His hand came back with the pink box, though he didn't move away. "They say it's just like the real thing." He looked down at his box, then the one still in her hand. He reached to her side and placed it on the counter. "Never mind. I'd rather have what you've..."

LOL! It IS flirting, isn’t it? Flirting with a hostile edge, but still… ROTFLMAO! It still has the same kind of non-serious playfulness that men and women use to blatantly tell each other that they find the other attractive and desirable. I think Chloe is taking Lex a little too seriously, because I get the impression he’s only aiming more to ‘irritate’ her rather than hurt or even seduce her.


She slammed her mug on the counter beside her and moved past him. She was letting him get to her and she couldn't do that, not if she wanted to stay, keep the Planet afloat until she could find a way to get him out. A sexual harrassment suit might be one way, but she knew it would just roll off him with his money and power. Besides that, everything he was doing was not exactly that. Every calculated moment could be taken as completely innocent if she didn't know better. If this was months ago, if she'd never slept with him, her reaction might be mild annoyance instead of this clenching and churning and... crying.

hmmm, I guess I shouldn’t take Lex’s ‘flirting’ too lightly. Not when it’s placed in proper context like this. He might treating this as a light-hearted, playful game… but that’s only because he’s already established himself at a place of power over her, and he feels he can afford to take it light and easy and play with her. The frustration Lex is piling onto Chloe is adding on to the nasty shock she’s just suffered from her encounter with ‘Clark’.


She quickly ducked into the supply room, letting the tears fall just for noe. She moved further in, her breaths coming out in tiny gasps. "Clark..." She pulled the scarf from her pocket and unwrapped it, staring at the shield. She'd only meant to hold it for him until he seemed more himself. Then she'd talked to Lana... to him. Lana was right, in a way. She had been holding on all these years. At the back of her mind, there was always that hope that he would look at her again, see her for what she was. What she'd always been to him. But now... It wasn't just that he was with Lana. It was who he seemed to have become. Maybe she should let go. Maybe she needed to. Maybe for good. She wasn't sure if she wanted to hold on to a Clark who grabbed her, hurt her, told her he was leaving with a smile -- as if it would do anything but destroy her.

This part was heartbreaking, but I also HIGHLY approve of Chloe coming to these nasty epiphanies. I think Chloe is FINALLY seeing the imbalance of the power-structure in her ‘friendship’ with Clark. She depends on him far too much for everything (approval, affection, a meaning to her life, EVERYTHING), while he treats her in a careless, entitled kind of way as his personal ‘tool’. She has always placed him at TOP priority in her life, while he has always taken her for granted as his ‘unwavering support, back-up side-kick’.

I think this nasty experience with Bizarro will prove to be an eye-opener for her about how much power she’s given to Clark over her emotions and life, while he’s given her nothing similar in return. I really, REALLY hope she remembers this pain even AFTER she finds out it was ‘not Clark’ who had hurt her like this.


"Hiding out, Sullivan?"

Lex again. She quickly swiped one hand under her eyes and grabbed a box of staples. "Just needed these," she said, not turning.

The door closed, but he wasn't gone. She just didn't have that kind of luck today. "Long lunches, extended stays in the supply closet... What's an employer to think?"

ROTFL! He’s seriously JUST like a schoolboy chasing some girl he likes, pulling on her pigtails and yelling ‘Look! Look at me! Look at what I can do!’, ROTFL! If he can’t have her approval, then damn it he’s going to get WHATEVER attention and response he CAN extract from her.


"You can think what you want, Luthor." She almost wished he'd fire her now. She could crawl into bed and forget this day, this life. She turned, jumping slightly to find him so close behind her. She wondered what he'd pretend to reach for this time.

oh dear… she’s so, SO close to the breaking point. I thought Lex chased her in here because he truly couldn’t resist! But I also wonder whether he chased her because he sensed weakness? Heh… probably both?


"What I want to think. I don't want to think a bright, young girl would just shirk her duties. I just wonder what's behind all the running off. And didn't Clark stop by? Why exactly..."

Her staples dropped to the floor as her hands grasped his lapels, pulling him down, smashing her lips against his. There was only a muffled gasp before he was pushing right back. The metal shelf swayed behind her and she pushed back harder, pushing him toward the glazed door as his tongue tangled with hers. Glazed door. Someone could see. She hardly cared. After a day like this, she wanted to feel something besides agony. But she cared just enough to push him to the wall at the side instead, pressing him against it, tasting him. He tasted like coffee and cigars. Probably from his meeting, rich men smoking cubans and griping about the bottom line.

Oh wow! I loved, LOVED the idea that it was the mention of Clark that finally pushed Chloe over the edge of her depression and despair and onto Lex. First of all, it was a good sign that Chloe was actually doing something (even if it Was unbelievably stupid) to try and get over the pain of the heartbreak that Clark caused her. I’m blaming Clark as WELL as Bizarro because, let’s face it, Bizarro might have dealt out the nasty blow, but CLARK was the one who set up the situation with Chloe’s heart poised and ready to break. This was a sign that she’s doing something to move on… even if it means she’s moving on the worst thing possible for herself.

Heh… and second… I LOVE the idea that Lex was obsessively chasing, pushing and taunting Chloe. His entire being is completely focused on her, and he’s been spending ALL day to get her to NOTICE him and respond to him… But, in the end, it was Chloe’s focus on Clark that drove her to be with Lex again.

Heh.. and I’m sure Lex KNOWS that… he would be galled to know that it was CLARK who got this kind of response from her (with a single, careless comment) while Lex wasn’t able to get this response with ALL his attentions focused on her. In this sense, Lex would know that Clark won again… that Chloe was thinking of the farmboy the whole time she was with him.


Rich man. Boss. Even as her mind screamed these words at her, she pushed them away. She needed to feel. But he wasn't doing anything. She couldn't carry this. He had to do it. He had to... She took his hands, moved them to her hips. They moved up instead and she moaned into his mouth, but they passed her breasts. They moved to her shoulders and pushed her away.

"No," she breathed. "Don't... Just please..." She squeezed her eyes shut, but a tear slipped past anyway.

He stared hard at her. "What's wrong with you?"

She opened her eyes, felt the tear tricking down her cheek to her chin. She didn't care anymore. Let him see her cry. Let everyone see it. As long as she could feel something better... She worked her hand between them and cupped the front of his pants. "Does it matter?"

Perhaps it was just wishful thinking, but I sensed a note of genuine concern for Chloe as well as pure bewilderment… He’s been waiting for this kind of response ever since he acquired the DP, but he can sense that something is ‘wrong’ here.

hmmm, perhaps also a little bit of resentment that it was the mention of Clark that triggered this response?


He was hard. Very much so. She'd been concentrating so hard on the idea that he was only torturing her. Only thinking of her own reactions to him all this time, her fear of her own reactions, but now she wondered... Was he this hard every time? Around her? For her?

ROTFLMAO! Well, WELL! Isn’t this an interesting discovery. All this time, Chloe thought Lex was getting a kick out of tormenting her, but now she discovers that HE was also suffering the whole time around HER as well. In fact, it’s possible that he only taunted and tortured her as a way of making her ‘share’ in his suffering, LOL! This will cause a bit of a adjustment in the power-balance between them :D Awesome!


He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. "Not really," he said through clenched teeth before leaning into her.

He brushed so lightly against her lips, grasping her waist, pulling her to him even as her hand still worked between them. One hand left her waist and she dimly registered the click of a lock. "Yes," she gasped. "Now."

"God," he breathed into her mouth. "Chloe..."

Oh this was an AMAZING twist, AmazingApe! I LOVED the idea of Chloe shamelessly and unrepentantly using Lex Luthor to satisfy herself. She doesn’t care about how HE feels, what he wants or even what he thinks of her… ALL she wants is to use his body for a little while to make herself feel better, and then she’ll go back to thinking of him as contemptuous scum.

ROTFL! Lex got his wish…. But in a ‘monkey’s paw’ kind of way. He’s succeeded in ‘enticing’ Chloe to have sex with him, but she’s not thinking of him AT ALL during this encounter… and he probably knows it too.

I loved the reveal over here on how Lex told her that ‘it doesn’t matter’ what’s wrong with her. She’s willing to be with him for now, and he’ll take anything and whatever he can get from her. At this moment, HE is HER slave.

Heh… let’s see whether how long that particular mind-set lasts between the two of them. I look forward to the next chapter, AmazingApe… I’m sure it’s going to be awesome. Good luck and best regards.

[Starangel148]

I don't know whether to be happy about the Chlex action or mad at Lex for continuing even when he knows Chloe is upset. Great chapter though. Update soon.

[lj715]

Another excellent chapter.

[showntell]

Fantastic..So happy to see a sequel

[westwingwolf]

I fully support Chloe's plan to have sex with Lex. Whether it's to stop his questioning or because she just wants to forget about Clark and feel something, I'm all in. He is an ass trying to bait her, but that's why I love him. Forget Clark/Bizarro, let Clark stay trapped in the fortress, let Bizarro have Lana, and let Chloe and Lex continue this hate-filled passionate affair.

[dagney]

I second Westwingwolf, I'm on the support CHlex love-hate filled passionate affair.

"I fully support Chloe's plan to have sex with Lex. Whether it's to stop his questioning or because she just wants to forget about Clark and feel something, I'm all in. He is an ass trying to bait her, but that's why I love him. Forget Clark/Bizarro, let Clark stay trapped in the fortress, let Bizarro have Lana, and let Chloe and Lex continue this hate-filled passionate affair."
__________________
I also loved the visuals, The guy dropping his donut and moving off. The innuendo with sugar and sweetness the pick box and him saying he was hoping for something different. Very Nice.

I like how Chloe had the moment with lex when she realized that maybe she was not the giving up and surrendering and being used , but that the realization at the very least Lex actually desires her very much. What a boost to her shredded ego.

Dagney

[tatie87]

Yeah a sequel. I'm so excited. Great start I love the whole office scene b/t Lex/Chloe. Can't wait for more.

[SVfan1286]

Yay! I'm so happy you are writting the sequel! I loved 'Deep in the Bottle' and I look forward to reading the continuing hate/passionate relationship of Chloe and Lex in this story! Already the first two chapters have been incrediable and I can't wait to read more!!

[MelBee1985]

Oh, you didn,t dare.. You stopped when it was going to be fun :P

Nice chapter. We can see how Chloe feels like nothin matter anymore. Clark leaving. *Her* Clark. Lex harrassing. I love how she wants to manage it :D

Lex is a jerk for lettig this go on, but hasn't he took advantage of her while she was drunk before?! ehe... So it's no change.. Nice chapter.. Can't wait to get more!

[DiscoGhostie]

Incredible. You're redeeming a squalid season. Thank you. :)

It's always so much hotter when it fits into canon, and that's no easy task.

[karila]

The two chapters were really great.
I hope an update soon.

[hfce]

God I love you that was fantastic. :drool2: Chlex in angry smut mood is hot! :hankpank:

[blackheart_me]

YAY THE SEQUAL IS HERE!!! I absolutely love it!! I have a silly grin on my face right now. I feel really sad for Chloe cuz of how miserable she's feeling but man the Chlex is just AWESOME!! :D. I can't wait for more!! ;)

[Impress]

Woot, good work hun. It's not surprising that a few well chosen or careless words for Clark/Bizzaro would send Chloe over the edge. I can't wait for the next chapter to see how it plays out.

[happybum]

God I love you that was fantastic. :drool2: Chlex in angry smut mood is hot! :hankpank:

So True! Spoil us some more with your fabulous story! :D

[TheAmazingApe]

Spoilers for Persona and Gemini... Hell! Much of S7.

I don't really plan to depart from canon at this juncture. To be honest, I like the challenge of keeping with it and (as hard as it may seem), making sense of it. So much on Smallville happens in Offscreenville, especially this season. I'm trying to give Offscreenville some footage.

Presented in Lexvision:

PART 3

His eyes scanned the basement, looking for her. Looking for something to take his mind away from his failure. Taunting Chloe Sullivan may seem like a childish game, but it was all he knew of pleasure now.

The plan had changed. Plans often did, but never so drastically. It wasn't supposed to be him at The Daily Planet, not in person. He had to be now. Grant... Julian... No. Grant Gabriel wasn't Julian Luthor. He wasn't what he was supposed to be. Even with Julian's DNA, he'd wanted him with a history and personality all his own, one that could place him at The Daily Planet. One that could be believed.

He'd done too well. He should have programmed more loyalty. He'd thought the Luthor DNA would connect them, but Grant was too defiant, too separate from him. The successful experiment was as much a failure as the others. Maybe he should have known. Maybe Gemini was a mistake. Ares might have been a success if he hadn't been so invested in Gemini on the side. But it had been for him... and for Lana. He was building a family. That clone wasn't supposed to die in an explosion. That clone was supposed to carry their child. Keep her safe. He still wondered sometimes... If he'd let her in, if he'd told her, would she have understood? Trusted him? Stayed with him?

No. It was Clark, still ideal in her mind, still the only one she could care for. Not him. He was far from ideal. But he tried. Didn't anyone see that? His methods might be questionable, but the ends were impeccable. Lana's clone was supposed to carry the child. Julian's clone was supposed to be his right hand at The Planet. And both were gone.

Well, Grant wasn't. But he might as well be. He'd found that out at Luthorcorp. He'd visited his father. He'd joined his father, his own father, against him.

Do you believe you have the right to recycle your dead brother as if he were part of some sick vanity project... What you've done is depraved. You disgust me... It's you I've lost.

It's you I've lost.

He was wrong, there. He'd lost his father the day Julian died. He'd lost him because he'd thought he'd been the one to do it. Even when the truth came to light, Lionel Luthor was still unreachable to him. And now... He'd made it right. He'd brought Julian back. Grant wasn't supposed to know. Eventually, they could all have lived as if his history was true. In time, his father would... become his father again.

But now... He had to blame the failed clone for that. Him and his puppet, Lois Lane.

But he was here. He had The Planet. He had a great media outlet in his pocket. He had Chloe and her yapping annoyance of a cousin. He even had her little boyfriend. All under his watch. Not under Grant's. He'd been seriously remiss in his duties. Too busy hobnobbing with Lionel to keep an eye on his three problems.

The three of them.

Three of an inner circle, a circle that seemed to revolve around Clark Kent. And the cousin. Can't forget her, wherever she is. She hadn't shown up for work at The Talon. No word. Nothing. He'd find her, too. He had people on it now. Right now his only concern was Chloe Sullivan. Where exactly was she? One of his men had told him a large man in a blue jacket had been to see her.

She'd been gone since. Was she off with him?

"Fucking Clark," he muttered. Why wasn't he off cuddling with the former Mrs. Luthor? He hadn't been around The Planet lately, but word had it this same red and blue hulk was a fixture around here. And always with Chloe. He just had to have everything.

He stopped at her empty desk as a chubby girl with curly hair walked by. "You."

She stopped, nearly dropping her papers. "Uh... Yes? Mr. Luthor... Sir?"

"Isn't someone supposed to be at this desk?"

"Um... I think she's on lunch."

"Who takes lunch at two in the afternoon?"

"I... Uh... some people might take later lunches." She glanced at her papers. "I woudn't know, really. Totally busy, here. I've been undoing the alphabetical filing, like you said." She laughed nervously. "But um... No one is shirking their duties... Sir. We are, all of us, totally..."

He rolled his eyes and moved away, going for the elevators. He didn't think he could hear another totally right now. He'd rather just check his security footage and... He moved off to the side as he saw her, walking stiffly down the steps. She wasn't looking his way. She didn't appear to be looking at anything at all. The chubby girl approached her and started babbling about something or other. He wasn't near enough to hear.

He just waited. He had to get her alone. She'd been affected by him earlier. He could tell. He needed to feel that triumph again. Anything was better than the stench of failure that surrounded him.

The chubby girl left her in the break room and he smiled, moving forward. Was it childish and petty to torture her? Possibly. He couldn't resist. Having The Daily Planet under his thumb was sweet enough. Because she would know, they would all know, that he was watching. After the sex... Well, it only made it sweeter. There were so many new and exciting ways to make her writhe in agony.

He leaned against the doorway as a short man ate his donut. He glanced from him to her back. "Bit of a long lunch, don't you think?"

*********************

He stared from the coffee puddle, sloshed over the edge of her cup onto the counter, to the box of sugar on the floor. She fucking ran away? It wasn't even his finest ammunition. He couldn't even smile. It was a hollow victory, too easily won. She'd stood before him with lifted chin and superior gaze through more than that since he'd been here.

He stalked to the door, looking left, then right before seeing a flash of blonde as the supply closet door closed. He wasn't finished with her yet.

He pushed the door open, staring at her back. "Hiding out, Sullivan?"

She didn't turn, but there was some movement as her hand dug on shelves, finally grasping a box of staples. "Just needed these."

He closed the door. He didn't want her running off with a flimsy excuse. He wanted to see what was behind her eyes. He wanted... Fuck! He was probably past denying that he wanted to have her again. He could wait. It was only a matter of time. Sex that raw, that ferocious, didn't come easily. She probably knew it more than he did with her limited experience. It wouldn't be today, however. She wasn't ripe for it yet. "Long lunches," he drawled, hoping for a glimpse of the other thing he wanted from her. The truth. Her secrets. "Extended stays in the supply closet... What's an employer to think?"

"You can think what you want, Luthor."

He moved closer, studying her back as she turned. She was getting snippy now. Funny, considering she'd taken everything he'd thrown at her with a false smile up to this point. She jumped upon facing him. Jumpy, too. What exactly had happened on her extremely long lunch? "I'm trying to decide."

Her stance stiffened before him. "Decide what?" Yes. She was on edge.

"What I want to think," he answered. "I don't want to think a bright, young girl would just shirk her duties. I just wonder what's behind all the running off." And with Clark. Every fucking thing seemed to revolve around him. "And didn't Clark stop by?" He was probably pushing it. But what excuse would she give? This wasn't The Smallville Ledger and Chloe wasn't assigned to the farm report. "Why exactly..."

He hadn't expected this... but he'd take it.

He gasped against her, pushing back against her lips, pushing her backward... And then she was pushing harder. He let his tongue taste her as he moved backwards, something solid at his back. And they were in the damned supply closet, of all places. Anyone could come in for toner and her fucking tongue was down his throat. He'd never thought it would be so soon... he was nearly unsure what to do with this development. He was so sure he'd break her down some dark night, when they were nearly alone. Not here and now with people milling about outside.

She didn't seem to care about that. he felt her hands on his, placing them on her hips. Something was off. This wasn't what he planned. He grasped her shoulders and pushed.

She tried to lean in again. "No... Don't... Just please..." Begging? This wasn't it.

Crying?

He didn't fuck girls that cried. Furthermore, he'd rarely seen Chloe Sullivan cry. "What's wrong with you?" It couldn't be him... This. It was hardly a drop in the bucket as far as his plans for her. This wasn't... All thought left when she touched him, cupped him. He was hard. No surprise. He was always hard these days.

Her eyes were steady on his. "Does it matter?"

His head hit the wall as his eyes shut. Maybe he sometimes fucked girls that cried. His plans changed with the wind, after all. "Not really." He leaned forward, finding her lips blindly.

He moved his hands down, squeezed her waist. Her hand was still rubbing him, brushing him. He wondered if she'd be impressed if she knew he'd jacked off to that night. She should be. It wasn't something he often had to resort to. He didn't even have to hire relief. Any night in any club with a head as recognizable as his and he could have his pick. But he didn't want his pick anymore.

Fuck it. Plans had to evolve, after all. Whether he had her in the afternoon in a dim closet or some future night in an empty bullpen didn't natter, really. He moved one hand to the door, to the lock.

"Yes... Now." There it was again. Raw need. Of every fuck in his life, the only one he was ever sure of was Chloe Sullivan. Nothing to gain, everything to lose... And yet she still came for him. It made everything else pale. Made every other fuck nothing more than a society game. Because this...

This was real. This was bad for both of them. And so good...

"God," his voice was a reedy gasp. "Chloe..."

He'd threatened to make her writhe. And she was writhing now, all over him.

He pushed her backward, beyond the shelves, one eye seeking out a nice, sturdy wall. He shoved her against it, moving her hand out of the way and lifted her slightly so he could press his cock against her where it was hot and, he suspected, wet.

"Fucking pants," he groaned into her mouth. He wished she'd worn a skirt, then he could feel her.

He'd known it would come to this, but it was supposed to be later. He had so very much to do. He had to track down Kara Kent. He had to deal with Grant. He hadn't expected this so soon. It was hard to squeeze in. She'd seemed so puffed up in her purity. He didn't think she'd let him in again. To think that she would... it opened up a whole other world to him.

Who was to say he couldn't have a break now and then? His life was hard work. He deserved this.

From the way she was practically climbing him, she needed a break as well... A break from what?

He pulled back, holding her against the wall even as she pushed back with her hips. He ignored it... with all his strength and held her steady. "I hear Clark's around an awful lot."

Her eyes narrowed. "He's my.. friend," she finished, though her voice seemed to break on the last word.

"And that explains it all? Is that why he's always..."

Her hips pushed back hard, very hard, pushing him away. "I don't have to answer..."

He moved to her again. "As a matter of fact, you do. I own this paper and I have a right to know why a non-employee is constantly..."

"Fine." She crossed her arms, glaring at him. "If my friend's visits are inappropriate, I'll.."

"No," he cut in quickly, then smiled. He didn't want to give too much away, after all. He didn't want Kent to stop coming around. He needed to keep his eye on him somehow. He couldn't exactly post a team outside the Kent farm. He needed answers. The girl. It was her that pulled him from the water. He knew it. And then she shows up in Smallivlle with the name Kent. The name of the boy who'd pulled him from the river in much the same way so long ago... It was all so close to coming together. He didn't want to stop the momentum now. "It's not really a problem. I just... I never see his name in the log. Protocol must be observed, Sullivan."

She stared long and hard at him. They both knew she wasn't buying it. "I'll be sure to tell him," she said slowly. "I'd better get back to..."

"Now, that's not necessary." He moved in again, leaning a hand on either side of her. "As your boss, I'm sure I have the authority to give you a nice, long break." He leaned toward her neck... but she was gone. Standing to his right, her eyes boring into the floor.

"As my boss," she nearly growled, "you should know better than anyone how much work needs to be done." She pursed her lips, finally meeting his eyes. "Am I supposed to shirk it off to be your plaything? I'm not drunk enough for that."

"Oh, so we're admitting it happened now? Is this a new development? Here, I thought that night was never to be spoken of and yet you take the first chance you get to throw it in my face."

Her eyes flashed. "And you took every opportunity to rub it in mine."

"Me?" He smiled. "I didn't say a w..." And she did it again. Her hands were on either side of his face, her tongue in his mouth. He took the opportunity and quickly pressed her against the wall again, wondering why he'd interrupted this in the first place. He lifted her legs to either side of his hips, shoving against her, feeling those almost electrical sparks that raced from his crotch to his limbs. Was it the hate that got her? These last months, he'd been more of a bastard than his father could dream of being and here he was... rewarded.

Of course, it felt like more of a punishment when she pushed him away again. "No," she gasped. "I can't..."

"The fuck you can't." She turned her lips away from his and he moved his mouth to her jaw, nibbling just a little. Right now, she was more than answers, more than power... She was solace. A reward. His entire fucking life and nothing had gone right. Couldn't he have just this?

"NO!"

He stumbled backward, bracing himself against the shelf. That said it all. Story of his life. He couldn't have anything he wanted. "Don't have to yell, Sullivan."

She stared at him, hugging her arms. "You would't stop."

"Stop what? Making you wet with my unworthy..."

"Just stop!"

"You can't just walk away from this."

"Watch me," she hissed, folding into herself and moving to the door.

"You know I won't let you."

She stiffened, but didn't turn. "Then fire me."

He almost laughed. Did she honestly think he would? No. Not now that he had her just where he wanted her. "You think that would make this go away?"

"It would be a start."

"You can't deny it," he said to her back. "Whatever's between us, we're not clear of it and you know it as well as I do." He moved closer. "That one night... That wasn't some one-time deal. It was just the beginning."

"Then this is the end." Her voice was hard, but she trembled slightly. "This was... an aberraton. But it ends here."

"You're lying to yourself." He placed his hands on her shoulders, ran them down her arms. "I lied, too. Remember when I told you it felt good? It did, but that wasn't all there was to it. Do you want to know why it felt so good?"

"No. I'm actually pretty sick of hearing your voice, so..."

"It wasn't just the hate," he went on unfazed. "And it wasn't just two miserable sacks like us fucking the loneliness away."

There was along silence before she spoke, slightly choked. "Then what?"

He chuckled and moved back, letting his hands fall away. "It's not so easy, Sullivan. I want you to think."

"Okay, then." her voice was stiff and superior again as she turned back to him. "That may take a while so why don't you give me some thinking room." She advanced on him. "As in stay... the fuck... away." She glared one last time before turning back to the door.

"You know where to find me when you've figured it out, Sullivan."

She only slammed out. He found himself smiling as her shadow grew smaller in the glazed glass. So close to... A loud beeping assaulted his ear and he pulled his cell from his pocket.

GG in office. More calls to Luthorcorp.

His good mood evaporated. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. Maybe there was time. He moved out of the supply closet, rushing to the elevators, only stopping once to glance at her. She was at her desk, her head in her hands. At least something was going his way. Now for part two. He had to get Grant away from his father. He was taking him away as sure as his mother had taken Julian from him long ago. He could fix it. He could buy some time.

TBC

[somethingeasy]

heee, first post! I NEVER get to be first post :rofl:


His eyes scanned the basement, looking for her. Looking for something to take his mind away from his failure. Taunting Chloe Sullivan may seem like a childish game, but it was all he knew of pleasure now.

I liked how the chapter started with Lex himself acknowledging that he’s being bratty and childish in the way he’s chasing after Chloe. He KNOWS he’s being small and petty, but he’s also admitting that his life is basically such a pitiful failure that it’s all the pleasure he can have.


No. It was Clark, still ideal in her mind, still the only one she could care for. Not him. He was far from ideal. But he tried. Didn't anyone see that? His methods might be questionable, but the ends were impeccable. Lana's clone was supposed to carry the child. Julian's clone was supposed to be his right hand at The Planet. And both were gone.

It was interesting getting the details on WHY Lex had created that Lana-clone in the first place. LOL! And it was really sad as well as funny to imagine that he thought Lana might have been more accepting of that mad plan if only he had told her about it first. It’s really shocking to see what Lex might regard as ‘reasonable and sane’ sometimes, LOL!


It's you I've lost.

He was wrong, there. He'd lost his father the day Julian died. He'd lost him because he'd thought he'd been the one to do it. Even when the truth came to light, Lionel Luthor was still unreachable to him. And now... He'd made it right. He'd brought Julian back. Grant wasn't supposed to know. Eventually, they could all have lived as if his history was true. In time, his father would... become his father again.

It makes sense that the root cause of all of Lex’s mad plans was his obsessive, single-minded need for a family. He wanted his father’s love and proud approval, his beloved brother brought back to him, and perhaps even a child of his own to adore and spoil. In the end, all he ever wanted was the kind of unconditional love and acceptance that he sees most other people taking fro granted from their family and friends.

Poor Lex! It’s really SUCH a shame that he went looking for this kind of unconditional love from ALL the wrong channels. Lionel? LANA? A friggen CLONE?!? You can’t really blame him for fooling himself, but it’s SUCH a pity that he pinned his hope on such hopeless causes. When they inevitably failed, he only believed that the fault lay solely on his inability to inspire love, rather that the futility of trying to inspire love and loyalty from THESE sources. Poor fool!


Three of an inner circle, a circle that seemed to revolve around Clark Kent. And the cousin. Can't forget her, wherever she is. She hadn't shown up for work at The Talon. No word. Nothing. He'd find her, too. He had people on it now. Right now his only concern was Chloe Sullivan. Where exactly was she? One of his men had told him a large man in a blue jacket had been to see her.

She'd been gone since. Was she off with him?

"F*cking Clark," he muttered. Why wasn't he off cuddling with the former Mrs. Luthor? He hadn't been around The Planet lately, but word had it this same red and blue hulk was a fixture around here. And always with Chloe. He just had to have everything.

heh… it’s VERY interesting to see how Lex’s growing obsessive need for Chloe mixing with his on-going rivalry with Clark. It’s VERY interesting because I sensed, at the beginning, Lex’s interest in Chloe was mostly about Clark, but now he’s beginning to prioritize most of his attention on her instead. Heh… I wonder at what point is he going to realize that he’s obsessed and needs Chloe for herself rather than her connection to his hated rival.


"I... Uh... some people might take later lunches." She glanced at her papers. "I woudn't know, really. Totally busy, here. I've been undoing the alphabetical filing, like you said." She laughed nervously. "But um... No one is shirking their duties... Sir. We are, all of us, totally..."

He rolled his eyes and moved away, going for the elevators. He didn't think he could hear another totally right now. He'd rather just check his security footage and... He moved off to the side as he saw her, walking stiffly down the steps. She wasn't looking his way. She didn't appear to be looking at anything at all. The chubby girl approached her and started babbling about something or other. He wasn't near enough to hear.

Heh… that bastard! And he didn’t even know he was being a bastard! I loved the way he was feeling nothing more than indifferent contempt for this poor girl who was stammering and fidgeting with fear in his presence. I’m sure she’s not actually THAT flighty, but only kept on adding on the totallys like a nervous tic during her stammering ‘conversation’.

So THIS is how Lex views all the ‘little people’ in his day to day existence, AND how they behave around him? No wonder Lionel and Lex have such major megalomaniacal God-complexes when faced with THIS kind of reaction from almost everyone they encounter.


He just waited. He had to get her alone. She'd been affected by him earlier. He could tell. He needed to feel that triumph again. Anything was better than the stench of failure that surrounded him.

The chubby girl left her in the break room and he smiled, moving forward. Was it childish and petty to torture her? Possibly. He couldn't resist. Having The Daily Planet under his thumb was sweet enough. Because she would know, they would all know, that he was watching. After the sex... Well, it only made it sweeter. There were so many new and exciting ways to make her writhe in agony.

Heh… all time, I’ve been thinking that Lex has basically been lording over Chloe, bullying her and toying with her because of some petty whim. But now I see he actually NEEDS to do this, because it’s one of the few things that keeping him from falling apart on himself. He NEEDS Chloe to keep fighting against him (and losing) to keep up his spirits in the light of his failure of a life. I wonder whether Chloe is going to figure out that this ‘power’ over her is all that’s keeping Lex from breaking down and drinking himself into an obvious stupor, LOL!


He stared from the coffee puddle, sloshed over the edge of her cup onto the counter, to the box of sugar on the floor. She f*cking ran away? It wasn't even his finest ammunition. He couldn't even smile. It was a hollow victory, too easily won. She'd stood before him with lifted chin and superior gaze through more than that since he'd been here.

He stalked to the door, looking left, then right before seeing a flash of blonde as the supply closet door closed. He wasn't finished with her yet.

LOL! I mentioned before about how Lex is JUST like a little boy chasing after the girl he likes, seeking validation through whatever kind of attention (positive or negative) that he can elicit from her? I’m STILL sticking to that assessment, even from Lex’s point of view, ROTFL! I loved how irritated and enraged he was that Chloe wasn’t giving him a ‘satisfying’ fight. To him, Chloe not giving it ‘her all’ is the same as her ignoring him. He won’t STAND for that!


He closed the door. He didn't want her running off with a flimsy excuse. He wanted to see what was behind her eyes. He wanted... F*ck! He was probably past denying that he wanted to have her again. He could wait. It was only a matter of time. Sex that raw, that ferocious, didn't come easily. She probably knew it more than he did with her limited experience. It wouldn't be today, however. She wasn't ripe for it yet. "Long lunches," he drawled, hoping for a glimpse of the other thing he wanted from her. The truth. Her secrets. "Extended stays in the supply closet... What's an employer to think?"

oooh, sex that raw and ferocious?!?? I LOVED Lex’s choice of words here. It sent a hot shiver up and down my spine to see that Chloe is BY FAR the best lay Lex has EVER experienced. He’s completely hooked onto her. It’s fascinating seeing how he’s trying so desperately hard to convince himself that CHLOE is as hooked onto him as he is on her. He wouldn’t like to think he’s ALONE in this intense longing for one of his most hated enemies, would he? LOL!


He hadn't expected this... but he'd take it.

He gasped against her, pushing back against her lips, pushing her backward... And then she was pushing harder. He let his tongue taste her as he moved backwards, something solid at his back. And they were in the damned supply closet, of all places. Anyone could come in for toner and her f*cking tongue was down his throat. He'd never thought it would be so soon... he was nearly unsure what to do with this development. He was so sure he'd break her down some dark night, when they were nearly alone. Not here and now with people milling about outside.

She didn't seem to care about that. he felt her hands on his, placing them on her hips. Something was off. This wasn't what he planned. He grasped her shoulders and pushed.

ROTFLMAO! Oh this was BRILLIANT, AmazingApe! I loved seeing Lex’s complete astonished SHOCK about being literally jumped by Chloe. I loved the idea that he’s been weaving complicated plots in his head, and smugly predicting her reactions and eventual ‘downfall’… only to be completely taken by surprise as SHE turned the tables and took control of the situation. LOL! Lex is an excellent long-term strategist, but he’s not good when dealing with unexpected surprises in the middle of his plans, LOL!

I especially loved the way that he’s majorly turned on… but also chagrined, annoyed and irritated about his ‘schedule’ being upset in this manner, ROTFL! Keep him off-balance, Chloe!!!


She tried to lean in again. "No... Don't... Just please..." Begging? This wasn't it.

Crying?

He didn't f*ck girls that cried. Furthermore, he'd rarely seen Chloe Sullivan cry. "What's wrong with you?" It couldn't be him... This. It was hardly a drop in the b*cket as far as his plans for her. This wasn't... All thought left when she touched him, cupped him. He was hard. No surprise. He was always hard these days.

Well, WELL! I was wondering what Lex was thinking when he pulled back and saw that Chloe was upset to the point of weeping. It’s too his credit that he figured out that HE wasn’t the cause of this intense emotion outburst from her… but his brain shut off JUST as he was on the verge of figuring out what or WHO was the real cause behind Chloe’s tears.

Hmmm, I wonder what exactly he’s got against f*cking Chloe while she’s crying. Is this one of those ‘guy reactions’ where men get scared off, freaked and weirded out by a female crying? OR, was Lex feeling like a rat for ‘taking advantage’ of a woman who was obviously too upset to be thinking properly?

… *hears muffled laughter in the background*

HEY!!! Don’t laugh about the latter suggestion. Lex actually has a deeply buried (very deep) sense of chivalry inside of him! I can easily imagine him having a weakness for crying women… wanting to go ‘easy’ on them or even protecting them.


Her eyes were steady on his. "Does it matter?"

His head hit the wall as his eyes shut. Maybe he sometimes f*cked girls that cried. His plans changed with the wind, after all. "Not really." He leaned forward, finding her lips blindly.

ROTFL! Nice focus, Lex! He hates surprises, and he hates the way his schedule has been upset, AND the way that Chloe is setting the pace here… LOL! But he can’t HELP but respond to her. Poor Lex is outmatched! ROTFLMAO!


He moved his hands down, squeezed her waist. Her hand was still rubbing him, brushing him. He wondered if she'd be impressed if she knew he'd jacked off to that night. She should be. It wasn't something he often had to resort to. He didn't even have to hire relief. Any night in any club with a head as recognizable as his and he could have his pick. But he didn't want his pick anymore.

woah! Now THIS was a huge thing to find out! I imagined that Lex has recently been trying to seek ‘relief’ by chasing after curvy, short blondes. Instead I find out that even THAT option is not viable because he ONLY wants Chloe, and no other substitute will suffice. ROTFLMAO! I KNEW that he screwed himself the night he slept with her!!! ROTFL!


F*ck it. Plans had to evolve, after all. Whether he had her in the afternoon in a dim closet or some future night in an empty bullpen didn't natter, really. He moved one hand to the door, to the lock.

heh.. I love the way he’s trying to convince himself that having sex now is all HIS great idea. Even when HE’S not really in charge, AND completely confused about what’s going on. LOL! Keep trying to convince yourself that you’re in complete control, Lex! It’s far too early to admit that this ‘latest project’ has ALSO blown up in your face with unexpected results and unplanned consequences, LOL!


"Yes... Now." There it was again. Raw need. Of every f*ck in his life, the only one he was ever sure of was Chloe Sullivan. Nothing to gain, everything to lose... And yet she still came for him. It made everything else pale. Made every other f*ck nothing more than a society game. Because this...

This was real. This was bad for both of them. And so good...

"God," his voice was a reedy gasp. "Chloe..."

He'd threatened to make her writhe. And she was writhing now, all over him.

Wow! This was… HOT! I loved hearing about the intense need Lex has for Chloe Sullivan. It’s interesting, but I STILL feel like Chloe has the advantage because she’s only obsessed with using Lex’s body in a completely impersonal, detached fashion to make herself feel momentarily better… but LEX is completely aware of who he’s f*cking and lusting after. He NEEDS Chloe in a way that she doesn’t need him. I’d say that she’s holding the power in THIS game that they’re beginning to play.


He pushed her backward, beyond the shelves, one eye seeking out a nice, sturdy wall. He shoved her against it, moving her hand out of the way and lifted her slightly so he could press his c*ck against her where it was hot and, he suspected, wet.

"F*cking pants," he groaned into her mouth. He wished she'd worn a skirt, then he could feel her.

hot, hot, HOT!!! LOL! Perhaps she WILL start wearing a skirt to work from now on? In case of emergencies like these? ROTFL! But that would mean admitting (at least on the subconscious level) that she fully expects to be f*cked by her boss at work.


He'd known it would come to this, but it was supposed to be later. He had so very much to do. He had to track down Kara Kent. He had to deal with Grant. He hadn't expected this so soon. It was hard to squeeze in. She'd seemed so puffed up in her purity. He didn't think she'd let him in again. To think that she would... it opened up a whole other world to him.

Who was to say he couldn't have a break now and then? His life was hard work. He deserved this.

Heh… so the king of ‘I’m a worthless, undeserving wretch’ is trying to convince himself that he deserves to have sex with Chloe Sullivan? I’d say he’s trying too hard to make up reasons on WHY he can allow himself to ‘have her’.


He pulled back, holding her against the wall even as she pushed back with her hips. He ignored it... with all his strength and held her steady. "I hear Clark's around an awful lot."

Her eyes narrowed. "He's my.. friend," she finished, though her voice seemed to break on the last word.

"And that explains it all? Is that why he's always..."

Her hips pushed back hard, very hard, pushing him away. "I don't have to answer..."

He moved to her again. "As a matter of fact, you do. I own this paper and I have a right to know why a non-employee is constantly..."

"Fine." She crossed her arms, glaring at him. "If my friend's visits are inappropriate, I'll..”

ROTFLMAO! Oh my… ROTFL! Oh dear heavens!!! Talk about shooting yourself in the friggen foot!!! LOL! Lex has succeeded in completely killing the mood between them, LOL! It’s serious hilarious how his need to ‘talk’ and ‘one-up’ Chloe has resulted in pushing her away from something he desperately wanted from her, LOL! Oh, Lex… you IDIOT!


"No," he cut in quickly, then smiled. He didn't want to give too much away, after all. He didn't want Kent to stop coming around. He needed to keep his eye on him somehow. He couldn't exactly post a team outside the Kent farm. He needed answers. The girl. It was her that pulled him from the water. He knew it. And then she shows up in Smallivlle with the name Kent. The name of the boy who'd pulled him from the river in much the same way so long ago... It was all so close to coming together. He didn't want to stop the momentum now. "It's not really a problem. I just... I never see his name in the log. Protocol must be observed, Sullivan."

LOL! He not only screwed himself out of a… well… a good, satisfying screw, but now he’s on the verge of losing out a chance for spying on Clark through the DP cameras too, LOL! Lex should REALLY learn the virtue of shutting up! LOL!


She stared long and hard at him. They both knew she wasn't buying it. "I'll be sure to tell him," she said slowly. "I'd better get back to..."

"Now, that's not necessary." He moved in again, leaning a hand on either side of her. "As your boss, I'm sure I have the authority to give you a nice, long break." He leaned toward her neck... but she was gone. Standing to his right, her eyes boring into the floor.

LOL! riiight! Nice work, Lex! You’ve just deprived yourself (and the readers) of a satisfying f*ck in the storage room. And now you’re expecting lines like THOSE to work? He should have remembered that Chloe prefers him to remains as SILENT as possible while she’s f*cking him. What a moron! ROTFL!


"Me?" He smiled. "I didn't say a w..." And she did it again. Her hands were on either side of his face, her tongue in his mouth. He took the opportunity and quickly pressed her against the wall again, wondering why he'd interrupted this in the first place. He lifted her legs to either side of his hips, shoving against her, feeling those almost electrical sparks that raced from his crotch to his limbs. Was it the hate that got her? These last months, he'd been more of a bastard than his father could dream of being and here he was... rewarded.

I found it very interesting that Chloe is blaming ‘that night’ on her being drunk. I still think she made a conscious decision to have sex with Lex, because she felt she ‘deserved’ a night with a skilled lover, even if it was someone she personally despised. Her claiming that it was the alcohol that made her do it means she’s admitting that she lost control of the situation that night, and wasn’t in charge of what happened… which I don’t think is the case AT ALL!

LOL! But it’s really fun seeing how Lex realized that taunting Chloe and acting like an absolute bastard to get her angry is the BEST way to ignite her passions and ‘trick’ her into sleeping with him. Heh.. I loved his bemusement about being ‘rewarded’ for being an a$$hole, LOL!


"The f*ck you can't." She turned her lips away from his and he moved his mouth to her jaw, nibbling just a little. Right now, she was more than answers, more than power... She was solace. A reward. His entire f*cking life and nothing had gone right. Couldn't he have just this?

"NO!"

He stumbled backward, bracing himself against the shelf. That said it all. Story of his life. He couldn't have anything he wanted. "Don't have to yell, Sullivan."

Wow! I sensed anger and resentment from Lex about being cheated of this bit of ‘fun’ with Chloe, which was to be expected. But, interestingly enough, I also sensed some feeling of… loss and even melancholy defeatism about not being able to get something that he really, REALLY desired… AGAIN! Anyone else felt a flash of sympathy for the poor, confused bastard?


She stiffened, but didn't turn. "Then fire me."

He almost laughed. Did she honestly think he would? No. Not now that he had her just where he wanted her. "You think that would make this go away?"

"It would be a start."

"You can't deny it," he said to her back. "Whatever's between us, we're not clear of it and you know it as well as I do." He moved closer. "That one night... That wasn't some one-time deal. It was just the beginning."

heh… as much as Chloe is trying to deny it, I think Lex is actually right over here. And I think he’s figured out the reasons WHY too! It’s not that Chloe finds him ‘to irresistible to resist’, but he’s figured out that Chloe is using HIM for solace too. She’s ALSO drowning in all the pressures of her life, and she needs relief from all that. And just like Lex, she’s seeking relief in one of the most unlikely places possible.


"It wasn't just the hate," he went on unfazed. "And it wasn't just two miserable sacks like us f*cking the loneliness away."

There was along silence before she spoke, slightly choked. "Then what?"

He chuckled and moved back, letting his hands fall away. "It's not so easy, Sullivan. I want you to think."

"Okay, then." her voice was stiff and superior again as she turned back to him. "That may take a while so why don't you give me some thinking room." She advanced on him. "As in stay... the f*ck... away." She glared one last time before turning back to the door.

"You know where to find me when you've figured it out, Sullivan."

LOL! Now THAT was a superbly sneaky move from Lex. I think he made the ‘perfect’ counter to Chloe walking away from him. His last statement is SURE to keep rattling around in her head as she feverishly tries to figure out what he means. And when she DOES figure it out…

hmmm, I wonder whether it will make things easier or more difficult for Chloe when she realizes that she’s been using Lex as sort of a life preserver during these stressful, tension-filled times. How sad is it that, with everything that Lex is doing to torment her, she considers HIM to be a source of solace and comfort against the hurt being inflicted by her ‘friends’?


His good mood evaporated. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. Maybe there was time. He moved out of the supply closet, rushing to the elevators, only stopping once to glance at her. She was at her desk, her head in her hands. At least something was going his way. Now for part two. He had to get Grant away from his father. He was taking him away as sure as his mother had taken Julian from him long ago. He could fix it. He could buy some time.

ouch! I guess an evil, mastermind genius’s work is never done, huh? No rest for the wicked? LOL! Perhaps this emergency will let him take his mind off the sheer stupidity of the way that he unintentionally ‘talked’ his way out of sex with Chloe? LOL!

This was a fantastic chapter, AmazingApe. I loved getting Lex’s POV, and I look forward to seeing Chloe setting her mind to figuring out Lex’s ‘riddle’ :D Please post soon!

[westwingwolf]

Interesting to read what was going on in Lex's mind even if I don't agree with all of his plans. I am so mad at Chloe for stopping the smut, I thought she wanted to feel something. Okay, it was probably the smart thing to do, but i think Lex is right, eventually it will happen again. I like that Chloe can still throw him off his game. That's what makes the two of them a great pair is how they challenge one another.

[karila]

Good update.
It was great to have Lex's POV.
Their relationship is so complicated.
I really curious to see what will happen.

[MelBee1985]

:D Nice chapter!! Loved it. You are such a tease... hehe

Wow, Chloe is really strong to resist him and all his sexiness... I wonder how long she can keep denying... And damn him for having a big mouth! He always need to dominate someone in words and physically... Chloe was strong enough to stand at him...

So GG is about to die, hmm? I wonder if Chloe will learn it's Lex's fault...

Well.. can,t wait to read more!!

[Impress]

Great job. I liked knowing what was going on in Lex's head. More soon.

[oneword]

more please?!

[purplemoon123]

Still with the WOW.

Hot Chlex from season 7 and including said plot, you are amazing.

Rocio

[showntell]

Love Lex's POV and I'm surprised that Chloe managed to resist him...he shouldn't have brought up Clark in the first place...

I wonder if Chloe will go to him willingly once she works out his comments...more please!!

[Kit Merlot]

I've been leaving comments for this gorgeous fic at it's thread at Kryptonsite, but I just wanted to let you know how much I love your version of Lex. He is calculating and cruel, but then he turns around and thinks that Chloe is beyond his reach.


She'd seemed so puffed up in her purity. He didn't think she'd let him in again. To think that she would... it opened up a whole other world to him.

I love that you have him being so in awe of Chloe's desiring him back, and I love his reaction to Chloe's yelling "No." He's slightly stunned that Chloe would think that he wouldn't stop if she asked her to.

This story is excellent and I hope you update soon:D

[lilinny]

What a fantastic three chapters! I'm glad I left this as the last story to read. I love it!

[VAgrits82]

I love this fic and Deep in the Bottle.....the dynamics of the two sides of the story between Chlex is awesome.......more please :D

[letia84]

Very interesting take on the season. I wonder how Lex could think making clones of people were the answers to his problems. He has to live in the real world and adjust it accordingly to his like.

Still all the hatred makes the smut rather hot. Chloe is throwing him off his game. Its good to see it happen but I'm surprised things didn't run a little bit longer. I wonder how he's going to get his plans back on track when Chloe's not having any of it.

[FroggyJump]

I like Lex as much as I despise him. She left the shield!

Good job look forward to more

[starmoon]

lex is sexy and a jerk but i still love him and want things to work out for lex and chloe. they deserve to be happy and with one another. i hope chloe will be ok everyone should leave her alone except lex. i hope she rembers the shield. please update soon i just love this sequel and can't wait for more!!! :devil:

[blackheart_me]

your imagination is great and i love that you give us the offsceen scenes. I can't wait for more :D

[TheAmazingApe]

Still on Persona

PART FOUR

Chloe stared at a coffee stain on her notes. It looked like a lopsided squirrel. She'd decided this five minutes ago and she had way more important things than divining shapes in a coffee stain, but she honestly could not stop staring at it. It was better than thinking about recent events -- such as Clark and Lana riding off in the distance together, such as Lex gutting the Planet staff, such as nearly having sex with Lex... again.

Of the three, the first was the most bothersome. It wasn't just that her best friend seemed to be happily abandoning her, it was that he was abandoning a city that needed his help. Lex Luthor aquiring the Planet wasn't exactly a sign of good things to come. And how was she supposed to stop all the bad from crashing down on them without Clark?

She lifted her head and picked up the phone, dialing quickly. She couldn't waste time wallowing. If Clark was leaving, then she needed someone to help her with some good, old-fashioned world-saving. Maybe she could offer a little help herself.

"Voicemail," she groaned. She tapped her fingers and waited for the beep "Oliver? Chloe. Remember how I said I was a little too busy to take you up on that... business proposal? Well, a significant amount of my time just got freed up." She didn't need to mention it was Clark time. He'd realize that soon enough when Clark was just gone. "Call me when you get this."

She hung up and got back to actual work. It almost seemed a pointless exercise at a paper owned by Lex Luthor, but it still had to be done. Of course, she hadn't got past word one on the police blotter when Clark rushed in.

"Chloe. Thank God you're okay."

She stared at him. "Okay?" Now he suddenly cared if she was okay? She was done soft-shoeing around his Jekyll and Hyde act. "I just found out you and Lana are leaving Smallville. I am nowhere near okay."

"No, Chloe.That wasn't me. That was the phantom. I've been trapped in the fortress."

She wasn't sure whether to be relieved or extremely freaked out. She stood slowly. "That would definitely explain the bizarre behavior." All this time. Not Clark. And she'd hardly known. She'd also hardly seen him until today. But every look, every gesture had been the same. "How do I know you're the real Clark?"

"Chloe, it's me." Sounded like something Clark would say. But so had a lot of what the phantom said until today. "Now, look, I know how to destroy the phantom. I just need the Kryptonian shield in order to do it." She backed away instinctively. "But I can't find it... anywhere." He stared at her. Was that a quizzical look or one that wondered if she was buying this sudden change in attitude?

"That was what the other Clark was looking for," she said, holding his gaze.

"Chloe, look me in the eye."

She wanted to believe. She wanted so desperately to think that Clark wouldn't avoid her, only coming to her for help. She wanted to believe that he wouldn't leave her so casually. But her wants might be clouding her. She'd looked into the phantom's eyes, too, even as he hurt her. "Nice try," she said, backing away further. "But from what I've heard, everything about the two of you is exactly the same, right down to your baby blues."

He started forward even as she flinched. "If I was the phantom, direct sunlight... would make my face change." He stepped into the light. "It's me."

Chloe rushed forward, a million emotions coursing through her. "Oh, my god. Thank god it's you." Thank God you still care. Thank God you aren't leaving me. I don't think I could take it. She didn't say this, however. She pulled away before the hug went on a little too long. "Your domineering double had me seriously worried," she said instead. Her days of being open with Clark about her feelings, the one she hoped would just go away, were long over. They made him feel pressured. They made him avoid her. Even if Clark got mushy, she laughed it off. It was the only way to keep him around.

"I need to destroy him, but I can't do it without that shield."

Back to business. Yes. I can do that. "I think I can help."

She pulled him to the closet, trying to think of it less as the place she nearly screwed Luthor in and more as the place that held what Clark needed. She pulled the door shut and moved to the shelf, taking out her balled up scarf. She moved to him, unwrapping it. "The way you were acting, I didn't know what would happen if you found this thing, so I went to the farm and I...kind of borrowed it."

Clark stared at the shield, then at her with that slight smile and mild wonder that made these moments what they were. "You saved me again, Chloe."

"Please be careful, Clark," she said quickly. Best to move past those moments. They never changed anything in the end. Back to business. "Kryptonians don't exactly roll out the welcome mat, and if this guy ditched his S.O.S., He may not want to be found."

"I don't have a choice. Stay back." He stepped back with the shield. "Dax-Ur," he said, then... disappeared.

Chloe stared at the spot he was, then heavenward. She almost wanted to have a good sit down with Kryptonian technology. If she could stare at a pendant and say "Daily Planet," her entire life might be different. She'd at least add three hours of free time to her day. "Good luck," she sighed, hoping Dax-Ur was a scientist of the mild-mannered, bookish variety. She hadn't exactly met Zor-El, but she hoped he wasn't representative of the Kryptonian scientist.

She stared at the wall beyond the shelf. In the hours she thought clark was leaving, she nearly made two very bad decisions. One was giving up on Clark. The other was giving in to Lex. As it was, she'd done neither. If Clark had been here this whole time, really here, would she have come this close to having Lex inside her again? Was it just isolation? Would the solitude of being without Clark drive her to something so dark, so fueled with hate.

It wasn't just the hate...and it wasn't just two miserable sacks like us f*cking the loneliness away.

Lex didn't seem to think either applied. What exactly did he think...

She shook her head and moved out of the closet, making her way back to her desk. She didn't know. And she didn't want to find out. Clark was back. He had better things to do. She wouldn't think of it, not for another second.

Of course, with the alternative being frantic imaginings of Clark trapped somewhere with a green rock on his chest, it was nearly...

Her phone rang. "Oh, thank God," she breathed as she picked it up. "Sullivan."

"Chloe Sullivan? The best sidekick money, apparently, can't buy? That Chloe Sullivan?"

She smiled. "Oliver. Hi."

"So... Word has it you're finally open to selling those skills on the open market."

"Word?"

"Well, your voicemail did. And I couldn't be happier. I might have a little something for you in internet espionage. Right up your alley."

She took a deep breath. She had left that message. But that was before Clark came back, before her world made sense again. "Actually, I..."

"God, I'm sorry. Rushing right in with the business. How are you?"

"I'm good. But I..."

"And how's... uh... that cousin of yours?"

She nearly rolled her eyes. "You mean Lois?" She glanced at Lois' desk. It had been empty all day so far. Grant hadn't sent her on assignment, but Chloe suspected Grant was one reason she wasn't there. The few times she'd seen them together since Christmas, it had seemed painfully awkward. "She's fine. She seems to like her new job."

"Yeah. That Lois. Bet she's out every night with the gang from work, having all kinds of..."

Chloe did roll her eyes now. "Why don't I just cut to the chase and tell you she's single." At least now. He didn't need to know about Grant. She wished she'd never known about Grant.

"I wasn't asking that," he mumbled. "Just asking how she is and all. So... Me and some of the guys found some of our favorite enemy's pet projects in Honduras, Detroit, even one in the sleepy hamlet of Clifton Heights, Pennsylvania. But we're having some trouble getting our hands on..."

"Let me stop you right there," she cut in. "Ollie, when I called you before, I wasn't exactly thinking. I mean, I have a lot on my plate and, if it's just hacking, there must be someone else who..."

"No one I can trust the way I know I trust you," he said. He sounded tired. She nearly wanted to give in just for that. "But... Okay. It's fine. I will just scratch your name off this cashier's check for five thousand dollars and..."

"Wait." That was the clincher. If Lex got too trigger happy with the lay-offs, she might be out of a job next week. No matter how much he laid on the seduction, she knew it didn't make her job safe. Far from it. Even the apartment. She and Lois could be on their respective a*ses out in the street the minute Lex said so. God, why haven't we moved? Of course, rent in Smallville was one thing. Rent in Metropolis... "Okay. Purely because I am so desperately in need of a nest egg... I'm in."

Besides, it was only a little internet spying. What could it hurt?

**************************

He lifted the drink.

What's wrong, Lex? You afraid I'll become the favored son? That I'll accomplish something you couldn't?

He lifted it again.

Haven't you gotten used to it -- people leaving you?

His hand shook as he put it down.

Last I heard, I was practically made for this family.

And that wasn't how it was supposed to be. He'd programmed Grant with a smiling disposition, an idyllic adopted childhood, nothing resembling the baggage of being a Luthor. He'd wanted him to remember that life, then to find him, look up to him, to see good in him. He didn't want another Luthor. Between his father and him, there was enough darkness. He'd wanted light. Maybe he shouldn't have used Julian's DNA if that's what he wanted. The Luthor genes were possibly damaged. Grant wasn't supposed to be like them. He was supposed to be different, more like... "Clark," he whispered. It was easier to say it, drunk as he was.

You're so lonely and pathetic, you had to build yourself a brother.

He'd had someone who didn't judge him for his name. Someone who didn't judge him, though the first time they met had involved him nearly killing Clark on that bridge. But had he nearly killed him? There was something to Clark, something he was so afraid to say, to acknowledge -- even drunk as he was. It would change everything. Then again, how much worse could things get? He'd lost Clark along the way and he just needed someone...

Are you so desperate to mean something to someone, it was worth the risk?

He'd thought it was. His father... He meant nothing to him, no matter how he tried. Lana? That had been wrong from the start. How could she have loved him when she never stopped loving Clark?

"Clark," he whispered. It all came back to Clark. Even his father had thrown Clark in his face. And it made no sense. How could he be like Clark? His father had raised him to be a mirror of himself.

Had he succeeded?

Possibly. He felt as distant from himself as he'd ever felt from Lionel.

Lionel... Who was out with Grant right now. Accepting even a son created in a lab over him. And it wasn't how it was supposed to be...

Haven't you gotten used to it -- people leaving you?

Maybe he had. He could take one more. Project Gemini was an epic failure. And now? He had to clean up his mess.

He picked up the phone.

**************************

"You're sure you don't want to talk or..."

"I'm fine," Clark said, his voice distant.

"You don't sound fine. Why don't I come over and..."

"It's not a good time. Besides, it's past eight. You should go home, get some sleep. I'm... We're both fine. Really."

"If you say so," she sighed. She knew it wasn't true, but she hung up anyway. He'd talk when and if he wanted to. She suspected Lana had shared more than vacation plans with Bizarro and, if Clark's tone was anything to go by, he flat out knew it. She wondered if this, like so many other things in their long and tumultuous relationship, could be swept under the rug. She sincerely hoped it wouldn't.

She looked up from her desk to see Megan, white-faced and staring, a binder in her hands. "Megan? What's wrong?"

"I am completely frozen. I am going to be tossed out. I just know it."

"What? You've been busting your hump all day. No way..."

"No, I will. I knew all five thousand of his demands for the applicants couldn't be met and I bet he did, too. It was all a game to make me prove myself or something. And I didn't win."

"I'm sure that's not true." If the game was being waged against anyone, it was Chloe. Why else would the bulk of the workload be foisted off on the basement staff? It wasn't exactly her fault, but she was sorry everyone else had to suffer with her.

"Believe me. It is." She slapped her binder on Chloe's desk. "I got it all done. And here are the top forty applicants all sorted and to be delivered to Luthor himself tonight and he said he'd be here and he's not."

"Then he can't..."

"Oh, that means nothing. His stupid assistant left and the guard won't give me his number so I can at least tell him and, after everything, this will all add up to me being canned when this counts for nearly half my credit and where the hell else am I gonna..."

"Okay. Deep breaths." Chloe stood up and came around the desk. "We're all on edge lately, but we can't lose it. There's always a way."

"Like how?" she moaned.

Chloe picked up the binder. "Like me delivering these to his highness myself."

"Chloe, you helped me enough. I can't ask you to..."

"It's no problem. I live in his neck of the woods." And maybe while she placed this binder in his precious hands, she could tell him exactly what she thought of his little riddle and exactly what she thought of him torturing innocent, hardworking interns just to get to her.

She was still fuming when she hit Smallville and a nice, miserable rainstorm. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed as she pulled up to the mansion. It was almost a children's story. The brave young maiden approached the dark castle where the beast lie in wait. She might not slay the beast, but she'd be sure to maim him a little. All this time, she'd taken his jibes, his innuendo, his unreasonable demands and she was just done. She was going to give him a piece of her mind and he could fire her if he chose. Deep down, she didn't think he would. It wouldn't fit in with his plans, whatever they were. She knew they involved more focus on otherwordly things at a paper once taken very seriously. Why else would Gabriel keep pushing the wild and wacky stories? He obviously answered to Lex.

No. He needed her around. He wanted to know what she held close. And that worried her more than anything. She'd have to be careful under his eye. Firing might be nothing compared to what happened if Luthor learned her secrets and, by extension, Clark's.

She placed the binder under her jacket and walked up the gravel drive. A brown-haired woman was coming out the door just as she walked up.

"Excuse me."

The woman turned hand on the door.

Chloe rushed up to the door and the protection of the awning. She pulled the binder out. "I need to give these to Mr, Luthor."

The woman rolled her eyes as she adjusted her glasses. "Surely this can wait until tomorrow. You can give it to him during his office hours if it's..."

"Yes. But he wanted these tonight and he left his office at The Planet, so..."

"Mr. Luthor has freed the staff for the evening and left specific instructions not to be disturbed by any staff, even myself." She puffed up slightly. "I'm sure this includes Planet employees." She stared to close the door, but Chloe placed a hand on it.

Chloe narrowed her eyes. "I didn't drive out here for nothing. I am putting these in his hands tonight."

The woman glared back. "At the expense of your job?"

"I'll take my chances."

The woman smiled and held the door open. "It's your funeral."

Chloe gave her just as false a smile back and moved inside, turning back as the door slammed behind her. The noise echoed throughout the empty house, followed by the rumble of thunder. "Drama queen," she muttered. She wasn't Lex's first bespectacled female employee. She wondered if this one would tie him up and try to fry him. She kind of seemed like the type.

She clutched the binder and moved toward the hall and his study, just betting he was playing pool and drinking alone. That was his big, fun night, after all. She could feel sorry for him if he wasn't such a prick. Then again, when was the last time she had a night that could be construed as fun? Her night with Lex didn't count in the least. You have no room to feel sorry for anyone. She gritted her teeth as his words came back to her. Why did they always replay in her head? It was like a rude, bald, twisted version of Jiminy Cricket was on her shoulder, always bringing her down to his level. And she was nowhere near his level. It was circumstance that made her life this haze of work and only work, whether at her actual job or with Clark. If things would settle down, she could have all the fun she wanted... eventually.

And that night was sex. It had nothing to do with Lex. It was being wanted, something she rarely felt. And he knew that. I think I'm getting an inkling why you've never had a boyfriend. He'd taken advantage of it. The alcohol wasn't what allowed it to happen. It was that. It was what was behind their encounter in the closet. She let her insecurities get the better of her. Clark's off-hand rejection had led her to do stupid things before this. She wasn't prous of it. It wouldn't happen again. She was stronger than that. So there was his stupid answer.

She moved to the door and stood outside it. She wouldn't let him say a word. She would toss the binder in the middle of his stupid pool table and just let loose. She opened it quickly and strode in, ready to give him what for... except he wasn't there.

The binder dropped from her limp hands.

A pool cue lay on the floor next to a broken cell phone. A glass sat on the edge of the pool table with ice melting, a wet ring forming around the base on the polished wood. She turned at a clattering sound to her left. One of the stained glass doors was open, banging against the wall outside with the wind. Wet papers were scattered around the desk, which also looked a little damp. She shivered, wondering if someone had broken in. With his staff disbanded, he'd be helpless. As much as she despised him, she didn't wish him physical harm... at least nothing fatal. She strode to the glass door, ready to shut it before getting down to the bottom of...

"Lex?"

TBC

[lj715]

Oh excellent update! Mean of you to end it there...more please.

[MelBee1985]

Great update... And mean :D I wonder if Chloe's opinion of Lex will soften... or not ;)

[dagney]

This keeps getter better and better. I really feel for Chloe and Lex. Chloe also is starting to question both her and Lex's motivations. I had better get the tissues handy as I expect to be bawling soon. Dagney

[lilinny]

What happened to Lex? Oh, what a cliffjanger. Love the chapter.

[tatie87]

Very interesting. It seems Lex has made a mess, can't wait to see what Chloe does.

[Impress]

That was just a mean place to leave it. Get in here and update dangit. ;)

[westwingwolf]

What is Lex going to do in his drunken state? Will he confess to the termination of Grant? Will he try to make a pass at Chloe? Will she let him because he obviously needs someone as much as she does?

I like the insight into why Lex cloned Julian, though the cloning is still disturbing, it's sweet that he wanted something good in his life. He's been through so much and done so much that this is probably the only way it would happen for him and sadly even that didn't work out.

I applaud Chloe for wanting to make sure that she doesn't let Clark's ignorance of her get to her anymore, but I don't think it's going to work if she continues to stay around him. She needs a clean break. At least with Lex there is something about him wanting her whether for her knowledge, skills, body, or whatever. Lex continues to seek her out, but Clark thinks he can put her aside, pick her back up, and think she'll still be the same as when he last encountered her like some kind of toy. Lex knows that he has to adjust to her just as much as she has to adjust to him. He doesn't guilt her for having a life of her own and not immediately giving in to what he wants, though he does try to get what he wants from her. But he's not "Damn, why doesn't she do what I want?"; he's more "Damn, this just means I need to change tactics and appeal more to her." It's what makes their relationship so interesting in the fact that they continue to challege one another instead of one always having to give in to the other.

[Esther25jm]

Oh, wow! I just read the last two chapters and they're amazing! Loved Lex's POV! Very interesting what's rambling in his head, not only about Chloe, but everyone. I'm actually, in some way, glad that they didn't have sex in the supply closet because it gave us insight into how they interact with each other. I'm also loving that little tidbit he gave Chloe as to why he wants her.

I like how you're writing Chloe, too. She doesn't give into Lex easily, is a challenge to him and messing up his plans, yet she's still vulnerable to him attention. She's what I imagine the show's Chloe would be if they had written her more IC than what we've seen lately. She's always seemed like she would walk that fine line between good and evil. She and Lex are, to me, like two sides of the same coin.

The latest chapter was intense! Oh, poor Lex, his feelings on making the Grant/Julian clone (and the subseqent memories of their convos) is heartbreaking. Your characterization of S7 is splendid. I can see him like this before he turned truly evil at the end of the season. Lex has lost so much and only wants someone to be on his side and see some good in him, but he's always disappointed.

I hope Chloe sees how similar they are to each other. Both want to be wanted/needed/loved for themselves, but are always rejected. Maybe they can find that in each other. At least, that cliffy implies that she'll see a side to Lex that he's always hiding, so I'm hoping that this will help her get to know Lex a little better.

Can't wait for more!

[purplemoon123]

Oh wow, just amazing.

Clark sweeps another Lana indescretion under the rug. Big shocker.


"Drama queen," she muttered. She wasn't Lex's first bespectacled female employee. She wondered if this one would tie him up and try to fry him. She kind of seemed like the type.

:rofl: I'm remembering the awkward hug in 'Descent'. This one does want to tie him up but she wants to other things to him but the bitch has to get in line and way behind all the Lex fans.

I don't know who to pet. Both Lex and Chloe are suffering from the people that surround them not really noticing them.

Rocio

[starmoon]

more please keep going i need to know if lex is ok which i hope he is.

[TheAmazingApe]

PART FIVE

"Lex?"

He was outside. His back to her. Just standing in the rain.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He didn't answer. She bundled her jacket around her and moved toward him. He was just staring out. She grasped his arm. "Lex..."

His head turned to her, his eyes unfocused. "I had to."

"Had to what? Stand in the rain in the middle of winter?"

"Need to clean up my mess," he muttered, staring away again.

"I'm sure you're staff can take care of some wet paper in the morning." She pulled on his arm. "Come on."

He turned fully to her. "Sullivan?"

Had he only just realized she was here? She wasn't sure if he was drunk or delirious. "Get inside." She pulled again, but he didn't move.

He blinked at her as rivulets ran over his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"Freezing my a*s off, apparently." She was getting soaked as well. "Move," she grunted, taking him by the elbow and pulling him backward. She stepped over the threshold and he followed, walking stiffly.

"Nothing ever f*cking works out," he whispered as she led him to the sofa. She wasn't sure if he was even speaking to her.

She pushed him down and he fell against the sofa. "Lex, what happened here?"

"Me. I happened." His teeth started chattering. Hers weren't exactly steady, either.

She put a hand to his forehead. Of course, she couldn't exactly tell if he was was delirious with fever when she was freezing herself. "You need to get warm." She looked around, then remembered this wasn't the Kent farm where cheerful afghans were scattered around. She was sure the Luthor mansion liked its blankets to stay in their place. She moved to a cabinet to the side, nearly tripping over something. She leaned down and picked up her dropped binder. She groaned and moved to the pool table, placing it there. "That's for you. And stop tormenting Megan."

He shivered, staring at her. "Who's Megan?"

She rolled her eyes and moved toward the cabinet again. "Booze," she muttered. "Of course." She moved to another one. This one also seemed to be stockpiling scotch. She hugged her arms, shaking. "You'd think with all your money, you could make this place less drafty. Where do you keep your damned blankets?"

"Upstairs," his voice said faintly. "On beds."

She turned back to him, moving his way. "Lex, I need you to focus. You're probably going to be sick in a hospital by morning if you don't warm the hell up."

"I don't get sick."

"Jesus!" She grasped his arm and pulled hard. "Yes. A cold would never dare touch the great and powerful Luthor. I get it. Come on." She pulled him to the door and down the hall. "This was not the damned plan," she grumbled as she practically pushed him up the stairs. "I did not come here to play nursemaid. I was supposed to give you the binder and a good tongue-lashing and get out."

He turned to her at the top, his eyes suddenly glinting even as he shivered. "Can't we squeeze in both?"

She glared and turned him back around. "Guess I left myself wide open for that one." She pushed him down the hall. "I'm not staying for either. You're going to give me some dry clothes, then you're going to take off your wet clothes and get under multiple blankets, and then I am so out of here." She stopped, staring up and down the hall. "Which room is yours?"

He pointed to a double door at the end.

"Of course." He would have a room that needed two doors. She pushed him in. "So... Any of your one-night stands leave anything around?"

He was shaking again. "No." His hands started fumbling with his buttons.

"Oh, come on. I bet you have a whole separate room for their leavings."

"There are plenty of hotel rooms for them to leave their things in," he said, still trying to grasp the buttons. He dropped his hands. "My f*cking hands are numb."

"Christ. Just..." She batted his hands away and worked at his buttons herself. "How long were you out there?"

He didn't answer. Only closed his eyes and leaned heavily against the wall. "Why'd you come here?" he asked instead.

She pulled the shirt from his pants. "I told you. I needed to drop off Megan's binder. You tell the girl you need it tonight, then you leave? We're all working our a*ses off and you're sitting on high laughing at us as we jump through your hoops and I'm sick of it."

"I'm not laughing." He was still shivering as she worked his wet shirt down his arms, but his eyes opened and they were hard. "Why are you still here?"

"Because you decided to take a fully clothed shower in the middle of a winter rainstorm. Why else..."

"Since when do you care if I die of exposure?"

She backed away, tossing the shirt at his chest. It smacked against him wetly before sliding to the floor. "You know what? Fine. I thought that even a snake like you deserved some consideration, but you're just determined to prove me wrong." She moved to the door.

"Chloe."

She stopped, but didn't turn.

"Could you... just light my fire?"

"You know, that better not be innuendo. Because I have had more than enough..."

"An actual fire. This place never..." she heard his teeth chattering again, "never exactly took to central heating." She turned and he nodded to the fireplace near the bed. "I can't do it. My hands are numb."

She took a deep breath and moved past him to the fireplace, taking her jacket off as she went. It was soaked and only making her colder. She took some matches off the mantle and bent down. The fireplace seemed prepped for it. She'd just get it going and she could get out of here. She touched the match to the wadded up paper between the logs. Even the small flames warmed her--or maybe it was the absence of her soaked jacket. The thing was dry-clean only. It would probably be toddler-sized by the time it dried out. She ran a hand through her hair, taking the hairband away. She'd just get a little dryer and she'd go. She had to.

Ever since that night, she never stayed in his presence longer than five minutes if she could help it. He was always too in control, always seemed to be operating on some plane above her, toying with her and pulling her strings. Tonight, he didn't seem in control, not even of himself. It wasn't a comfort. It only made her more uneasy. What had happened to him?

She glanced back at him before turning back to the slowly growing fire. She blew on it a few times before tossing her hairband on the bed with her jacket. "Mind telling me why you were out there tempting hypothermia?"

"Yes. I mind," he said, shaking.

"Fine. Are you planning to just stand there shivering?"

"Maybe."

She let out a frustrated groan and pulled him to the giant bed. She sat him on the edge and pulled a blanket from the end, wrapping it around his shoulders. At some point he'd have to take his undershirt and pants off, but she really hoped to be gone before then. "Just so you know, I am counting this as overtime."

He stared at her as she bundled the edge of the blanket around him. "Have you thought about it?"

"About what?"

"Don't play dumb."

She sighed and straightened. "If you're talking about that night, then no," she lied. "I haven't had time. And I didn't need to think about it because I already knew your stupid answer."

"Which is?"

"You know it yourself. How many times have you played on my insecurities? I've heard being a third wheel is very time consuming," she sneered. "I'm getting an inkling why you've never had a boyfriend. It's no secret that I've always been the last girl asked to dance, so to speak." She crouched in front of him, her lips a thin line. "You knew it. You played me like a fiddle and..."

"That's not the answer. If it was it would only be a fraction of why you did it." His voice was steadier now. "But I didn't ask why you did it." His hand grasped a corner of the blanket and placed it over her shoulder.

She looked down. "What are you doing?"

He shrugged. "You're cold, too."

"Yes, but..."

"I asked why it was so good. And you're afraid to answer it."

She stiffened. "I thought your hands were numb."

"I'm starting to feel something," he said on a long breath.

"Yes," she said tightly. "My breast." Just get up. Move away. Leave. He can't stop you. Yet he was still grasping her. And she let him.

"It's about us. Maybe it was always there." He leaned down to her. "Don't you feel it?" He leaned his forehead against hers. "You think it was just an accident? Us... coming together. Not just random. You know better than that. Something in you..." he pulled her up to him and, God help her, she let him, "spoke to me," he finished hoarsely. "And vice versa."

She pulled away, but he grasped her arms.

"Just... stay. Just for now. Please..."

She broke away, stared at him, nearly frightened. It was the same thing she saw in him that night. Need. Whether it was for her or just for someone... anyone... Lex Luthor needed something... someone. Was it her?

Or was it just anyone? Just a warm body for the night?

"What do you want from me?"

TBC

[superag]

Oh goody Chloe...Stay, you'll hate yourself in the morning but love him tonight (great country song btw). I like how he is so disturbed after the takedown - he should be. Now, he's been accused of killing his brother and killed his brother. And I love that Chloe couldn't just leave him for the dead. Shows a real trooper to hate someone so much and still help. Looking foward to an update again.

[hfce]

This is getting better and better. I love how they can't stay away from each other. :)

[westwingwolf]

I knew that even as Lex Luthor was freezing he could still make a pass. Stay Chloe, please stay! Forget about what's consider right and wrong and just do something that makes you feel good in the moment. And if you didn't let what's considered 'proper' get to you, you could let yourself enjoy it even after the moment is gone.

I love that Chloe still cares enough that she wants to help him even when she hates him. This Chloe makes sense, this Chloe is the one who worried about Lex even as Zod overtook him. She's not like Lana who could be one second 'Kill Lex' and the next 'You're good again, ok I'll move in with you.' And she's definitely not the Chloe who thought that Lex needed to die in order for Clark to live.

I'm eager to know what Chloe decides to do. I hope Lex can convince her to stay.

[lj715]

So good...excellent update.

[Esther25jm]

I agree with wwf, this is the old Chloe that cared about people, including Lex. Not the one that's been shown recently and going on that 'Lex is incapable of love and deserves to die' bandwagon.

I also love the vulnerability that Lex is showing to Chloe. He doesn't seem afraid to show her this side of him, and I'd like Chloe to see him as more than the monster he's been made to become.

This was a great update and I can't wait for more!

[Impress]

That was far too short. You should post more. Now....*waits for update* Ok well soon then.

[blackheart_me]

I love seeing the sensitive side of Lex. And i especially love it when Chloe gets to see that side. It gets me all warm inside, it's like that side he lets no one see but her and that is awesome :D

[SVfan1286]

Shit! I don't know how but I missed three updates! This story is already incrediable and the last three chapter's were fantastic!

I really liked Lex's thoughts and reasoning about cloning Julian. He's almost obsession of family, wanting his fathers and lost brother's love... It makes loads more sense than what was on the show... It still was a stupid idea but the way you have written it makes me not hate it as much. *grins*

I have to say that Chloe is one strong woman to be able to resist Lex in that office closet... but Lex helped by talking about Clark at the worst time. Idiot!

Clark (IMO) is such a shitty friend, he comes back, ask for help and that's it... just leaves, she's not his friend but his assistant. Chloe needs to cut him from her life or at least set some boundaries. She needs to start thinking of herself first for a change!

I loved Lex's breakdown after having Julian killed and Chloe's helping him. Even though she hates him, she still helped him... She's one amazing woman! I hope she stays longer though *winks*

I'm completely in love with this story and I look forward to reading more soon!!

[showntell]

Love it!

Poor Chloe...just can't resist the Lex.

[lilinny]

Wow! Will Chloe stay or come to her senses and leave? As always a fantastic chapter. Hurry and write more.

[tatie87]

Great chapter. I love that Chloe is trying to take care of Lex in his stupidity. Can't wait for the next chapter.

[dagney]

Marvelous, I like how Lex is just plain worn down and Chloe is offering succor despite all that she know about him and despite how she despises part of him , he still is receiving comfort from her. That is a powerful message to someone who feels unworthy and unlovable. Chloe also is not a doormat and asserts her value and calls him on when he is treating her badly. This story is wonderful. Thanks for the updates. Dagney

[purplemoon123]

This is the Chloe I know and love. The one that tries to help anyone no matter what they have done.


"It's about us. Maybe it was always there." He leaned down to her. "Don't you feel it?" He leaned his forehead against hers. "You think it was just an accident? Us... coming together. Not just random. You know better than that. Something in you..." he pulled her up to him and, God help her, she let him, "spoke to me," he finished hoarsely. "And vice versa."

She pulled away, but he grasped her arms.

"Just... stay. Just for now. Please..."

She broke away, stared at him, nearly frightened. It was the same thing she saw in him that night. Need. Whether it was for her or just for someone... anyone... Lex Luthor needed something... someone. Was it her?

Or was it just anyone? Just a warm body for the night?

"What do you want from me?"

I think I just fell more in love with this story!!!

Rocio

[amigamia]

I am loving the sequel so far. "Deep Bottle" is one of my fav Chlex stories so I am super excited about this. Can't wait for more.

[glasshadow]

Wow. I loved Deep in the Bottle; in fact, after being away for a while, the first thing I did when I came back was to check and see if you'd begun the sequel you mentioned. Lo and behold, there's this amazingness for me to read! You do such wonderful things with their characters. Lex is undeniably twisted, yet he makes sense to himself and without going so far as to say he can be redeemed, there's that spark of something else still in him. It's almost torturing him at this point, as though he'd be much happier if he really did go for the irredeemably evil caricature. And Chloe- here she is strong, incredibly strong, but incredibly human too. I love that. Love Chloe. Love how you've cast her as the real hero, the real star reporter.

This is one of those stories that I desperately want to have a happy ending while knowing that it cannot. Aside from your insistence on following canon, you've written it into the story, and done a wonderful job of it. If it had a happy ending, I probably wouldn't like it. That doesn't mean there can't plenty of hot angsty unresolved sexual tension and hopefully some resolved sex along the way :)

Everything focuses on Clark, even when he's not around. Chloe's continued feelings for Clark, Lex's fear and envy. Even with Chloe, is he just a substitute for Clark? I like to think she can tell the difference, relishes in it, and in another time and place could have truly enjoyed it. And the idea (back from chapter 3) that she's the best he's ever had, that even that strange, strange involvement with Miss Lang fell under the society game category - ha ha HA!

Looking forward to future installments. Obviously :)

[somethingeasy]

I was delighted to see there were TWO new chapters for my reading pleasure. And they were stunning and intense! Loved them!


Of the three, the first was the most bothersome. It wasn't just that her best friend seemed to be happily abandoning her, it was that he was abandoning a city that needed his help. Lex Luthor aquiring the Planet wasn't exactly a sign of good things to come. And how was she supposed to stop all the bad from crashing down on them without Clark?

It’s very interesting that Chloe is concerned about Clark leaving, not only because SHE is going to miss him, but because she knows that he’s not fulfilling his destiny to be a hero and saviour. It’s SUCH a shame that Clark is far too fixated on trivial, petty matters to be able to see what CHLOE sees so clearly… that he’s meant for greatness!


"Voicemail," she groaned. She tapped her fingers and waited for the beep "Oliver? Chloe. Remember how I said I was a little too busy to take you up on that... business proposal? Well, a significant amount of my time just got freed up." She didn't need to mention it was Clark time. He'd realize that soon enough when Clark was just gone. "Call me when you get this."

yayyy Chloe! Isn’t she AWESOME?!?? She sees that Clark is shirking off on his destiny, so she rushes in to pick up the slack herself. AND it will help her to forget how much she misses the damned, broody, lazy, cowardly farmboy.


Chloe rushed forward, a million emotions coursing through her. "Oh, my god. Thank god it's you." Thank God you still care. Thank God you aren't leaving me. I don't think I could take it. She didn't say this, however. She pulled away before the hug went on a little too long. "Your domineering double had me seriously worried," she said instead. Her days of being open with Clark about her feelings, the one she hoped would just go away, were long over. They made him feel pressured. They made him avoid her. Even if Clark got mushy, she laughed it off. It was the only way to keep him around.

I really enjoyed the whole sequence where Chloe realized that it ‘wasn’t’ Clark who had treated her so coldly earlier. She was so relieved, and then immediately wary and suspicious of trusting those feelings of immense relief because she didn’t want to be fooled again.

And finally she nearly brimming with gratitude and happiness at the thought that Clark wasn’t ‘leaving her’. It’s very sweet, but also rather pathetic on how her moods keep swinging up and down from despair to ecstasy depending on the actions of someone who doesn’t feel anywhere near the same way about her. Poor Chloe SERIOUSLY needs to wean herself away from this ‘Clark dependency’ habit of hers.


Clark stared at the shield, then at her with that slight smile and mild wonder that made these moments what they were. "You saved me again, Chloe."

"Please be careful, Clark," she said quickly. Best to move past those moments. They never changed anything in the end. Back to business.

aaargh!!!! I honestly want to throttle Clark at times like these. It’s that same expression of awe, thankfulness, happiness and gratitude on his face that KEEP Chloe tethered to him. How can she escape from him if he insists on periodically tightening those emotional bonds he has hooked into her. I suppose I’m cynical, but I believe that a good part of Clark is fully aware of what’s he’s doing… he KNOWS that he’s keeping Chloe in his back-pocket like this through these kinds of ‘mixed signal’ gestures.

And I think a part of Chloe knows what he’s doing too. Which is why she’s trying to immediately tell herself that ‘it means nothing’ even though she’s getting ‘certain hopeful signals’ from him. She’s learned better than to trust these meaningful gestures from Clark… but she can’t help but feel hopeful every time. Poor girl!


She stared at the wall beyond the shelf. In the hours she thought clark was leaving, she nearly made two very bad decisions. One was giving up on Clark. The other was giving in to Lex. As it was, she'd done neither. If Clark had been here this whole time, really here, would she have come this close to having Lex inside her again? Was it just isolation? Would the solitude of being without Clark drive her to something so dark, so fueled with hate.

It wasn't just the hate...and it wasn't just two miserable sacks like us f*cking the loneliness away.

Lex didn't seem to think either applied. What exactly did he think...

Heh… Lex’s final taunting question is still eating away at her. I LOVE the way he knew exactly how to get under her skin… and turn her brilliant mind against her to work in HIS favour. LOL! That manipulative bastard! ROTFL! Personally, I think it WAS pure solace that Chloe was seeking in Lex. She was looking at Chlex sex as a means of forgetting how much pain she was in as her heart was breaking. LEX, on the other hand… I think HE was actually searching to make a connection. And he was trying to convince Chloe that she was looking for the same as well.


She took a deep breath. She had left that message. But that was before Clark came back, before her world made sense again. "Actually, I..."

heh…. There are FAR too many impetuous actions that Chloe makes as a response to the strings that Clark tugs on her. She’s honestly like Clark’s little puppet, isn’t she? But at least THIS was a healthier response that her trying to jump Luthor (not as much fun though, LOL).


Chloe did roll her eyes now. "Why don't I just cut to the chase and tell you she's single." At least now. He didn't need to know about Grant. She wished she'd never known about Grant.

*frustrated sigh* AGAIN, Chloe is protecting someone who doesn’t deserve her loyalty. It seems like Lois is not going to be suffering ANY consequences from her stupid fling with her boss, huh? LOL! But it was SO cute seeing Oliver fishing for information without trying to be too subtle about it. ROTFLAMO! But Chloe is used to playing verbal ‘hide and seek’ with Lex Luthor, so Oliver’s form of ‘evasiveness’ is not really going to be much of a challenge for her, ROTFL!


"No one I can trust the way I know I trust you," he said. He sounded tired. She nearly wanted to give in just for that. "But... Okay. It's fine. I will just scratch your name off this cashier's check for five thousand dollars and..."

five thousand dollars?!?? Oh YEAH, baby! It’s about TIME Chloe was given proper monetary compensation for her work rather than just ‘volunteering’ her services everywhere. Hmmm, I wonder whether she can start demanding home-made diamonds from Clark as compensation for being his ‘Chloe-Google’? LOL!


Besides, it was only a little internet spying. What could it hurt?

heh… why do I get the feeling those are ‘famous last words’? I get the feeling this is in reference to something that happened in later episodes? I heard that Chloe got arrested or something later in the season? Was it because of this that it happened?


He lifted the drink.

What's wrong, Lex? You afraid I'll become the favored son? That I'll accomplish something you couldn't?

He lifted it again.

Haven't you gotten used to it -- people leaving you?

His hand shook as he put it down.

Last I heard, I was practically made for this family.

Ouch! Those are some VERY cold, cruel words running continuously in Lex’s head. He can’t let himself let go of his failures any better than he can let go of anything else. The poor man is seriously his own worst enemy, isn’t he? I think HE should have Chloe as his ‘life management coach’. Certainly he seems to need her, and I’m SURE he would appreciate her more!!!


And that wasn't how it was supposed to be. He'd programmed Grant with a smiling disposition, an idyllic adopted childhood, nothing resembling the baggage of being a Luthor. He'd wanted him to remember that life, then to find him, look up to him, to see good in him. He didn't want another Luthor. Between his father and him, there was enough darkness. He'd wanted light. Maybe he shouldn't have used Julian's DNA if that's what he wanted. The Luthor genes were possibly damaged. Grant wasn't supposed to be like them. He was supposed to be different, more like... "Clark," he whispered. It was easier to say it, drunk as he was.

You're so lonely and pathetic, you had to build yourself a brother.

That IS pitiful and pathetic. Poor Lex! The whole Lex/Blana fiasco was because of his obsession with Clark, and now it turns out that even JULIAN was a product of Lex wanting ‘Clark’ back in his life in some form or another. It’s amazing that Lex is willing to admit that to himself! LOL! I guess alcohol helps Luthors embrace their inner-truths, huh?


Are you so desperate to mean something to someone, it was worth the risk?

He'd thought it was. His father... He meant nothing to him, no matter how he tried. Lana? That had been wrong from the start. How could she have loved him when she never stopped loving Clark?

"Clark," he whispered. It all came back to Clark. Even his father had thrown Clark in his face. And it made no sense. How could he be like Clark? His father had raised him to be a mirror of himself.

I think that was a VERY accurate assessment on what drives everything Lex Luthor does. He really IS desperate to ‘mean something’ to someone. If he can’t find someone to love him, then he’ll make people respect or even fear him… as long as he MEANS something to them. It’s really terrifying that each person who betrays him (Clark, Lana, Lionel, Julian) simply CANNOT see the irreparable kind of damage they’re inflicting on this man. I think Lex is beginning to rely on Chloe as his last possible ‘saviour’, and if SHE also cuts herself away from him, I think that might be Lex’s final breaking point… and he’ll stop believing in the possibility of selfless love altogether.


Maybe he had. He could take one more. Project Gemini was an epic failure. And now? He had to clean up his mess.

He picked up the phone.

Oh Lex, NO!!!! Don’t do that! You’ll never be able to forgive yourself for giving such an order! STOP, Lex!!! It’s so sad that, in a fit of drunken, enraged despair, Lex made such a horrible, irreparable decision. I’m SURE it’s going to come back to bite him on the ass at some crucial point later.


"If you say so," she sighed. She knew it wasn't true, but she hung up anyway. He'd talk when and if he wanted to. She suspected Lana had shared more than vacation plans with Bizarro and, if Clark's tone was anything to go by, he flat out knew it. She wondered if this, like so many other things in their long and tumultuous relationship, could be swept under the rug. She sincerely hoped it wouldn't.

She hoped it wouldn’t because she couldn’t bear the thought of Clark swallowing yet ANOTHER round of hypocrisy displayed by Lana and smiling through it… OR is Chloe hoping that a Clana break-up might mean a chance for her to have her Chlark happy ending? I think mostly the former with a tiny bit of the latter…?


"Believe me. It is." She slapped her binder on Chloe's desk. "I got it all done. And here are the top forty applicants all sorted and to be delivered to Luthor himself tonight and he said he'd be here and he's not."

"Then he can't..."

"Oh, that means nothing. His stupid assistant left and the guard won't give me his number so I can at least tell him and, after everything, this will all add up to me being canned when this counts for nearly half my credit and where the hell else am I gonna..."

Poor Megan. I still remember how this poor girl squeaked and jumped when Lex just looked at her. She’s in a full-fledged panic attack now. And I’m sure Lex would have been SO amused by this nervous breakdown from one of his lowly employees… the petty bastard!


She was still fuming when she hit Smallville and a nice, miserable rainstorm. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed as she pulled up to the mansion. It was almost a children's story. The brave young maiden approached the dark castle where the beast lie in wait. She might not slay the beast, but she'd be sure to maim him a little. All this time, she'd taken his jibes, his innuendo, his unreasonable demands and she was just done. She was going to give him a piece of her mind and he could fire her if he chose. Deep down, she didn't think he would. It wouldn't fit in with his plans, whatever they were. She knew they involved more focus on otherwordly things at a paper once taken very seriously. Why else would Gabriel keep pushing the wild and wacky stories? He obviously answered to Lex.

LOL! I think a good part of Chloe gets a real KICK out of the idea of being a ‘brave knight’ off to ‘slay/maim the beast and save the maiden’, ROTFLMAO! But it’s REALLY fascinating how she’s in COMPLETE denial about how this night of visiting Lex, alone, in the middle of the night, in HIS home, might end up! LOL! She’s NOT allowing herself to consider the possibilities of ‘something interesting’ springing up between them again.


No. He needed her around. He wanted to know what she held close. And that worried her more than anything. She'd have to be careful under his eye. Firing might be nothing compared to what happened if Luthor learned her secrets and, by extension, Clark's.

hmmm, she’s smart enough to know that Lex is probably NOT going to fire her… not while keeping her under his thumb offers him too many fun advantages and benefits. So Chloe doesn’t have anything to really fear from barging into Lex’s home tonight… except perhaps another night of intense hate-sex :D LOL! But she’s not allowing herself to even consider that possibility, is she? Heh, she’s playing right into his hands.


Chloe gave her just as false a smile back and moved inside, turning back as the door slammed behind her. The noise echoed throughout the empty house, followed by the rumble of thunder. "Drama queen," she muttered. She wasn't Lex's first bespectacled female employee. She wondered if this one would tie him up and try to fry him. She kind of seemed like the type.

I really enjoyed Chloe talking her way through the snooty secretary. ROTFLMAO! Chloe’s right about Lex watching out for THIS lady also turning insanely homicidal on him… it’s the ‘smart and harmless looking ones’ that he should be looking out for, LOL!


She clutched the binder and moved toward the hall and his study, just betting he was playing pool and drinking alone. That was his big, fun night, after all. She could feel sorry for him if he wasn't such a pr*ck. Then again, when was the last time she had a night that could be construed as fun? Her night with Lex didn't count in the least. You have no room to feel sorry for anyone. She gritted her teeth as his words came back to her. Why did they always replay in her head? It was like a rude, bald, twisted version of Jiminy Cricket was on her shoulder, always bringing her down to his level. And she was nowhere near his level. It was circumstance that made her life this haze of work and only work, whether at her actual job or with Clark. If things would settle down, she could have all the fun she wanted... eventually.

ROTFLMAO! the rude bald version of Jiminy Cricket! ROTFL! Loved that!

But I loved how Chloe had a sudden visual of Lex’s ‘leisure time’, and how he spends it entertaining himself. It IS a pretty, sad, lonely, pathetic life, isn’t it? No wonder the guy is desperate to connect with someone… ANYONE! I also enjoyed the way that Chloe went from feeling sorry for Lex to identifying with his sad, lonely, desperate existence… heh, it seems like Lex was VERY skilful in planting the correct ‘suggestive phrases’ in Chloe’s head to force her to his side, whether she wanted it or not. LOL! The manipulative bastard!!! Love him!!!


And that night was sex. It had nothing to do with Lex. It was being wanted, something she rarely felt. And he knew that. I think I'm getting an inkling why you've never had a boyfriend. He'd taken advantage of it. The alcohol wasn't what allowed it to happen. It was that. It was what was behind their encounter in the closet. She let her insecurities get the better of her. Clark's off-hand rejection had led her to do stupid things before this. She wasn't prous of it. It wouldn't happen again. She was stronger than that. So there was his stupid answer.

It’s a good, clean simple answer… and it might even be true, lol! I loved the way she told herself she’s ‘too strong’ now to succumb to Lex’s sexy advances. ROTFL! Keep telling yourself that, Chloe. It’s so CUTE and ‘precious’ that you believe that, ROTFLOL!


A pool cue lay on the floor next to a broken cell phone. A glass sat on the edge of the pool table with ice melting, a wet ring forming around the base on the polished wood. She turned at a clattering sound to her left. One of the stained glass doors was open, banging against the wall outside with the wind. Wet papers were scattered around the desk, which also looked a little damp. She shivered, wondering if someone had broken in. With his staff disbanded, he'd be helpless. As much as she despised him, she didn't wish him physical harm... at least nothing fatal. She strode to the glass door, ready to shut it before getting down to the bottom of...

"Lex?"

squeee!!! WHAT a cliffhanger to leave this fic at, AmazingApe. Fortunately I didn’t have to wait too long for the next chapter to come along. I was really pleased to see how Chloe was so frightened and concerned for Lex. She might despise the guy, but her innately pure and honourable nature would never allow her to actually wish for physical injury or violence on the guy. Not unless it was by HER personal hands at least, LOL!


His head turned to her, his eyes unfocused. "I had to."

"Had to what? Stand in the rain in the middle of winter?"

"Need to clean up my mess," he muttered, staring away again.

Has he been standing out in the rain all this time, muttering to himself that ‘he HAD to clean up his mess’? How many hours has it been since he put the phone down? I would have felt sorry for him, except the truth is that he DESERVES to loathe himself for what he’s done.


"I'm sure you're staff can take care of some wet paper in the morning." She pulled on his arm. "Come on."

He turned fully to her. "Sullivan?"

Had he only just realized she was here? She wasn't sure if he was drunk or delirious. "Get inside." She pulled again, but he didn't move.

Woah… he really is quite out of it, isn’t he? He’s in complete shock… over his own actions. Imagine how everyone else is going to react! He didn’t even realize Chloe was there… CHLOE of all people! I don’t think he would have noticed if Clark had hopped a little jig in mid-air beside him.


"Me. I happened." His teeth started chattering. Hers weren't exactly steady, either.

heh… the source and solution to all of Lex’s problems. His own monstrosity! He hates himself for being capable of such monstrous acts, but at the same time, he’s only capable of these kinds of actions and decision by reassuring himself that he IS a monster, and therefore ‘expected and even obliged’ to carry out his ‘destiny’. What a messed up boy!


"I don't get sick."

"Jesus!" She grasped his arm and pulled hard. "Yes. A cold would never dare touch the great and powerful Luthor. I get it. Come on." She pulled him to the door and down the hall. "This was not the damned plan," she grumbled as she practically pushed him up the stairs. "I did not come here to play nursemaid. I was supposed to give you the binder and a good tongue-lashing and get out."

He turned to her at the top, his eyes suddenly glinting even as he shivered. "Can't we squeeze in both?"

ROTFLMAO! Even in a state like this, they can STILL manage to snipe and banter at each other. Although it’s not ‘quite’ as cold and cutting as usual… Am I being too optimistic in thinking that there’s a small element of warmth and playfulness between them in this moment? ;) LOL!


"Of course." He would have a room that needed two doors. She pushed him in. "So... Any of your one-night stands leave anything around?"

He was shaking again. "No." His hands started fumbling with his buttons.

"Oh, come on. I bet you have a whole separate room for their leavings."

"There are plenty of hotel rooms for them to leave their things in," he said, still trying to grasp the buttons. He dropped his hands. "My f*cking hands are numb."

*rolls eyes* the amount of regard Lex has for his one-night stands is heart warming! LOL! And he wonders why he has such problems ‘connecting’ to people? Perhaps if he didn’t treat them all like Luthor leavings, ready to be trashed immediately after usage…?

LOL! But I did like Chloe’s sardonic observation that of course he would have the bedroom with a giant, imposing double doors, LOL! He probably flamboyantly throws BOTH of them open whenever he’s ready to step foot into his room for bed… even if his only audience are his bed sheets.

Hmmm, on second thought… Lex probably slinks into bed sneaky and stealthily through a half open single door. LIONEL would be the one to throw open his double (or triple) doors with a flourish, LOL!


"Since when do you care if I die of exposure?"

She backed away, tossing the shirt at his chest. It smacked against him wetly before sliding to the floor. "You know what? Fine. I thought that even a snake like you deserved some consideration, but you're just determined to prove me wrong." She moved to the door.

Heh… I think I understood what Lex was REALLY asking here. He was asking what she saw in him that was worth ‘looking after and saving’, because he honestly couldn’t see anything. But I think Chloe’s decision to help him has more to do with Chloe’s sense of honour rather than any sense of mercy and kindness towards Lex.


"Could you... just light my fire?"

"You know, that better not be innuendo. Because I have had more than enough..."

When Lex asked Chloe for help, I actually blinked and sighed… Lex Luthor asking anyone for help, much less Chloe Sullivan of all people… that’s a HUGE admission of weakness from him, and it’s quite something to see him so humbled for once.

LOL! And then I burst out laughing as the poignant moment was broken by Chloe’s sardonic, sarcastic and suspicious reply, LOL! Very nice! But it’s a fair question, considering everything she’s gone through the past week with Lex.


She glanced back at him before turning back to the slowly growing fire. She blew on it a few times before tossing her hairband on the bed with her jacket. "Mind telling me why you were out there tempting hypothermia?"

heh… I’m not sure whether it’s Chloe curiousity that trapped her here, OR her deeply kind, generous, giving and sympathetic nature. Whatever the case, it’s obvious that Chloe has plans to stick around for a while instead of running off like a sensible person would. LOL! Whatever happens next, we’ll have to admit that CHLOE was the one who chose to come, and STAY!


"You know it yourself. How many times have you played on my insecurities? I've heard being a third wheel is very time consuming," she sneered. "I'm getting an inkling why you've never had a boyfriend. It's no secret that I've always been the last girl asked to dance, so to speak." She crouched in front of him, her lips a thin line. "You knew it. You played me like a fiddle and..."

It’s a good, sensible answer. And I can see how Chloe can use this as a GOOD justification for her ‘weakness’ around Lex. It certainly sounds like a good reason.


"That's not the answer. If it was it would only be a fraction of why you did it." His voice was steadier now. "But I didn't ask why you did it." His hand grasped a corner of the blanket and placed it over her shoulder.

She looked down. "What are you doing?"

He shrugged. "You're cold, too."

That BASTARD! He’s already slipped into seduction mode, hasn’t he?!?? ROTFLMAO! And Chloe is barely beginning to become aware of the shift in his tone and priorities, LOL!


"I'm starting to feel something," he said on a long breath.

"Yes," she said tightly. "My breast." Just get up. Move away. Leave. He can't stop you. Yet he was still grasping her. And she let him.

heh… Lex is very skilled at heavy-handed seduction, but all of his tactics in the world don’t take away from the fact that Chloe is CHOOSING to stay here. She’s going to have a hard time trying to justify this tomorrow morning.

Oh dear… how the heck is she going to justify sleeping with a man who is fresh from his ordering a kill on his Little Brother Clone? She’s going to feel so disgusted about herself (and Lex) when she finds out just WHAT she was comforting the bastard about.


"It's about us. Maybe it was always there." He leaned down to her. "Don't you feel it?" He leaned his forehead against hers. "You think it was just an accident? Us... coming together. Not just random. You know better than that. Something in you..." he pulled her up to him and, God help her, she let him, "spoke to me," he finished hoarsely. "And vice versa."

Quite honestly, I think this is how LEX feels… He’s desperate to form a connection. And I think he might actually feel some kind of fundamental connection for Chloe. I certainly know he admires her greatly, respects her… and is also a little afraid of her. AND he’s becoming fast obsessed with her. I can imagine that he’s trying to convince Chloe that she feels something along the same lines, because he couldn’t bear the thought that she thinks nothing of him.


She broke away, stared at him, nearly frightened. It was the same thing she saw in him that night. Need. Whether it was for her or just for someone... anyone... Lex Luthor needed something... someone. Was it her?

Or was it just anyone? Just a warm body for the night?

"What do you want from me?"

heh… Good question. It’s a VERY good question for Chloe to ask. She certainly has no idea that Lex has not been able to stop thinking about her in his bed ever since they spent that night together. That he hasn’t been able to sate himself with ANY other person who is NOT her. As far as she’s concerned, Lex is just using her as a warm body as well as a fun, interesting diversion in his free time.

Hmmm, how WOULD have Chloe reacted if she knew how deep Lex’s need ran for her? Would she be flattered and a little more willing to sleep with him? Or seriously creeped out and frightened away from him for good?

This was an AWFUL cliff-hanger to torture us with, AmazingApe! Cruel, CRUEL!!! Now PLEASE update soon so I can see what happens next!

[letia84]

Very interesting turn of events. You are rather cruel for ending it where you did. Lex is going to feel horrid in the morning when he realizes what he's done to tonight.


"It's about us. Maybe it was always there." He leaned down to her. "Don't you feel it?" He leaned his forehead against hers. "You think it was just an accident? Us... coming together. Not just random. You know better than that. Something in you..." he pulled her up to him and, God help her, she let him, "spoke to me," he finished hoarsely. "And vice versa."Is this more pooling together his loneliness with Chloe's loneliness so that don't feel lonely or is Lex really looking to connect with Chloe. I hope its the 2nd but then again this Lex is so beat down any one showing him attention is wanted.

I look forward to seeing how this develops. More Soon.

[FroggyJump]

Lex keeps pulling on Chloe only to turn around and be an ass. I hope like letia that it is him looking for a connection with Chloe and not just seeking out someone as lonely as him.

[fleyval]

I'm loving this story, please update soon!!! ;)

[karila]

Wonderful chapter!
They have so a complicated and ambiguous relationship.

[TheAmazingApe]

Just a quick note to let you all know that I haven't forgotten this story and/or droped off the face of the earth. But I am very into a much older WIP (of the Chlark variety) and am eager to get it moving along, if not finish it. I will be back on this one when I can be.

[dagney]

Your well worth waiting for, I have enjoyed your CHlark fic on the krypton site and chucked over the 1 900- fic. stick with this site and we will lure you over to the sexy/dark/funny/sweetness that is CHLEX. Dagney

[TheAmazingApe]

Your well worth waiting for, I have enjoyed your CHlark fic on the krypton site and chucked over the 1 900- fic. stick with this site and we will lure you over to the sexy/dark/funny/sweetness that is CHLEX. Dagney

Oh, I'm sufficiently lured, Dagney. I think the Chlex is about the hottest thing since... fire. But I'm still a Chlarker at heart (something about those hero types) for the lovey stuff. Lovey Chlex never sat well with me. I can read it, but I can't write it that way. I like it dark since I know what Lex will be and I can't see Chloe happily going evil and being his moll or something. But I do like the dark, angsty Chlex. Gives me the shivers, even writing it.

And I'm so happy that I've lured another Chlexer to my neverending saga. Got a few others and I do like the Chlexer POV.

I actually decided to take a break from my never-ending saga to write more on this piece. I thought of it as a pleasant little vacay. Boy, was I wrong.


Oh dear… how the heck is she going to justify sleeping with a man who is fresh from his ordering a kill on his Little Brother Clone? She’s going to feel so disgusted about herself (and Lex) when she finds out just WHAT she was comforting the bastard about.

Actually, Chloe doesn't know. No one does in show canon, except for Lionel, really. Even Lois, who shared a bed with this guy, won't even notice he's gone. Or she will, but she will just say it didn't work out in so many words. I sincerely hope se doesn't know he's dead. If so, her reaction seems underwhelming and rather callous. TPTB dropped this plot line like a hot potato. I honestly think, once they threw Grant in there, they should have just gone with it, but no... I'm actually giving it way more attention than they did. This season is so hard, with all their dropped plots and projects. Hardest ever. Considering I took this on to write Chlex missing scenes, I never thought about how hard it was to put them in and have them fit when the show itself doesn't fit... itself. We have a clone editor who died and no one seemed to notice, especially not his girltoy. The plot holes and dropped plots just kill me. And it will only get worse.

Also, I don't think Chloe or Clark know just how far gone Lex is in ways. Lex is struggling with it in private -- which is why it makes no sense that Team Kent are so down on Lex so quickly as the season moves toward the end. Yes, Lex is sinking into evil. But they don't know the extent of it, yet they're just magically sure.

I'm not giving up or anything. I like a challenge, but boy is this season a hefty one.

Anyway... spoilers for Persona, Siren.

PART SIX

"What do you want from me?" She was staring down at him now, wide-eyed. Like he was some creature she feared and loathed.

And wasn't he? After what he'd done, maybe he deserved fear and loathing. But he didn't want that. Not now. And not from her. She was the one who'd come here, after all. He shook his head. "That's a stupid question, Sullivan. Since when does it matter what I want?" He closed his eyes. "Doesn't matter to you, doesn't matter to your friends, it's... it's stopped mattering to me anymore." He stood, feeling stronger now. "Let's talk about what you want."

She took a step back. "I don't want anything from you."

"So you still can't admit it?"

"Admit what?"

"That it happened and that it... meant..." Are you so desperate to mean something to someone... Maybe he was.

"You said it yourself, Luthor." She swallowed hard. "It felt good. So... there. I admit it. Is that what you want?" He saw her eyes dart to the bed. He turned, saw her sodden jacket hanging half-off the bed.

He picked it up, gripped it hard. If she wanted it, she'd have to take it from him. He needed the why. The answer. "If it was just feel-good sex, then why can't we stop thinking about it?"

Her eyes narrowed. "You of all people should know that the last thing I want to think about is... it. Why else would you keep reminding me, even after you promised..."

"My promises..." He laughed and moved closer. "I'm a monster, Chloe. A snake. Maybe you should have let me stay out there to sicken, weaken..." He trailed off. Maybe she should have. Maybe everyone would be better off.

"Is that what you want?" She was squinting at him.

"No," he breathed, shaking his head. He didn't want that. Though maybe he should. He'd created and he'd destroyed. It could be argued that he was God-like. But there was no benevolence to it, not anymore. He hardly knew why he did what he did, just chasing something so elusive he didn't have a name for it. So far away from the man he'd been. Six years ago, he'd just wanted freedom from the suffocation of Lionel's brand of parenting, control. He had those things now. So why wasn't he happy?

"Look, just give me my jacket. I'm not here to be part of some lonely rich boy pity party."

He didn't want that either. He wanted something else. He stared at her. Something he'd tasted that night. "Why are you here?"

"I came to give you the damned binder," she said tersely. "And you know what? I did it." She threw her hands up. "Keep the jacket if it means so much to you." She started for the door, taking long strides across the cavernous room.

"That was just a flimsy excuse and you know it."

She stopped, her back to him, her shoulders stiff.

"You came," he went on, "because you like getting close to danger. You always have."

She turned, crossing her arms. "No one knows better than I do how dangerous you can be, Luthor. But I'm not trying to get close to you in any way. You're the one who shoved yourself in my workplace, in my..."

"Fair trade, though. You were always snooping where you don't belong. You get off on it." He smiled. "You could get caught, could ruin your whole life, but that's just part of the thrill."

"You think the things I've been through have been some form of thrill-seeking for me?"

"Oh, definitely. You can disguise it in your job and the people's right to know, but it's all about how much you can get away with. You want to push that envelope. You're doing it now."

"I only came here to..."

"You came here because you can't stop thinking about it," he broke in. "You wonder just how much you might hate yourself if you did it again. Being wanted... You're half-right. Just that is powerful enough. But there's something more here."

"You're assuming way too much, Luthor. I don't hate myself. It happened and it's done. I don't waste time angsting over spilled..."

"Too proud?" He moved closer. "Fine. I'll be the bigger man." She backed to the door, but, he noticed, didn't make a move toward the knob. "There's no weakness in truth." He dropped her jacket and moved his hand to her waist. "I think about it all the time. It was supposed to be a nice, little fuck. Work out some of that anger, that mutual loathing, but it was more." He ran his nose along her jaw, breathing in deep. "God, the way you smell..." Clean. Untainted. He wanted to taste it again, all that sweet redemption. He needed it the way she needed a taste of his filth.

"Stop it," she breathed.

"Then stop me," he countered, biting just under her ear. He pulled back, catching her eyes. They were half-closed, yet so conflicted. "You won't, you know. That would defeat the purpose. We're playing a new game now." He ran a finger across her neck, hating the high collar of her shirt. With breasts like hers, a shirt like this was almost criminal. "We've been playing it all month. I've actually been waiting for this part, when you show up on a dark night, no one around. It's so easy for you at work, so easy for you to hide while big, bad Luthor hunted you down. But you can't possibly get me to play my part when there are so many ways to run away. You had to come here for me to get it right."

He smiled, licking his lips. "I know my part. I'm here to take the choice away." He pressed her into the door. "I'm supposed to give it to you while you say no, no, no. Isn't that it?" He dropped one hand to her hip and dug in, lifting her against the door. "Then you can stumble away and loathe me." He ground his hips into her, not even realizing how hard he was until now. He closed his eyes and took a moment to admire his own constitution as sparks damn near shot through him. It was no surprise anymore, how quickly he recovered. A man didn't face death every other week, still kicking, and not realize something was up. He opened his eyes. She was just hanging there, held up by his press against her, her feet not touching the floor, her arms still at her sides. Her eyes were closed and her mouth was open, tiny breaths hitting his chin. "Come on, Chloe. Where are the mewling protests?" He licked a line from her jaw to her ear and her body jumped, her arms suddenly gripping his. "No. Stop it. You snake. You bastard. You need to get at least a few in so you can tell yourself later this wasn't your idea. "

One of her legs lifted, ever so slightly, but he felt it against his hip.

Not good enough. Not yet.

He eased up and gripped her wrists, pressing her arms against the door as her body slid slightly, her feet hitting the floor. He let his hand slither down her body, into those stupid pants, just to see...

"You're wet," he whispered. "But that could be from any number of things. It's obvious I'm practically forcing you into this." He let his fingers brush against her clit inside the confines of her pants. She gave a strangled sort of moan, twisting her head to the side. He took his hand from her pants. "But I'm not." He stepped back as her eyes opened, her head turned back to him. "I'm not playing." He bent to her wet jacket and scooped it up, holding it out. "You can take this and go." She stared at the jacket. "Or stay. But it would be your choice, Chloe."

Her eyes lifted to his. He wondered if she would. She pulled him out of the rain. She obviously thought he didn't deserve to die. But did he deserve comfort? Even he wasn't sure. Regardless, he didn't want to take it. He wanted it given. Jut once, he wanted something handed to him.

But she took her jacket with shaking hands, staring at him for one moment before grappling with the door behind her.

He watched her disappear into the dark hallway, listened to her footsteps fade away.

"Thought so."

*********************************

He'd stopped coming in to The Planet. A memo had been sent down that he was functioning as editor for the time being, but that he was working remotely. Probably from the mansion, where she was definitely not going. She had no reason to and she'd make sure she didn't create one.

Maybe he was right. She clenched her fist for moment, then pounded away at her keyboard again. Definitely, he was right. It was tempting. He was tempting. All these years, she'd never thought of him as sexy, not on a personal level. But he was. Added to that, he was good in bed. To add even more, he seemed almost unreasonably attracted to her. That was something she'd never felt, not even from Jimmy. And that was... exactly why she would keep her distance, even from the roads that led anywhere near the mansion. Resisting temptation was hard enough. She wasn't about to go off in search of it. And she was damn glad he wasn't around... for more than one reason.

"Got it," she said into her headset.

She most definitely didn't want Lex around while she was moonlighting for The Green Arrow.

"You're all done?" Ollie let out a breath. "Okay. Get out of there."

"I just intercepted the file," she clarified. But she would be out of here any second, if it would just finish burning...

"Okay. Get it done. But make sure it can't be traced back to you. I appreciate what you're doing, but..."

"Yeah, of course I deleted any trace of it. This isn't the first time I've done something like this." She stood to open the disk drive, rolling her eyes and wishing he could see it. At least Ollie wasn't hovering over her. He'd wanted to until she'd pointed out how conspicuous both Oliver Queen and The Green Arrow would be at The Daily Planet. Besides that, it was just a little light intercepting. All in all, not a bad week. She managed to stay away from Lex. Lex had been staying away from her. And now she was up for another nice piece of her nest egg, courtesy of Oliver. he grabbed her purse. "I'll see you in a few." She felt pretty good... of course that was before a knife embedded itself in the desk, scant millimeters away from her hand.

She stuffed the disk in her purse and ran for it. "Help!" she gasped, hoping Ollie hadn't disconnected. "Somebody's after me!"

Why couldn't she have one good week?

*****************************

"...officially making this the worst week ever. And she has a column, if you can believe it." Lois huffed and wheeled her chair nearer to Chloe. "She's like the love child of Ann Coulter and Bill O'Reilly and that harpy has a column and I still don't have one article. This is just... It's like adding isult to my injury, after Grant just left without..." Lois shut her mouth and started to wheel back to her desk.

Chloe sighed and minimized the blonde mugshots. "Lois, I thought that was over."

"It is." Lois stared at Chloe. "I swear it is. And it was never that serious, but... it's just... To have another guy just up and leave without even saying goodbye..." Lois shook her head and stood. "I should take those files back to the records room. With Lex editing, I'll never get on any page of this paper. My life just gets better and better."

Chloe stared after her cousin as she moved away. It probably wouldn't be the best idea to tell her Ollie was back in town. Ollie hadn't said anything about calling her, just little veiled questions. She'd leave that to him, since Lois didn't need to know how she would know. Chloe was about to go back to her mugshots when it hit her. She hadn't exactly missed Gabriel, but it was odd... he hadn't stopped to think what Lex stepping in meant. She'd just had an immediate clenching of fear that his involvement was growing, followed by the sheer relief when she'd learned he wouldn't be in the office. She hadn't given a thought to Grant. She'd been busy with her two jobs and... Mostly, she'd preferred not to. She'd seen him and Lex together, talking and laughing, thick as thieves. If anyone was in Lex's pocket, it was Grant Gabriel.

She kept the blondes at bay and sat back. If Gabriel had an offer somewhere else, someone had to...

"Megan." She called out to the redhead as she walked by, her arms laden with coffee cups. "Oh. I didn't mean to stop you, go on with what you were..."

"No, it's cool." Megan set her carriers on Chloe's desk. "You've helped me out more than once. What do you need? I got a few..."

"I was wondering if you heard anything about Gabriel." If anyone was in on the gossip, it was Megan, always wandering between floors. "With Luthor taking over, I figure he went on to greener pastures."

"You didn't hear?" She leaned in. "I guess it's not common knowledge."

"Hear what?"

She leaned down further. "He was shot. In a mugging." She stood straight and shook her head. "I didn't exactly love the guy, but it is a shame."

Chloe looked toward Lois, gathering files at her desk. "Yeah. A shame."

"I mean, I thought they should have run a story on it, an in memoriam thing, but he was only here a few months and maybe they thought it would be bad press or something." Megan picked up her carriers. "I'd better finish delivering these."

"Yeah. Thanks," Chloe said, dazed.

Lois started by her desk, arms laden with files.

"Lois..."

"Don't say it, Chloe. I know what you're thinking. An office romance is always a bad idea."

"Well, yes. But..."

"And I'll take you one step further. Romance is just a bad idea in general. I'm just... swearing off men. I'm all about the work. You'll see." Lois ran for the elevator. "Wait. Hold the doors."

Chloe pursed her lips and turned back to her computer. She wouldn't tell her. What was the point in telling Lois? She wished she didn't know.

But now that she did...

It seemed strange there wasn't a piece on Grant, especially considering how tight he and Lex seemed to be. She left the blondes again, instead trying a little light hacking into the police department's computers.

She shook her head, staring at the screen. Gabriel had been mugged and shot, that much was true. But he'd been with Lionel Luthor at the time. Was that why Lex didn't want this in the papers? To protect his father from scandal. But there'd been no reltionship between them of late and what exactly would Grant be doing with Lionel? Was we working against Lex? It seemed awfully convenient that at this time, with this man, Gabriel was killed. If lex had found out...

She shook her head again and closed the screen. She wouldn't think it. She couldn't. Lex was a lot of things, but a murderer...

She went back to her blondes. It was best to focus on what she did know. There was a woman out there who assaulted nearly innocent reporters and super heroes. That was her focus. She couldn't think of Lex anymore. And she wouldn't. If she could just...

"Looking for a new hairdo?"

She saw the bag Clark placed on her desk. She laughed. She had to. "Let me guess... Ham and swiss?"

"Your favorite."

She put the bag to the side. "No, actually, not at all, which I think I've mentioned three times this week." She was getting damned sick of ham and swiss, though coffee sounded nice. "But thanks anyway." She stood and moved away. She was glad. She appreciated that he was there for no reason. Phantom Clark had only been around when he wanted something. So tis week had been a nice change.

"I just can't hang around that house anymore, Chloe. Knowing that phantom was living my life with Lana for over a month while I was trapped in the fortress..." But this Clark. He wanted something, too. He wasn't here for her. He was here to avoid Lana. That other Clark may be long gone, but he'd sure left his mark. "I-I know we looked alike, but she really couldn't tell the difference? And then she tells him that they belong together. Does that mean she doesn't feel that way about me?"

Chloe picked up her coffee cup, trying for some straight talk. "Well, she isn't exactly the same girl you used to trip all over in high school, either."

Clark turned away, as always, at the first sign of truth. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

Chloe laughed again. She had to, either that or cry. "Right. I'm sorry I brought it up." She moved back to her desk.

Clark dogged her again. "Any luck locating the Brain InterActive Construct?"

"Not since you asked me yesterday." She'd been a little busy. Between working for Oliver, hiding the fact that she worked for Oliver, and actual work. She didn't have much time for Clark.

"What happened to your face?" he suddenly asked.

She sat hard in her chair. "First of all, did you seriously not notice this until just now?" His blank stare was all the answer she needed. Of course he didn't notice. His mind was just a jumble of Lana, Lana, the Phantom, Brainiac, and Lana. "Don't worry, Clark. I'm fine."

"Chloe..." He was staring. She felt it. She glanced up at him. And then he did it, gave her that look. It was a combination of puppy dog, guilt, and lantern-jawed concern.

It was hard to remember all the reasons she didn't want him to know under the thrall of that look. Chloe stood, speaking quietly. "All right. I've sort of been doing this sidekick side job for Oliver."

Clark's loud "What?" sort of broke the quiet.

"Look, Clark, a girl has got to pay her bills. And, I mean, let's face it -- you kind of fill my pro-bono quota."

"His missions are dangerous. And the fact he's taking you with him..."

"No, no, no, it was just internet interception." Why did everyone insist on thinking she couldn't handle dangerous... Oh, right. "...that ended up having a vicious ninja lady attached to it who chased me onto the roof and then almost beheaded me and went rappelling over the side of the building," she admitted in a rush. "which I've got to admit was really smokin' cool." She found herself smiling.

Clark, predictably, didn't join her. He never smiled anymore. "Who was she?"

"Well, I don't know exactly. That's why the mug shots. But I think we're dealing with an uber-ninja lady. Besides the truly awesome rappelling, there was this moment where Ollie..."

"Oliver was there?" Clark practiclly yelled. "Oliver was there and he let her hurt you?"

"No. It wasn't like that. I mean, he tried to stop her from getting the disk, but he couldn't even shoot her. She sort of... screamed. Or maybe it just looked like she did. Everything went quiet and Ollie's arrows just... flew apart, shattered. It was..."

"What was on it?" Clark asked, his face hard.

"What was on what?"

"On the disk, Chloe. What was on it that was worth you risking your life?"

She sighed. "Clark, my life was never at risk. Not really. Besides all that... I don't know. I figured it was best not to ask and Ollie didn't seem willing to share." Clark looked down. "But I do know that Ollie wouldn't have asked me to get it if it wasn't important."

"Yeah. We'll see." Clark strode past her.

She turned. "Clark, don't get all..." He was gone. She sighed and stared at the bag containing the damned ham sandwich. She wished it was tuna. She could go for some tuna. She could also go for a Clark that could just... hang out with her. Not because the world needed saving and not to avaoid Lana while talking incessantly about her, and not...

What had happened to them?

******************************************

"A person doesn't just disappear off the face of the earth," Lex barked into his cell. "I don't care if you have to sweep every city in the Western hemisphere. You find her... You call me back when you have something more concrete." He snapped his phone shut and strode toward his office. There was a blonde waiting. His life was just plagued with blondes these days. One he couldn't find, one he couldn't have, and one whose... special brand of service could be had. Just for the right amount of money and, so it seemed, with just motivation.

When he entered his study, she was in his chair. But. more importantly, she was holding a disk. "I usually mind when someone sits in the chair, but I'm a little distracted to care at the moment."

She stood, still holding the disk. "I don't take to the morally murky."

"Unless they pay you," he pointed out.

"You know my standards. No matter how rich you are, you don't deserve to be robbed. And you, Richy, are a lucky man." She was still holding onto that disk.

He took the money from his inside pocket. "If you stopped whoever's been hacking into my trade secrets, I consider myself very lucky." He waited for her to tell him who. Because hacking wasn't an altogether common knack. And if it was who he thought...

She took the money and handed the disk over. "Your file almost fell into the wrong hands. I had a little run-in with an emerald archer."

He turned, surprised. This was better than he'd even dreamed. "Green Arrow?"

"I wasn't expecting company."

If it was Chloe... Well that was one thing. It would just give him a good reason to take her. Keep her. Force her to stay where he could always... But this was better. It was. He'd rather have Green Arrow under his eye. "You think you can find him again?"

"If I had a good reason."

Now that was just tiring. Lex really wished she could be like any other hired mercenary and just take the money. "They've been breaking in and setting off bombs at my work sites." That much was true. "They belong in prison." And he knew just the one. "You bring me Green Arrow, and I will make it worth your while."

He sat in his chair after she left, understanding in her eyes. She'd do it. She'd get him. And Lex could find out exactly what made him tick. Maybe the rest of his merry men as well. It was better than having Chloe. His men had already seen what made her tick. There was something there, but she was latent. No use to him until she showed some sign of... No. He couldn't lie. It wasn't that she was useless to him. Far from it.

But he didn't want her imprisoned. He didn't want her by force. He wanted her to come to him. A week now and she hadn't showed up. He shouldn't be surprised. He wasn't, really. Just disappointed. There was that small hope that, monster that he was, she'd want him. It was only one night. He shouldn't be so fixated, but it was such a night...

With Lana, he'd thought he had it all. But she didn't know what he was. Chloe knew. And she let him inside. Not just in her body. He was under her skin. He felt it. How could he not be when she was so deeply under his? Maybe he should go into the city today, just to see...

No. He wasn't playing. He'd told her that. Just this once, he'd keep his word.

TBC

[purplemoon123]

Thank you so much for going through this past season and giving us Chlex. Awesome just awesome.

That first part was just... damn. It's one of the hottest scenes I've ever read. Yes, they didn't do it but the touches, the whispers, the seducing... damn.

My brain has melted from rereading that scene and can't form proper sentence.

Rocio

[lj715]

Great update. Love the relationship with Lex & Chloe...lots of sparks. Can't wait to read more.

[dagney]

As I said before well worth the wait. The observation by Lex that Chloe does get off on the danger true. The chemistry/tension you write between them is sizzling. Dagney

[westwingwolf]

I like that Lex knows Chloe's truth and wants her to want him. It's not right if he just feeds into her rationalizations. I wonder how long it will take if she decides to come to him. I also wonder if she'll figure out the truth about Grant. If Clark can't think of anything but himself for just once, Chloe should ditch him. I know she won't because she's loyal to him which is a good thing, but eventually if that loyalty doesn't pay off, she'll only hurt herself by staying in the friendship. Lex is a dangerous person, but it's obvious he wants her for her, and even though he's trouble to others, he wouldn't be trouble to her, unlike Clark who is helpful for others and harmful to her.

[somethingeasy]

The plot holes and dropped plots just kill me. And it will only get worse.

Also, I don't think Chloe or Clark know just how far gone Lex is in ways. Lex is struggling with it in private -- which is why it makes no sense that Team Kent are so down on Lex so quickly as the season moves toward the end. Yes, Lex is sinking into evil. But they don't know the extent of it, yet they're just magically sure.

I'm not giving up or anything. I like a challenge, but boy is this season a hefty one.

Heh… well, like I’ve mentioned before, feel free to cut yourself loose and go to AU anytime… but I really admire the stunning way that you’ve been putting together the fragmented pieces to put together a coherent story. Seriously, it’s amazing. In fact, take a moment to consider that I stopped watching Smallville and don’t really know anything about some of the references that you’ve been making… but I’m STILL loving this story. It still makes sense to me :D


"So you still can't admit it?"

"Admit what?"

"That it happened and that it... meant..." Are you so desperate to mean something to someone... Maybe he was.

"You said it yourself, Luthor." She swallowed hard. "It felt good. So... there. I admit it. Is that what you want?" He saw her eyes dart to the bed. He turned, saw her sodden jacket hanging half-off the bed.

He picked it up, gripped it hard. If she wanted it, she'd have to take it from him. He needed the why. The answer. "If it was just feel-good sex, then why can't we stop thinking about it?"

Heee. Actually Lex is asking why can’t HE stop thinking about it. It’s a question that he’s posing to Chloe because he’s desperate for an answer to explain it to himself! And he also desperately needs Chloe to tell him that SHE was as effected by his intimate touch as he was by hers. The notion that it meant everything to him and ‘nothing’ to hear is a horrifying notion for him… so horrifying that he’s not allowing his mind to dwell on that possibility. I LOVED the twist you’re giving to Lex’s needy, greedy psyche, AmazingApe!


"My promises..." He laughed and moved closer. "I'm a monster, Chloe. A snake. Maybe you should have let me stay out there to sicken, weaken..." He trailed off. Maybe she should have. Maybe everyone would be better off.

The fact that he can still be filled with so much self-loathing and self-hatred after monstrous actions shows that he’s not quite a completely irredeemable monster as yet. There is still some humanity and empathy left in him. There’s still a chance that he can find peace and balance within himself… if only… Actually I’m not really sure what he would need to be knocked off the path that he’s committed himself to. At this rate, even that sense of guilty, self-loathing regret will even disappear, and he’ll become an outright conscienceless monster.

SAVE him, Chloe!!!


"No," he breathed, shaking his head. He didn't want that. Though maybe he should. He'd created and he'd destroyed. It could be argued that he was God-like. But there was no benevolence to it, not anymore. He hardly knew why he did what he did, just chasing something so elusive he didn't have a name for it. So far away from the man he'd been. Six years ago, he'd just wanted freedom from the suffocation of Lionel's brand of parenting, control. He had those things now. So why wasn't he happy?

Poor, foolish, confused boy. I felt so sorry for that plaintive, lost tone that he had as he asked WHY wasn’t he happy?

Because it’s not just freedom you want, Lex… but it’s also power and complete, unshakable and unadulterated control over everything… which includes your life, your city, you whole world in fact. As soon as Lex realizes that this form of complete control is something that’s beyond everyone’s reach, then he’ll finally achieve some form of peace and happiness with himself. The best he can hope for is control over himself, but it seems like even THAT is far beyond his reach in the state that he’s in right now.

He might be capable of such atrocities, but in the deep within, he’s just a lost, confused child.


She turned, crossing her arms. "No one knows better than I do how dangerous you can be, Luthor. But I'm not trying to get close to you in any way. You're the one who shoved yourself in my workplace, in my..."

"Fair trade, though. You were always snooping where you don't belong. You get off on it." He smiled. "You could get caught, could ruin your whole life, but that's just part of the thrill."

"You think the things I've been through have been some form of thrill-seeking for me?"

"Oh, definitely. You can disguise it in your job and the people's right to know, but it's all about how much you can get away with. You want to push that envelope. You're doing it now."

heh… is this a reasoning that Lex might be using to explain HIS obsessive attraction to Chloe too? Because HE’S also drawn to the unpredictable, uncontrollable danger that she represents? In any case, it’s a very persuasive, compelling argument he’s presented to Chloe. I think he’s right that she DOES get off on the thrill of the chase, just like he does. But that’s of course not her only (or even top priority) reason for doing the things either of them do. LOL! More like a bonus!


"Too proud?" He moved closer. "Fine. I'll be the bigger man." She backed to the door, but, he noticed, didn't make a move toward the knob. "There's no weakness in truth." He dropped her jacket and moved his hand to her waist. "I think about it all the time. It was supposed to be a nice, little f*ck. Work out some of that anger, that mutual loathing, but it was more." He ran his nose along her jaw, breathing in deep. "God, the way you smell..." Clean. Untainted. He wanted to taste it again, all that sweet redemption. He needed it the way she needed a taste of his filth.

heh… no weakness in truth? Doesn’t Lex’s tongue BURN from uttering such a phrase? LOL!

It’s fascinating to see how Lex has latched onto Chloe now as his last chance at salvation and redemption. He’s constantly finding and clinging to people hoping they’re going to ‘save him’, and he always ends up so bitter, vengeful and full of hatred when they fail to save him from himself. It seems like Chloe is the lucky girl to land this delicate, dangerous and challenging position. Heh… let’s see what she does with it. Perhaps she’ll be able to succeed where Clark, Helen, Lana, Martha and Jonathan failed. If anyone can accomplish ‘saving’ someone and bringing out the nobler qualities within, surely it must be Chloe?


He smiled, licking his lips. "I know my part. I'm here to take the choice away." He pressed her into the door. "I'm supposed to give it to you while you say no, no, no. Isn't that it?" He dropped one hand to her hip and dug in, lifting her against the door. "Then you can stumble away and loathe me." He ground his hips into her, not even realizing how hard he was until now. He closed his eyes and took a moment to admire his own constitution as sparks damn near shot through him. It was no surprise anymore, how quickly he recovered. A man didn't face death every other week, still kicking, and not realize something was up. He opened his eyes. She was just hanging there, held up by his press against her, her feet not touching the floor, her arms still at her sides. Her eyes were closed and her mouth was open, tiny breaths hitting his chin. "Come on, Chloe. Where are the mewling protests?" He licked a line from her jaw to her ear and her body jumped, her arms suddenly gripping his. "No. Stop it. You snake. You bastard. You need to get at least a few in so you can tell yourself later this wasn't your idea. "

That was decidedly hot! I loved the twisted way Lex was aching to both ‘conquer Chloe’ as WELL as have her admit that she was coming to him of her own free will. It was thrilling and exciting to see the urge to possess and conquer alongside the need to be accepted. Wow! You did a brilliant job in capturing Lex Luthor, AmazingApe!


"You're wet," he whispered. "But that could be from any number of things. It's obvious I'm practically forcing you into this." He let his fingers brush against her clit inside the confines of her pants. She gave a strangled sort of moan, twisting her head to the side. He took his hand from her pants. "But I'm not." He stepped back as her eyes opened, her head turned back to him. "I'm not playing." He bent to her wet jacket and scooped it up, holding it out. "You can take this and go." She stared at the jacket. "Or stay. But it would be your choice, Chloe."

hot, HOT! I loved the way Lex was sexually taunting Chloe, and how she was responding so intensely to his taunting and semi-bullying. I guess Lex was quite correct when he said that Chloe gets turned on by danger ;)


Her eyes lifted to his. He wondered if she would. She pulled him out of the rain. She obviously thought he didn't deserve to die. But did he deserve comfort? Even he wasn't sure. Regardless, he didn't want to take it. He wanted it given. Jut once, he wanted something handed to him.

wow! I LOVED the way Lex was shaking to take, control and possess… but he desperately wanted Chloe to give and surrender herself to him without him forcing, coercing, tricking, overwhelming or manipulating her into anything. He’s somehow convinced himself that his redemption will come from Chloe, ONLY if she chooses to give it of her own free will. Lucky for Chloe that Lex decided that he absolutely needs her cooperation and willingness before he latches onto her as his salvation. Lana wasn’t as lucky… but then again, Lana was slightly dim-witted and could be tricked and hoodwinked by Lex, and Lex knows better than to try such manipulations on Chloe.


Maybe he was right. She clenched her fist for moment, then pounded away at her keyboard again. Definitely, he was right. It was tempting. He was tempting. All these years, she'd never thought of him as sexy, not on a personal level. But he was. Added to that, he was good in bed. To add even more, he seemed almost unreasonably attracted to her. That was something she'd never felt, not even from Jimmy. And that was... exactly why she would keep her distance, even from the roads that led anywhere near the mansion. Resisting temptation was hard enough. She wasn't about to go off in search of it. And she was damn glad he wasn't around... for more than one reason.

LOL! That sneaky bastard! It was a very clever move for him to push Chloe so far that evening, and then completely back-off, forcing her to go ‘cold turkey’ from him. Now she finds herself preoccupied with Lex, and exasperated and confused about being so obsessed when he’s obviously NOT doing anything to bend her thoughts towards him. LOL! That sneaky, cunning mastermind!

"Got it," she said into her headset.


"Yeah, of course I deleted any trace of it. This isn't the first time I've done something like this." She stood to open the disk drive, rolling her eyes and wishing he could see it. At least Ollie wasn't hovering over her. He'd wanted to until she'd pointed out how conspicuous both Oliver Queen and The Green Arrow would be at The Daily Planet. Besides that, it was just a little light intercepting. All in all, not a bad week. She managed to stay away from Lex. Lex had been staying away from her. And now she was up for another nice piece of her nest egg, courtesy of Oliver. he grabbed her purse. "I'll see you in a few." She felt pretty good... of course that was before a knife embedded itself in the desk, scant millimeters away from her hand.

She stuffed the disk in her purse and ran for it. "Help!" she gasped, hoping Ollie hadn't disconnected. "Somebody's after me!"

Oooh, Green Arrow work, huh? At least it’s good to hear that she has something to keep her mind occupied away from Lex Luthor… otherwise I think there’s a good chance she would have gone visiting the Luthor Mansion on SOME pretence or another shortly after ‘that visit’. Hmmm, I didn’t see this episode, so I’m not sure what exactly happened. Someone attacked Chloe for reasons unknown, but everything turned out all right in the end…?


She shook her head, staring at the screen. Gabriel had been mugged and shot, that much was true. But he'd been with Lionel Luthor at the time. Was that why Lex didn't want this in the papers? To protect his father from scandal. But there'd been no relationship between them of late and what exactly would Grant be doing with Lionel? Was we working against Lex? It seemed awfully convenient that at this time, with this man, Gabriel was killed. If lex had found out...

She shook her head again and closed the screen. She wouldn't think it. She couldn't. Lex was a lot of things, but a murderer...

Oh dear… if ONLY Chloe knew all the abhorrent details of what happened to Garbiel. Not only did Lex authorize pathetic, desperate attempts to clone himself a brother, but then he had that brother shot because he wasn’t acting as loyal and devoted as Lex wanted.

But I can understand how the idea of Lex being Gabriel’s murdered is disregarded as ‘absurd’ by Chloe, when she doesn’t know the twisted history of everything between the two ‘brothers’. As far as she’s concerned, Grant was a loyal, spineless an slightly stupid low level minion of Lex’s, and not really a likely target for a ‘Lex Luthor hit’. She has no idea about the intense, twisted emotions that were between the two men.

Hmmm, I wonder whether she’s ever going to find out…?


"I just can't hang around that house anymore, Chloe. Knowing that phantom was living my life with Lana for over a month while I was trapped in the fortress..." But this Clark. He wanted something, too. He wasn't here for her. He was here to avoid Lana. That other Clark may be long gone, but he'd sure left his mark. "I-I know we looked alike, but she really couldn't tell the difference? And then she tells him that they belong together. Does that mean she doesn't feel that way about me?"

Chloe picked up her coffee cup, trying for some straight talk. "Well, she isn't exactly the same girl you used to trip all over in high school, either."

Clark turned away, as always, at the first sign of truth. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

Chloe laughed again. She had to, either that or cry. "Right. I'm sorry I brought it up." She moved back to her desk.

ROTFLMAO! Oh dear…. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry either. Lex’s single-minded sometimes puts Lex Luthor’s obsessiveness to shame. It’s sometimes so pitiful seeing how focused Clark is on Lana, and can’t stop himself from straying back to making all his conversation about her, her, HER…. Even when he has to stretch to do it, or even when it hurts him to discuss it. LOL! And even when it bores the ears off all his listeners.

What’s the polite way to ask Clark to SHUT UP about Lana because it’s just so damned BORING??!!!


"What happened to your face?" he suddenly asked.

She sat hard in her chair. "First of all, did you seriously not notice this until just now?" His blank stare was all the answer she needed. Of course he didn't notice. His mind was just a jumble of Lana, Lana, the Phantom, Brainiac, and Lana. "Don't worry, Clark. I'm fine."

Moron! I can’t believe Chloe has actually been in love with this guy for years! Heh… but it seems like Chloe is falling a little ‘out’ of the Kent spell now. Perhaps it’s because of the Luthor-Drug crawling in under her skin? What excellent therapeutic qualities that drug possesses, LOL! :D


"On the disk, Chloe. What was on it that was worth you risking your life?"

She sighed. "Clark, my life was never at risk. Not really. Besides all that... I don't know. I figured it was best not to ask and Ollie didn't seem willing to share." Clark looked down. "But I do know that Ollie wouldn't have asked me to get it if it wasn't important."

"Yeah. We'll see." Clark strode past her.

sheeesh! Are you kidding me? I suppose I should have been thrilled that Clark was being so uber-protective of Chloe… but the only vibes I got were jealous possessiveness! As if Clark hated and resented the fact that someone else was playing with his toys! Chloe is HIS hacking-tool, dammit, and no-one else gets to use her… especially not on Clark’s time. Quite honestly, he gave the impression of being a possessive jerk.


She turned. "Clark, don't get all..." He was gone. She sighed and stared at the bag containing the damned ham sandwich. She wished it was tuna. She could go for some tuna. She could also go for a Clark that could just... hang out with her. Not because the world needed saving and not to avaoid Lana while talking incessantly about her, and not...

What had happened to them?

I think has been spending too much time away from Chloe… not putting enough attention into making sure she’s still under his thrall? Heh… that sounded pretty cynical. But I think it’s a distance away from Clark coupled with Chloe’s new ‘thing’ developing with Lex Luthor that’s making her feel like there’s an emotional wedge growing between them. Heh… well, I think a bit of distance away from Clark will be GOOD for Chloe, and help her gain some perspective outside of her obsessive infatuation with the oblivious farmboy.


"A person doesn't just disappear off the face of the earth," Lex barked into his cell. "I don't care if you have to sweep every city in the Western hemisphere. You find her... You call me back when you have something more concrete." He snapped his phone shut and strode toward his office. There was a blonde waiting. His life was just plagued with blondes these days. One he couldn't find, one he couldn't have, and one whose... special brand of service could be had. Just for the right amount of money and, so it seemed, with just motivation.

ROTFL! Poor Lex! And I remember a simpler time when all he had to worry about were homicidal, stalker brunettes… now he has to deal with dangerous, confusing blondes. I wonder whether he should try his luck with red-heads?


"You know my standards. No matter how rich you are, you don't deserve to be robbed. And you, Richy, are a lucky man." She was still holding onto that disk.

He took the money from his inside pocket. "If you stopped whoever's been hacking into my trade secrets, I consider myself very lucky." He waited for her to tell him who. Because hacking wasn't an altogether common knack. And if it was who he thought...

She took the money and handed the disk over. "Your file almost fell into the wrong hands. I had a little run-in with an emerald archer."

He turned, surprised. This was better than he'd even dreamed. "Green Arrow?"

Ah HAH! So the knife thrown at Chloe was courtesy of THIS mysterious lady? hmmm, a mercenary for hire? I’m guessing that this is the twisted version of The Black Canary that AlMiles have bastardized for their show? Oh dear… so all of Chloe’s results of heavy-duty hacking had been stolen away from her and handed over to Lex? That’s honestly a real shame!


If it was Chloe... Well that was one thing. It would just give him a good reason to take her. Keep her. Force her to stay where he could always... But this was better. It was. He'd rather have Green Arrow under his eye. "You think you can find him again?"

heh… despite how Lex actually has ‘good and noble intentions’ (as good as noble as he’s capable of now) with regards to Chloe, he can’t stop the occasionally fantasy to just say ‘f*ck it’ and just GRAB her and take her, whether she wants to cooperate or not.


He sat in his chair after she left, understanding in her eyes. She'd do it. She'd get him. And Lex could find out exactly what made him tick. Maybe the rest of his merry men as well. It was better than having Chloe. His men had already seen what made her tick. There was something there, but she was latent. No use to him until she showed some sign of... No. He couldn't lie. It wasn't that she was useless to him. Far from it.

But he didn't want her imprisoned. He didn't want her by force. He wanted her to come to him. A week now and she hadn't showed up. He shouldn't be surprised. He wasn't, really. Just disappointed. There was that small hope that, monster that he was, she'd want him. It was only one night. He shouldn't be so fixated, but it was such a night...

I LOVED how Lex’s thought keep turning around like a psychotic wheel-running hamster. He’s TRYING to tear his thoughts away from Chloe, but finds himself incapable of thinking of how good, sweet, beautiful, irresistible and untainted she felt that night with him. And how he desperately wants MORE of that feeling. It’s fascinating that he’s stuck in the firm belief that, if only Chloe accepts him, it will prove to everyone (most of all himself) that he’s NOT a irredeemable monster. It might even be true actually. If Chloe accepts and learns to love Lex, he might actually try to turn himself into a better man for her sake, and this time he’ll actually stick with his noble intentions because he knows that Chloe won’t allow him to get away with anything nefarious and underhanded while SHE’S involved and invested in him.


With Lana, he'd thought he had it all. But she didn't know what he was. Chloe knew. And she let him inside. Not just in her body. He was under her skin. He felt it. How could he not be when she was so deeply under his? Maybe he should go into the city today, just to see...

No. He wasn't playing. He'd told her that. Just this once, he'd keep his word.

I loved this sign of Lex’s nobler side coming out into play. It’s moments like these which keep me convinces that there IS something in him that can still be saved. If only… heh… well, that’s something that we’ll have to wait and see, won’t we?

Fantastic chapter, AmazingApe! I look forward to seeing how the next one goes. THANK you for updating. I loved reading this! Good luck with your future postings.

[letia84]

With Lana, he'd thought he had it all. But she didn't know what he was. Chloe knew. And she let him inside. Not just in her body. He was under her skin. He felt it. How could he not be when she was so deeply under his? Maybe he should go into the city today, just to see...

No. He wasn't playing. He'd told her that. Just this once, he'd keep his word.Can't even go one week Luthor. He's going to break I know it.

Wonderful update. Damn shame Chloe didn't stay but how could she. Such great angst in this. Clark is a real meat head. I wish he get a clue that Lana is not going to become this wonderful person he thinks she is.

More Soon.

[lilinny]

I don't even have to watch the show, I can just read your stories. Love the chapter. Write more soon.

[SVfan1286]

I'm sooo happy to see an update on this fabulous story!

Clark is a giant moron, Chloe totally needs to get rid of his alien ass. Lol All he cares about is himself and Lana... Chloe needs to get some new friends! I love that out of all the people in Chloe's life the only one who really cares about her and really knows her is Lex... it's completely ironic. Just give in to him Chloe!

I loved the first scene with Lex and Chloe, it was seriously Hot. I love that Lex want's Chloe to come to him on her own free will. I can't wait to see if he will keep his word or if he will break it.

Another fantastic chapter! I look forward to reading more!!

[Esther25jm]

Hot damn, I'm so happy that you updated. I've missed this story. What an update, too. The beginning had me feeling so sad for Lex, but in Chloe's corner, too. I'm so torn with the two because of the circumstances, but I still want them to be together in some form of happiness. Hard, I know, especially since this is in S6, but I'm such a dreamer.

Love the intro to Gabriel's death. Nice cover story and it's very IC of Chloe to wonder about the circumstances (and if Lex was involved), yet pushing that thought away because she feels he'd never do it. Let's hope she doesn't find out.

Ahh, Black Canary, right? I didn't watch the episode, yet I still know that your story is better than the one on SV. She seems very interesting, especially in helping Lex. Wonder what she wants from him....

That ender with Lex and his thoughts....sooo very interesting. Love that he's not only seeing Chloe as a 'toy' to possess, but as someone much more. Even better that you showed the difference in his views between Chloe and Lana. Also love the conflict and indecision in wanting to see Chloe, yet settling for leaving her alone. I like that he's leaving it up to her and not forcing his presence on her. Maybe it'll help in her decision of staying away.

Can't wait for some more!!

[Kit Merlot]

I love that no matter how hard Chloe resists, she is still drawn to Lex. And he knows it and taunts her with that knowledge:grin3:

But the question remains: when will she give into her desires? Soon, I hope:D

[DiscoGhostie]

Woo-hoo for updates! You've done such a great job of making the atrocity season seven was into something compelling and fun. Well done! :D

[gecko]

great update, can't wait for more and see what chloe does next and if she goes to lex or not, and what happens next in their game.

[TheAmazingApe]

Really thought I should get back to this, as I've got a few more chapters in on the story that never ends (not that I'm complaining, mind you. I kind of don't want to let it go). But I really needed some dirty, Chlexy fun (and who doesn't?).


And I also like that you are having Lois reacting to Grant's death--I think the show really missed an opportunity to show EDLois' softer side by having her learn of Grant's death, and she should have also learned about his being a Luthor. But this was just another missed plot point.

Actually, I didn't have Chloe tell her. If she did, then her flippant comment to Clark about how she used him to get over Ollie and it didn't end well would just seem too callous for me. And, to be honest, I'm upset that the show didn't have her acknowledge that he's dead and show some emotion. I prefer to assume she doesn't know. I did, however, give Chloe the knowledge, not just because I think someone should know, but because I think that all these secrets and protection piling on are what leads to Borg!Chloe, as they call her on TWoP. I'm really trying to save this season for me, make it all make sense and fill in those many, many missing scenes.

I like to think of this fic as my own Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead to Smallville's Hamlet (Ha! Right).

It's everything we didn't see and, I hope it not only seems believable with show canon, but gives it a little something extra.

PART SEVEN

Chloe sank back into a stuffed chair in a corner of The Talon, sipping at her stupid decaf machiatto. As much as she thought the very idea of decaf coffee was pointless, she knew that she'd be up all night if she had another drop of caffeine today. Besides all that, she liked the taste. But she'd rather there was a Dairy Queen open this time of night. She could go for ice cream.

She glanced at the ceiling. It was silly, really. It wasn't like she could see.

She'd left Lois alone with her ice cream, especially since she wasn't sharing. Neither the why nor the ice cream. Chloe knew the why. It was Ollie. She'd commiserate with Lois, but it would take a world of explaining as to how she knew Ollie's secret identity. Lois would be even more upset if she knew about Grant. But Chloe would keep those secrets.

In a way, she had her own secret identity. She was a secret-keeper. She held all that truth close and she could never let it out. She couldn't write up half the amazing things she saw at Clark's side. Not truthfully. Not if she wanted his activities to stay secret. She couldn't expose Lex. That could mean... She wasn't sure what. She didn't think one night in bed had changed them on any level. Apparantly, those files were from Lex. If she'd known... She still would have done it. And she doubted that Lex had gone soft on her, either. And she'd better not forget that with Lex's money and power, he could make her and all those close to her pay. Even her mother.

She missed her mother. All the more for never having her, really. Ollie had someone looking after her in Star City still. She owed him more than light hacking. If Ollie didn't insist on tossing money at her, she might work pro-bono for Ollie as she did for Clark.

Clark.

She had another secret identity there. She was a sidekick. The best sidekick in town, apparently. She smiled, thinking of the warmth in his eyes when he said it. It seemed like he hadn't said something like that in so long. She'd been distracted. She hadn't tried hard enough to help him. It wasn't just helping Clark. It was helping herself, everyone, the whole damn world. She'd do better from here on out.

And not just with the helping. She'd keep on track. Her mind had been so many places and many of those places were a dark room with none other than Lex Luthor. Lois wasn't the only one with man troubles right now. She hadn't acted on it, but she was tempted, even now. But she had to keep pushing it away. If Lex had a hand in Grant Gabriel's death... She didn't know for sure, but if he did... And if she chose to go to him, to do it again, she'd be doing this with a monster, not just a man. It was suspect, to say the least, that it was not front page news that an editor at that very paper was killed. She had to face the idea that it wasn't just a routine mugging. It was Lex or it was Lionel. Either way, it was a Luthor.

It was best to stay away from Luthors. If she could learn that from anyone, it was Lana. Not even a year with Lex and she'd become so dark, so...

Her phone trilled and some high-schooler poring over a textbook glared at her. She grasped her purse and dug for it, her eyes widening as she read the call screen. "Speak of the devil," she muttered, flipping it open and pressing talk. "Hi, Lana."

There was silence on the other end. She just waited, having nothing to fill it with, either.

"Hi," Lana finally said, slightly shaky. "We haven't talked in so long and... How have you been?"

"Fine," she said, recognizing how clipped her voice was.

Lana must have felt it, too. There was another long pause before she responded. "Uh... Clark's been gone a while. Didn't see him when I got back to the house."

"Well, he had some things to take care of."

"So you saw him?" It wasn't a question.

"Yes. I've been helping him out with a few things."

"Good. I'm... glad he always has you to help him."

"Yes. I'm sure you are."

"No. Chloe, I... I mean it. I... There's been so much going on with Clark and all I could think about was myself and this idea that Lex had to pay and it just took me over and... You were right, Chloe. You were right to cut off my feed on Lex and... I was going somewhere dark and I just... I don't want to be that girl anymore." She heard a watery sigh. "And you were there for him. I mean, even with the phantom... You knew. You know him in ways I don't and I... I don't want to resent that anymore because I... I was wrong to tell you to let him go, Chloe. He needs you. You've been there for years and I... God, you've been there for me, too and I just threw it away and... Chloe, I... I hate that we've become this because I need you, too." She heard sobs on the other end. "And I've treated you like an enemy when you're really my closest... my only..."

"Lana, stop." Chloe closed her eyes and leaned back in her comfy chair, letting out a long breath. "I never thought I was your enemy," she finally said. "I have had... concerns about how you've spent your time. But..." She paused, still hearing sniffles on the other end. "I'd... I'd never stop being there for you."

"You were there for me. I just didn't see it and... Oh, Chloe... You don't how it's been. I've... I've ruined everything. Clark can't even look at me. For weeks, I was with that... that phantom and I didn't even know. Maybe I didn't want to know because he was saying all the right things and..."

"I can relate," Chloe cut in. Of course, not really. Her own bedroom foibles had been with a man who didn't say anywhere near the right thing. It was all wrong. Very, very wrong. And she would never do it again. Ever. For real. And even if he stormed in here without a stitch of clothes on this minute, she'd tell him just that.

"...and that's why maybe if we just had some space... Maybe we just need to get some perspective."

Chloe shook herself, realizing she was supposed to be talking to Lana, not thinking about Lex. "Perspective is... a good thing," she finally got out, hoping that made it sound like she definitely wasn't thinking of naked billionaires.

"So I can?"

Chloe held the phone closer to her ear. "Can what?"

"Stay with you."

"Uh..." Three women in a one bedroom apartment. Just she and Lois were already pushing the limits of the space.

"Clark and I are just... existing together and I think... I know it's no good for either of us. I don't know if we need time apart or if this is really the end and I..."

But isn't this what you wanted? It was a petty thought. Deep down, this part of her knew that Clark was kidding himself about Lana and Lana was kidding herself if she thought she could truly deal with who Clark was, who he really was... But she wasn't exactly happy about it. She never thought she would be, when it came to it. She wasn't, not really. Not rejoicing. Only relieved. Maybe now Clark would see that what he did, what she helped him to do... That was the life he belonged to.

It was tempered with a small amount of smug satisfaction, however. Because she knew. She knew all along.

"Maybe just some time with you, with a friend," Lana was saying. "There's so much tied up in Clark and I feel like I can't even relax around him. Like I'm walking on eggshells and..."

Friend? Were they friends? She didn't know what they were anymore. But she knew what she was supposed to say, to do. "Lana, it's fine," she cut in. Of course you stay with me... if you want." Yes. She was getting much better at saying and doing what she was supposed to.

During Lana's effusive promises about how it could be just like before, she chuckled along. When she hung up, she dropped the act, letting her head fall into her hands. She wasn't sure what to feel right now. Was she supposed to go with that relief that it might finally end? Should she be mourning over the fact that a girl she once treated as a sister was such a stranger to her now? Maybe it should be head-spinning confusion over the fact that she was now supposed to be a reporter, sidekick, watchtower, and a sister. And she wasn't really up to any of them at the moment.

When she saw Clark come into The Talon, she decided to go with a new feeling - the tense knot now forming in her stomach at the thought that she would be smack in the middle, just like last year. Clark would ask about Lana. Lana would ask about Clark. And what was she to do? What else? Try to make the both of them look good to the other, all the while knowing that it was all wrong.

She shrank back in her chair as he approached the stairs, trying not to breathe until he was out of sight. He probably wanted to talk, maybe about Lana or Ollie or the blonde screamer. And she just wasn't in the mood. Whatever she'd have to do later, she was not on duty yet. When he came down, she was not about to gently break it to him that Lana was probably writing a "Dear Clark" letter now. On the other hand, she was not about to make smalltalk knowing what she did. She was not going to talk to him at all. Not tonight.

She put her coffee on a small accent table between the chairs. It was sour in her stomach. Either that or the churning was just a physical manifestaion of her emotional state. She was sick. Sick to death of keeping of being what everyone needed. Save a life? Sure thing. Heal a finger? No problem. Of course I'll hack for you, Clark. Ollie, too. While I'm at it, I'll listen to everyone's problems. Keep all of their secrets. Never mind my problems. Never mind my... secrets.

"Oh, God," she whispered, staring at the front door of the Talon.

And now Lex. She groaned and grabbed a bit of today's paper, left behind on the table next to her, holding it in front of her face. She'd be trapped in this chair forever. Between Clark upstairs and Lex waltzing in and Lana on her way. She grabbed her bag, still holding the paper up. There was no rule that said she had to wait here. She stood and glanced behind her at the side door. Maybe just a little fresh air.

She leaned against the side door, closing her eyes and taking a breath. It wasn't exactly fresh air. It smelled like mildew and rotting lettuce from the deli next store. But it was possibly better than being trapped in a chair. Still, she'd rather take a walk then just stand here. She moved down the small step and into the alleyway, groaning as she saw a car parked smack in the middle, hardly any room on either side. The passenger side looked doable, since it, unlike the front, wasn't an inch from the corner of a dumpster. She moved toward it, holding her bag in front of her. In the middle of negotiating her way around the sideview mirror, her coat rubbed against the dirty wall. "Hope they get a hefty ticket," she muttered.

"Oh, I won't. Don't worry."

She stilled. "Of course." She turned to Lex and sidestepped back. "You couldn't just park in the street like the rest of us plebeians."

"Owning the place does come with its perks." He put his coffee on the roof, then leaned on it, effectively blocking her way. He wasn't wearing a suit. He was wearing an open trench over dark pants and a sweater, Lex's version of casual. She wondered if he'd be caught dead in sweatpants. He reached forward and she flinched back slightly. He just smiled and pushed at the sideview mirror. It folded in. "That might help," he said.

"You moving might help more." She dropped her purse to her side when he still stood there. "How'd you even get out?"

He nodded to her right. "Little more room on the driver's side."

She rolled her eyes. "That and a dumpster. I didn't want to vault over the hood." She moved backwards into the alley. "Can you just move this thing?"

He came forward instead. "Running away from me?"

"Don't flatter yourself. I have many more interesting things to run away from."

He raised an eyebrow. "Care to elaborate?"

She stopped in the middle of the alleyway, tired of backing away like a scared girl. "Not to you."

He smiled. "As your employer, I have an open door policy. Really. You can tell me anything."

"Aren't you progressive?"

"How are things at work? I hear you're there at all hours."

"It's not on the clock, Luthor, so I don't think you should worry."

"Maybe I'm exactly the person who should worry."

She tilted her head. "Would you care to elaborate?" she asked.

"Of course not." Honestly, how could he? He'd have to admit it, then. And her off-the-clock activities paled to his, though they had a common thread. He wasn't any more ready to say it aloud than she was, but there it was. That subtle current that ran under every exchange they'd had. One false step and she'd ruin him. And vice versa. He stepped forward again, but she stood her ground.

"Thought you weren't chasing me down," she said.

His eyes widened. "Not chasing you at all. Just having a pleasant..." A ringing cut in and he pursed his lips and pulled a cell phone from his coat. He opened it, still standing there. "Yes?" he barked. "Yes. And it's in the morning. Why are you calling me now?" His voice lowered. "Gina, it's my jet. I'd like to believe it will leave when I'm ready." He snapped the phone closed. "Where were we?"

"We were done." She moved toward the car, then sidestepped toward mouth of the alleyway. She couldn't deal with this right now. She was about to jump out of her skin, she was so stressed.

She heard him right behind her. "Really? Because I thought we were just getting warmed up."

"Maybe you want to play cat and mouse, but I'm..." She gasped as she cleared the corner. It was Clark, nearly alone in the darkened street, looking to either side. She knew what that usually preceded. She ducked back and whirled around, grabbing Lex by the shoulders and pushing him to the car.

He looked to the side. "What's the matter with..."

She grabbed the side of his head and did the only thing she could in hopes he wouldn't notice a familiar red and blue figure about to blur by.

Of course, she probably could have thought of something better than kissing him. Punching him would have been a good one. It wasn't like he didn't deserve it for at least one of the things he'd done to her. Could have just pushed him down. But no. She just had to kiss him. And that wasn't the worst part.

No. With the limited space, it wasn't just his mouth she felt against her. Breasts rubbed right below his chest. An erection (God! Already?) poked into her stomach. Even their legs touched. She had to stop it.

Before she could pull way, he did... his mouth, at least. "So I take it you're... making a choice?"

She pushed him back and squeezed to the side. "No." The wrong side, apparently, as she was in the alleyway again. She leaned against the wall and faced away from him, breathing heavily.

"Then what the f*ck was that?" she heard behind her.

That was just me protecting Clark, of course. But was it? Was that all it was? Because she could have done nay number of things, but she picked that. "That was... just goodbye," she said, not having anything better.

"Oh, Chloe..." She felt his breath on her neck. "I seriously doubt a goodbye between me and you would be anything so tame as a little kiss." She felt his hand on her hip. Her body froze, but her stomach muscles contracted as it moved to her waistband... moved inside. "F*cking pants again," he grunted.

She found herself leaning back against him as his hand slipped further in, under pants, under panties, all over her... "Mmmm.... I... I thought you said you were done playing."

"Well..." His lips brushed her ear. "It was your move. You made a move. I'm just answering it." His fingers made slow circles over her clit.

"It wasn't a move," she panted. "And I don't want you to ans... Ahhh... Faster..."

His breathing suddenly sped up, but his fingers kept up their slow rhythm. "Not unless you say it."

"Say what?" Right now, she might tell him he was the damned Sultan of Smallville if he just moved faster. So much pressure... always so much pressure. If it would just break...

"That this happened." He bit her earlobe, a little too hard to be a nibble. "And it was all because of you, Chloe. Because you wanted it. You asked for it."

"I... won't... Uhhh..." His fingers sped up, then slowed down again.

"Say it."

She gripped his arm and turned into the wall, wantonly rubbing agianst his fingers. "I... want this."

He pressed against her. "You asking for it?"

"God, just..." She pushed an elbow back into his stomach. "I don't know. I'm about to change my mind, Lex."

He pulled his hand out, but she felt it warm on her waist, pulling her backwards. She felt the side of that stupid mirror brush aginst her hip as he kept pulling her. Then he turned her, clear of the alleyway, of the car. "Mine hasn't changed, Chloe. I'm... God... Always so much... too much to... I just want..."

She grabbed the lapels of his coat and pulled, catching his lips again, thanking God it was Smallville and nearing nine or the public, or the press, would have a field day. She wondered if, somewhere on the other side of the good/evil spectrum, Lex just needed what she did. Release. From the eager way his lips and body pressed into hers, she knew it must be true. She pulled away, taking in his hooded eyes and moist lips. "Fuck me," she whispered.

He only stared, his choppy breaths hitting her lips.

"I want you to fuck me," she said clearly, hoping there was no room for doubt. It didn't have to mean anything. It didn't have to change anything. He'd still be my enemy. I'd still be his. But if she needed it, if he needed it... Or did he? She drew back, wondering if this was all some elaborate game. Get her to say it, then laugh in her face as he...

He swallowed hard. "Get in the car," he said in a choked voice.

TBC

So. There it was. My attempt to humanize Lana and get her and Chloe back to some kind of friendship. The show, last we saw, had them still cold and distant, then there's this sudden "Oh, I've talked to Chloe and I'm staying with her" from Lana at the end of Siren (right before the Clana make-up session, which bugs me, too). But this bugged me, especially after the throw-down in Wrath, then the condescending Chlana moment in Persona. They're friend and potential roomies now? Really?

Ugh! Half this last season happened in OffScrennville and it still burns my bottom.

Oh... And smut ahoy, just so you know.

[westwingwolf]

I liked the explanation for why Lana and Chloe would suddenly be friendly again, of course there is still some tension between them in Traveler if I remember correctly. And even if we had seen a scene where Lana apologized, I'd still wonder if she was just doing it so she'd have somewhere to go and get away from Clark. I don't think Lana could truly survive on her own without anyone to turn to, but she has money and that damn office of hers she could have gone to. She just wants someone to be on her side and listen to her problems.

I applaud Chloe for trying to get away from it all. Sometimes it's just too difficult to always be the sounding board and never get enough affection in return. I think Chloe should take something that she wants, and I think that what she wants is Lex, despite what she tries to fool herself into believing.

There is a difference between her wanting Lex, and Lana wanting Bizarro. Chloe knows exactly who Lex is and she's not trying to hide behind the fact that he's finally telling her everything she wants to hear. Whereas Lana didn't know and possibly didn't care that Bizarro wasn't Clark. I don't know if I'm explaining it right and it might still sound crazy even if I could but I still see Chloe as the better person. Chloe's not expecting something different from Lex, she's not exploiting any changes, and she's not risking Lex's life to make hers better. If anything, she's putting more risk on her own life. I think Chloe's making the tougher choice and if not for love then for some attraction that she can't control. Where Lana was more in a win/win situation, if Clark had never come back her life would have been just fine with her. Yes, their relationship is in jeopardy now but it was always a safe bet that Clark would take her back once he got over his issues and would ultimately take the blame for all of it. I think that whatever Lex and Chloe have, in a way it's stronger than what Clark and Lana have because Lex and Chloe are going to have to work for it and ultimately suffer consequences whether it works out or doesn't.

And I certainly think Chloe wanted to kiss Lex and protecting Clark was just an excuse. What would it had mattered if Lex had seen Clark? It wouldn't change anything. In fact it would have hurt Clark or Chloe, if Clark had seen Chloe with Lex. So she definitely needs to stop trying to hide her feelings or at least get more in touch with what she really wants. I understand her fear of losing her friendship with Clark if she goes with what she wants with Lex, but there are times when I can't help but think that the gain is definitely better than the loss.

Anyways, very eager to see what happens next.

[dagney]

i loved the line sultan of smallville. LOL You do such a good job of reflecting Chloe's inner stress what it must be like to have to/choose to alter her behavior what she says to keep other secrets. How hard it must be confusing after a while becuae of her own persona that she shows others. I'm all for the hot smut. dagney

[lj715]

Great update but very evil for ending where you did. Can't wait for more.

[Esther25jm]

*gasp* You stopped it there?!! OMG!!! Such a great update and trust me, I can't wait for more!!

[purplemoon123]

Thank you for adding off-screenville moments. For me that's why the season seemed so disjointed.

Now that Clark and Lois scene in Siren makes so sort of sense. I always kept thinking that was a wasted Chlo-Lo moment in order to give Clois anvil.

I am not even going to start on the whole Bizana mess that Clark just forgives and blames himself. *shakes head in disgust*

*gasp* You tease.


He came forward instead. "Running away from me?"

...

"Thought you weren't chasing me down," she said.

Chlex verbal judo at it's best.

And can you please not have Gina interrupting Chlexy goodness.

[showntell]

Thanks for the update..the Lana Chloe friendship has always been a plot contrivance on the show.

yay for Chlexy goodness

[lilinny]

If Chloe keeps any more secrets I think she might explode.

Get laid by Lex.

Great chapter.

[somethingeasy]

She had another secret identity there. She was a sidekick. The best sidekick in town, apparently. She smiled, thinking of the warmth in his eyes when he said it. It seemed like he hadn't said something like that in so long. She'd been distracted. She hadn't tried hard enough to help him. It wasn't just helping Clark. It was helping herself, everyone, the whole damn world. She'd do better from here on out.

I really enjoyed the start of this chapter, and how it described Chloe’s mounting stress about being the secret keeper and sidekick of SO many people. I didn’t fully appreciate it, but it sounds like it’s a HUGE burden for Chloe to be the confidante on so many people who dump all their secrets on her, and wring her out as their emotional sounding board. Especially since she’s got no-one to fulfil that role for her. SHE also needs a secret keeper dammit! It’s seriously NOT fair that Chloe doesn’t have anyone that she can trust to be faithful and non-judgemental with HER secrets as she is with others. Poor girl. She really needs to find herself a pal… OR stop taking on other people’s burdens. Learn how to say ‘no’, Chloe!


And not just with the helping. She'd keep on track. Her mind had been so many places and many of those places were a dark room with none other than Lex Luthor. Lois wasn't the only one with man troubles right now. She hadn't acted on it, but she was tempted, even now. But she had to keep pushing it away. If Lex had a hand in Grant Gabriel's death... She didn't know for sure, but if he did... And if she chose to go to him, to do it again, she'd be doing this with a monster, not just a man. It was suspect, to say the least, that it was not front page news that an editor at that very paper was killed. She had to face the idea that it wasn't just a routine mugging. It was Lex or it was Lionel. Either way, it was a Luthor.

oooh, so Chloe is beginning to suspect that Lex was involved in Gabriel’s death somehow? I loved that she was sharp enough to pick up on the few clues available. She hasn’t got enough proof to be sure, but enough to be suspicious. I liked the idea that Chloe was seriously considering the idea of being with Lex again, but was wary about ‘giving herself’ to a man who she suspected guilty of such monstrous actions.


"I can relate," Chloe cut in. Of course, not really. Her own bedroom foibles had been with a man who didn't say anywhere near the right thing. It was all wrong. Very, very wrong. And she would never do it again. Ever. For real. And even if he stormed in here without a stitch of clothes on this minute, she'd tell him just that.

"...and that's why maybe if we just had some space... Maybe we just need to get some perspective."

Chloe shook herself, realizing she was supposed to be talking to Lana, not thinking about Lex. "Perspective is... a good thing," she finally got out, hoping that made it sound like she definitely wasn't thinking of naked billionaires.

I was actually rather touched by the way Lana was reaching out to Chloe and trying to renew old bonds of friendship. It made me think that Lana had realized how she had been mistreating and pushing away her only friend and had learned from her mistakes and was making her effort to be a better person as well as a better friend.

LOL! And I was really enjoying the way that Chloe kept on getting distracted during Lana’s ramblings by her own problems and couldn’t stop her mind from dwelling on Lex Luthor and the temptation that he represented. It was SO much fun seeing her using Lana’s arguments as a way of telling herself that it was a bad, BAD idea for her to even consider being with Lex again. Heh… she hasn’t got any confidantes, so she’s reduced to making double talk with people now?


"Maybe just some time with you, with a friend," Lana was saying. "There's so much tied up in Clark and I feel like I can't even relax around him. Like I'm walking on eggshells and..."

Friend? Were they friends? She didn't know what they were anymore. But she knew what she was supposed to say, to do. "Lana, it's fine," she cut in. Of course you stay with me... if you want." Yes. She was getting much better at saying and doing what she was supposed to.

*gags and vomits* UN-believable!! UN-frikken-Believable! Are you kidding me, Chloe?! What the &*^# are you thinking?!?? I take back everything I said about being ‘touched’ by Lana’s repentance and the way she was trying to re-form her bonds of friendship. She was so transparently buttering up Chloe and laying out a cheap, manipulative sob story to get Chloe to give her exactly what she wanted. She was USING Chloe!! And Chloe fell for it!!!

I am utterly disgusted with the blonde! This is way above and beyond the simple inability to say ‘no’. This goes into a pathological urge to please everyone at all costs! Chloe needs therapy!


During Lana's effusive promises about how it could be just like before, she chuckled along. When she hung up, she dropped the act, letting her head fall into her hands. She wasn't sure what to feel right now. Was she supposed to go with that relief that it might finally end? Should she be mourning over the fact that a girl she once treated as a sister was such a stranger to her now? Maybe it should be head-spinning confusion over the fact that she was now supposed to be a reporter, sidekick, watchtower, and a sister. And she wasn't really up to any of them at the moment.

*disdainful sniff* you’re seriously not going to get any sympathy from me, Chloe! YOU’RE the one who keeps insisting on saying ‘yes’ to everyone with a huge, happy kick me if it pleases you smile on your face. The girl seriously needs to learn how to tell people off.


When she saw Clark come into The Talon, she decided to go with a new feeling - the tense knot now forming in her stomach at the thought that she would be smack in the middle, just like last year. Clark would ask about Lana. Lana would ask about Clark. And what was she to do? What else? Try to make the both of them look good to the other, all the while knowing that it was all wrong.

ROTFL! Oh dear me… Chloe has trapped herself in that SAME horrible, suffocating, humiliating position of being Lana and Clark’s buffer and go-between girl again. I shouldn’t laugh, but it’s really something seeing what kind of STUPID things she does to herself… repeatedly! The situation calls for me to either laugh of cry… and I’ll choose to meanly laugh.


She put her coffee on a small accent table between the chairs. It was sour in her stomach. Either that or the churning was just a physical manifestaion of her emotional state. She was sick. Sick to death of keeping of being what everyone needed. Save a life? Sure thing. Heal a finger? No problem. Of course I'll hack for you, Clark. Ollie, too. While I'm at it, I'll listen to everyone's problems. Keep all of their secrets. Never mind my problems. Never mind my... secrets.

This was GOOD, AmazingApe! I loved the description of Chloe drowning. Actually, it’s rather frightening seeing how she’s losing her own true identity in all the roles that she’s playing for others. And no one is noticing?!?? Someone help Chloe NOW!

Perhaps this Chloe needs a memory wipe too, AmazingApe? LOL!


"Oh, I won't. Don't worry."

She stilled. "Of course." She turned to Lex and sidestepped back. "You couldn't just park in the street like the rest of us plebeians."

"Owning the place does come with its perks." He put his coffee on the roof, then leaned on it, effectively blocking her way. He wasn't wearing a suit. He was wearing an open trench over dark pants and a sweater, Lex's version of casual. She wondered if he'd be caught dead in sweatpants. He reached forward and she flinched back slightly. He just smiled and pushed at the sideview mirror. It folded in. "That might help," he said.

ROTFL! That arrogant snot! I’m surprised and impressed that Chloe managed to keep herself from punching him right in the nose. But perhaps she was afraid of her reaction to him if she touched him? ;)


He came forward instead. "Running away from me?"

"Don't flatter yourself. I have many more interesting things to run away from."

heh… that would have been cute and funny if it wasn’t so true.


He smiled. "As your employer, I have an open door policy. Really. You can tell me anything."

"Aren't you progressive?"

ROTFL! I LOVE their banter, and the charming way they can keep sniping at each other while maintaining a civil tone. LOL! The first one to start screaming loses, ROTFL! Mmmm, Lex’s open door policy! Yummy! Does that apply to all DP workers? Because I’ll happily submit an intern application form tonight!


"Of course not." Honestly, how could he? He'd have to admit it, then. And her off-the-clock activities paled to his, though they had a common thread. He wasn't any more ready to say it aloud than she was, but there it was. That subtle current that ran under every exchange they'd had. One false step and she'd ruin him. And vice versa. He stepped forward again, but she stood her ground.

I loved the description of the ‘undercurrent of tension’ that constantly runs like electricity between them. I can see how that translates so EASILY into that intense sexual connection they share. Awesome, AmazingApe!


"Thought you weren't chasing me down," she said.

His eyes widened. "Not chasing you at all. Just having a pleasant..." A ringing cut in and he pursed his lips and pulled a cell phone from his coat. He opened it, still standing there. "Yes?" he barked. "Yes. And it's in the morning. Why are you calling me now?" His voice lowered. "Gina, it's my jet. I'd like to believe it will leave when I'm ready." He snapped the phone closed. "Where were we?"

ROTFL! I can’t believe that he was about to claim that he wasn’t stalking and chasing her. I guess he actually believes that he IS retraining himself?! Wow! I love that twisted Luthor mind! LOL!


She grabbed the side of his head and did the only thing she could in hopes he wouldn't notice a familiar red and blue figure about to blur by.

Of course, she probably could have thought of something better than kissing him. Punching him would have been a good one. It wasn't like he didn't deserve it for at least one of the things he'd done to her. Could have just pushed him down. But no. She just had to kiss him. And that wasn't the worst part.

LOL! I love that Chloe acknowledged that she had a WHOLE load of options available to her besides kissing Lex to distract him… some of those options included some lovely violence on Lex’s beautiful, smooth, perfect target of a head, LOL! So she admitted to herself, right from the beginning, that she probably kissed him because she subconsciously WANTED to kiss him.


No. With the limited space, it wasn't just his mouth she felt against her. Breasts rubbed right below his chest. An erection (God! Already?) poked into her stomach. Even their legs touched. She had to stop it.

heh… I’ll bet he had that erection from the moment he first heard her voice talking about him getting a parking ticket. Heck, he probably got an erection from the first sight of her.


She pushed him back and squeezed to the side. "No." The wrong side, apparently, as she was in the alleyway again. She leaned against the wall and faced away from him, breathing heavily.

"Then what the f*ck was that?" she heard behind her.

That was just me protecting Clark, of course. But was it? Was that all it was? Because she could have done nay number of things, but she picked that. "That was... just goodbye," she said, not having anything better.

LOL! Pretty good try to be honest, Chloe! But not good enough. It’s certainly not going to fool Lex, especially not since she can’t seem to fool herself about how much SHE wanted it too.


She found herself leaning back against him as his hand slipped further in, under pants, under panties, all over her... "Mmmm.... I... I thought you said you were done playing."

"Well..." His lips brushed her ear. "It was your move. You made a move. I'm just answering it." His fingers made slow circles over her clit.

"It wasn't a move," she panted. "And I don't want you to ans... Ahhh... Faster..."

oooh, HOT! Now that Lex has suddenly got himself ‘permission’ to use his moveson her, he’s not going to let up. And he’s got some VERY smooth, skilful, practiced moves to use on Chloe until she surrenders.


"That this happened." He bit her earlobe, a little too hard to be a nibble. "And it was all because of you, Chloe. Because you wanted it. You asked for it."

"I... won't... Uhhh..." His fingers sped up, then slowed down again.

"Say it."

She gripped his arm and turned into the wall, wantonly rubbing agianst his fingers. "I... want this."

He pressed against her. "You asking for it?"

"God, just..." She pushed an elbow back into his stomach. "I don't know. I'm about to change my mind, Lex."

I seriously LOVE the way that Chloe is not giving Lex an inch, not without a long, hard fight. It’s battle time between them now, and it’s FUN to see who is going to win :D


He pulled his hand out, but she felt it warm on her waist, pulling her backwards. She felt the side of that stupid mirror brush aginst her hip as he kept pulling her. Then he turned her, clear of the alleyway, of the car. "Mine hasn't changed, Chloe. I'm... God... Always so much... too much to... I just want..."

I loved, LOVED how desperate he sounded here! Poor Lex is in a really bad, pathetic, pitiful state. He’s barely a step away from begging for it. *awed voice* I don’t think he’s been able to sleep with ANY woman since Chloe, has he? Awesome!!!!


"I want you to f*ck me," she said clearly, hoping there was no room for doubt. It didn't have to mean anything. It didn't have to change anything. He'd still be my enemy. I'd still be his. But if she needed it, if he needed it... Or did he? She drew back, wondering if this was all some elaborate game. Get her to say it, then laugh in her face as he...

ROTFL! Oh dear me… if only Chloe had an inkling on HOW truly desperate Lex was for her touch and her body… in fact, for her whole mind, body and soul. He’s not just looking for a good f*ck like she is, he’s actually looking for salvation in her. The differences in their attitudes frightens me, disturbs me… and thrills me!!!


He swallowed hard. "Get in the car," he said in a choked voice.

squeee!!! Smut ahoy!!! I’m looking REALLY forward to the next chapter. Good luck with the writing, AmazingApe. Please post soon!

[blackheart_me]

You do wonders to fix up the season and you also do wonders with the offscreen Chlex. WOOT THAT WAS HOT!! Can't wait for more :D

[TheAmazingApe]

Spoilers for Siren, Fracture

PART EIGHT

She was next to him in the car, after his having nearly pushed her over the console into the passenger seat. She was breathing heavily. But that didn't give him any kind of security. He had to seal this soon.

He put the car in reverse and turned to her. "Where?"

She leaned her head back on the seat and stared ahead. "Not my place."

"Well, we're now in the car and leaving your place, so I figured that." He was impatient, frustrated. It had been months. He'd been out for a drink sometimes since and so ready to fuck her out of his system with just about anyone. But it was all too easy. He wanted what he wanted. When he was a kid, he was the same way. If he wanted beef for dinner and chicken was in front of him, he wouldn't wail about it. He just wouldn't eat. Not unless it was what he wanted.

"We'll go to your place," she said, still staring ahead of her. She was stiff, her hands clutching the edge of the seat. The only thing that interrupted her nearly stony stillness was the shaky breaths, making her chest and stomach contract and expand.

Fuck! My place it is... Fuck!

"Yes. That would be great, except for the fact that my asistant is working overtime... again." And getting a little above herself, calling him, checking in, touching him... He supposed that would be easy, too... if he was into the mother figure deal. Not young enough. Not blonde enough. Not fucking her.

He wasn't about to have a long conversation about it. Because that would give her time to back out. She said it. She admitted it and he'd be damned if she wasn't going to follow through. Well... he was surely damned, anyway. But she'd follow through regardless. He took his foot off the brake and switched it to the gas, backing out of the alleyway. He jerked to a stop as something splattered on his windshield. His coffee. Didn't matter. Wasn't like he'd paid for it.

But she stared at it, then at him, suddenly shaking her head. "What am I..."

"Don't," he said firmly as he reversed fully into the street, stopping with a slight screech, then sped forward. He wouldn't let her finish that. He knew where it would go. Some reasonable argument that even he might have to acknowledge. He wasn't insane. He knew this was dangerous. He'd told himself to stay away. His pride could be at stake. His freedom, even. If she decided to chuck it all and get what she knew to the right person, he would be well and truly destroyed. But he could do the same to her. And she knew it. He knew it. So why the fuck were either of them in this car?

They wanted more. Of each other. Life was crazy that way. The biological imperative of a good fuck trumped it all, no matter how advanced the human race pretended to be.

"Where are we going?" she asked on a breath.

"Does it matter?" He moved off Main Street, following the signs that led to the freeway. There would be something. Something where no one might know them. Not Smallville. Not Metropolis. Something in between. He didn't care if it was a forest glade at this point. He just had to get her there.

"I didn't think this through," she said.

"No, you didn't," he agreed.

"It's only because I'm so... I... I shouldn't..."

"Don't," he warned again and pushed the overdrive button on the gear shift. She'd think her way right out of this again if he didn't do something. So he did. he steered with his left hand and let his right move to her. He didn't caress. He didn't meander seductively. He jabbed hard between her legs, hoping she felt it through the stupid pants.

He vaguely wondered how sexist he'd be painted if he made skirts somehow mandatory for female employees. They did it at some restaurants, after all. He dug in, hoping he at least nudged her clit. He couldn't see and, if they wanted to live through this drive, he shouldn't try.

He heard a muffled moan and nearly smiled in relief. He pressed in harder, circled just a bit, before he felt secure enough to let it go... just until he got inside her pants. He undid the hook at the top, then pulled at the zipper, nearly thanking God (as if he would listen to him now) that he hadn't had any scotch yet. He bypassed her panties completely, digging his hand in and pulling them to the side, feeling his way through her wetness. Fuck, she was wet.

He tried to keep his eyes and mind on the road as her breathing grew faster, punctuated by slight vocalizations. Nothing that could be classified as a word, just slight grunts, groans, drawn-out moans. Good. He'd remind her why this was happening. No matter what, he knew that only him, only her worst enemy, had ever made her feel this way.

The windows glazed over slightly as he kept moving. he should probably offset it with the AC, but he wouldn't remove his hand from her pants for the world. He squinted through it. Looking for something, anything, somewhere they could go...

He saw a sign with cartoonish pictures depicting food, fuel, lodging. Just three miles. He could keep her going for three miles. He jolted as her hand slapped over the console to grip his thigh. That or he'd die trying. He sped up.

By the time he slowed, moving down the exit ramp, looking for anything that seemed like lodging, they were both panting. He saw it to his left. The Paradise Motel. An ugly series of squat buildings. Pink and mint green. Neon palm trees flanked the sign, as if that was supposed to be tempting. It was good enough for him.

A rusty pick-up nearly plowed into him as he jerked left, roling into the parking lot as its horn blared and faded away. He pulled into a parking spot in front of the office sloppily, slightly over on his side. He didn't care. They just had to get in. He reluctantly pulled his right hand from her pants, not bothering to wipe it as he stuffed it into his coat pocket, pulling out his billfold. He tossed it to her. "Get us a room. I don't care what. Just..."

"Me?" He turned at her outraged, nearly squeaky, tone. "Why do I have to..."

He leaned over, letting his lips brush her ear. "I think that you're a little less conspicuous, don't you?" He nipped just below her ear. "Or do you want a dozen tabloid photographers waiting for our exit?"

She pulled away and glared at him. "No. I don't want this at all. None of it. Including our..." She stopped on a gasp.

He smiled and mouthed her neck loosely. He'd slipped his hand back into her pants, one finger now flicking at her clit. He didn't say a word, just wanted her to feel it, to know there was more if she just did what he said. He couldn't go in there. He had to stay behind the tinted windows or he might as well waltz into the office, wake the probably sleeping desk clerk and announce that bald billionaire Lex Luthor had arrived and was ready to fuck some nameless woman. He'd had it happen before. It didn't matter if it was a hotel or a motel, glitzy or cheap. Someone was always looking for some cash on the side. "Something on the end," he whispered.

He was pleased and surprised when she nodded, zipping her pants and picking the billfold up from the seat. He let his hand slide from her pants as she opened the door. He leaned back in his seat as she got out, closing his eyes at the slam of the door.

This was happening. Just like that night, he could still hardly believe it. That he wanted to was a given, even the first night. He always wanted what he just knew he couldn't have, but that she would... It still floored him. It shouldn't. But sex always had a bit of that effect on him. He often imagined what it was like for the woman and he never could, not fully. The man raged in, conquered, invaded... But the woman accepted, sheathed, even sheltered just a little... With any woman it was a marvel. Just that it cold happen at all. To be taken, infiltrated, violated by a foreign object. But that she would... It was even harder to comprehend. Like it was a trick, a game. If he didn't know her better, he'd think it was.

But Chloe Sullivan didn't play games. There was a guilelessness to her. She should have hidden her reactions, her moans and soft, little sighs. But she didn't know better. Maybe she'd learn. Maybe he'd be the one to teach her somehow. Such honest reactions should be guarded. It gave the other party power. Even when she spat fire at him, she couldn't hide, not really. Those subtle hints of arousal were to close to the surface, too easy to see. Dilated eyes, hissed breaths, tight, puckered nipples.

He leaned his head back and looked through the tinted window. He was no better. Hard at the very thought of her. He saw her now, smiling slightly at the desk clerk, faking a yawn, even. She wasn't gorgeous. She wasn't a woman who turned heads as she walked down the street. He actually wouldn't be caught dead with her at charity event or museum opening. So what was it about her?

As she took the key. He let out a relieved breath at the sight of it in her hands. He'd nearly thought she'd stop, stomp back to the car, demand to be taken back to Smallville. But he'd left her too close to orgasm for that. She'd come back for more. She had to. Who else would give it to her?

Once again, he reflected on the blindness of the men in her life. Jimmy left her cold, Clark left her aching. It was hard to even admit that much. Half the reason she was so ready to fall into bed with him, even the first time, was because Clark left her primed with everything he didn't do.

He wondered what Clark would think, if he could see them. It wasn't a petty thought. Just curiosity. He might feel protective, sure. Outraged, even. But it wasn't half the blinding rage he'd feel if he could see what he'd done with Lana. Some of it, she'd even enjoyed, or at least put on a good show of it. He was never sure with her, even now. He almost wished he hadn't stopped taping at the mansion at Lana's behest. Clark could see it then. Now that was a petty thought.

He glanced to his right as the door opened. "Around the corner and on the end," Chloe said quickly, tossing the billfold to his lap. "I told him I needed eastern exposure." She turned to him and lifted an eyebrow. "That far enough for you, Your Grace?"

He grinned and licked his lips. She really was a mouthy thing. He was starting to like it. Maybe Clark wasn't blind. Maybe he saw exactly what Lex did. It would explain him keeping her close all these years. Maybe he'd be more than outraged, but this... This was something he'd never share, not with anyone, not even to see Clark's pain.

He backed out of the spot without a word and drove toward the end, turning to his left.

"Last room," Chloe said. Her voice was shaky.

He screeched into a spot and turned the engine off, getting out quickly and coming to her door. He opened it, nearly pulling her out. "No second thoughts," he said, pulling her flush against him.

She pushed at him slightly. "I never said I was having any," she growled. "I said I'd do this and I will. Okay?"

He pulled the key from her clenched fist and smirked. "So you'll just lay there and suffer me?"

Her brows drew together. "Well, maybe I won't now. If you keep..."

"Just checking. Stop being such a baby." He pulled her to the door.

"I'm not being a baby."

He smiled. He knew she was mad. He wanted her mad. He didn't want her scared and shaking. They didn't have alcohol to lubricate things, as it were. He was almost glad of it. No sensation would be dulled now. He half-wondered, even now, if it had just seemed that good because of the boozy haze. He'd know for sure now. The downside was that she was still quaking next to him. He turned the key and moved in.

"Chloe..." He flipped the light switch and moved furter in. A lamp next to the bed flickered to dim life. He turned to the doorway. "You coming in?"

"I... I said I would."

"So do it."

She closed the door, then leaned against it for a moment.

He moved to the far side of the bed, near the bathroom. It smelled like harsh pine disinfectant and burned slightly in his nostrils. It only further reminded him that he wasn't drunk tonight. Neither was she. He closed the bathroom door and glanced at her from his side of the bed. "Say it."

She moved closer to the bed, directly across from him, then shook her head and stared at the bed. "What am I supposed to say?"

"No more lies, Chloe." He shrugged out of his coat and let it drop to the floor.

Her eyes met his, then fell away. "I told you I wanted this."

"Then tell me more."

Her eyes met his again, stayed this time. "What kind of more do you need? I hate you and everything you stand for, everything you think is right, the things you do... And I'm here," she growled. "Isn't that enough?"

"I'd rather we left that at the door." He squared off with her. "What about the sex, Chloe?"

She stared at him for a long moment, then shrugged off her own coat. "You know it was good. We established that."

"Not in detail." His hands went to the hem of his sweater and he lifted it up and over his head, tossing it away. "I mean, do you know that you have the greatest pair of natural tits I've even seen?"

She blinked at him in the dim light. "Oh, that's poetic."

He shrugged. "Wasn't trying for poetic. It's just true." He toed off his shoes.

She looked down. From her shifting, he could see she was answering his move, taking off her own. "I..." Her eyes stayed down even as she stilled. "I find myself thinking about your hands sometimes."

His brow furrowed. "My hands?"

Her head stayed down slightly, but her eyes met his from behind her lashes. "They're strong, but smooth. Long fingers. Almost graceful. Like a pianist."

"Well..." He found his hands moving, clenching at his sides. "I do play." He pulled his undershirt off and tossed it... anywhere. "You have a strong body. It's small, but strangely powerful."

Her hands went to the buttons of her violet blouse. "And this is a good thing?"

He nodded, staring for every inch she revealed. "I'm not afraid to touch you. I couldn't break you... not in any way," he added hoarsely. He didn't want to. He never wanted to hurt enyone, not really. Not unless he had to. He'd broke Lana in a way. He hadn't meant to. Her bitterness was just something left in his wake. He'd be sorry for it, but he just couldn't be. Not anymore. In the end, he'd do more good than harm. If he could only get what he wanted... He would soon. He was going to Detroit again tomorrow. Kara, or Linda, was noticing him, at least. That faint spark of recognition. Maybe it was time to introduce himself, gain some ground...

"You're stronger than you look," she said.

He lifted his head and focused on the blonde that was actually in front of him. No. He really couldn't break her even if he wanted to. Even in this seedy room that reeked of misuse and disinfectant, now in her bra, about to climb into bed with him, she was so untainted still.

"I always thought you had a swimmer's body, lean and..." her breath caught as her eyes travelled down his chest to where his hands were on his belt buckle, "smooth. Not that I saw you naked before. I just..."

"You thought about it?"

She nodded, staying still as he removed his belt from the loops. She wasn't wearing a belt, so he supposed she didn't have a move right now in this unspoken mutual strip tease. Except... He tossed his belt to the floor. "I'd thought of you, too, before. It was when..." he stopped deliberately.

She took a step closer to the bed. "Yes?"

"You know, I'm not wearing a bra."

She smirked. "You'd look pretty funny if you were."

"Ah, but you're behind. Fair is fair." He looked pointedly at her chest, then at her face again.

She raised her eyes to the ceiling and let out a small breath, nearly a laugh, as her arms twisted behind her. She pulled the bra down her arms and tossed it to the bed. "Happy?"

He hummed slightly in his throat. "Very. Much like nearly every other man in the world, breasts always make me happy. Especially yours, lately. Though I do like that mouth of yours. It's.."

"Listen, you don't need to butter me up anymore," she cut in, her arms suddenly crossing. "I know I'm not blindingly beatiful."

"No, you're not."

She didnt look hurt, as if she'd been fishing for compliments. She just tilted her head, as if asking him why the hell he was bothering.

"You're pretty, though."

"Yes. Thank you. Thats good enough. Now can we just..."

"It's better than good. It's even better than beautiful. Beautiful's nice to look at, but hard to touch. You'd almost rather put a beautiful woman in a glass case. Preserve her forever. Don't let anything touch or sully her. But pretty... It's like the difference between a flawless diamond and a really good piece of pie." He nearly rolled his eyes at his analogy. He must have pie on the brain, what with his visits to that Detroit diner. He went with it, anyway. He was never one to back down from what he'd started. "That diamond is just something to look at, even marvel at. That's beautiful for you. If you touch it, you've taken some of its mystery away. But pretty... you'd be a fool not to touch it, take it... devour it, even."

"So... I'm pie?"

He shrugged, not about to back down from his analogy. "Wouldn't you rather be pie? Rather be tasted?"

Her throat worked and her hands moved to the clasp of her pants. "When?"

"Right now, if you want."

"No." Her hands worked her zipper down, then stilled. "When did you think of me before?"

"Many times. But most of them were during that summer."

She tilted her head. "The safe house?"

"You and your father were separated. Those guards worked for me. You were lonely. You'd hug me back then. You'd sometimes hug me just a little too long. I sometimes thought of how easy it could be to take you, teach you. But you were under eighteen, then."

She pushed her pants past her hips. "You were a little late. I'd already... learned by then."

He quickly worked at his own pants. "No, you hadn't. I don't think you learned a thing until your twenty-first birthday."

"Why?" She kicked her pants away. "Because I came? It wasn't the first time."

"The first time with someone else in the room, though."

She rolled her eyes slightly. "Yeah, well... I would have let you."

He nearly stumbled, then, trying to toe off his socks. "You liar."

"No. I'll leave that up to you." She lifted her chin. "You were the only man under forty I saw that summer. Even when you were sick, I wore my tightest shirts. Think I was wearing them for the guards?"

"I hoped not." He smiled suddenly. "You little minx."

"Well, I never thought you'd do anything. You were in bad shape that summer. I just had to make a good show of myself."

"You seemed to stop caring what kind of show you put on for me after the new year," he pointed out. "Avoided me like the plague, didn't you?"

She looked away, then back at him, hooking her thumbs in the sides of her panties. "Do you really want to keep talking?"

TBC

Yes. I know. I didn't get to the actual sex yet. But it's sometimes hard to get these two to shut up. They have lots of barbs and verbal sparring to get out, especially since they hardly share a scene in season seven. Lots of stored up snarkiness. Honestly, I think I'm lucky I got them to admit to even wanting each other.

Damned stubborn kids!

[showntell]

Banter can be hell.... luckily it's got banter...it put a grin on my face. I'm sure your nt baking out of the chlexy fun time...it just requires some patience.

I'm starting to get frustrated but cannon invading though, why think about whats-her-face when you have Chloe, the superior blonde?

Thanks for the update loving it...

[Kit Merlot]

I know I usually post my review for this story at Kryptonsite because there aren't nearly enough Chlex fans at that site, but I wanted to post my love for this fic here, too. So here goes:

A wonderful update!

I'm enjoying the verbal sparring, because their "judo" is what this pair in known for, and I also think a part of them enjoys the tension of denying themselves what they really want--each other:yeahbaby:


"Yes. That would be great, except for the fact that my asistant is working overtime... again." And getting a little above herself, calling him, checking in, touching him... He supposed that would be easy, too... if he was into the mother figure deal. Not young enough. Not blonde enough. Not fucking her.

And I love this part: I like that you are having Lex not enjoying Gina's attentiveness or obvious devotion--he prefers Chloe because she's making him work for it:D

Continued excellent work on this fic!

[Tanschana]

Interesting!!
Wanna know where the story is going to!!

[skauble]

Amazing update!

I adore the back and forth between Chloe and Lex. And, IMO, you should never feel bad about not getting directly to the sex with them because this *is* part of the sex. They do banter like foreplay. It’s always why they set the screen on fire even when there was nothing romantic between them. And you really capture this part of them perfectly.



This was happening. Just like that night, he could still hardly believe it. That he wanted to was a given, even the first night. He always wanted what he just knew he couldn't have, but that she would... It still floored him. It shouldn't. But sex always had a bit of that effect on him. He often imagined what it was like for the woman and he never could, not fully. The man raged in, conquered, invaded... But the woman accepted, sheathed, even sheltered just a little... With any woman it was a marvel. Just that it cold happen at all. To be taken, infiltrated, violated by a foreign object. But that she would... It was even harder to comprehend. Like it was a trick, a game. If he didn't know her better, he'd think it was.

I loved this insight into Lex because I think that it’s so in character. Lex has such complex issues with women. His almost eagerness to put them on a pedestal (no matter how little they may deserve it) at times gets him into trouble. Even though this started as a hate fuck, Lex is letting himself get caught up in the wonder of it all; especially because he has absolutely no doubts that Chloe is good and moral person.



He nodded, staring for every inch she revealed. "I'm not afraid to touch you. I couldn't break you... not in any way," he added hoarsely. He didn't want to. He never wanted to hurt enyone, not really. Not unless he had to. He'd broke Lana in a way. He hadn't meant to. Her bitterness was just something left in his wake. He'd be sorry for it, but he just couldn't be. Not anymore. In the end, he'd do more good than harm. If he could only get what he wanted... He would soon. He was going to Detroit again tomorrow. Kara, or Linda, was noticing him, at least. That faint spark of recognition. Maybe it was time to introduce himself, gain some ground...

This was utterly perfect. It’s so Lex to convince himself that he’s ultimately doing good things and so hurting people is mostly inadvertent and necessary. Even though he admits that he’s damned, he still clings to his rationalizations.

And I think that you were dead on that part of what would draw Lex to someone like Chloe was the fact that he couldn’t break her and so he wouldn’t have to hate himself even more like he would with women he could help wreck.

And the fact that in the same thought process he’s planning to take advantage of Kara shows how truly twisted things have become in his head.



"It's better than good. It's even better than beautiful. Beautiful's nice to look at, but hard to touch. You'd almost rather put a beautiful woman in a glass case. Preserve her forever. Don't let anything touch or sully her. But pretty... It's like the difference between a flawless diamond and a really good piece of pie." He nearly rolled his eyes at his analogy. He must have pie on the brain, what with his visits to that Detroit diner. He went with it, anyway. He was never one to back down from what he'd started. "That diamond is just something to look at, even marvel at. That's beautiful for you. If you touch it, you've taken some of its mystery away. But pretty... you'd be a fool not to touch it, take it... devour it, even."

"So... I'm pie?"

He shrugged, not about to back down from his analogy. "Wouldn't you rather be pie? Rather be tasted?"

I almost laughed myself onto the floor at this. It was definitely true, but come on, Lex; you’re a seducer of a vast amount of women and you can’t think of something more romantic that *pie*? LMAO

Although I think that it perfectly underscored the raw honesty that they’re approaching this situation with.

This was a fantastic update. And I can’t help but wonder as we move closer to Fracture, if you’re going to have Lex find out that Chloe saved him. I always *hated* that they didn’t address that on the show.

Excellent work! Love, love, love it.

As a side note, you’re going to want to change the update date on the story or people are likely to miss it and that would be sad.

~Sarah~

[westwingwolf]

It's great to see the both of them so desperate for each other. I'm glad that Lex also thought his assistant was over-stepping her boundaries. I love how honest they are with themselves and each other that despite their hatred for eachother and the danger being involved, they still want each other sexually. I think Lex was on the money, despite how strange it was, with the analogy about diamonds and pie. Diamonds don't really mean anything, don't really give you anything, sure they last a long time but what's the point of that when you get no real pleasure out of it. You always want more pie. Now I want pie, but pie Lex not pie Chloe, though she is pretty. On with the smut!

[somethingeasy]

"Well, we're now in the car and leaving your place, so I figured that." He was impatient, frustrated. It had been months. He'd been out for a drink sometimes since and so ready to f*ck her out of his system with just about anyone. But it was all too easy. He wanted what he wanted. When he was a kid, he was the same way. If he wanted beef for dinner and chicken was in front of him, he wouldn't wail about. He just wouldn't eat. Not unless it was what he wanted.

LOL! I really enjoyed the description on how Lex’s priviledged upbringing ended up turning him into a spoiled brat who got far too used to getting whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. In fact, it got him so used to that basic fact of life, that he becomes obsessed, enthralled and fascinated with anything that he’s NOT allowed to have. VERY nice psychological insight!


"Yes. That would be great, except for the fact that my asistant is working overtime... again." And getting a little above herself, calling him, checking in, touching him... He supposed that would be easy, too... if he was into the mother figure deal. Not young enough. Not blonde enough. Not f*cking her.

LOL! Nope… the assistant, just like all other women, would be too ‘easy’ for Lex to have. And he doesn’t want anyone who hasn’t told him No, no! A thousand times, NOT ever happening! LOL! And let’s not forget that Chloe is remarkably addictive in her own right, so it’s really no wonder what Lex has lost himself in her.


He wasn't about to have a long conversation about it. Because that would give her time to back out. She said it. She admitted it and he'd be damned if she wasn't going to follow through. Well... he was surely damned, anyway. But she'd follow through regardless. He took his foot off the brake and switched it to the gas, backing out of the alleyway. He jerked to a stop as something splattered on his windshield. His coffee. Didn't matter. Wasn't like he'd paid for it.

But she stared at it, then at him, suddenly shaking her head. "What am I..."

"Don't," he said firmly as he reversed fully into the street, stopping with a slight screech, then sped forward. He wouldn't let her finish that. He knew where it would go. Some reasonable argument that even he might have to acknowledge. He wasn't insane. He knew this was dangerous. He'd told himself to stay away. His pride could be at stake. His freedom, even. If she decided to chuck it all and get what she knew to the right person, he would be well and truly destroyed. But he could do the same to her. And she knew it. He knew it. So why the f*ck were either of them in this car?

ROTFLMAO! Oh that was brilliant, AmazingApe! I loved the way that Lex was freaking out and outright panicking at the idea of Chloe suddenly coming to her senses and changing her mind after getting him all hot, bothers and anxious like this. I loved seeing the power this woman holds over Lex, and how he turns into greedy, grasping and desperate whenever she gives him the slightest inch to work with.


They wanted more. Of each other. Life was crazy that way. The biological imperative of a good f*ck trumped it all, no matter how advanced the human race pretended to be.

heh… pretty cynical, but I can’t really disagree with him on this :P


"Don't," he warned again and pushed the overdrive button on the gear shift. She'd think her way right out of this again if he didn't do something. So he did. he steered with his left hand and let his right move to her. He didn't caress. He didn't meander seductively. He jabbed hard between her legs, hoping she felt it through the stupid pants.

He vaguely wondered how sexist he'd be painted if he made skirts somehow mandatory for female employees. They did it at some restaurants, after all. He dug in, hoping he at least nudged her clit. He couldn't see and, if they wanted to live through this drive, he shouldn't try.

He heard a muffled moan and nearly smiled in relief. He pressed in harder, circled just a bit, before he felt secure enough to let it go... just until he got inside her pants. He undid the hook at the top, then pulled at the zipper, nearly thanking God (as if he would listen to him now) that he hadn't had any scotch yet. He bypassed her panties completely, digging his hand in and pulling them to the side, feeling his way through her wetness. F*ck, she was wet.

He tried to keep his eyes and mind on the road as her breathing grew faster, punctuated by slight vocalizations. Nothing that could be classified as a word, just slight grunts, groans, drawn-out moans. Good. He'd remind her why this was happening. No matter what, he knew that only him, only her worst enemy, had ever made her feel this way.

Oh wow! That was awesome, and HOT! And also hysterical, AmazingApe! I’m awed by how you managed to combine all of these intense emotions together like this. Lex’s greedy desperation, Chloe’s confusion, doubt and second-guessing; and all topped by a unhealthy, twisted and powerful layer of desire and lust. WOW!

I swear I didn’t know whether to swoon, melt or laugh hysterically at the image of Lex trying to drive with one hand while frantically using the other to keep Chloe’s brain off. I LOVED his frenzied state as described over here. He’s completely her slave… in a odd, twisted kind of way, LOL!


He saw a sign with cartoonish pictures depicting food, fuel, lodging. Just three miles. He could keep her going for three miles. He jolted s her hand slapped over the console to grip his thigh. That or he'd die trying. He sped up.

ROTFL! You’ve gotta admire his priorities, ROTFL!


She pulled away and glared at him. "No. I don't want this at all. None of it. Including our..." She stopped on a gasp.

He smiled and mouthed her neck loosely. He'd slipped his hand back into her pants, one finger now flicking at her clit. He didn't say a word, just wanted her to feel it, to know there was more if she just did what he said. He couldn't go in there. He had to stay behind the tinted windows or he might as well waltz into the office, wake the probably sleeping desk clerk and announce that bald billionaire Lex Luthor had arrived and was ready to f*ck some nameless woman. He'd had it happen before. It didn't matter if it was a hotel or a motel, glitzy or cheap. Someone was always looking for some cash on the side. "Something on the end," he whispered.

Wow! It’s STILL so hot, and actually I think Lex’s desperate and near-hysterical state is making the scene even HOTTER when hearing him struggling so damned hard in keeping Chloe in a state of unthinking arousal.

He has some amazing skills in keeping her wound up like that, despite how much she knows how nasty this whole situation is. He even managed to convince HER to purchase the key for the seedy motel that they’re staying at. There’s no way she can deny that she was a willing participant if she goes through with that.

Of course, he wasn’t thinking of the power and advantage that he gains by having HER purchase the key, he was only thinking about the best way to get the key without compromising their identities and reputations. It’s funny to imagine that Lex still has a reputation that he wants to protect though, LOL!


This was happening. Just like that night, he could still hardly believe it. That he wanted to was a given, even the first night. He always wanted what he just knew he couldn't have, but that she would... It still floored him. It shouldn't. But sex always had a bit of that effect on him. He often imagined what it was like for the woman and he never could, not fully. The man raged in, conquered, invaded... But the woman accepted, sheathed, even sheltered just a little... With any woman it was a marvel. Just that it cold happen at all. To be taken, infiltrated, violated by a foreign object. But that she would... It was even harder to comprehend. Like it was a trick, a game. If he didn't know her better, he'd think it was.

I always knew that Lex had a certain weakness for women. He’s always fallen into an awed, worshipful kind of love too quickly and easily with every female who’s caught his attention. All a woman has to do is display a certain amount of kindness, decency and gentleness towards him, and he falls HARD!

But I’ve never seen his awe of women expressed in this way before, AmazingApe. It was incredible, and it went a long way towards explaining some of the baffled awe he feels for woman-kind in general. In many ways, he thinks of ALL of them as ‘his salvation’, doesn’t he? Amazing writing!!!


But Chloe Sullivan didn't play games. There was a guilelessness to her. She should have hidden her reactions, her moans and soft, little sighs. But she didn't know better. Maybe she'd learn. Maybe he'd be the one to teach her somehow. Such honest reactions should be guarded. It gave the other party power. Even when she spat fire at him, she couldn't hide, not really. Those subtle hints of arousal were to close to the surface, too easy to see. Dilated eyes, hissed breaths, tight, puckered nipples.

He leaned his head back and looked through the tinted window. He was no better. Hard at the very thought of her. He saw her now, smiling slightly at the desk clerk, faking a yawn, even. She wasn't gorgeous. She wasn't a woman who turned heads as she walked down the street. He actually wouldn't be caught dead with her at charity event or museum opening. So what was it about her?

I’ve often heard that women have a tendency to go for ‘damaged goods’ so that they can fix and make it all better, while men like to go for perfection because THEY want to be the ones doing the damaging and tainting.

It’s a horrible and twisted perspective, but I can’t help but wonder, seeing Lex here, whether that’s partially what’s driving him. Not only the hope that Chloe will ‘save him’, but also a twisted desire to taint her, and bring her down to his level… Even though, I think he deeply hopes that she’s strong enough to withstand whatever battering he inflicts on her morals and purity.

He thinks he might be one to stop Chloe from being so open and trusting, but at the same time, he’s hoping that nothing will ever stop her from being the kind of person she is.


Once again, he reflected on the blindness of the men in her life. Jimmy left her cold, Clark left her aching. It was hard to even admit that much. Half the reason she was so ready to fall into bed with him, even the first time, was because Clark left her primed with everything he didn't do.

oh, that was GOOD, AmazingApe! I loved the idea of Lex acknowledging that one of the reasons he has an opening into Chloe is because of Clark’s mistakes. He knows that Chloe would never let him touch her, if only Clark hadn’t spent years keeping her dangling on a heartbreaking string.


He grinned and licked his lips. She really was a mouthy thing. He was starting to like it. Maybe Clark wasn't blind. Maybe he saw exactly what Lex did. It would explain him keeping her close all these years. Maybe he'd be more than outraged, but this... This was something he'd never share, not with anyone, not even to see Clark's pain.

Oh, excellent!!! It was fantastic knowing that Lex was going after Chloe for herself rather than because of his continued obsession with Clark. Lana was all about Clark, Clark, CLARK… but Chloe is being obsessively pursued because of everything SHE is and all that she represents to Lex. It’s all about her!


He pulled the key from her clenched fist and smirked. "So you'll just lay there and suffer me?"

Her brows drew together. "Well, maybe I won't now. If you keep..."

"Just checking. Stop being such a baby." He pulled her to the door.

"I'm not being a baby."

He smiled. He knew she was mad. He wanted her mad. He didn't want her scared and shaking. They didn't have alcohol to lubricate things, as it were. He was almost glad of it. No sensation would be dulled now. He half-wondered, even now, if it had just seemed that good because of the boozy haze. He'd know for sure now. The downside was that she was still quaking next to him. He turned the key and moved in.

ROTFL! I thought that Lex just couldn’t keep his mouth from running off in her presence… and I think, to a great extent, he really CAN’T make himself shut up around her. But I enjoyed the way that this ‘running off at the mouth’ was also Lex’s way of keeping Chloe distracted and excited with rage as much as with arousal. That sneaky, manupualtive, BRILLIANT bastard! How does he manage to be such an irresistible as*hole?!


Her eyes met his again, stayed this time. "What kind of more do you need? I hate you and everything you stand for, everything you think is right, the things you do... And I'm here," she growled. "Isn't that enough?"

"I'd rather we left that at the door." He squared off with her. "What about the sex, Chloe?"

heh… so he’s still fishing for ‘meaning and significance’ in their coupling, huh? Chloe’s trying so hard to think of him as a good, hard body… while Lex keeps trying to get her to acknowledge him! I really don’t know whether or not to feel sorry for him. He’s being used by Chloe just like he’s been used his entire life by people. But then again, he himself is considered a master of treating people like pawns, so it’s his own behaviour that begat the behaviour of others. Or perhaps it’s what he learned after being treated like a pawn or a commodity all his life? What came first, Chicken or Egg?


"Not in detail." His hands went to the hem of his sweater and he lifted it up and over his head, tossing it away. "I mean, do you know that you have the greatest pair of natural tits I've even seen?"

She blinked at him in the dim light. "Oh, that's poetic."

He shrugged. "Wasn't trying for poetic. It's just true." He toed off his shoes.

She looked down. From her shifting, he could see she was answering his move, taking off her own. "I..." Her eyes stayed down even as she stilled. "I find myself thinking about your hands sometimes."

His brow furrowed. "My hands?"

Her head stayed down slightly, but her eyes met his from behind her lashes. "They're strong, but smooth. Long fingers. Almost graceful. Like a pianist."

Despite the clumsy and semi-vulgar beginning, the appreciation genuinely turned sweet and poetic afterwards. I LOVED the way that both of them were expressing genuine sweetness towards each other in the only way that would be considered ‘safe’.


"Well..." He found his hands moving, clenching at his sides. "I do play." He pulled his undershirt off and tossed it... anywhere. "You have a strong body. It's small, but strangely powerful."

Her hands went to the buttons of her violet blouse. "And this is a good thing?"

He nodded, staring for every inch she revealed. "I'm not afraid to touch you. I couldn't break you... not in any way," he added hoarsely. He didn't want to. He never wanted to hurt enyone, not really. Not unless he had to. He'd broke Lana in a way. He hadn't meant to. Her bitterness was just something left in his wake. He'd be sorry for it, but he just couldn't be. Not anymore. In the end, he'd do more good than harm. If he could only get what he wanted... He would soon. He was going to Detroit again tomorrow. Kara, or Linda, was noticing him, at least. That faint spark of recognition. Maybe it was time to introduce himself, gain some ground...

This was actually a very beautiful admission, even if most of it went unsaid. I loved that Lex expressed yearning for a partner who was equal or superior to him in all ways, rather than a sweet looking doll that he could feel powerful by ‘cherishing, protecting and taking care of’


"You know, I'm not wearing a bra."

She smirked. "You'd look pretty funny if you were."

"Ah, but you're behind. Fair is fair." He looked pointedly at her chest, then at her face again.

She raised her eyes to the ceiling and let out a small breath, nearly a laugh, as her arms twisted behind her. She pulled the bra down her arms and tossed it to the bed. "Happy?"

He hummed slightly in his throat. "Very. Much like nearly every other man in the world, breasts always make me happy. Especially yours, lately. Though I do like that mouth of yours. It's.."

Honestly, this is the closest I’ve come to seeing them both playing with each other… in that wonderful, delighted kind of way! And the banter is FUN to read too!


"It's better than good. It's even better than beautiful. Beautiful's nice to look at, but hard to touch. You'd almost rather put a beautiful woman in a glass case. Preserve her forever. Don't let anything touch or sully her. But pretty... It's like the difference between a flawless diamond and a really good piece of pie." He nearly rolled his eyes at his analogy. He must have pie on the brain, what with his visits to that Detroit diner. He went with it, anyway. He was never one to back down from what he'd started. "That diamond is just something to look at, even marvel at. That's beautiful for you. If you touch it, you've taken some of its mystery away. But pretty... you'd be a fool not to touch it, take it... devour it, even."

"So... I'm pie?"

He shrugged, not about to back down from his analogy. "Wouldn't you rather be pie? Rather be tasted?"

LOL! I loved, LOVED seeing his brain fumbling in this manner. But even when it was fumbling, it came up with the most interesting analogies. ROTFLMAO! He compared Chloe to ‘pie’ and Lana to a ‘diamond’, and it was meant as a compliment to Chloe? Good thing she doesn’t really care about what he says, otherwise she would might have been pretty peeved off about this ridiculously phrased ‘compliment’, ROTFLMAO!


"You and your father were separated. Those guards worked for me. You were lonely. You'd hug me back then. You'd sometimes hug me just a little too long. I sometimes thought of how easy it could be to take you, teach you. But you were under eighteen, then."

She pushed her pants past her hips. "You were a little late. I'd already... learned by then."

He quickly worked at his own pants. "No, you hadn't. I don't think you learned a thing until your twenty-first birthday."

"Why?" She kicked her pants away. "Because I came? It wasn't the first time."

"The first time with someone else in the room, though."

She rolled her eyes slightly. "Yeah, well... I would have let you."

He nearly stumbled, then, trying to toe off his socks. "You liar."

"No. I'll leave that up to you." She lifted her chin. "You were the only man under forty I saw that summer. Even when you were sick, I wore my tightest shirts. Think I was wearing them for the guards?"

"I hoped not." He smiled suddenly. "You little minx."

squeee!!! That was awesome, AmazingApe! I don’t know what kind of an effect this is going to have on them later, but I LOVED that they both admitted to a very mutual attraction towards each other from those by-gone days of Chlex alliance and friendship(?).


"You seemed to stop caring what kind of show you put on for me after the new year," he pointed out. "Avoided me like the plague, didn't you?"

She looked away, then back at him, hooking her thumbs in the sides of her panties. "Do you really want to keep talking?"

LOL! Good point… all that incessant talking is getting in serious way of their fun. But that was ALSO an excellent question, and I think Lex genuinely wants an answer. I hope he holds off for an explanation. Of course he would fold in the moment Chloe threatened to leave, but perhaps he’s get lucky?


Yes. I know. I didn't get to the actual sex yet. But it's sometimes hard to get these two to shut up. They have lots of barbs and verbal sparring to get out. Honestly, I think I'm lucky I got them to admit to even wanting each other.

Damned stubborn kids!

LOL! Actually, I’m really enjoying how this is as much a meeting of the minds as well as a meeting of the bodies, AmazingApe! I love the connection they’re forming, and I desperately want to see where it’s all going to end up. Please update soon.

[lj715]

Excellent update...more please.

[dagney]

April,

always worth waiting for. The banter atomic, nice to see the honesty, and that Lex admires Chloe in so many ways and his being honest in that he know her on a deeper level and that inner stuff is what makes the whole package for him so much more attractive. Loving this so much. Dagney

[purplemoon123]

Yay update.


"Yes. That would be great, except for the fact that my asistant is working overtime... again." And getting a little above herself, calling him, checking in, touching him... He supposed that would be easy, too... if he was into the mother figure deal. Not young enough. Not blonde enough. Not fucking her.

LOL. Thank you for that!!


"Not in detail." His hands went to the hem of his sweater and he lifted it up and over his head, tossing it away. "I mean, do you know that you have the greatest pair of natural tits I've even seen?"

I don't why I love this but I do!!!

Love the diamond and pie comparisons!!!

You know I don't mind not getting to the actual act because the stripteasing and batering is mouth watering.

[SVfan1286]

The last two chapters were awesome... as always! I simply loved the banter between Lex and Chloe, it was perfect and makes the sex even better. I simply love how both Lex and Chloe are so desperate for each other.

I know I should feel bad for Chloe about all the stress she's under with Clark, Lana, Lois, Ollie and Lex but I can't. It's her own fault that she's a total door mat, saying yes to everyone. *shakes head* It makes me want to smack her.

I can't wait to read more... especially the hot smut. *grins*

[letia84]

Great updates. Let them keep fighting till they rip each others clothes off.

[TheAmazingApe]

Still spoiling Siren, Fracture

PART NINE A

She looked away, then back at him, hooking her tumbs in the sides of her panties. "Do you really want to keep talking?"

He sort of did. The words that volleyed back and forth between them were something he was loathe to stop. But the way she hooked her thummbs in her panties and just waited... It did seem a bit like a veiled threat.

So he said nothing more. Just dropped his own boxers as she stared, then made her way up to his face again. "You know... This doesn't change anything."

"Are you kidding?" he whispered. "This changes everything."

She shook her head. "Not in the important ways. We're not... friends."

"Of course not that." He smiled ruefully. They never were friends. The closest they got was that summer, when they, at best, had a common purpose. "But maybe now you can drop the pretense that this isn't... needed," he finally finished. God knew he needed it. He'd been pulling himself in so many directions lately, he barely knew who he was anymore, he just needed something elemental, something clear and warm and pure. But a part of him wondered if she needed it more. It wasn't much of a leap that he would fall into bed with her again. She'd known he would. That she only needed to say the word. She'd done more than that. She was here in this musty room with him, so nearly naked.

He came around the bed to where she stood, still staring ahead of her, her fingers locked in the sides of her panties. He moved behind her and pulled her stiff arms away, listening to the slight snap of the fabric against the skin of her hips. He ran his hands down her arms and pressed himself against her back. "Why now, Chloe?"

She didn't pretend not to know what he meant, shivering as she leaned back into him. "I have to be everything... for everyone. Every minute." She inhaled sharply as his hands left her arms to draw lazy circles on her belly. "I just want a minute that... no one can have."

"Hmm." He let his lips slide between her nack and shoulder. She still had that same smell, nothing fruity or flowery. Coffee and soap and... he darted his tongue out where her shoulder met her neck. Despite the cold outside, there was just the slightest tang of sweat on her skin. "Sort of the plight of the faithful handmaiden. You poor little dear."

"God, just shut up," she said, baring more of her neck to him. "This isn't for you, either." She suddenly turned, running her hands down his chest. "This is for me. Just because I want it."

"I'll just tag along, then?" He grasped her wrists. "You know, I should end this now this just to spite you."

"You know what?" She threw her hands out of his grasp. "I don't care what you do. If you can't shut up for three seconds, then..."

He tumbled her to the bed, bracing himself with his arms on either side of her. "I said I should. Not that I would."

"Well, why don't you..."

He caught her lips, silencing her. He liked that turn better. She pushed back against him, her hips trying to raise up even with no leverage, half-off the bed. She settled for digging her fingers into his arms, just shy of using nail. Even in this, she was abrasive with him, grappling for control, trying to land on top. He didn't exactly mind. He wasn't sure what he would do if she came at him with honeyed words and soft touches. But the demands and denials seemed designed to make him out to be something begging at her door. And maybe he was. But she was as much a beggar as he.

A point he illustrated when he broke from her lips and slid down her body and to the floor, taking her panties with him.

"oh, God..."

Her hips tried to rise again as he hovered just over the small strip of hair as she panted above him. Small strip? He smiled to himself. Someone got a wax. Isn't that just thoughtful? He wanted to say it, but he could begrudgingly admit she might be right. The speaking portion of this evening was definitely over... at least if it was to go anywhere even better.

He looked up at her, chancing just one more sentence. "You sure now?"

She lifted her head, lips tight and eyes blazing as she hooked a leg over his shoulder.

"Okay, then." He lowered his head slowly as her thighs nearly vibrated around him. He wasn't so much about sealing the deal quickly tonight. If she hadn't backed out by now, she probably wouldn't. But he could make her beg for every second. With words or... Her heel dug into his back and he smiled. or that.

He brushed his lips over the inside of her thigh and she jolted against him. When he moved to her labia, just lightly running his lips up one side, then the other, she seemed to still completely. That was a new kind of reaction, one where her body hummed in its silence, just waiting for him to... taste. and he tasted, tongue memorizing her every fold so slowly until her shaky breaths turned to light vocalizations, still more breath than sound, but getting closer to where he needed her. And she was close. He only had to breathe on her clit before her other leg shot inward, nearly clamping on his head until he could hardly hear her anymore. But that wasn't an issue when he pressed in hard with his tongue.

"Fuck!"

Not exactly what he was waiting for, but she'd get there. He drew back, as much as her thighs would allow and waiting before pressing against her again.

"God..."

Not the right name, but close. He just needed her to say it and he'd give it to her so good. He flicked upwards and her thighs had him in a vise. Maybe too much of one as a ringing sounded in his ear and...

"Shit, shit, shit, Lana!"

As much as a triple-shit wasn't what he expected, the name she chose took him even more aback. He pulled her thighs apart and lifted his head. "Lana?"

One leg lifted over his head as she scrambled over him. One muffled ring sounded from the floor behind him and he rolled his eyes. He turned and grabbed her ankle. "No. No way. You are not answering that phone now."

"It's Lana." She pulled a her leg, but he kept his grip. She bent to her coat and fumbled inside. "I was supposed to meet her. She was going to stay over and..." The ringing had stopped, but she still gripped the phone.

Good. "So what?" He smirked and loosened his grip, trying for more of a caress. "Don't tell me the two of you are going to make smores and have a pillow fight? I was so sure you were over that."

"Don't be an idiot," she growled. "She's having trouble with Clark and I was supposed to..."

"Oh, really?" He started chuckling then. "Not that I care anymore, but... I saw that coming all along."

She jerked away harder this time. "Shut up."

"Like you didn't, too." He leaned against the bed. "Bet there's even a tiny part of you that's eager for this little slumber party, tell her to move on and..."

"Don't assume everyone like you, Luthor," she said tightly.

"Not everyone." He tilted his head. "Just you."

She stared down at him with something that looked like horror.

"Is it so hard to admit, Sullivan? That you and me... we're alike. Always working against eachother, but so alike." He kept his eyes on hers as he knelt upward, felt his way around her thighs. Such, nice, strong thighs.

"I'm nothing like you," she whispered as his hand squeezed her hip.

"Not now. But there, but for the grace of..." God? Who? He wasn't sure he could kid himself anymore that what he did was strictly for the common good. His methods... even he shuddered at them now. "I'm not saying this is love, Sullivan," he breathed against her stomach. "But it is a meeting of sorts. Two intelligent beings, so far above those we are forced to..."

She pushed at him. "No. Maybe you feel that way, but I..."

"Come on." He chuckled and gripped her waist, standing now. "Don't tell me you hang around Clark and Lana for the intellectual stimulation."

"They're my friends," she ground out, pulling away this time. "And I don't have to listen to..."

He backed her to the wall, pressing against her. "Two freaks of nature," he whispered in her ear.

She stiffened against him. "I"m not a..."

"No, of course not. You're just special, aren't you?" He let his lips graze her ear. "I'm special, too, Sullivan."

Her head turned slightly and he felt her breath on his cheek. "You're a..."

"I know a little something about being caught in a meteor shower. Lost a head of hair that way. But I got a little something back." He laughed bitterly. "Can't survive as many attempted murders as I have and not know something's up."

She pushed against his chest, staring hard at him. "So you're..." She shook her head. "And yet you can still do what you do, still experiment..."

"Unlike them, I'm not a danger to anyone."

Her eyes widened. "You obviously don't know yourself very well."

"Are you?" he cut in. He didn't want to talk about him anymore.

"A freak?" Her eyes grew cold. "You know all too well."

"Are you a danger?" he whispered. Somehow, he wished the answer was yes. She'd been latent when he tested her, but now... If she was dangerous, he'd really have no choice. She'd have to be kept somewhere. The idea filled him with a dark thrill accompanied by twinges of loathing. "Are you, Chloe?"

Her eyes narrowed and a strange sort of moan came from her throat. But it wasn't one of pleasure.

He'd done it now. All of his work and just a few moments of truth had torn it all down. Fuck! He could fix this. He'd just gone too far too quickly. It wasn't over. He skimmed a hand over her breast, licking his lips, warming his voice. "Not gonna give me anything?"

The phone's shrill ring suddenly cut the silence.

"Don't answer it." He gripped her wrist. The wrong wrist, apparently, as she brought the other to her ear, pressing a button.

"Hi, Lana."

He shook his head and dropped to his knees. His earlier resolution to have her begging was obviously stupid. At this point, he just had to get her to stay. He wasn't about to grovel, but he had a few tricks...

TBC

Why won't Lex just shut up sometimes? Stupid evil, sexy... Seriously, this is out of my hands at this point.

[Kit Merlot]

A fabulous update!

And the beautiful Chlex smut is about to begin:yeahbaby:

If either of them would just shut up, not answer phones and not taunt the other one that is:D

This line:


"Is it so hard to admit, Sullivan? That you and me... we're alike. Always working against each other, but so alike."

is so true: the Chlex are the two smartest people in Smallville. They know each other's weaknesses, but also their friends, and if either of them wanted to, they could destroy everyone they know, including each other.

It's a horrifying thought but also a dead sexy one.

Continued awesome work on this fic--now, bring on the Chlex smut:cool:

ETA: I meant to ask about this quote from Ch 8 but I forgot:


"You seemed to stop caring what kind of show you put on for me after the new year," he pointed out. "Avoided me like the plague, didn't you?"

Is Lex saying that Chloe avoided him in her senior year? More like the other way around--to his and the show's everlasting shame, Lex didn't know any highschool girl but Lana f*cking Lang in S4. The Chlex in S4 could have been so hot, but instead they got the tepid Lexana.

[showntell]

That deal just won't be sealed.

Chloe remember that thing you were doing for yourself...don't let Lana get in the way.

[dagney]

Your Killing ME! you must continue! Oh Gads, funny when she starts talking about Lana. I'm hoping that as you tend weave the show with your fic that when you write about him being shot and Clark's running round in is brain, Lex really tries to keep this a secret and fights Clark to keep him from opening the door where he and Chloe are going at it. Also what a way for Lex to realize what her power is after she saves his ass and dies. Loving this story. Dagney

[somethingeasy]

He sort of did. The words that volleyed back and forth between them were something he was loathe to stop. But the way she hooked her thumbs in her panties and just waited... It did seem a bit like a veiled threat.

ROTFLMAO! I rather figured that Lex wanted to talk, talk, Talk yet some more.In fact, he wants to talk as much as Chloe wants him to just SHUT UP! ROTFL! But I really enjoyed how it was the ‘veiled threat’ from Chloe that had Lex complying with her wishes… momentarily, LOL!

Still, getting Lex Luthor to even momentarily comply with what you want when he REALLY doesn’t want to obey is quite an accomplishment, LOL!


"Of course not that." He smiled ruefully. They never were friends. The closest they got was that summer, when they, at best, had a common purpose. "But maybe now you can drop the pretense that this isn't... needed," he finally finished. God knew he needed it. He'd been pulling himself in so many directions lately, he barely knew who he was anymore, he just needed something elemental, something clear and warm and pure. But a part of him wondered if she needed it more. It wasn't much of a leap that he would fall into bed with her again. She'd known he would. That she only needed to say the word. She'd done more than that. She was here in this musty room with him, so nearly naked.

It still kills me and thrills me to know Lex’s sheer need for Chloe. And I LOVED how he feels like she’s the only thing that keeping him from flying apart at the seams right now. That she’s the one who is holding him together, and if only she would just give him ‘something more’, then he would be magically healed. The oddest thing is that I’m not sure whether he’s wrong about that… I think Chloe would be the ONE person who COULD heal him, if only she knew what was the right thing to give him. What can it be? Love? Acceptance? Companionship? Friendship? Guidance and Support?


She didn't pretend not to know what he meant, shivering as she leaned back into him. "I have to be everything... for everyone. Every minute." She inhaled sharply as his hands left her arms to draw lazy circles on her belly. "I just want a minute that... no one can have."

I also loved Chloe’s explanation about why she was doing this. Quite honestly, she NEVER does anything purely for herself. This is incredibly stupid, dangerous and reckless, but it IS something that only for her, so I can’t help but cheer her on! Yayy, Chloe!!!!


"Hmm." He let his lips slide between her nack and shoulder. She still had that same smell, nothing fruity or flowery. Coffee and soap and... he darted his tongue out where her shoulder met her neck. Despite the cold outside, there was just the slightest tang of sweat on her skin. "Sort of the plight of the faithful handmaiden. You poor little dear."

"God, just shut up," she said, baring more of her neck to him. "This isn't for you, either." She suddenly turned, running her hands down his chest. "This is for me. Just because I want it."

"I'll just tag along, then?" He grasped her wrists. "You know, I should end this now this just to spite you."

ROTFLMAO! He really CANNOT stop his tongue from running on, can he? Intellectually he should KNOW that he’s risking blowing his chances with Chloe every time he opens his mouth to make another taunt, but he simply can’t HELP digging at her. I think I know why too… he wants everything! Which means he has to dig, even if it is at considerable risk.


"You know what?" She threw her hands out of his grasp. "I don't care what you do. If you can't shut up for three seconds, then..."

He tumbled her to the bed, bracing himself with his arms on either side of her. "I said I should. Not that I would."

ROTFL! Nice job, Lex! You almost drove the lady away, and had to GRAB her to keep her there, ROTFLMAO!


He caught her lips, silencing her. He liked that turn better. She pushed back against him, her hips trying to raise up even with no leverage, half-off the bed. She settled for digging her fingers into his arms, just shy of using nail. Even in this, she was abrasive with him, grappling for control, trying to land on top. He didn't exactly mind. He wasn't sure what he would do if she came at him with honeyed words and soft touches. But the demands and denials seemed designed to make him out to be something begging at her door. And maybe he was. But she was as much a beggar as he.

I LOVED the description of the extreme power struggle between them. I especially loved the way that Lex was revelling in the way that Chloe was fighting him for dominance. Lex has finally acknowledged that what REALLY gets him hot is having a partner who gives as good as she gets… who is as strong, capable, brilliant and competitive as him in every respect. And I always suspected that a good part of him was always waiting for someone to come by and beat him into submission, LOL!


Her hips tried to rise again as he hovered just over the small strip of hair as she panted above him. Small strip? He smiled to himself. Someone got a wax. Isn't that just thoughtful? He wanted to say it, but he could begrudgingly admit she might be right. The speaking portion of this evening was definitely over... at least if it was to go anywhere even better.

ROTFL! Ok, so he’s finally learned to shut up now? Somehow, I seriously doubt it!


"Okay, then." He lowered his head slowly as her thighs nearly vibrated around him. He wasn't so much about sealing the deal quickly tonight. If she hadn't backed out by now, she probably wouldn't. But he could make her beg for every second. With words or... Her heel dug into his back and he smiled. Or that.

squeee!!! I loved that he was as charmed and aroused by her kicking him in the backside as he would have been by her begging. HAH! I knew he wanted to be dominated, LOL!


He brushed his lips over the inside of her thigh and she jolted against him. When he moved to her labia, just lightly running his lips up one side, then the other, she seemed to still completely. That was a new kind of reaction, one where her body hummed in its silence, just waiting for him to... taste. And he tasted, tongue memorizing her every fold so slowly until her shaky breaths turned to light vocalizations, still more breath than sound, but getting closer to where he needed her. And she was close. He only had to breathe on her clit before her other leg shot inward, nearly clamping on his head until he could hardly hear her anymore. But that wasn't an issue when he pressed in hard with his tongue.

hot, hot, HOT!!! Wow! I loved getting the details of Lex drawing out the pleasure and the torture, just waiting for her to break down and start begging for more. ROTFL! I felt like laughing when I saw him taking in her profanities and disragrding them as ‘not the magic words’ that he was looking for. Heh… I don’t know whether or not he might have lasted long enough to make Chloe beg, but he gave it a pretty good try.


"Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t, Lana!"

As much as a triple-sh*t wasn't what he expected, the name she chose took him even more aback. He pulled her thighs apart and lifted his head. "Lana?"

I blinked in stunned disbelief at Chloe calling out Lana’s name during this moment! What the hell?!?? WHAT?!?? And I really enjoyed the hilarious image of Lex also blinking in bafflement wondering where that came from, ROTFL!


Good. "So what?" He smirked and loosened his grip, trying for more of a caress. "Don't tell me the two of you are going to make smores and have a pillow fight? I was so sure you were over that."

"Don't be an idiot," she growled. "She's having trouble with Clark and I was supposed to..."

aaargh! That stupid ^*@*&, whiny, ^&^%$&, needy, clingy, §^&%£^$ PARASITE! I was thoroughly disgusted with her during the last chapter where she called up Chloe out of the blue saying she wanted to ‘reconnect with her old friend… and by the way, do you have free room and board for that old friend?’ It was repulsively self-absorbed and manipulative, and I was even MORE disgusted with Chloe for falling for it.

And now I see Chloe cutting out her ‘me time’ so that she can answer the phone and listen to Lana whine the same old, tired litany AGAIN!


"Oh, really?" He started chuckling then. "Not that I care anymore, but... I saw that coming all along."

ROTFLMAO! Perhaps it’s a symptoms of sour grapes for his ex, but I think lex has the proper perspective here.


She jerked away harder this time. "Shut up."

"Like you didn't, too." He leaned against the bed. "Bet there's even a tiny part of you that's eager for this little slumber party, tell her to move on and..."

"Don't assume everyone like you, Luthor," she said tightly.

"Not everyone." He tilted his head. "Just you."

She stared down at him with someting that looked like horror.

"Is it so hard to admit, Sullivan? That you and me... we're alike. Always working against eachother, but so alike." He kept his eyes on hers as he knelt upward, felt his way around her thighs. Such, nice, strong thighs.

oh, OUCH! He really had to go there? There might be a kernel of truth in this actually. They both are passionate, determined, amazingly brilliant and ruthless individuals. I can see why Lex is so desperate to prove to Chloe (and to himself) that he’s the same as this beautiful, stunning, amazing, PURE creature. OR perhaps that, deep down, she’s as corrupt and tainted as him? The major difference between them is their sense of morals and conscience, but of course Lex is going to gloss over that.


"I'm nothing like you," she whispered as his hand squeezed her hip.

"Not now. But there, but for the grace of..." God? Who? He wasn't sure he could kid himself anymore that what he did was strictly for the common good. His methods... even he shuddered at them now. "I'm not saying this is love, Sullivan," he breathed against her stomach. "But it is a meeting of sorts. Two intelligent beings, so far above those we are forced to..."

She pushed at him. "No. Maybe you feel that way, but I..."

I find it absolutely fascinating seeing him trying to convince Chloe (and himself) of the truth of this matter. I don’t know whether he’s going to succeed or not, because his argument has a LOT of flaws in it, but he’s a VERY persuasive man, who could turn water into wine by just convincing it how much more interesting life would be if it was an alcoholic, liver-killing drink, LOL!


"Come on." He chuckled and gripped her waist, standing now. "Don't tell me you hang around Clark and Lana for the intellectual stimulation."

"They're my friends," she ground out, pulling away this time. "And I don't have to listen to..."

heh… with friend like those, who needs… well, you know! But I think, in a masochistic kind of way, Chloe is telling the truth. Lex will always find himself falling for faithless brunettes who want to kill him. And Chloe will always pledge her loyalties to friends who use and abuse her generous, forgiving and loyal nature for their own advantages.


He backed her to the wall, pressing against her. "Two freaks of nature," he whispered in her ear.

She stiffened against him. "I"m not a..."

"No, of course not. You're just special, aren't you?" He let his lips graze her ear. "I'm special, too, Sullivan."

oooh, he really IS desperate for forming a connection if he’s making THIS admission to Chloe while trying to prove how ‘alike’ they both are. He’s grasping at straws, and playing all his card at once. I LOVE seeing him in this desperate state!


She pushed against his chest, staring hard at him. "So you're..." She shook her head. "And yet you can still do what you do, still experiment..."

"Unlike them, I'm not a danger to anyone."

That utter bastard! Who is HE to judge what makes a person ‘dangerous’ or not?!


Her eyes widened. "You obviously don't know yourself very well."

heee! I loved that Chloe gave back this retort. It’s EXACTLY the one I wanted to answer back with :D


"Are you a danger?" he whispered. Somehow, he wished the answer was yes. She'd been latent when he tested her, but now... If she was dangerous, he'd really have no choice. She'd have to be kept somewhere. The idea filled him with a dark thrill accompanied by twinges of loathing. "Are you, Chloe?"

hmmm, I’m a little confused and curious… is that loathing for Chloe about being potentially a ‘dangerous freak’? Or is it self-loathing for entertaining such horrible thoughts? The former suggests he’s pretty far gone into darkness, while the latter suggest SOME redeemable qualities still remain.

Heh… but whatever the case, I can see he LOVED the idea of having Chloe captured and locked away under his ‘personal supervision and control’. The bastard is going to add that onto his list of night-time fantasies?


Her eyes narrowed and a strange sort of moan came from her throat. Not one of pleasure.

He'd done it now. All of his work and just a few moments of truth had torn it all down. F*ck! He could fix this. He'd just gone too far too quickly. It wasn't over. He skimmed a hand over her breast, licking his lips, warming his voice. "Not gonna give me anything?"

I can see he really angered her and freaked her out with that final question. And I liked that he knew that he took it too far. In fact, I think there’s a good chance that he freaked and frightened her so bad that she’s NEVER going to let him touch her again… if she manages to get away right here and now. Unless Lex can do some really fast moves to ‘persuade’ her to stay…?

Hmmm, I do wonder how Lex would have reacted knowing that Chloe’s power is to heal? It’s actually a really miraculous power… nearly divine in nature, and I think Lex would have been awed in knowing that her gift took on a self-sacrificing nature to help others… just like her basic personality. He’s already stunned by her purity and generosity of spirit… so I’d LOVE to know what he’d think about an amazing, beautiful mutant power like that.


The phone's shrill ring suddenly cut the silence.

"Don't answer it." He gripped her wrist. The wrong wrist, apparently, as she brought the other to her ear, pressing a button.

"Hi, Lana."

He shook his head and dropped to his knees. His earlier resolution to have her begging was obviously stupid. At this point, he just had to get her to stay. He wasn't about to grovel, but he had a few tricks...

ROTFL! The idiot grabbed the wrong wrist?! ROTFLMAO! Oh dear me!

Oooh, and now he’s going to resort to ‘tricks’ to get her to stay?!? :D :D AWESOME!!! I loved the way that he has humbled his expectations. Now his only aim is to get her to allow him to keep touching her. He’s given up all hope of her begging for his touch, LOL! Excellent!


Why won't Lex just shut up sometimes? Stupid evil, sexy... Seriously, this is out of my hands at this point.

LOL! It’s that damned self-destructive streak in his, AmazingApe! It cannot be controlled or contained.

This was a fantastic chapter. I loved it, and I look forward to seeing how the next one goes. Please update soon!

[SVfan1286]

This chapter was amazing!

The beginning smut was fabulous and then Lana had to ruin it. Well actually it's Chloe's fault, for trying to answer the phone while Lex was between her legs. Even though it stopped the smut, I have to say, it was pretty funny when Chloe called out Lana's name. I just wish she would put herself first for a change, for her to be a little selfish for once!

I loved how Lex was compairing them, he is right in some ways they are alot alike, but what I really loved was his desperation on trying to prove how much alike they are. Great Job! You write Lex's character really well.

I hope Lex gets Chloe back in the mood though, because I want my Chlex smut! Lol I look forward to reading more!!

[lj715]

Excellent update.

[lilinny]

These two are so perfect when they're angry at each other.
Great chapter.

[tatie87]

The last couple chapters have really heated up. I love how evil Lex is being. The whole idea of a Chloe/Lana sleepover kind of freaks me out. Chloe needs to finnish what she started with Lex in that hotel room. Can't wait for the next chapter.

[TheAmazingApe]

PART NINE B

"Don't answer it."

She felt his hand squeezing her left wrist. If he'd had the right, she might have ignored the phone... or not. She might have just had more of a fight before answering.

But she wasn't about to leave Lana waiting for her. It was hardly even about Lana's feelings. She'd taken it farther tonight. Actually ending up at this trashy motel with him. It was possible she needed a good out because... Every time she was ready to chuck it all and just... feel. He had to go and be himself -- a scheming, nefarious bastard. He couldn't just fuck her. No. He couldn't just give her what she wanted. There had to be conditions, it seemed.

At work, it was his needling about Clark. At his house, it was this demand that she make it happen, that she admit it. And she had. But Lex Luthor seemed to be a slave to the concept of wanting more. Now he wanted to know her ability. And maybe it would be easier. Maybe he'd be relieved to know that her power was far from dangerous -- to anyone but herself, that is. But it wasn't his business. It never had been. It made her think of her abduction, of her mother. And those thoughts made the idea of her even being here unconscionable.

She brought the phone to her ear with a sort of relief. "Hi, Lana." She turned her head resolutely away. "I just had to run to the store. I'm sorry if you've been waiting. I'll be..." Her voice stopped and her body froze, still against the wall.

"No," she heard Lana's voice, becoming tinny and far away. "Don't go to any trouble for me. I actually..."

Her voice disappeared as Chloe dropped the phone. There were times when she looked at her life and wondered if it wasn't all some drug-addled dream. Right now, for instance. She was in a seedy motel on a whim, she was late for a slumber party with Lana Lang, at the age of twenty-one, no less. And Lex Luthor was tonguing her clit.

How in the hell did anyone get here?

"Stop it," she hissed, trying to close her legs. He didn't, not looking up, just holding her thighs hard and resolutely working at her.

And she could hear the phone, far away on the carpet. Lana was saying... something. She could be reciting the Declaration of Independence right now and, even if Chloe could hear, she wasn't sure any of it would sink in. She couldn't expect her mind to work. Her own legs were failing her.

She grappled on either side of her, feeling nothing but bare wall, nothing to grab onto, nothing to stop the slow downward slide.

He didn't let up for a second, only seemed to crawl backward, hands gripping her thighs a little harder as her bottom hit the floor and her head bounced slightly against the wall. He looked up then, craning his neck slightly, so nearly stopping.

She took the slight moment of clarity and kicked at him weakly, grappling to her side for the phone. One hand left her to reach out and she flattened it to the floor with hers, nearly diving on her side, trying to get closer.

"Chloe? Chloe are you..."

She panted triumphantly and let his hand go, finally grasping the phone again.

"Lana, I'm sorry. I didn't hear any of that," she panted. "I... dropped the phone."

"It's okay, Chloe. I just... I hope you aren't out getting me cereal or anything because..."

"Damn it! Stop!" She slapped at him, still on her side now, with her free hand.

"Chloe, what's the matter?"

"Nothing," she gasped. "I just... There's a bee and he won't stop... Euff!" Her breath left her as he gripped her waist and pulled, making her flip slightly onto her back.

"A bee? In winter?"

"Crazy, right?" She tried to close her legs again, but he wasn't having it, apparently. If she could just get through this conversation, she could give him a sound beating. "So you don't want cereal? I can just come back. It's... uh... f-f-fine." God, his finger was inside her now, sort of searching and curling until... "Jesus!"

"Wow. He... must be giving you a hard time."

"You have no idea," she growled, trying to decide what the hell she wanted to do here. Stopping him seemed important, but it seemed hard to remember why exactly.

"Anyway, I'm so sorry you're going to all this trouble because..."

His mouth was on her again and she was pretty much giving up that he would stop. Honestly, she might not survive if he did and... her eyes fluttered shut even as she tried to grasp what Lana was saying.

"...and I think we're going to work it out. I... I don't want this to be over anymre than he does and if we can be open now, then..."

She sat bolt upright, finally scrambling away from Lex. "What?"

"I think... I mean, I hope we can make it work now."

She stopped, back against the motel issue dresser as Lana said the very words that crushed her. She wondered if she knew. She wondered if Lana would care if she knew. Chloe, maybe it's time for you to let go of him a little. She'd said that, too. And she knew, she had to know, how Chloe felt upon hearing it. Maybe she had acknowledged this dynamic that Chloe had only just accepted. This subtle tug-of-war between them. In the middle was Clark and... Maybe Lana had won.

"Good," Chloe managed to choke out, though it killed her inside. "I'm so... happy you're working it all out."

He tugged at her ankle and she glared at him, snatching it away. He stilled this time, peering at her in the dim light.

"I think we will," was saying. "We've been through so much and to just let go after all the..."

"Darn it," Chloe groaned. "I really have to go. This cop is eyeing me and you know how they are with that hands-free law..."

"I thought you were at the store."

Yes. I'm at the store and simultaneously in my car where a bee is harassing me in the dead of winter. Yet all that seemed more believable than the truth. "I'll call you tomorrow," she said abruptly, finally giving up on coherent stories. She pressed the off button and sagged against the dresser. Lana wouldn't call back. She was sure she and Clark had much better things to do... or did they? He was still awfully afraid of hurting her in that particular situation. She vaguely wondered why she was so hung up on a guy that was deathly afraid of sex. Then again, she hadn't been extremely focused on sex, at least not until a few months ago.

She opened her eyes at a chuckle. Lex was leaning against the bed, as naked as she was, laughing to himself.

"This isn't funny."

"No. It's hilarious." He chuckled again.

"God, you couldn't just let me talk to her," she breathed. "I'm trying to have a conversation and you're... you're..."

"Servicing you sexually?" Lex supplied, reaching out to run a fingertip down her calf.

"Servicing me..." She slapped his hand away. "As if any of this was for me. As if you'd do anything that benefited anyone but yourself. If you think..."

"But that's not what's funny," he cut in, still staring at her leg. "Here you are, wracked with guilt over poor Lana sitting by herself, just waiting for you, and, apparently, they're working it all out... again. How long do you think it took her to think to call you? She always was a self-absorbed little thing."

"Just shut up," she hissed. "You wrote the book on self-absorbed."

"Ah, but she perfected it."

"She's my friend and she has been for years." Maybe they'd hit a few bumps along the way, but she wanted to think that Lana might someday become that uncomplicated girl she'd once been. And she'd like to think she was just loyal enough not to let Lex, of all people, demean her. Yet there was that tiny thrill at the idea that Lex could even say that about Lana. Maybe she thought this thing between them was some sort of cold comfort, licking their wounds. Hers from Clark and his from Lana. The idea that it was more was... not something she wanted to think about at all.

"And that attitude really explains your marriage," she went on. "You're the one that..." And how could she finish that? You're the one that turned her into a monster, bent on revenge even to the point of destroying Clark? Because she really didn't want Lex looking too closely at Clark. She breathed deep and took in the eighties-era popcorn ceiling. "God, I wish you'd just shut up for once."

"Fair enough," she heard a moment before she felt his hands on her hips.

She opened her eyes to find him looming over her, pulling her hips down. Her body slid away from the dresser and she hissed as she felt the carpet scrape against her back. His eyes were hard. "You're no better, really. You have this all-important meeting with Lana and what did you do, Chloe?" She started to push him away, but his hands caught her arms. "You're here with me, aren't you?" He pushed his hips against hers and she let out a choked gasp as he slid against her, not in her, but if she moved just a little...

"We're done, aren't we?" he breathed into her mouth. "I mean, we have to be done pretending this was just some drunken accident. This..." And now he did move, sliding inside her just a bit. "This we should have been doing all along."

"No," she breathed, pushing at his chest.

"No?" He drew back, eyes searching her face. "Sullivan, even you have to admit that we've wasted..."

"Condom," she cut in, pushing harder.

He smiled suddenly, then pushed in again, just a little. "I don't see why. We didn't before. And neither of us has fucked anyone since that night and you... you're on the pill, aren't you?"

Her eyes widened. He knew that? She'd been on the pill since last year, about mid-way through her relationship with Jimmy, but... Her anger that he seemed to know things only her doctor should was offset with the fact that... he hadn't? Not since her? He'd seemed fixated, but she hadn't really thought... It didn't matter. "I won't fuck you without it," she said, pushing against his chest until he slipped out. She needed something between them. Any kind of barrier. once could be forgiven, but twice...

"I was afraid of that," he muttered, head falling to her neck.

Her head fell back to the floor. "You mean you don't have..."

"Yes, I do," he said abruptly. He pulled back, slipping a hand between her legs, suddenly thumbing her clit. "Don't fucking move," he whispered, working at her hard before she opened her eyes and he was gone.

She really wanted to move right about then, pull on her clothes and end this now just for his high-handedness. Because this was obviously insane and sick and every other bad thing... except for how it felt. So sweet and harsh and hot and wrong and... so wrong. Why did it have to be so good? Couldn't wrong things feel the way they should? Sex with someone like him should be painful and sickening... which it kind of was, but not in any way that would keep her from doing it again.

And she was doing it again. Something that was made painfully clear when her body leapt at the sight of him crawling back to her.

He stood above her, a foil packet in his hand. He bent to her, hand reaching down. "Come on."

"No." She shook her head against the floor. "Here."

"On the floor?" His mouth screwed downward.

She wasn't exactly into the carpet here either, but somehow she felt that, if they were on the bed, it was... real. Because good girls didn't screw on the floor of a nasty motel. Good girls probably didn't screw their enemies at all, but she'd forget that for the moment. Chloe Sullivan, despite some failings, was a good girl. She'd never do this. Therefore... She pulled his arm and he landed on her with a harshly grunted expletive. Chloe Sullivan wasn't really doing this.

It probably didn't make sense, except to her. She pushed him up and turned with a sideways glance. She rose up on her hands and knees, feeling him behind her. "Like this."

"Already up for new positions. I must say, I'm impressed you..."

"Seriously, don't talk."

"Fine." He grew silent behind her and she heard a rustling and a tear.

She glanced behind her once to make sure he was putting the condom on. She saw him smooth it over his length and relaxed, facing the dresser. She tensed up as she felt the tip of him at her entrance. It had been a few months and she felt so wound up, so...

"Fucking... tight," he breathed, sliding in just a bit more.

She knew it had been a while for him as well and she took some smug satisfaction in it. That he'd been waiting for her... She might have given into her inclinations of moments before and left, but for that. Maybe it went back to how much she seemed to need to be needed. Probably something that went as far back as her childhood, knowing that, even as much as she needed her dad, he needed her to always be his...

All breath and thought left her as he pushed in all the way, hands digging into her waist. She may get annoyed with Lex's habit of analyzing every moment out loud, but she was just as deafening inside her own head except for when he... pushed.

Doggy style wasn't exactly new. She'd done it once, amid Jimmy's giggles about how primitive it all seemed. She hadn't agreed at the time. She'd rather hoped it would be, but it had been about the same, with his gentle, nearly grateful presence behind her, rather than above her or below her. But with Lex...

"Fuck!"

She could feel his breath hot on her back, his hands almost bruising, his hips slow, but so hard.

"Faster," she moaned.

His fingers dug in, then slid to her hips, before he sped up, sliding inside and out. "Like this?"

"Yes," she breathed, as his pace picked up, scraping against her walls, sliding against something inside her that was so... "Yes!"

He picked up the pace even more and she felt that orgasm, on hold twice now, start to build inside her.

"Chloe... Feel you... So..."

She felt the same way. Nothing would stop this now. She wouldn't let it. Her own father could call frantically and she wouldn't stop this for even him. She felt her body sliding forward on the carpet, the rug burning her knees and it didn't matter, except... She pushed one arm ahead, stiffening it against the dresser, thinking a concussion might dampen things just a little. She used the leverage against the dresser to push back as he kept bumping her forward, hips slapping against hers.

"Jesus! Best... fucking... Mmph!"

He was very verbal, though not with complete thoughts during sex, she was starting to learn that. But best? Even those words spurred her onward as all his pre-sex babble nearly deterred her. She was a woman with exactly two men under her belt. The idea that she could reduce Lex Luthor to caveman grunts was nearly enough finish her off right there.

But only nearly.

She pushed back harder, faster, both embarrassed and turned-on by the slap of their flesh. "Come on," she grunted, not sure what it was she needed. He was nearly bruising her with his grip, damned near pushing her into the dresser, and moving so fast she wasn't sure there was any more he could give her.

Then his hand covered hers on the dresser.

Then his body bent over hers. She could feel his chest at her back and his breath on her neck.

And then she felt his teeth on the nape of her neck.

She screamed, then, squeezing him deep inside her as he bit down.

Her hand slid down the dresser with a sort of moist squeak, but his hand stayed as his other squeezed her hip, nearly bruising, keeping her up as he thrust and slid inside her.

When her pther arm shook and gave out, he followed her down, still pumping as aftershocks ricocheted all over her body until he finally shuddered, collapsing over her with a sigh of her name.

**********************

She pulled her jacket over her shirt, lightly stroking the back of her neck. There would be a mark. She hoped her hair would cover it.

A small part of her wondered what would happen if it showed. Teeth marks were a bit hard to mistake, weren't they? Everyone would know that Chloe Sullivan had been fucked but good. Somebody did it. Somebody wanted to. And everyone would know.

Clark, who hardly looked at her as if she was female. Jimmy, who seemed to be dreaming of Kara, even while she was gone...

God, she must be sick. She shook her head and pulled the high collar of her shirt over the mark, bending to her shoes.

"This didn't happen," she said softly.

"What now?"

She stepped into her other shoe and turned to him, dressing on the other side of the rumpled, but still-made, bed. "This didn't happen," she repeated.

He caught her eyes, then nodded. "Of course it didn't."

She stood and searched for her fallen cell phone.

"But you should know..." His voice stopped her, bent over the ugly carpet. "I'll be reserving this room every night for the foreseeable future."

She straightened, turning to face him. "Why?"

He smiled, adjusting his belt. "The rates here are hardly a drop in the bucket, after all."

She tilted her head. "So you plan on coming here often?"

He held her gaze. "Don't you?"

TBC

[dagney]

That was so frigging hot and funny and sexy and sad. Poor Chloe, needs to be needed, loved and valued and here she has Lex sexual Adonis, damaged, needing to be loved.

I hope everyone sees the mark on her neck and I can't wait until Lex finds out her power when she saved his ass and dies. hmmmm this just gets better and better. Dagney

[peggy]

excellent update, I love your story

[westwingwolf]

Sometimes I too wish they could just shut up and have sex but then they wouldn't be them. They always have to push each other's buttons more than just physically.

There is something so powerful with knowing it's wrong and still wanting to do it, and Lex is right about them being alike. They should give into it as often as possible. I hope Chloe plans to come back to the motel, if not every night, then at least frequently.

[tatie87]

Great update. I loved the animal sex. Very Hot. I loved that Chloe was on the phone with Lana as Lex and her fooled around. There was some type of poetic justice.

[somethingeasy]

I was really happy to see another update to this fic. LOL! And it seems like Lex finally managed to shut up long enough to ‘get some’, ROTFL!

I loved how the story started with a description of Chloe’s supreme irritation with the way Lex was talking, probing and prodding waaaay beyond all limits. And it was really great how she observed that it was only typical of Lex to be a ‘slave to wanting more’. I LOVED that line :D It was Lex to a perfect T! He really CAN’T help himself from demanding more, more and MORE, even when he knows that he’s already pushed the limits to as far as they will go, and pushing further will lead to breakage.

That phone-call with Lana irritated me to no end, but it was more than made up with due to the delicious visual of Lex ‘sexually servicing’ Chloe while she was trying to keep up a semi-coherent conversation with the irritating parasite on the line. ROTFLMAO! It was hilarious seeing Chloe coming up with ludicrous stories, none of them gelling together, until she finally gave up and gasped out that she’d talk to Lana tomorrow, LOL!

Oh dear, but it WAS so sad (and also slightly pathetic) to see Chloe’s heart fall yet AGAIN when Lana told her that she was ‘working things out’ with Clark yet again. Oh, CHLOE! Were you seriously hoping that perhaps this time Clark would come to you instead of chasing after Lana again? You poor, pathetic fool!

I both loved and hated Lex for mocking Chloe with a smirk when he threw that new information back in her face. There is something both hateful as well as irresistible about Lex when he’s gloating and kicking someone when they’re down.

And I’m rather hoping that Lex’s mocking taunts will break through Chloe’s delusions for a happy Chlark ending once and for all. After all this time… after Clark and Lana’s self-absorbed version of friendship, after a failed attempt at a relationship with pitiful red-haired substitutes, I’m hoping that LEX will be the guy to finally break the hold that Clark has somehow managed to maintain over Chloe. If anyone can do it, surely it’s HIM?!

The smut was hot, hot, HOT! I loved the way that Chloe initiated caveman doggy style sex. It was smoking hot! I know that she did it because she basically didn’t want to look at Lex during sex, but also think she loved the thrill of this dirty, aggressive, rough, dominating kind of sex with Lex. I know HE certainly enjoyed it… he seemed overwhelmed by it!

I LOVE that he told Chloe that she was the best he’s ever had. And I also love that she took so much pleasure in being The Desirable One, just this one time in her life. I think it’s doing wonders for her confidence and sense of self-worth to be the object of ultimate desire…not to mention the target of Luthor-obsession, LOL!

I loved that she actually LIKED the idea of Lex’s bite-mark on her body, because it was a reaffirmation on how much she’s wanted by someone. Even if it IS someone that she loathes and despises on almost every level (except for one or two, LOL).

Heeee!!! Lex did an excellent move in informing Chloe that he’s going to be holding this room on reserve from this day forth. He’s basically given Chloe a little sanctuary for her to escape to whenever she’s feeling overwhelmed by all the stresses and issues of being The Perfect Sidekick to far too many people, and not a Full Partner to anyone. It’s HER choice to come to the sanctuary whenever she wants… it’s a temptation that he knows she’s going to succumb to sooner or later.

Awesome work, Lex! You sneaky bastard! LOL!

Hmmm, I do wonder how Lex would have reacted knowing that Chloe’s power was to heal…? I really think he would be awe-struck and amazed by the nature of her power, and how it reflects the ‘purity’ in her that he’s become obsessed with. I think knowing about her powers would only make him all the more enthralled with her.

This was a fantastic chapter, AmazingApe! I look forward to the next one. Please update soon!

[lj715]

Great update.

[Esther25jm]

Holy hotness, Batman!! I freakin' LOVE this look into S6 and the roller coaster relationship between Lex and Chloe. And the sex?! OMG!!! *thud* Geez, I seriously wish that this was what we had gotten on the show and not the crap we ended up watching. Damn, this was awesome and I can't wait for more!!!

[letia84]

Lex just shut up and get some already.


She tilted her head. "So you plan on coming here often?"

He held her gaze. "Don't you?"oh no are they are going to start keeping secrets of long nights of angry sex. I can't wait for everyone to find out. its going to be a big blow out.

[purplemoon123]

Two chapters!!! I gots to chapters. Yay!!!

How do you manage make bickering into something so hawt??? Loving Lex trying to stop Chloe from answering the phone. What is going to happen now?? How often will they be using the room??

[SVfan1286]

Excellent chapter!

Chloe's is so pathetic about Clark and Lana. Was she seriously thinking that Clark would finally notice her? I just want to smack her and than hug her... the poor thing. You need to let him go sweetie!

I did love the image of Chloe on the phone with Lana while Lex was between her legs. It's so naughty and HOT! The sex was amazing as usual.. well when they finally had sex. They talk way to damn much but I do love it. I really like the idea of Lex buying out the motel room for.. well who knows how long. I hope Chloe takes Lex up on his offer. *grins*

I can't wait to read more!!

[lilinny]

Have Chloe say yes.

There's nothing more fun than reading about angry sex!

Love the chapter.

[Kit Merlot]

An awesome chapter!


Yet there was that tiny thrill at the idea that Lex could even say that about Lana. Maybe she thought this thing between them was some sort of cold comfort, licking their wounds. Hers from Clark and his from Lana. The idea that it was more was... not something she wanted to think about at all.

I love that Chloe's automatic response is to defend Lana, but she secretly agrees with Lex. And when will these two get it through their heads that Clark and Lana simply aren't worth the pain and drama? Maybe Clark will be once he grows the hell up, but Lana is a total lost cause.

The Chlex smut was just gorgeous, and good for Lex for wanting to continue it and admitting it outloud. Now all Chloe has to do is agree with him and we'll be good:yeahbaby:

Can't wait to hear Chloe's answer--please let us know what it is as soon as you can;)

[Chica]

great update can't wait for more...

[athena]

OK. This is so good. I'm speachless. I mean, the plot. I've thought many times how S6 could be different, in a very chlex way, but this? Just awsome!!
I'll start the begging: please update soon!

[kirt30]

loving it more please

[TheAmazingApe]

Just want to let you know that I have not forgotten this fic. I'm just very involved in another WIP, but am hoping to get another chapter in on this by tomorrow.

[Kit Merlot]

Just want to let you know that I have not forgotten this fic. I'm just very involved in another WIP, but am hoping to get another chapter in on this by tomorrow.

I do miss this fic, but if it means that we get more of your excellent Chlois fic, then I'm okay with the wait for the Chlex:D

[deia]

Please update soon? I love this story so much and you left it at such an awfully mean cliffhanger!! I'm aware you've been currently focusing on other stories but if you could come back soon I'd really apreciate it!

[TheAmazingApe]

I wanted to have more before I posted it, but I got that whole "you haven't posted in a while" message and thought it best to post what I had rather than waiting, maybe it would force me to get the rest of this up and quickly, too.

It's not so much my Chlark/Chlois fic tht has me tied up these days. It's just that I have no free time lately.

Anyway, I have a goal to get more up on both my fics this weekend, so here's a half for you:

Spoilers for Fracture

PART 10A

Never on the bed.

That seemed to be some unspoken rule.

He'd had her on the carpet, against the wall, over the dresser, even in the doorway with it partially open and the chilly air glancing over their slick skin.

But not on the bed.

Tonight, he thought it might be. She was pulling him towards it as his coat joined her jacket on the floor.

He stumbled forward, her hands grasping his collar. He didn't know what it was about the bed that tantalized him so. Perhaps it was the way she so scrupulously avoided it. A few times, he nearly had her on it, only to have her push him off, move with swishing hips to somewhere, anywhere else.

Tonight, she stopped just short of the bed, and he found himself groaning. She seemed to be gravitating toward the bathroom. He couldn't think why. He'd, of course, made sure to put in a little extra to ensure it was scrupulously clean. But a motel bathroom... honestly.

He stripped the T-shirt over her head and suddenly stopped caring where.

"Where are you?" he gasped, pulling at an annoyingly tight sports bra.

"Jogging," she panted back, letting him hoist it up and over her arms.

"Thought so." The sweats were a bit of a give-away. That was her story again. Half the nights, she met him in stretchy cotton because, of course, she had taken up nightly jogs.

He, luckily, had no one to answer to. But she had to tell her loud-mouthed cousin something. Maybe she had to tell Clark, too. The two of them seemed so firmly attached at the side. A few of his men had informed him that he was still seen hanging around with her. It was... annoying. As much as he didn't mind the added bonus of keeping an eye on Clark as he kept an eye on Chloe... Did the two of them have to spend nearly every waking moment together?

Clark had Lana. He'd won her away. But this... this was something he couldn't have, couldn't even have an inkling of. Clark wasn't the only one that could keep a secret. This was secret. This was his alone.

He backed her toward the sink, pulling at her pants, lifting her onto it so he could draw them down her legs. "You weren't here last night."

She kicked at her shoes and the pants went with them. "I was workig till three am. I had to go over the police blotter since you fired Horowitz."

He kissed his way up her stomach. "He was insubordinate."

She turned her head away as he got to her neck. "He's been working there five years and..."

He took her chin in his hand and pulled her face front. "I thought we agreed not to talk shop."

"If you weren't such an asshole in our shop..."

He met her lips, nibbling at the bottom one. He liked when she got pouty on him. '

She broke away. "Fine." She started working at his buttons. "And you're one to talk about no-shows. I waited an hour on Thursday and..."

"I was out of town." He made quicker work of the remaining buttons. "I told you that."

"You said you'd be out of town Wednesday. Didn't know you'd make a holiday out of it."

He hadn't planned to. But he'd impulsively told a certain waitress named "Linda" that he was on town for a few days. She'd said she hoped he'd stop in to try their omelets. He couldn't bear to disappoint her. Things were coming along so well... "You sound disappointed." He pulled his belt from the loops. "Did you miss me?"

Her eyes narrowed as she leaned against the sink. "Hardly. I just thought I should show up here in case you took it your head to show up at my place again."

"That was coincidence." Maybe he had popped in for a coffee last Tuesday. Maybe he had seen her on her way up the stairs. Maybe he had slipped her a note and waited in his car until she finally showed up. And maybe they hadn't even made it to room 23 that night. Just a hurried, frantic fuck on the side of the Interstate with her bouncing in his lap, her knee flirting with the gearshift. "You were just lucky that night."

"You mean you were," she said tartly. It was something she still didn't quite acknowledge, how good this was for her. But he didn't need to hear the words. He knew that he was the only man who'd ever taken her to orgasm at all, let alone over and over. That was nearly enough for him. "Turn on the shower," she panted.

He gritted his teeth. It was only nearly enough, however. He'd sent quality sheets and bedding to The Paradise Motel along with a hefty sum to keep the room almost indefinitely and he'd still not had a chance to use them. "Why not the bed?" he finally asked.

She stared through the doorway for a moment, then back at him. She ran her hands up to his neck, then fluttered her fingers against his scalp. "I want to fuck you wet," she breathed.

And he knew it was avoidance, but his cock jumped at her words, straining through his boxers toward her... spectacularly ugly panties. He hooked a finger in the waistband. "These are hideous."

"So?" She shrugged. "I'm supposed to be jogging."

"Is your cousin going to check your underwear, too?"

She rolled her eyes. "Are you going to play fashion police or fuck me?" She pushed him away and moved past him, pushing the panties down her hips as she moved to the tub. She kicked them aside as she slid the glazed door open. "I don't have to be here, you know." he watched with interest as she bent, turning the knobs to her satisfaction.

"Yes, you do." He came up behind her and gripped her bent hips, pulling them back against him.

He realized it might have been a bad move when she straightened and turned, her eyes hard. "No. Actually, I think I'll..."

He kissed her then, pushing her to the side and up against the glazed door. He had to be careful with her. He couldn't push them, these moments of truth. That nearly prissy indignance, possibly learned from Clark, was a constant problem. He always walked that line with her. These nights could happen or not on a word. And, as he learned that first night in Room 23, actions spoke louder.

He let his fingers do the talking, trailing them downwards, searching between her legs. Flicking against her clit until her mouth went slack against his. He took his hand away and moved to the side, stepping over the lip of the narrow, yellow tub. He waited until she turned, her eyes slightly glassy, before he spoke. "You're right. You don't have to be here."

Her eyes narrowed and focused on him. "You're such a dick." But she stepped over, into the spray and the disgustingly narrow tub. If she wanted shower play, he had many bathrooms at home that were much more suited to it. But that was out of the question for both of them.

There might be talk.

***********************

"Hello? I'm talking to you?"

Chloe shook her head and turned to Lois. "I'm sorry. I must have drifted."

"Yeah. You're doing that a lot." Lois pursed her lips. "Chloe, as your cousin, let me just give you some familial advice. You have to stop it."

Chloe froze with her mug halfway to her lips. "Stop what?"

"Well, between these night jogs and nights working late, it's only too obvious."

Chloe's eyes widened. She couldn't know. She just...

Lois threw her hands up. "You're burning the candle at both ends."

Chloe let out a breath, glad Lois hadn't caught on. It was one thing, Lois screwing around with their editor. It was a whole other, whatever this masochistic craze was with Lex, who was not only the owner of the paper, but her enemy. In a way, it some kind of sick sense. Where Lois might have stood to gain from Gabriel, she had only to lose with Lex. So why was she doing it? Why couldn't she stop?

"I'm fine, Lois," she lied.

"Is this because of Jimmy? I mean, you never dealt with that and maybe... Maybe you should spend some nights out instead of overworking. Meet a nice guy. Like we could go clubbing or..."

"I'm not a club person," she said quickly. "You know that." Lois had a thing for clubs and loud music and tight shirts and leather skirts. Chloe wasn't on that wavelength. Before Lex, her ideal night out was sci-fi movies and a large popcorn. Now it was a bland room with bad lighting and such intense physical pleasure that... she couldn't stop. "I just like to deal with stress my way. Could you let me?"

"Fine." Lois stuffed her wrappers back into the bag with more noise than was necessary. "You have dark circles, your coffee intake has gone up to gallons, you've lost weight and you really didn't need to, but... Fine." She crumpled the bag. "It doesn't have to be clubbing. Just... not this." She stalked off.

This. Lois thought this was workaholism and some workout addiction. If she only knew... But she could never know. No one could. Chloe wasn't sure she wanted to know it herself. What was she thinking? She had to stop this. Lois was right. As much as the sex seemed like a relief, the effort to get to it took time away. As did the long, hot nights when her body turned to liquid and every care just evaporated into bliss and stress just... No. It didn't relieve stress. It created it. She could see it now, after two days without it. Two days without excuses. Didn't she have more sleep last night? Why couldn't she keep going without it? If she could go two days, then she could go three, four... Before she knew it, she'd have had a week without...

"Jesus," she breathed inappropriately. It wasn't Jesus before her. It was about the farthest thing. Lex was back from... wherever he'd been. She didn't ask. she was afraid to ask, to pry, no matter how much her insincts told her to. If she found out then those nights would be even dirtier than they were. Instead of mutual... relaxation, as she tended to think of it, it would be something else. It would be lies, even prostitution. Fucking in exchange for truth, rather than money. It would sully it all even more.

His eyes lit on her as he descended the stairs. She quickly turned away, standing and gathering the remains of her lunch, praying he wouldn't dare...

"Sullivan?"

She didn't look up. "Mr. Luthor?" She stuffed napkins, wrappers, even still-dripping coffee cups into her bag.

TBC...

[lj715]

Great update!

[dagney]

Wow, I feel kinda bad for Chloe, It really is an addiction of sorts, The posession Lex feels oh you've given us the hint about Kara/Linda what will happen when Lex is shot? Will Clark see this relationship in his head.
I like the sarcastic banter btw them . The line with Lois checking her undies, LOL. I'm excited to read the next bit. Dagney

[basmas84]

I really liked this chapter...
i liked how you described chloe's dillema... and how she doesn't like what she is doing, but at the same time realises that she needs this, and that she can't stop...
so, well done

[westwingwolf]

Lex seems rather upset that his moments with Chloe aren't as much...well whatever he'd like them to be. I won't dare say he wants more emotionally with her but he does seem to want more of an admittance to the 'relationship' they have. Good thing Lois is still clueless as ever. I think it's better that Chloe is doing something for herself over sleeping around in order to get to the top. Sure, no one will ever believe it, but at least she knows.

[somethingeasy]

He stumbled forward, her hands grasping his collar. He didn't know what it was about the bed that tantalized him so. Perhaps it was the way she so scrupulously avoided it. A few times, he nearly had her on it, only to have her push him off, move with swishing hips to somewhere, anywhere else.

What an excellent start to the new chapter! The last chapter ended with Lex smugly telling Chloe that she won’t be able to resist visiting him on a regular basis in that nasty motel room he’s sublet for them. And now we see that his smugness had some valid basis after all. Chloe has NOT been able to resist carrying on a sordid cliché of a motel-affair, behind the back of ALL her friends.

Heh… but it was good to see that she was still not giving into everything that Lex wanted from her. He’s STILL damned frustrated from all the pieces of herself that she’s withholding. I loved the idea that he wanted to ‘validate’ their affair somehow by taking it to a legitimate bed, and Chloe kept refusing to give into that step.


He, luckily, had no one to answer to. But she had to tell her loud-mouthed cousin something. Maybe she had to tell Clark, too. The two of them seemed so firmly attached at the side. A few of his men had informed him that he was still seen hanging around with her. It was... annoying. As much as he didn't mind the added bonus of keeping an eye on Clark as he kept an eye on Chloe... Did the two of them have to spend nearly every waking moment together.

LOL! Leave it to Lex find satisfaction in seeing Chloe and Clark together all the time because it makes it convenient for him to spy on them both. He doesn’t have to pay two teams to spy on his sexual obsession and his arch antagonist because they’re always hanging out together. Mind you… Clex-Lex usually has a ‘little’ bit better because HIS sexual obsession and worst enemy are one and the same person, LOL!

I did like the description on how very complicated Chloe’s life has become since she started up this affair in earnest with Lex. She has to frantically run circles around her family and friends to keep them from finding out about her after-hour activities. I imagine it’s seriously hard for her to lie to people… and probably loathsome to lie to people she loves.


Clark had Lana. He'd won there. But this... this he couldn't have.

Did you mean to say Lex had Lana there? The sentence would seem to make a little more sense that way?


He took her chin in his hand and pulled her face front. "I thought we agreed not to talk shop."

"If you weren't such an asshole in our shop..."

He met her lips, nibbling at the bottom one. He liked when she got pouty on him. '

Bastard! He doesn’t even have the decency to feel even the tiniest bit of shame over everything that Chloe reprimands him for. Instead the man gets aroused when she’s telling him off. LOL! But that kind of response is completely in Lex’s twisted character, isn’t it? ROTFL! I don’t know whether to admire this in him or not, but he LIKES having strong, angry women tearing into him.


He hadn't planned to. But he'd impulsively told a certain waitress named "Linda" that he was on town for a few days. She'd said she hoped he'd stop in to try their omelets. He couldn't bear to disappoint her. Things were coming along so well... "You sound disappointed." He pulled his belt from the loops. "Did you miss me?"

heh… isn’t it fascinating to see that the two of them seriously MISS each other when the other cannot make it to one of their ‘appointments’. Not that they’ll ever admit it… well, not that Chloe will ever admit it, LOL!


"That was coincidence." Maybe he had popped in for a coffee last Tuesday. Maybe he had seen her on her way up the stairs. Maybe he had slipped her a note and waited in his car until she finally showed up. And maybe they hadn't even made it to room 23 that night. Just a hurried, frantic fuck on the side of the Interstate with her bouncing in his lap, her knee flirting with the gearshift. "You were just lucky that night."

Oh dear heavens, that was a HOT visual! A quick, frantic, hard, desperate fuck in the car. And I’m sure it’s because BOTH of them were desperate for each other… although I’m inclined to think that Lex was a little more frenzied for Chloe than the other way around.


He gritted his teeth. It was only nearly enough, however. He'd sent quality sheets and bedding to The Paradise Motel along with a hefty sum to keep the room almost indefinitely and he'd still not had a chance to use them. "Why not the bed?" he finally asked.

I LOVED that, even thought he’s getting amazing orgasms and sexual satisfaction from this affair, Lex is STILL not content because he’s not getting the level of intimacy that he needs from Chloe. I think she’s still using him as a convenient body, but he’s still desperate to ‘connect’ with her on some deeper level. Perfect happiness still eludes Lex… mostly because of his own self-sabotaging tactics, the idiot, LOL!


She stared through the doorway for a moment, then back at him. She ran her hands up to his neck, then fluttered her fingers against his scalp. "I want to fuck you wet," she breathed.

And he knew it was avoidance, but his cock jumped at her words, straining through his boxers toward her... spectacularly ugly panties. He hooked a finger in the waistband. "These are hideous."

LOL! Chloe really knows the power of words to get Lex into exactly the place she wants. And damn, those words WERE hot, weren’t they? Trust Chloe to pick up dirty-talking quickly and easily :D


"So?" She shrugged. "I'm supposed to be jogging."

"Is your cousin going to check your underwear, too?"

She rolled her eyes. "Are you going to play fashion police or fuck me?" She pushed him away and moved past him, pushing the panties down her hips as she moved to the tub. She kicked them aside as she slid the glazed door open. "I don't have to be here, you know." he watched with interest as she bent, turning the knobs to her satisfaction.

And I LOVED the way that the two of them still snark, snipe and verbally bite at each other. They haven’t gotten sick of ANY aspect of their ‘relationship’, have they? They still enjoy the intense sexual fireworks as well as the amazing biting satisfaction of scoring verbal points off each other.


He kissed her then, pushing her to the side and up against the glazed door. He had to be careful with her. He couldn't push them, these moments of truth. That nearly prissy indignance, possibly learned from Clark, was a constant problem. He always walked that line with her. These nights could happen or not on a word. And, as he learned that first night in Room 23, actions spoke louder.

LOL! It was also delightful to see, even though Lex and Chloe are now carrying on a full-on affair, Lex STILL has to maintain a ‘delicate balance’ to make sure he doesn’t step over some line and send Chloe stomping up out of… this thing! LOL! He’s still in a very insecure, precarious position about her, and he has to expend a lot of effort (still) in keeping her… even when it’s clear that she’s mired deep into an affair with him now. It’s GOOD for Lex not to feel too stable and secure in this situation, otherwise he’ll end up being a completely smug, arrogant bastard.


He let his fingers do the talking, trailing them downwards, searching between her legs. Flicking against her clit until her mouth went slack against his. He took his hand away and moved to the side, stepping over the lip of the narrow, yellow tub. He waited until she turned, her eyes slightly glassy, before he spoke. "You're right. You don't have to be here."

heeee!!! Not to mention the fact that keeping Lex feeling insecure about Chloe’s ‘commitment’ here keeps him working all the harder to keep her with him. Chloe deserves EVERY bit of charm and sexual skill Lex has at his disposal… and above and beyond too, LOL!

I also loved the way that both of them have stakes in keeping this affair a secret. At least Chloe can be reasonable secure that Lex won’t be blackmailing her with pictures of them fucking later… at least not until she tries to break things off with him… THEN things will definitely turn nasty!


Chloe let out a breath, glad Lois hadn't caught on. It was one thing, Lois screwing around with their editor. It was a whole other, whatever this masochistic craze was with Lex, who was not only the owner of the paper, but her enemy. In a way, it some kind of sick sense. Where Lois might have stood to gain from Gabriel, she had only to lose with Lex. So why was she doing it? Why couldn't she stop?

I was highly amused by the moment of panic Chloe felt when she thought that Lois might have actually figured the situation out. Highly amused, but ALSO highly worried, because Chloe cannot remain in a frazzled state like this forever. She might not be overworking the way Lois thinks, but she IS ‘burning a candle at both ends’ trying to keep this secret life on top of real life… on top of another pre-existing secret life no less!!!

I also liked Chloe’s observation here about how very stupidly self-destructive and masochistic this affair with Lex really is. She’s right about that! If it ever came out in the open, Chloe would lose everything!!! Not only the trust of her friends and family, but also her reputation of integrity as a reporter.


"I'm not a club person," she said quickly. "You know that." Lois had a thing for clubs and loud music and tight shirts and leather skirts. Chloe wasn't on that wavelength. Before Lex, her ideal night out was sci-fi movies and a large popcorn. Now it was a bland room with bad lighting and such intense physical pleasure that... she couldn't stop. "I just like to deal with stress my way. Could you let me?"

"Fine." Lois stuffed her wrappers back into the bag with more noise than was necessary. "You have dark circles, your coffee intake has gone up to gallons, you've lost weight and you really didn't need to, but... Fine." She crumpled the bag. "It doesn't have to be clubbing. Just... not this." She stalked off.

I really liked Chloe’s despair filled (with a healthy dose of bafflement) observation here about HOW she could have such a self-destructive after hours life when her idea of a ‘fun night’ used to be popcorn and an old TV movie during the evening. I love the way she cannot understand her own reaction to Lex… much less explain it to anyone else.

Oh dear… but it made me wince to hear about the physical toll that this kind of quadruple secret life is taking on Chloe. The poor girl is wearing her body fast towards breakdown. She REALLY needs to find some way to relax, rest and recuperate. Does she at least get the weekends to recover, or does she spend THOSE working and fucking too?!?

I ALSO loved the description on how Chloe has been forcing herself to turn her mind away from Lex’s ‘extracurricular activities’ so that she can TRY and live with herself for continuing to see him… even though she has a good idea that he’s a bad, BAD man (verging on evil monster).


His eyes lit on her as he descended the stairs. She quickly turned away, standing and gathering the remains of her lunch, praying he wouldn't dare...

"Sullivan?"

She didn't look up. "Mr. Luthor?" She stuffed napkins, wrappers, even still-dripping coffee cups into her bag.

What the heck is Lex doing here?! Does he have some kind of creepy ‘rejection radar’ that warns him when a girl is bracing herself and preparing herself to dump him? JUST as Chloe is giving herself a pep-talk to get over her addiction of him… he shows up? LOL! What delightful timing!

But I do wonder what he’s doing here. What’s the bastard up to now?!??

I look desperately forward to the next update. Please post soon!

[tatie87]

I'm so happy u updated. This was a great little chapter. I love the plot thickening that Lex and Chloe never use a bed. That is great. I loved that Lex sent sheets to the motel room and is controlling their trysts as much as he can. Can't wait for more.

[Kit Merlot]

An awesome update!

I love how you have Chloe and Lex being so drawn to each other, but they keep trying to deny their true needs. Lex does want more from Chloe--he wants her in his bed, he wants to take her to his mansion, but he knows he'll never have her outside of the seedy motel because she'll never make their relationship public. Chloe is enjoying the sex she is having, but she is also so riddled with guilt, she is starting to wonder if all the sneaking around is worth it.

I think what Lex says to her in the Daily Planet in this next chapter might change things between them drastically. I can't wait to see;)

And I like that you are having Lois being so worried about Chloe--it makes a refreshing change from the actual show where EDLois is something of a self-absorbed shrew--great work.

[cypanache]

Oh hallelujah! Update! This is seriously one of my very favorite fics on the board right now. I'm a sucker for fics that try to tackle the problems/darkness that are inherent in season 6 and 7 head on, and yours is one of the best. I really love the addiction sense we get from both of them, that this has almost become something beyond their control even though Chloe knows there's no good way for this to end, and Lex knows she's not going to give him everything he wants.

I understand your problems of not having enough time to write, so I really appreciate that you took the time to give us what you did. I am so strapped for the ride of this, no matter where it goes or how long it takes to get there.

[purplemoon123]

That was seriously HAWT!!!!


He'd had her on the carpet, against the wall, over the dresser, even in the doorway with it partially open and the chilly air glancing over their slick skin.


Just a hurried, frantic fuck on the side of the Interstate with her bouncing in his lap, her knee flirting with the gearshift.

Sweet, baby Batman!!!! That was an awesome list of the Hawt sex they've had. And now it's stuck in repeat in my head.

Can't wait to see the next episode through your eyes.

[malugargula]

Amazing sequel to an amazing fic
:)
I`m loving it and I can`t wait to see what will happen next

[SVfan1286]

Completely awesome chapter!

I love how both Lex and Chloe are addicted to each other, and how they both can't stop seeing each other. The sex is incrediblely hot... no wonder Chloe can't stop herself! Poor Chloe is ruining herself with the guilt for lying to her friends and family... all the secrets are killing her slowly.

This story continues to be fascinating... I can't wait to read more!!

[Esther25jm]

Fantastic update! Seems to me that both are addicted to each other and don't want to admit it. The lead in to Lex meeting Kara/Linda also makes me wonder what Chloe's reaction will be if/when he gets hurt. I also found that ender with Lex's eyes lighting up when seeing Chloe very telling of how his feelings are starting to change. Can't wait for more!

[crazydeaf]

good story. Can't wait to read more. Update soon!

[TheAmazingApe]

No big cliffhanger with their convo. Just cut it off because that was what I had fully written up till that point. This chapter is more of an exploration of their illicit relationship and the pattern it follows and took a bi to get through, as I wanted to explore both of their thoughts as they might be in the context of season seven.

I went back and clarified that line about who won Lana for you, Somethingeasy. No mistake. I meant to say that Clark had won Lana, in Lex's eyes, but he wasn't getting in the way of Chlex. But I could have been clearer. Changes reflected here:


Clark had Lana. He'd won her away. But this... this was something he couldn't have, couldn't even have an inkling of. Clark wasn't the only one that could keep a secret. This was secret. This was his alone.

Still spoiling Fracture (but not hugely at this point, just references). This takes place between Siren and Fracture, hinting to and setting up Fracture's events but not dealing with them at this point.

PART 10B

His eyes lit on her as he descended the stairs. She quickly turned away, standing and gathering the remains of her lunch, praying he wouldn't dare...

"Sullivan?"

She didn't look up. "Mr. Luthor?" She stuffed napkins, wrappers, even still-dripping coffee cups into her bag.

"I've been meaning to speak to you about your..."

She took her bag and moved past him to the break room without letting him finish. She didn't want to dignify this game by playing it in public. It seemed too close to deception and she was deceiving those around her enough.

She moved into the empty break room and tossed her trash in the can and moved to the coffee pot.

"Nice little subordinate move," she heard him say softly behind her. "Trying to be a hero for all your pals?"

She glanced behind her. No one was there. Maybe there was a part of her that liked the admiration she might get for sticking it to the boss man, but most of her reason for leading him in here was that she preferred to continue this conversation where she could actually say the words. "What are you doing down here?"

"Just checking up on my investment." He gave a tight-lipped smile.

"In the basement? When the bigger stories are being banged out under the Tiffany lamps upstairs?" She turned her eyes back to the coffee. "You should know better than to come down here and, even worse, come straight to me. That does neither of us any favors."

"I'm sure they just think I have it in for you." She could feel the distance close between them. "They'd just never suspect it's more that I have it in you whenever the fancy takes..."

"Yes. I get it," she ground out, not turning to him. He just had to talk dirty. He knew it flustered her, especially outside room 23 at The Paradise Motel.

"So... you're coming?" His voice dropped to a low growl.

"You came down here for that?" She opened a seventh sugar packet over her coffee. It was bound for the sink at this point.

"I thought it best to insure that neither of us end up wasting a trip again."

"You could call. You could email. There are a million other ways to get that question answered without coming down here and putting both of us at risk."

"I prefer a more personal touch." She could feel his breath on her neck. "So? Are you coming?"

Yes. "I'll have to think it over."

"I'll just take that to mean you're coming," he whispered. "Over and over, if I have anything to say about it." She shuddered as his footsteps receded.

They should really be laughable, the things he said. They should be either corny or menacing, not a turn-on. But those words coming out of that mouth... She knew why he did it. She found it hard to say no to him when he was near and he had to know it.

****************************************

The bed was not a place to cuddle, either. He didn't mind that so much. He was never one to snuggle up. But he'd like a goddamned rest after the nearly acrobatic sex. They didn't even have to cuddle, just lay there. Just recover. But, even that, she wouldn't do.

The bed was just a place to sit, adjusting clothes and shoes.

She nearly jumped back into her clothes on the side nearest the door as he slowly replaced his on the side near the bathroom.

"So what about Friday?"

The bed bounced and he felt rather than saw her turn to him. "Why Friday?"

"I'll be out of town until then."

"I see," she said after a moment.

He could almost feel it, how much she wanted to ask him what he was doing. What "crimes against humanity" he might be committing. Nothing so egregious, really. Just wooing her best friend's cousin into trusting him with what little she seemed to know. Of course, he wouldn't tell her. And she didn't truly want to know. If they stopped to acknowledge how great a conflict of interest this was, they'd... stop.

And neither of them wanted that.

"So?" he prodded. "Friday?"

The mattress shifted slightly as he felt her stand. "We'll see."

He stood as well, turning. "Oh, will we?"

"Look, Lex..." She buttoned her blazer and faced him across the bed. It was a business casual night. She was "working late" tonight. Him? He was doing the same, at least that's what he told his assistant, and never mind on what. She really had too much of an interest in where he spent his time. If not for her ever-presence, he wondered if he'd feel free to take Chloe in his house. Of course, she might not go for it regardless. He had a feeling she chose this place the same way she chose not to use the bed. Something cheap and easy. He wasn't about to be wounded by the idea. This was what it was for the both of them. "This can't go on indefinitely," she went on. "I know we both have... needs. But neither of us are idiots. This isn't the healthiest way to indulge them."

He might not be wounded, but it didn't mean he was just going to let her go. Not unless it suited him. But, despite what she said, he knew she wasn't going anywhere. "And I thought it was going so well." He smirked and moved to the dresser, picking up his keys and his phone. He really was tired of this game. "I must be so easily decieved by the cries of 'God, Lex! Fuck, Lex! Harder...'"

"This isn't about the sex," she growled. "And while we're on that, you aren't exactly quiet before, during, or after."

"Never said I was." He moved toward her. "But I'm not the one still fooling myself."

"I'm not fooling myself about anything. Do you think I find this even the least bit excusable, considering all you've..."

"I meant," he began, toying with her buttons, "that I don't end each night pretending it's the last. Pretending I won't come back." He pulled a few apart and felt her through her blouse. "I'm pretty honest for a lying snake."

She closed her eyes. "This is extremely unhealthy," she said on a breath.

He took that as aquiescence and pulled her blouse out of her pants, sliding his hand under. "What could be healthier than two consenting adults indulging in some much needed stress relief?"

She slapped his hand away. "Stop that. I just got dressed."

"So did I." He pulled her closer. "You don't hear me complaining," he said into her neck.

"Well, all you have to do is open your pants, whereas I... Uhhh... lower."

He pulled at her belt as he slid his lips down to her collarbone. "It's your own fault for never wearing skirts anymore. This could be so much easier."

"Like we need this to be easier," she panted, pulling at his belt. "I should wear pounds of undergarments like a Victorian woman so I have more time to think this over."

"Bet I could still sway you." He pulled her backward toward the bed, but she moved out of reach, leaning back against the dresser.

"Here. Right here."

He gritted his teeth, but followed. "Ever consider fucking somewhere softer?" He jerked his head to the bed.

"No." She lifted her chin, giving no further explanation.

************************

She thought of taking the stairs, but decided on the elevator, being on the top floor. She wasn't usually up this high, gazing at the reporters in the bull pen she once dreamed of inhabiting. But she had some receipts for accounting. Just for a new battery pack Jimmy had to buy when he went with her to cover the Green Home Expo. It was extremely awkward, to say the least. He kept... staring at her all morning. Ever since that night in the elevator, he'd been doing so. A part of her was tempted to give him some encouragement. Things with Jimmy were so... secure and safe. If she was with him again, then she'd have a reason to stop seeing Lex.

But Kara... Kara was missing and Clark still hadn't a clue where she was. Would Jimmy still be gazing at her if Kara hadn't disappeared? She didn't know. She couldn't know. And her pride wouldn't let her even ask. He'd moved on so easily...

Some people could.

She pushed the down button and turned to stare through the glass, barely resisting the urge to step forward and press her face against it, like a kid staring through the department store window at toys she'll never have. She'd dreamed of being under those Tiffany lamps, being a part of the kind of news that changed the world. Now... she didn't think she'd ever see them. And didn't know if she wanted that job now when she'd have to toe the line for Lex Luthor. She'd stayed through it all so far, thinking something would change. That he would leave her paper, her dream, alone. That this nightmare would be over. But he showed no sign of leaving. Sleeping with him didn't blind her to who he was. Lex was no good for this paper.

Lex was no good for her. If she could only stop...

"Speak of the devil," she muttered, quickly turning to press the button again as Lex stepped out of his office. She pressed it several times before she gave up. He was behind her. She could feel it. And she didn't want to see him. She hated these encounters, with his dirty words and that line he so nearly crossed. She hated them because she never knew how to react, could only stand both frozen and melting before him. Also, he seemed to relish them so much and she couldn't stand seeing him get what he wanted from her. He was getting enough, damn it!

It was one of the two reasons she wouldn't let him have her on the bed. One reason was that it lent some sort of reality. Chloe Sullivan would never screw a guy against a wall, a door, a dresser, bent over a sink... Chloe Sullivan made love. And in a bed. Therefore Chloe Sullivan really wasn't doing these things.

The other reason was just childishness. She didn't want to give him what he wanted. He couldn't have everything, after all, no matter how entitled he seemed.

She pursed her lips as she felt him draw up to stand beside her. She glanced around. No one else was waiting. "What are you doing here? I thought you'd be gone till Friday."

"My jet's down and I can't get a flight out of Metropolis International until one."

"Can't you hang out at Luthorcorp? I hear the offices are swankier."

"I'd like to think I'm free to be in any building I own, Sullivan. Besides, this one's closer to the airport."

She rolled her eyes at the elevator door. "And here I thought you were just here to torture me."

"Is it really such torture, being so close with no time to get.. closer?"

She turned her head to him. "Would you give it a rest? If we can't talk shop at The Paradise, you should stop talking dirty at work. There are lines, Luthor."

"I know." He glanced down. "Very tempting lines that just beg to be crossed."

"God, you're like a child testing the boundaries." She bit back a smile. It was possibly something she liked about him. She was allowed to like something, after all. She'd never been drawn to a man like him. Clark was so staid and proper. Jimmy so eager and honest. But Lex had such a sense of mischief. It threw her off. She didn't know if she wanted to play along and get in trouble or chide him like a schoolmarm. "The more someone says don't, the more you..."

"Want to do. I seem to remember a certain girl that would take a no-trespassing sign as a welcome mat, so don't think you're so high and mighty."

She did smile then, turning her head away. Why couldn't he just stay away? She could only think clearly about him when he wasn't so near.

The slight ding signaled the arrival of the elevator and she braced herself. "I think you should take the next one."

"I think not. They're too slow in this old crypt." He gestured to the doors as they opened.

She stepped in, hoping he wouldn't be so careless as to try anything in here. Those doors could open on any floor. "If you think so little of this crypt, then why did you buy it?"

"I think the better question is why are you wearing a skirt?" He pulled a card from his pocket and waved it in front of the panel. A tiny red dot lit up on a box at the top.

"What's that?"

"My own personal fast pass," he said as the doors closed. "Had the men install it first thing. Blocks the calls from other floors until I've reached my destination. This elevator is slow enough without me having to suffer fools at every stop."

"Yes. Very convenient," she said. She moved to press the B button, but he stood in front of the panel and crossed his arms. "You can't be thinking..."

"Oh, I could."

"Lex..."

"So it's Lex now?" he tilted his head. "I thought we weren't supposed to use first names in the work place."

"We aren't supposed to fool around, either, but you seem pretty quick to toss that out." She tried to reach past him and press the button, but he grabbed her wrist.

"You never answered my question."

"You never answered mine," she countered.

"Mine was more important. Last night, I intimated you should wear more skirts and here you are, all skirted up. A man might get ideas," he drawled.

"It's just... laundry was backed up. Not because of anything you..."

He was on her. Lips on hers, body pushing hers to the back wall, and a hand snaking up her skirt.

She tore her lips away. "No. Anyone could come in."

"No, they can't." He mouthed her breast through her blouse. "No one gets in here until I'm at my destination."

She pushed, though not with much feeling, as he grasped her leg and hooked it over his hip. "But we have rules."

"Fuck them." He bit her nipple throught her blouse and she madly wondered if her blazer would cover the wet spot. "I'm going away for two days, Chloe. I need to know you'll be here when I get back." His eyes met hers as his hand dipped into her panties.

He needs to know. He needs me. Need... That more than anything made her head fall back against the wall as his fingers made quick, hard circles against her clit. She was a sucker for being needed.

She brought her hand to his neck, pulling his head to hers. She'd had few kisses like his. Jimmy's were always slow and sweet. Clark's, going by the few, were surprised and over too quickly, no more than a tease.

But Lex... He kissed like a starving man. Lex kissed hard and desperately, as if sex was a foregone conclusion, no waiting. And there would be no waiting even now. Her orgasm was coming so quickly, possibly because he wanted it to. She couldn't stand it, but she coudn't deny this man what he wanted... needed. He needed her. Suddenly she saw them as more. She saw a Lex that might use his power and money, not to gain more of the same, but to change the world for the better. One that would stop thinking of answers that were owed to him, but what he owed the world around him. As the waves started to crash over her, she saw a man that was... stopping.

He pulled his hand from her panties and from under her skirt, then detached his lips from hers.

Her body was shaking, poised for release. But he was stepping back with a smirk. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his hand as she sagged against the wall.

"You'll get the rest on Friday." He turned and pressed the B on the panel and her eyes narrowed.

How could she think of him as anything more than he was? Even this was just insurance that she'd be there to submit to him. And it pissed her off. She lurched forward and grasped his shoulder, pushing him against the side wall, unbuckling his belt and shoving her hand into his designer trousers before he could breathe. She grasped his cock, hard and hot. He wasn't unaffected, no matter how he tried to play it off as only her. She gripped it and slid her hand up and down, squeezing and sliding as the elevator lurched downwards. She held his wide, dilated eyes as she jerked him in his pants, one eye glancing up to her right. Sixth floor, fifth floor... She pulled her hand out and stepped back. "Same to you." She leaned against the wall on the other side and buttoned her blazer and straightened her skirt. "Better buckle up... Luthor."

He stared at her, something that looked like wonder in his eyes, before he glanced down to right himself. He'd just managed to close his own jacket when the doors opened.

She sailed out, trying to keep her legs steady until she could sit. She made a beeline for her desk and only looked up when she'd planted herself in her chair. She saw him then, stepping out and giving her a look that was something between a glare and a smile before he headed for the restroom.

"What's he doing here?" She glanced up. Lois was standing next to her desk. "I thought you said we didn't have to worry about Luthor for a few days."

"Did I?"

"Yes. You said he was going away. That you had it from his assistant. You know, that snotty one."

She hardly remembered what she said anymore. Just that she was so desperate to distance herself from him to anyone. She cleared her throat and turned on her monitor. "Well, we won't have to worry. He should be leaving on the next flight out of MI."

Lois snorted. "Not before he came down here to bug you."

Chloe straightened at her desk. "He's not bugging me. I can handle it."

"Chloe, he's been dogging you. Megan told me he comes down here almost daily just to give you a hard time. Wonder how that bastard would feel if someone dogged his every move. Maybe even wrote a scathing expose on his illicit..."

"Lois..." Chloe closed her eyes and sighed. "Do you honestly think that, should you get something on Lex, a paper he owns would even touch it?"

"Well... It would be news, wouldn't it? I mean, The Daily Planet is supposed to be the best in the city. There has to be a rogue editor in here somewhere who's not about to toe the line to make the boss smell like roses."

"Trust me. If there was a rogue editor, he or she was quickly canned when the new management rolled in." She sat back and sadly wondered why she even stayed here, the way things were. "The Daily Planet is not the same paper it used to be. All we can do is wait it out and hope for change. Hope it's... back where it should be." But would it ever be? Her dream had been dismantled. No wonder she could so easily come at the hands of a man she once despised. She really had nothing left to...

Once despised. She shook her head at the thought. She still despised him. Orgasms didn't change that.

She watched him emerge from the men's room and resolutely turned away. She had two days to get some perspective. Two days to search her soul and stop this madness...

"I just wonder," she heard Lois say. "Where he's off to..." She followed her eye line to Lex. his back to them, pressing the button at the elevators.

She wondered herself. A few months ago, she would have been taking this opportunity to delve deep. Not for an article. But for that file she was keeping. it was marked Luthor, Lex and included every transgression and suspicious activity she'd gathered. She'd given it to Lois one night and wondered whether the mania had rubbed off. She was less ready to jump at him now. She had a dilemma now, on so many levels.

Level one was the sex. If she was doing this and she gained information, was she no better than a prostitute?

Level two was the... feelings. A person didn't sleep with a man and not see some part of his soul. He made her come, part of it was his ego. That she knew. But another part was that insurance, just what he'd gained today. The insurance that she'd come back for more. And why? Why her when he could have or hire any mumber of lithe, willing surigically-enhanced bimbos? If he wanted sex, he could get it easily and anywhere. She couldn't shake that feeling. That feeling she was... needed.

"You said he was taking the next flight?"

"Lois..."

"Oh, don't worry. I'm on a story out of town anyway." She slapped a folder in her hands. "The Shelbyville Antique Doll Show. Can't you just feel the excitement?"

"It's between holidays," Chloe pointed out. "If it's not an expo, it's a dog show or doll show. Just get used to it. It's the way of the basement." And didn't she know it after all this time. The basement. She'd rot here while a Luthor ran things. It wasn't that she couldn't get out. Even if she did, she'd now never know if it was by her own merits or... because of him.

What had she gotten herself into?

**************************

"Wha... Wha's wrong?" she asked, still bleary.

Clark was standing over her bed. In another time, this would be something out of her wildest dreams, but she knew that look, that hardened jaw and crinkled brow, even in the dark.

She sat up and turned on the lamp. "Is it Lana?" Because that was the one person who could elicit that look.

"It's Lex."

She glanced up at him in the light. He still looked stricken and she was taken back to a time when Clark would have done anything for Lex. it was funny, coming at a time when she would do anything for that same man, but she found herself forced to school her features into indifference. "What happened?"

"Lionel called. He was shot."

TBC


The next chap deals directly with the events of Fracture, though through Chlex glasses.

[superag]

Really good. I love that he's pushing her around at work to. I wonder how Chloe really feels. Looks like they are hiding a lot from each other.

[dagney]

Wow, I'm still entranced by this story. That Chloe despite her intellect is falling inch by inch into love. She has a thought about what Lex could be like, her clinging to the need to be needed. Her refusal to lay with him in bed lover like.

Lex to be with such a powerful ethical woman who knows him and what he is capable of whom still desires him and in his deepest fantasy I'm sure who he would want to be loved by would give him some validation of his worth. I'm waiting anxiousely for the next bit. Dagney

[tatie87]

Ohhh that was a good chapter. I loved the elevator play. These two are meant for each other, but just can't admit it. I love that Chloe explained why she never has sex with Lex on the bed, that was so poignant. I'm so excited two updates in a weekend. Please write soon.

[basmas84]

that was a great chapter... and what a way to end the chapter... great cliffhanger...
what i liked most about this chapter was the way you explored chloes feelings... and how she felt about everything...
great great

[cypanache]

God, I love this story. I love how interwoven it is with Season 7. I particularly loved this paragraph:


She couldn't stand it, but she coudn't deny this man what he wanted... needed. He needed her. Suddenly she saw them as more. She saw a Lex that might use his power and money, not to gain more of the same, but to change the world for the better. One that would stop thinking of answers that were owed to him, but what he owed the world around him. As the waves started to crash over her, she saw a man that was... stopping.

Because its a beautiful tiny moment of hope, followed by crashing reality and its also the moment you know she's in too deep.

I also really enjoyed the explanation about why Chloe wouldn't sleep on the bed. It rings very true. Any way thank you for continuing this fic and thank you for the amazing thought and detail you bring the psychology of this relationship. I'm on pins and needles for the next part.

[Kit Merlot]

Thank you for updating this second part so quickly:D

Once again, I love how deeply their verbal judo runs through their relationship. Whether they are at work or in the motel, they are constantly bantering back and forth--insults, or innuendo, it's all a way of turning the other person on.

And I love that Chloe can still see Lex's potential for being a good person. She knows that he isn't all evil, and she's not fooling herself that she's saving him, but she does still see his soul.

Keep up the great work on this fic, and I can't wait to see what happens next;)

[lj715]

Another excellent chapter.

[purplemoon123]

Awesome chapter!!!


She couldn't stand it, but she coudn't deny this man what he wanted... needed. He needed her. Suddenly she saw them as more. She saw a Lex that might use his power and money, not to gain more of the same, but to change the world for the better. One that would stop thinking of answers that were owed to him, but what he owed the world around him. As the waves started to crash over her, she saw a man that was... stopping.

Wow!! To have this hope and for it to come crashing down as soon as it came and then for it to be followed by Lex being shot.

[TheAmazingApe]

My apologies to anyone reading this and also waiting for an update on my other WIP. This one was just coming out easier this weekend and I really couldn't stop writing it.

And welcome to the new readers. May the Chlex be with you in these troubled times (where we not only have no Lex, but Chloe is marrying... Jimmy *shudders*).

Major spoilers for Fracture.

Chapter 11

She followed close behind Clark, nearly skidding to a stop as they reached Lionel.

"Lionel, how is he?"

Chloe's eyes were wide. Lionel was staring through a window at Lex. That meant he was still here. That meant there was still time.

"He's, uh, in a coma." She turned her eyes to Lionel. He looked haggard and tired. "Thank god we got him Medevaced back here from Detroit. The, um, neurosurgeon managed to remove the bullet. He says that there is a very strong possibility that, uh, Lex..." She felt a surge of pity for him. He was usually so self-posessed when he spoke. Word-stalls like "uh" didn't seem at home in this man. It was the same with Lex, really. "...may never regain consciousness."

Her eyes cut to Lex at those words. No. A strong possibility. Not a certainty.

"I'm sorry," she heard Clark say softly through the racing of her mind.

My cousin was bleeding to death in dam. They might have said that about her, too. Anything is possible. There's still time. She looked up as Lionel's voice cut the silence.

"We never had a really close relationship. A lot was said. A lot went unsaid."

She felt uncomfortable, seeing Lionel this way, acting as if Lex was gone. He wasn't gone. And he wouldn't be gone and everyone had to stop acting like he was. There was work to do. "Clark, I know for a fact that every badge in Michigan is on this case, and still, no suspects, no witnesses."

Clark stared through the window at Lex. "I find it hard to believe the shooter would leave Lex in a ditch and no one would see anything."

"Listen," Lionel said hoarsely. "I got a friend in Detroit, a cop. He, uh, called me when I found out about Lex." He dug in his coat pocket. "He let me borrow this."

He handed Clark a cell phone. A hot pink phone. She knew that phone.

Clark's eyes widened "Kara's alive?"

she stared expectantly at Clark until he handed the phone to her.

"That picture was taken less than 12 hours ago," Lionel said.

She hardly had a chance to look when a man was behind her.

Excuse me, Mr. Luthor?"

"Yeah," was all Lionel said before hurriedly following the man.

Chloe stared down at the phone again. It was Lex with Kara. She circled Clark. "Clark, this is Lois' phone. Lois, Kara, and Lex?" She knew Lex would be away. But Lois was supposed to be in Shelbyville. And Kara... "Not exactly Three's Company." She nearly winced at her fall-back snark. This wasn't exactly a time for jokes. But it was fine. If she could joke, then it was just another sign that everything would be fine.

"Kara's wearing a bandage. She may be hurt, which means she doesn't have her powers..."

She finished his thought. "And whoever Lex was dealing with wasn't playing around, which means that if Lois and Kara were with him..."

Just as he finished hers. "Then they're in danger. We need to find them."

Jesus, Lois. Why don't you ever listen? You could get yourself killed in blind pursuit of an article that will never see print. She could see it as brave, but it was just useless. If Lois wanted dirt on Lex so badly, she had years of it. But she knew would never see the light of day. And not just because of plan B. She quickly pulled Clark away from the window. She couldn't look at Lex and think of plan B. It only made it harder to know how to feel. How could she hate him so much and still find the thought of him gone so... "I'll use my healing powers on Lex." She knew she would the first moment she saw him. She had to. "And he can tell us where Lois and Kara went." Everything would be fine. Everyone would be fine. She could figure out how she was supposed to feel later.

Clark turned around at the end of the hall. "Chloe, the last time you used your powers, I pulled you out of a morgue refrigerator."

"Yeah, and then I walked out of there with a clean bill of health and some cold feet," she said quickly, trying not to think of the fact that that was a stab wound to the side and this was a gunshot to the head.

"Chloe, if you use your powers again, you could die, permanently.

"Or I could just be adjusting to the growing pains. I mean, we don't know," she rushed on. "Nothing happened when I healed Jimmy. We have no choice. The only clues we have to where they might be are trapped inside Lex's mind."

She couldn't overthink it at a time like this. She had to do something. It was a one in a million chance that Lex could come out of this with only what modern medicine could do. But if she used her powers... would she die for Lex? Was that something she was willing to do?

She didn't know the answer to either, so she found herself with Clark and Lana at Isis.

Lana turned from her monitor to her. "I couldn't figure out what Lex was doing in Detroit, but I may have found something even more helpful." Chloe's mind raced. She knew what he was doing. It wasn't blind chance that he was there and Kara was there. The two of them had looked rather friendly in that picture. And Lex wasn't chatting up Kara just for fun. He was closing in on the Kent mystery.

"Project Intercept?" she heard Clark ask. "Is it military?"

"LuthorCorp developed it for the military to interrogate terrorists by getting inside of their heads, literally. The entire projected was spearheaded by Lionel. Intercept links a suspect and interrogator's brain waves, exposing the interrogator to all the suspect's memories and thoughts."

"You're saying someone could actually go into Lex's mind? Where is this thing?"

"LuthorCorp still owns all the equipment, but it was mothballed six months ago."

Chloe stared at the monitor. "I can see why. How's this for fine print? The project worked several times but then was abandoned after three of the interrogators died during implementation," she read. "Autopsies revealed that their central nervous systems were completely fried." She stared at the monitor with Lana. Why were they wasting time? She could heal him and they could ask. This would all be over and...

"They're not like me. I can do this."

She turned to Clark.

******************************

Now she found herself in some warehouse, masking some Luthorcorp experiment. She walked around, marvelling that she would have been like a kid in a candy store even a year ago. But she'd seen what getting on the wrong side of the Luthors can do. What Lex was capable of. It was somethign Lois didn't understand.

God, Lois. How could you be so foolish? Risking her life for something that was so unrealistic.

Lois was still operating from that Inquisitor mindset. You didn't expose the billionaire and get lauded for bringing down the rich sleaze. Sometimes, worse happened. Sometimes a bomb went off and you to had to hide away for months, hoping another one didn't come along to destroy you and what little there was of your family. But you did it for truth. And maybe a piece of you did it for him. For Lex.

Maybe that was why it hurt so much more years later, when her own mother was held away, used and violated for being different. When she was abducted by Lex's men herself. Sometimes you lost everything to that man you chose to expose.

Lex had taken so much from her. And now... Not only was she sleeping with him. She was considering giving up her life for him when, after, he might not come clean even then. As much as wanting to convince Clark it was a piece of cake was her go-to mentality, she wasn't blind to the possibilities. This could be her last act as sidekick, as reporter, as a life form. And it might be for nothing.

She heard Lana and Clark talking frantically and stayed away. She still wasn't a hundred percent on-board with Lana. But a piece of her was a little fascinated by the set-up at Isis, that room that was wall-to-wall computers. So much firepower there. So much she could find with those resources. A part of her wanted to see if Lana might let her take it for a spin sometime. She'd bet the Isis Foundation's idea of high speed internet could put the Daily Planet's crowded server to shame.

Yet she couldn't. She still wasn't on even-footing with Lana. She didn't know if they'd ever get back to where they were.

"Clark, your body may be invincible," Lana was saying, "but who's to say your mind isn't vulnerable somehow?"

"It's my fault that Kara's missing."

"But using technology built by Lionel Luthor? God only knows why he created that thing." She could add to the arguments, throw the same arguments at Clark against doing this that he threw at her against using her healing powers. She'd been dealing with Clark and his secret longer than Lana had and, unlike her new powers, his had been tested over and over. He was always okay. He was always there in the end. It was something she trusted in.

"Lana, there's no other choice," Clark insisted.

In the end, she whirled on them. "Clark, just be careful, okay?" He had to do this. Even if she healed Lex, there was no guarantee he'd be honest about Kara... and Lois. Lois had to be saved. Chloe didn't have much family. Neither did Clark. It was something Lana wasn't quite getting. Their family had to be saved.

Lionel walked in, closely followed by a man in uniform. "Sir, I watched three field officers die after their brains went into electro-neural shock. This machine is a deathtrap."

"I pay you a small fortune, Doctor, so please withhold your negative opinions." Lionel moved away, but the man turned to them, eyes fixing on her and Lana.

"Ladies, would you please wait outside?"

Chloe glanced at Clark before moving to the door. She had no doubt this machine was a death trap for any mortal involved. But this was Clark Kent. She'd once called his mind a steel trap. It was as strong as the rest of him. It was her own strength she doubted. Even if Clark managed to intercept Lex's memories, they'd still be left with Lex in a coma, maybe never to wake. And it was Thursday. Tomorrow was Friday. He was supposed to be there tomorrow. He wasn't supposed to be the one in doubt of showing. That was her. It was why he constantly showed up in her sphere at work, insuring she'd be there.

Shouldn't she do the same for him?

*********************************

Chloe walked up and down the hall, anything not to sit in the hard, plastic chairs any longer. "You'd think they'd have a vending machine or something. Even fringe military doctors need a coffee once in a while."

"You think he'll be okay?"

She stopped her pacing and leaned against the wall. "I've been on the inside with Clark for years. If he says he can... Well, he usually can. As long as Lex stays stable, Clark is fine." And what about after? What about after when they were still left with Lex Luthor in vegetable form? Could she be okay with that?

"Chloe, I've done some bad things and I... I want to make them all up to him. I want to show him that I can be there for him in... in all the ways you are."

Chloe stared at her. "I'm not so special."

Lana glanced up at her, her eyes wet. "He rushed out of the house in the middle of the night when Lionel called him. And who is it he woke up and dragged to the hospital? Not me."

"Well..." She moved to sit next to Lana. "It was Lex. Maybe he thought you wouldn't want to be there, with all the bad blood..."

"And you and Lex don't have bad blood?" Lana shook her head. "Clark and I have talked, Chloe. I know more than I did. I don't know everything, but I know that Lex has done things to you that... are just sickening."

Hearing it said, she knew it to be true. She looked to the door. And she, once again, wondered why she should even consider dying for this man. Without him near, with his smiles and his voice and his touch... On paper, Chloe Sullivan and Lex Luthor was the worst of all ideas.

"He doesn't trust me," she heard Lana say. "You don't either. You have no reason to."

"Lana, it's not..." She sighed. "Maybe I don't fully trust you. Maybe clark doesn't either. But we all have years behind us and it's not like we're all just going to give up on each other. There was a time when... Well, Clark didn't trust me for a while. But we didn't give up on each other and now we're back to normal. We..."

"Now you constantly finish each others' sentences." Chloe glanced over at Lana, surprised. It was true. It wasn't something she often remarked upon, but it was true. "Don't think I don't notice."

"He loves you, Lana." Years and years had taught her that was an undeniable fact.

"I just... I don't want to resent it. I just... I wish I knew what it was like, always being on Clarks page." Chloe felt a hot wave guilt run over her. Her late-night activities with Lex didn't fit anywhere on Clark's page. Even if it was just for the sex... She suddenly stiffened. He'd see. Clark would see Lex's memories. And in those memories, she'd be writhing under and over him. She squeezed her eyes shut. There was nothing she could do about it now.

Maybe she could explain later. But somehow she didn't think "He makes me come" would fly.

"...the way you two are always whispering together. It's like this club that, even now that I know, I'm not a part of and... It's not just about you two. It's me and Clark. I feel like we're always at odds," Lana finished sadly.

Chloe brought herself back to earth. The both of them seemed to be wrapped up in their personal pain. But all they could do now is wait, deal with everything when the time came. She bumped Lana's shoulder, hoping she could raise both their spirits. "You two are definite contenders for the star-crossed lovers award. But... Maybe it'll all be worth it in the end."

"Yeah," Lana said softly. "Maybe." She fell silent.

Chloe wasn't convinced, either. A part of her felt that, in the end, Clark and Lana wouldn't pass the test of time. She couldn't help feeling Lana was too fragile to stand up against all that being on Clark's page involved. Even when she had the power to keep up with him, she made the worst possible choices... But who was she to say? She was just a girl that happened to be on the fringes of two great men. One she aided, admired for all he did for the world around him, and... She still loved him. She'd still die for him, no questions asked. One she would not hesitate to expose, would not hesitate to take down for all he did to the world around him and yet... It wasn't hate. Hate was there. Resentment. But... there was something in the way he touched her, the way he made her body sing.

It wasn't just some power play, some way to show mastery over her body. Sometimes she felt it as... penance. As if every touch that was just for her pleasure was some way of making up for all the pain.

As justified as Lex tried to paint his actions, a part of him had to be sorry. And not just because he was so alone now. But because he knew they caused pain.

Pleasure for pain. Maybe that's why she stayed, to get her pain's worth. That first night, she said he owed her. Maybe he took her at her word. Going by orgasms, she recieved much more than she gave.

Was that enough to make her save him, at the expense of her own life? That he might be just a little sorry?

She didn't even know if she'd have the chance to make the choice. She had no idea what was going on behind those doors.

Lois was still at risk. Lois. Clark had to be in there to find her cousin. To find his, as well. She didn't know Kara well on a personal level. She had some reason to resent her, the way Jimmy had so easily bounced to her. But if Kara could do what Clark did, and with half as much heart, she had to be saved...

She couldn't take it any more. She turned to Lana. Her chair was empty. She vaguely remembered her saying something about the finding the restroom, while Chloe's mind was elsewhere. She stared back at the door.

She really couldn't take this another second. She marched to the doors and through, into the dark room with its faint, blue light. "What's taking so...long?" She froze at the sight before her. "Oh, my God."

The man, the doctor, was holding paddles against Lex's chest. "Three, two...charge. Clear!"

Lionel was grasping her shoulders. "You shouldn't be in here, Miss Sullivan."

Chloe stood her ground. Whatever Clark had to know, he had to have had it by now. "What's happening? Why are they not waking Clark up?"

"He's in Lex's mind. He's trapped. If Lex dies, then Clark dies with him."

"Sir..." her head whipped to the doctor, as did Lionel's "We've lost him."

And this was it. This was the push she needed. Would she die for Clark? She was nearly sure she would. Would she die for Lex, even after all he'd done to her... She wasn't sure. But here they were. Both men that were, in their different ways, the most important men in her life. "I can save him," she burst out, stepping forward.

Lionel whirled on her. "How?"

"Just trust me, Mr. Luthor. I can." She could save them both. She moved forward, past Lionel, past the immobile doctors, staring between the two men. At this moment, with both of them on the line, she was positive she could do this, no matter the cost to her.

She took one last look at Clark, her best friend, her hero, then moved to Lex. Her enemy. Her lover, if she could call him that. One silly girl's life didn't really matter after all. She was just someone off the picture, just to the side of two great men. They both had great power in their different ways. They both could do great things.

I hope you do better things, Lex, her mind whispered to him as she reached toward his chest. She'd touched it so many times now. But those touches were caresses, scratches, even light tickles... This was something more. This was life and death. This was a comittment. That these men, that the fact that they lived, was worth more than her life. She was sure of Clark. She knew, deep down, that scores of people would live and be safe because he was in the world. But Lex... I want you to prove me right, Lex. If I don't come back, I need to know that it was better this way. Was there a heaven? Did God exist? She might find out very soon. She hoped for both. And she hoped she could look at the world behind and know that this was the right thing to do. And for both men.

She pressed her hand against Lex's chest. A light sort of emanated from her hand, snaking out, enveloping him and she stared up as her body weakened. She saw Lex grasping her shoulders in his library and asking her if she was sure. She glanced over at Clark, saw Clark hugging her close and stopping a car through a stained glass window with one hand. Lex was kissing down her belly, making soft little grunts for every moan she let loose. Clark was pulling her from a damned coffin in the ground...

And maybe there were bad things, too. But she could only see the good right now. With all that was good... Was there anything she wouldn't do for these men?

She felt her body crumpling, her mind fading to black. A cold stole over her limbs as the floor rose up to meet her...

TBC

[dagney]

Thank You, that was fantastic. The thoughts and feeling Chloe has for both men-that she sees their power and potential. The thing is that she doesn't know that both men in different ways see her power and loyalty. I'm so excited to read the next bit. Dagney

[basmas84]

omg... omg!!
i mean I knew kind of... or i expected for this to happen... that she sacrifices her self for lex so that clark could live... but i didnt think that ... er... you described this chapter soooo good and the way you wrote it was just brilliant...
really really great!:clapclap:

[lj715]

Omg that was so good. Can't wait to find out what happens next.

[lilinny]

Fantastic! Another way the episode could have gone.

Amazing writing! Can't wait for more!

[somethingeasy]

Clark had Lana. He'd won her away. But this... this was something he couldn't have, couldn't even have an inkling of. Clark wasn't the only one that could keep a secret. This was secret. This was his alone.

Thanks for clearing up the part that confused me, AmazingApe. The re-typed version of that sentence is a lot more clear. I appreciate you humouring your slower fans in this tolerant manner, LOL!

And I loved the way that Lex was revelling in being able to keep such a big, important secret from Clark… especially one that involves Chloe.


"Nice little subordinate move," she heard him say softly behind her. "Trying to be a hero for all your pals?"

She glanced behind her. No one was there. Maybe there was a part of her that liked the admiration she might get for sticking it to the boss man, but most of her reason for leading him in here was that she preferred to continue this conversation where she could actually say the words. "What are you doing down here?"

Of course it was smart of Chloe to lead Lex away from the public area to a place a little more closed off and private. But it was also so wrong seeing her chased off in this manner. Lex is getting too much of an upper hand in this situation, and seriously needs to be brought down a couple of pegs.

Heh… at least Chloe managed to luck out and give the appearance of being impudent and insubordinate, when in fact she was only trying to escape.


"I'm sure they just think I have it in for you." She could feel the distance close between them. "They'd just never suspect it's more that I have it in you whenever the fancy takes..."

"Yes. I get it," she ground out, not turning to him. He just had to talk dirty. He knew it flustered her, especially outside room 23 at The Paradise Motel.

heh… filthy, disgusting and vulgar dirty talk like that just SHOULDN’T be sexy! So how the heck does Lex manage to make even this kind of low vulgarity sound irresistible?!?

Damn that Lex!! How dare he be sooo damned GOOD at this seductive play!! It’s seriously not ‘nice’ seeing Chloe being overwhelmed out of her depth like this. Then again, I would be howling with indignation if he wasn’t overwhelmingly seductive around Chloe, wouldn’t I? LOL!


"I'll just take that to mean you're coming," he whispered. "Over and over, if I have anything to say about it." She shuddered as his footsteps receded.

I felt like shivering myself! In… erm… disgust and revulsion of course. Because there’s no way I would be turned on, heated and in need of a cold shower while he’s acting like a vulgar jerk! REALLY! The shivering is disgust!

LOL! I did love how Chloe was both bemused and disgusted by her own reaction to Lex’s attitude over here… She’s actually baffled by her heated response to his offensive, overbearing and over-the-top come-ons. Heh… Lex has managed to sink his hooks into her good hasn’t he? The bastard! He SERIOUSLY needs to be brought down a couple of pegs!!


The bed was not a place to cuddle, either. He didn't mind that so much. He was never one to snuggle up. But he'd like a goddamned rest after the nearly acrobatic sex. They didn't even have to cuddle, just lay there. Just recover. But, even that, she wouldn't do.

This was awesome! After seeing what an overbearing jerk Lex was at the office, it was delightfully satisfying seeing him frustrated over not getting everything he wants during their motel sessions. LOL! The spoilt brat has to learn that he cannot have EVERYTHING just by pouting or snapping his fingers imperiously! Excellent!

I also loved the way that Lex is ALSO bemused by his own response to Chloe… Look at him coming close to actually yearning for a cuddle session with one of his worst enemies?!? I LOVED that, even thought Lex told himself that he didn’t need or even WANT some intimate after-glow embrace after sex, he was still frustrated about not getting even the semblance of an after-glow moment after intense Chlexy sex. I love what this says about what he really wants from Chloe… closeness and a connection.


He could almost feel it, how much she wanted to ask him what he was doing. What "crimes against humanity" he might be committing. Nothing so egregious, really. Just wooing her best friend's cousin into trusting him with what little she seemed to know. Of course, he wouldn't tell her. And she didn't truly want to know. If they stopped to acknowledge how great a conflict of interest this was, they'd... stop.

And neither of them wanted that.

It’s really so interesting seeing the way that they’re both walking on eggshells around each other. But I can’t help but feel like Lex is getting the better half of his ‘no speaking about work during motel sessions’ deal. Chloe is being forced to bottle up her curiosity and basically giving Lex a lot more room to manoeuvre because she’s stopped dogging his every move, looking for ‘wrong-doings’.


"Look, Lex..." She buttoned her blazer and faced him across the bed. It was a business casual night. She was "working late" tonight. Him? He was doing the same, at least that's what he told his assistant, and never mind on what. She really had too much of an interest in where he spent his time. If not for her ever-presence, he wondered if he'd feel free to take Chloe in his house. Of course, she might not go for it regardless. He had a feeling she chose this place the same way she chose not to use the bed. Something cheap and easy. He wasn't about to be wounded by the idea. This was what it was for the both of them. "This can't go on indefinitely," she went on. "I know we both have... needs. But neither of us are idiots. This isn't the healthiest way to indulge them."

I’m pretty sure that Chloe DOES think of this affair as something ‘cheap and easy’… or at least she probably did in the beginning of this affair. The problem is that Chloe is not the type to NOT throw her whole heart and passions into anything she does. Even this affair might have started out as cheap, easy, shallow and superficial… but it’s fast gaining deeper meaning for her.

As for Lex… I’m convinced this was NEVER cheap and easy for him to begin with… no matter what he’s trying to tell himself now. And I’m pretty sure he’s blatantly lying to himself while assuring himself that he’s ‘not’ wounded by how she views this affair as something shallow and meaningless.


He might not be wounded, but it didn't mean he was just going to let her go. Not unless it suited him. But, despite what she said, he knew she wasn't going anywhere. "And I thought it was going so well." He smirked and moved to the dresser, picking up his keys and his phone. He really was tired of this game. "I must be so easily deceived by the cries of 'God, Lex! Fuck, Lex! Harder...'"

LOL! What an unbelievable bastard! But he STILL manages to be irresistible when he’s being a bastard jerk! How the heck does he do that?!?

Heh… and I suspected that Lex has become seriously possessive of Chloe ever since they started this affair. He might have been patient during the days waiting for Chloe to ‘come to him’ first…. But now that he’s ‘got her’, there’s no way he’s ever going to ‘allow’ her that same kind of tolerance and patience ever again. If she tries to distance herself again, he’ll make her pay hell for it.


"I meant," he began, toying with her buttons, "that I don't end each night pretending it's the last. Pretending I won't come back." He pulled a few apart and felt her through her blouse. "I'm pretty honest for a lying snake."

I can see Lex is still pushing Chloe to admit that this affair has meaning after all. LOL! Despite how he tells himself it’s a ‘cheap and easy fuck’ he cannot convince me that he doesn’t see some deeper meaning in this.


"Well, all you have to do is open your pants, whereas I... Uhhh... lower."

He pulled at her belt as he slid his lips down to her collarbone. "It's your own fault for never wearing skirts anymore. This could be so much easier."

"Like we need this to be easier," she panted, pulling at his belt. "I should wear pounds of undergarments like a Victorian woman so I have more time to think this over."

Seriously, I LOVE how they keep biting and snarking at each other. It’s only second to the electric hot chemistry that’s thrumming between them whenever they’re touching each other. This was hot, HOT, AmazingApe :D Loved it! I really enjoyed seeing how Lex seriously cannot get enough of Chloe… or at the very least, enough of her responsiveness to him.


He gritted his teeth, but followed. "Ever consider fucking somewhere softer?" He jerked his head to the bed.

"No." She lifted her chin, giving no further explanation.

I’ve been complaining that Lex has been gaining too much of a power balance advantage ever since this ‘thing’ became a full blown secret affair? So it’s good to see the ways that Chloe still maintains control and power over some aspects of their sessions. And it’s so, soooo satisfying seeing Lex ‘gritting his teeth’ because he’s not getting what he wants, LOL! Suck it up, you spoiled, entitled brat! ROTFL!


"Speak of the devil," she muttered, quickly turning to press the button again as Lex stepped out of his office. She pressed it several times before she gave up. He was behind her. She could feel it. And she didn't want to see him. She hated these encounters, with his dirty words and that line he so nearly crossed. She hated them because she never knew how to react, could only stand both frozen and melting before him. Also, he seemed to relish them so much and she couldn't stand seeing him get what he wanted from her. He was getting enough, damn it!

I felt like throttling someone (or more specifically, a certain bald billionaire) after Chloe indulging in a moment of despair seeing her dream tainted and snatched away from her in this nasty, petty manner. The poor girl was actually grieving for her Daily Planet, wasn’t she? It must be KILLING her seeing the DP being turned from the city’s top newspaper into another Luthor corporate toy.

And on top of that… she’s actually physically involved with the man who is responsible for corrupting her dream?! AND she feels his corruption seeping into her as well. This is a scary time for Chloe, and I hope she manages to keep her integrity and self-respect intact even after… whatever might happen between her and Lex.


It was one of the two reasons she wouldn't let him have her on the bed. One reason was that it lent some sort of reality. Chloe Sullivan would never screw a guy against a wall, a door, a dresser, bent over a sink... Chloe Sullivan made love. And in a bed. Therefore Chloe Sullivan really wasn't doing these things.

The other reason was just childishness. She didn't want to give him what he wanted. He couldn't have everything, after all, no matter how entitled he seemed.

I suspected these were Chloe’s reasons for avoiding the bed… because using the bed would make the affair to ‘real to home’ for her, while she wants to pretend to be a completely different person during her time with Lex. LOL! And let’s not forget because she really doesn’t want to give Lex the satisfaction of getting everything he wants as usual, ROTFL! Thanks for having Chloe explain the situation so eloquently to us, AmazingApe :D


"I'd like to think I'm free to be in any building I own, Sullivan. Besides, this one's closer to the airport."

She rolled her eyes at the elevator door. "And here I thought you were just here to torture me."

"Is it really such torture, being so close with no time to get.. closer?"

She turned her head to him. "Would you give it a rest? If we can't talk shop at The Paradise, you should stop talking dirty at work. There are lines, Luthor."

"I know." He glanced down. "Very tempting lines that just beg to be crossed."

"God, you're like a child testing the boundaries." She bit back a smile. It was possibly something she liked about him. She was allowed to like something, after all. She'd never been drawn to a man like him. Clark was so staid and proper. Jimmy so eager and honest. But Lex had such a sense of mischief. It threw her off. She didn't know if she wanted to play along and get in trouble or chide him like a schoolmarm. "The more someone says don't, the more you..."

LOL! I can certainly understand how a part of Chloe would begin to relish their conversations. They’re unlike any conversation she has with ANYONE else, and I can see it’s damned FUN for her to verbally battle like this. And it’s obvious that Lex is having fun too, which adds onto Chloe’s enjoyment… having an opponent who is relishing the game playing as much as she is. Damn, they’re SO well-matched together. It’s such a friggen shame that there are so many obstacles between them.


"My own personal fast pass," he said as the doors closed. "Had the men install it first thing. Blocks the calls from other floors until I've reached my destination. This elevator is slow enough without me having to suffer fools at every stop."

ROTFLMAO! Oh that insufferable, snooty, elitist bastard! He can’t tolerate the thought of sharing an elevator with the plebeian masses, so he had a special key created for him to enjoy a private elevator in a public building. ROTFL! I should be furious, but I can’t stop howling with laughter at the unabashed snootiness of his behaviour.

Squeee!! But a private elevator?!? This gives us the opportunity for some elevator smut, doesn’t it?!? Awesome!!!!


"Mine was more important. Last night, I intimated you should wear more skirts and here you are, all skirted up. A man might get ideas," he drawled.

"It's just... laundry was backed up. Not because of anything you..."

heh… uh-huh! Riiiight! Laundry all backed up? No thought at all about how very conveniently naughty it would be to start sporting a skirt around in case Lex should drop by?

Hmmm, but to be fair, Chloe DID think that Lex wasn’t coming into the office today.


"Fuck them." He bit her nipple through her blouse and she madly wondered if her blazer would cover the wet spot. "I'm going away for two days, Chloe. I need to know you'll be here when I get back." His eyes met hers as his hand dipped into her panties.

He needs to know. He needs me. Need... That more than anything made her head fall back against the wall as his fingers made quick, hard circles against her clit. She was a sucker for being needed.

Oh, that was HOT! And also so beautifully satisfying seeing Lex’s need for Chloe demonstrated so explicitly in this scene. He’s showing his desperation for needing her to keep on wanting him, even if he disappears for a few days. And I loved how Chloe responded to that need, AND how she acknowledged her Pavlovian-like response to being needed. She’s right about that, isn’t she? She IS a sucker for being needed and wanted.

Actually, Lex is a sucker in the same way, isn’t he? If anyone manages to convince him that they want him (or better still need him), then he becomes their slave!


But Lex... He kissed like a starving man. Lex kissed hard and desperately, as if sex was a foregone conclusion, no waiting. And there would be no waiting even now. Her orgasm was coming so quickly, possibly because he wanted it to. She couldn't stand it, but she couldn’t deny this man what he wanted... needed. He needed her. Suddenly she saw them as more. She saw a Lex that might use his power and money, not to gain more of the same, but to change the world for the better. One that would stop thinking of answers that were owed to him, but what he owed the world around him. As the waves started to crash over her, she saw a man that was... stopping.

He pulled his hand from her panties and from under her skirt, then detached his lips from hers.

Her body was shaking, poised for release. But he was stepping back with a smirk. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his hand as she sagged against the wall.

"You'll get the rest on Friday." He turned and pressed the B on the panel and her eyes narrowed.

Aaaaargh! And also ROTFLMAO! Those my main responses to this part. You’re EVIL, AmazingApe! LOL! First of all, I loved, LOVED the description of Lex’s kiss, and the way it conveyed his need, hunger and desperation for Chloe to her. And it was amazing seeing how intensely she was responding to the need she sensed in Lex… not only physically, but emotionally as well. She was actually beginning to warm to him, and think that he WAS a good man underneath all the abominable actions that he’s been committing. She actually began to hope that she could draw out the ‘goodness and dencency’ that she believes she could sense within him.

And then he stopped! The bastard teased her, and then left her hanging, as part of the game he was playing!! ROTFL! Evil, AmazingApe!!! Plain, unmitigated EVIL! ROTFLOL! I loved the way that Chloe’s hopes and warmth turned immediately to red-hot anger and hate again.

Hmmm, I do wonder what Lex would have said if ONLY he had known that he had succeeded in smashing down Chloe’s suddenly budding hopes and affections for him JUST now. LOL! He probably would have started smashing his head against the elevator door for being an idiot, wouldn’t he? Or would he have been smug and satisfied about his newest ‘win’?


He stared at her, something that looked like wonder in his eyes, before he glanced down to right himself. He'd just managed to close his own jacket when the doors opened.

ROTFLMAO! It was SO great to see that Chloe didn’t let him leave with an automatic ‘win’ for his side. She proved that, whatever frustrated discomfort she’s in, he’s in DOUBLE the sexually frustrated pain, LOL! Poor Lex should really know better than to play the ‘Who want who more’ game with Chloe. It’s obvious to everyone that he’s the one panting for Chloe harder than the other way around.

LOL! I loved the visual of Lex giving Chloe a final look ‘somewhere between a glare and a smile’ before taking off again. That expression sums up his feelings for her, and their ‘relationship’, perfectly doesn’t it?


"Chloe, he's been dogging you. Megan told me he comes down here almost daily just to give you a hard time. Wonder how that bastard would feel if someone dogged his every move. Maybe even wrote a scathing expose on his illicit..."

I was wondering whether anyone had noticed Lex’s new obsession for Chloe… and it seems like people HAVE noticed. But they all assume that he’s professionally harassing her rather than making sexual overtures. Chloe and Lex have managed to keep their affair discreet so far, thank heavens.


Once despised. She shook her head at the thought. She still despised him. Orgasms didn't change that.

squeee!! She’s explicitly stated that her feelings for him are changing. Now she’s stopped outright hating him 24/7… now she can have a couple of moments every day when she’s not actively hating him. It’s a start! Excellent! :D


Level two was the... feelings. A person didn't sleep with a man and not see some part of his soul. He made her come, part of it was his ego. That she knew. But another part was that insurance, just what he'd gained today. The insurance that she'd come back for more. And why? Why her when he could have or hire any number of lithe, willing surgically-enhanced bimbos? If he wanted sex, he could get it easily and anywhere. She couldn't shake that feeling. That feeling she was... needed.

It’s actually pretty worrying (for Chloe’s sake) seeing her developing actual feelings for Lex now. Right now, the power balance is just about even between them… with Lex holding all the cards as far as Chloe’s professional life goes, but Chloe had the upper hand where she wasn’t quite as emotionally involved with Lex as he was with her. But that’s changing now. She’s actually developing emotions and responding to him… and that’s effecting her work… her investigation into all things that involve Lex Luthor.

But a good part of me can’t help but squee in delight seeing those feelings developing. It’s dangerous and even reckless of Chloe to allow herself to open herself up to Lex… but it’s delightful to see the very real possibility of a stable Chlex relationship developing.


She glanced up at him in the light. He still looked stricken and she was taken back to a time when Clark would have done anything for Lex. it was funny, coming at a time when she would do anything for that same man, but she found herself forced to school her features into indifference. "What happened?"

"Lionel called. He was shot."

omigosh! I was shocked at this cliffhanger ending! Especially since I remembered that the next chapter involved Chloe choosing to save Lex with her meteor powers… which opens up the possibility for SO much Chlex drama. THANK you for updating the next chapter so quickly, AmazingApe!!!


"He's, uh, in a coma." She turned her eyes to Lionel. He looked haggard and tired. "Thank god we got him Medevaced back here from Detroit. The, um, neurosurgeon managed to remove the bullet. He says that there is a very strong possibility that, uh, Lex..." She felt a surge of pity for him. He was usually so self-possessed when he spoke. Word-stalls like "uh" didn't seem at home in this man. It was the same with Lex, really. "...may never regain consciousness."

I loved the description of Chloe feeling disconcerted seeing Lionel babbling in this distinctly un-Luthorlike manner. AND I loved the way that she noted the similarities between both the Luthors over here… and how neither of them would ‘sound right’ if they lost their composure like this. She’s already identifying strongly with the Luthor family.


Her eyes cut to Lex at those words. No. A strong possibility. Not a certainty.

"I'm sorry," she heard Clark say softly through the racing of her mind.

My cousin was bleeding to death in dam. They might have said that about her, too. Anything is possible. There's still time. She looked up as Lionel's voice cut the silence.

I love how frantic Chloe’s thoughts are about Lex’s well being. She’s pepped up, right from the beginning, to get going and save Lex’s life. There’s honestly no second thought or hesitation here. Lex would have been so amazed, awed and gratified if only he knew Chloe’s initial reaction to his getting shot… and Clark’s too actually. Clark was ALSO really upset when he heard Lex was on the verge of death. LOL! Lex probably would have considered it worth getting shot in the first place to get these reaction.


Just as he finished hers. "Then they're in danger. We need to find them."

Jesus, Lois. Why don't you ever listen? You could get yourself killed in blind pursuit of an article that will never see print. She could see it as brave, but it was just useless. If Lois wanted dirt on Lex so badly, she had years of it. But she knew would never see the light of day. And not just because of plan B. She quickly pulled Clark away from the window. She couldn't look at Lex and think of plan B. It only made it harder to know how to feel. How could she hate him so much and still find the thought of him gone so... "I'll use my healing powers on Lex." She knew she would the first moment she saw him. She had to. "And he can tell us where Lois and Kara went." Everything would be fine. Everyone would be fine. She could figure out how she was supposed to feel later.

Yikes! It seems like the situation has turned dangerous really fast, not only for Lex, but for everyone in Chloe’s life. More than anytime, this is the time to go into full-on emergency mode. But I really admire how Chloe’s keeping herself relatively composed and cool, even though you can see her panicking inside at the thought of everyone she cares about being in such danger… Lois, Kara… and even Lex has joined the list of people that Chloe cares about.

I really admired Chloe for her willingness to throw in her unstable mutant healing powers into the situation, even though she KNEW there was no way to predict whether she’d be all right after their usage. But it’s probably best to look for other options first, right? So it’s good to see Clark stopped her from rushing in recklessly to look for other possible solutions first.


God, Lois. How could you be so foolish? Risking her life for something that was so unrealistic.

Lois was still operating from that Inquisitor mindset. You didn't expose the billionaire and get lauded for bringing down the rich sleaze. Sometimes, worse happened. Sometimes a bomb went off and you to had to hide away for months, hoping another one didn't come along to destroy you and what little there was of your family. But you did it for truth. And maybe a piece of you did it for him. For Lex.

Maybe that was why it hurt so much more years later, when her own mother was held away, used and violated for being different. When she was abducted by Lex's men herself. Sometimes you lost everything to that man you chose to expose.

That was amazing! It was intense hearing about the kind of effect Chloe’s obsessive truth-seeking has had on her. She’s learned that there’s usually always a huge price to be paid for unearthing the truth, much less for bringing it out into the light. I loved hearing about how much Chloe has grown since her reckless teenaged years, where she would have gone rushing headlong into any dangerous situation without considering cost or consequences.

NOW she knows about price and consequence, which means she’s a lot more wary about where she steps… but she’s STILL dedicated to unearthing truth in all things. I am in serious awe of this girl. The tragedy and suffering she’s gone through has made her wiser and more cautious, but NOT any less passionate about her ideals and ambitions.

I also loved the comparison drawn up between Lois and Chloe… explaining how Lois is still at only the beginning and budding stages of truth-seeking that Chloe used to be during her naïve teenaged years. Lois has a long way to go yet before she gets to the same place her cousin is right now.


Chloe glanced at Clark before moving to the door. She had no doubt this machine was a death trap for any mortal involved. But this was Clark Kent. She'd once called his mind a steel trap. It was as strong as the rest of him. It was her own strength she doubted. Even if Clark managed to intercept Lex's memories, they'd still be left with Lex in a coma, maybe never to wake. And it was Thursday. Tomorrow was Friday. He was supposed to be there tomorrow. He wasn't supposed to be the one in doubt of showing. That was her. It was why he constantly showed up in her sphere at work, insuring she'd be there.

Shouldn't she do the same for him?

I really loved seeing Chloe’s unwavering faith in Clark over here. Even after she’s heard about how dangerous this procedure is, she still has no doubt that ‘her hero, Clark Kent’ will be able to pull off one of his miraculous rescues ‘as usual’. Heh… perhaps Clark should feign weakness and failure a little more often so people don’t become so dependant on him? LOL!

I was also so intrigued by the way that Chloe’s thoughts kept returning to Lex’s safety and well-being. She’s really frantic about him being all right, isn’t she? After this, she’ll never be able to deny that she HAS developed some feelings for Lex… strong and deep ones too. Chloe’s going to be in a heap of emotional trouble when Lex finally awakens, and she realizes that she’s stripped away a good portion of her emotionally barrier defences for him.


"He doesn't trust me," she heard Lana say. "You don't either. You have no reason to."

wow! Did this really happen in the episode? Because it’s actually a BIG thing for Lana to actually admit to being at fault… to admit to being untrustworthy!


"Now you constantly finish each others' sentences." Chloe glanced over at Lana, surprised. It was true. It wasn't something she often remarked upon, but it was true. "Don't think I don't notice."

"He loves you, Lana." Years and years had taught her that was an undeniable fact.

I actually enjoyed the Lana Chloe bonding session taking place over here. I always believed that Lana always HAD to be a little resentful of Chloe’s irreplaceable place in Clark’s life… his unwavering sidekick support system. So I was really pleased to see Lana owning up to that resentment. I’m sure it’s actually flattering to Chloe to know that Lana envies her for her place in Clark’s life.

I was also pleased to see that Chloe didn’t really seem to feel any jealousy or envy on HER part when telling Lana about how Clark has always and will always love Lana above anyone else. As compared to the horrible aching PAIN that Chloe used to feel when confronted with Clana love… Chloe’s emotional state has improved tremendously. It seems like getting involved with Lex was exactly what Chloe needed to start getting over her hopeless, useless infatuation for Clark Kent.


"I just... I don't want to resent it. I just... I wish I knew what it was like, always being on Clarks page." Chloe felt a hot wave guilt run over her. Her late-night activities with Lex didn't fit anywhere on Clark's page. Even if it was just for the sex... She suddenly stiffened. He'd see. Clark would see Lex's memories. And in those memories, she'd be writhing under and over him. She squeezed her eyes shut. There was nothing she could do about it now.

Maybe she could explain later. But somehow she didn't think "He makes me come" would fly.

LOL! Chloe is thinking about this only now?!? It’s probably for the best that it only occurred to her now, because she might have ended up trying to stop Clark from entering Lex’s brain for all the wrong reasons. And I rather like the idea that AmazingApe might choose to stray away from canon at this point and explore what might happen if Clark sees Chloe in Lex’s brain ;)


As justified as Lex tried to paint his actions, a part of him had to be sorry. And not just because he was so alone now. But because he knew they caused pain.

Pleasure for pain. Maybe that's why she stayed, to get her pain's worth. That first night, she said he owed her. Maybe he took her at her word. Going by orgasms, she recieved much more than she gave.

Was that enough to make her save him, at the expense of her own life? That he might be just a little sorry?

Wow! That was amazing and IN-credible!!! I am dumb-struck with awe! I have to admit, prior to this chapter, I never really would have understood why Chloe would have risked her own life to save Lex’s… but now I understand completely.

It’s a PERFECT characterization of the amazing, magnificent, awe-inspiring nature of Chloe Sullivan. Her amazing capacity to love completely and selflessly, to forgive purely and (above all things) to maintain that beautiful, bright, shining vision of hope, even in the face of complete darkness. Even NOW, she still genuinely believes that there is ‘good’ within Lex, and that he can be saved… if only someone gives him a chance to save himself.

It’s also a lovely explanation about why Chloe keeps on going to Lex over and over again… even though she KNOWS that it’s dangerous, reckless and stupid. It’s not only because he makes her ‘feel good’, but also because she feels like she’s giving him a chance to atone for what he’s done to her. Isn’t it amazing seeing how Chloe can extend forgiveness, penance and possible atonement, even to her worst enemy?! What an amazing woman! And I firmly believe that it is precisely these qualities within Chloe that keep drawing Lex to her, obsessively, compulsively!

If only he could see Chloe’s beautiful thoughts in all their purity RIGHT THIS MINUTE… I’ll bet anything he would fall on his knees begging for a chance to prove himself ‘a good man’ in her eyes.


She took one last look at Clark, her best friend, her hero, then moved to Lex. Her enemy. Her lover, if she could call him that. One silly girl's life didn't really matter after all. She was just someone off the picture, just to the side of two great men. They both had great power in their different ways. They both could do great things.

I loved, LOVED the way you drew up the parallels between both men in Chloe’s mind, AmazingApe! It was stunning! I loved how Chloe saw BOTH of these men as incredible and the potential for awe-inspiring ‘greatness’. It’s truly tragic that she doesn’t see the same kind of greatness within her as well… In fact, she thinks that she’s ‘disposible’ compared to these two?! Chloe! You might not believe it, but you’re worth ten times as much as a great hero as compared to both of these men!


I hope you do better things, Lex, her mind whispered to him as she reached toward his chest. She'd touched it so many times now. But those touches were caresses, scratches, even light tickles... This was something more. This was life and death. This was a comittment. That these men, that the fact that they lived, was worth more than her life. She was sure of Clark. She knew, deep down, that scores of people would live and be safe because he was in the world. But Lex... I want you to prove me right, Lex. If I don't come back, I need to know that it was better this way. Was there a heaven? Did God exist? She might find out very soon. She hoped for both. And she hoped she could look at the world behind and know that this was the right thing to do. And for both men.

Oh sweet heavens, that was beautiful!!! I wished so, SO badly for Lex to have heard her thoughts as she healed him. I wanted so MUCH for Lex to have heard Chloe’s ‘final goodbye’ to him as she sacrificed her life for his. I know that there’s nothing else that would have had the potential to turn Lex away from his path of darkness, then hearing about Chloe’s last, yearning wish to him before she collapsed.

I know he would have felt exactly the same as I do… filled with worshipful AWE of this extraordinary, brave, selfless, amazing, beautiful, hopeful woman who willingly risked her life to save HIS unworthy hide. He would have woken up ready to lay down his body as a doormat for Chloe’s pleasure.


She pressed her hand against Lex's chest. A light sort of emanated from her hand, snaking out, enveloping him and she stared up as her body weakened. She saw Lex grasping her shoulders in his library and asking her if she was sure. She glanced over at Clark, saw Clark hugging her close and stopping a car through a stained glass window with one hand. Lex was kissing down her belly, making soft little grunts for every moan she let loose. Clark was pulling her from a damned coffin in the ground...

And maybe there were bad things, too. But she could only see the good right now. With all that was good... Was there anything she wouldn't do for these men?

I think I’m stuck to babbling mode at this point. I can’t say anything beyond ‘beautiful, amazing; tearfully, intensely emotionally’. It’s amazing seeing the intense LOVE that Chloe feels for both of these men. Even after all the hurt and suffering that they both have put her through (Clark has ALSO hurt Chloe in several intense ways)… all she can think of now is how much she adores both of them.


She felt her body crumpling, her mind fading to black. A cold stole over her limbs as the floor rose up to meet her...

Of course I know that Chloe is going to awaken… but I desperately[I] hoe, AmazingApe, that you’re going to diverge away from canon at this point, because I so, SO badly want Lex to know what Chloe did for him. Lex has a tendency to become obsessively worshipful of anyone who exhibits self-sacrificing actions to save his life… and I’d KILL to see his reaction to Chloe after he realizes that she used her mutant powers to save him.

It would also be amazing to see what Lex thinks of the quality of Chloe’s powers. I remember him asking Chloe, a couple of chapter ago, what were her powers, and whether she was [I]dangerous. I remember thinking about how very awe-struck Lex would have been if only he knew the true nature of Chloe’s powers… an entwining of healing and self-sacrifice… which is perfectly shaped by her personality and nature.

I look forward to the next update… thank you sooo much for posting up chapter 11 so quickly! Good luck with future writing!

[westwingwolf]

That was a very powerful look into Chloe's thought process. Of course, she'd be unsure if she could give her life to save Lex's but she made the gesture anyway. As if this was always going to be her answer, she came to the hospital knowing she would. And the fact that Clark asked her to come with him to the hospital... maybe just maybe he wanted her to do so for some unknown reason as well. I hope that Lex knows the truth about who saved him...or at the least tries to figure it out. I wonder what he'll say the next time he sees Chloe.

[deia]

I haven't yet had the chance to read chapter eleven but I wanted to make a quick reply to chapter 10 because it was AWESOME! LOL but more than that, you are an awesome writer for being able not only to come up with a story with characters which are flawed and realistic and that are going through real life ethical and moral dilemmas and which manages to also have a flow and a simplicity to its storyline that is incredibly engaging and addictive. I mean, when I read that Lex was shot in your fanfic I found myself completely taken aback and hoping that he would be ok , then as I read your AN about following cannon I immediately thought to myself "Damn, she's good!" because while I watch the episodes and see Lex getting shot I seem to only have one of the following reactions: either thinking to myself "Well, it's just another Tuesday night" or "Shoot him, mount him, stuff him, what the hell do I care?". But your amazing skills made me actually empathize with the characters and worry about their fates, so congratulations on an amazing job and please keep it coming, if you can!

[tatie87]

That is just mean to stop there, I have got to know what is next. I love that CHloe was struggling if she should save Lex or not. Also, it was great that you wrote about the current state of Lana's and Clark's relationship. I can't help, but smirk that things are not perfect in Lana world. Can't wait for more finction goodness.

[Kit Merlot]

Another fabulous update!

I really liked the Chlana conversation and Lana's realization that Clark trusts Chloe and they share a bond she can never compete with.

I also love that Chloe wants to save Lex because she believes that he can still do good with his life. And will Clark see the Chlex sleeping together? Or will he still only witness the tepid Lexana?

You are doing an excellent job with this story, and I can't wait to see what happens next:D

[Esther25jm]

WOW!! Fantastic updates! I just caught up to Ch 10&11, so I hope it's ok to comment on both of them.

Ch 10: Hot damn, I love it that Lex isn't afraid to push his limits with Chloe at work. What I love most is that Chloe can't help but fall under his spell. It doesn't matter what she tells herself or him, the chemistry/passion/whatever is too much for both of them to deny it's existance. I just friggin' love them.

Ch 11: All I can say is fantab because I'm too busy crying for Lex and Chloe. That episode was hard to watch, so getting a Chlexy POV from Chloe makes it harder. You did such a fantastic job at showing Chloe's feelings for both men and how she'd sacrifice her life for them for the same/different reasons. I think those final scenes are very telling as to how much Chloe's feelings for Lex have changed. I didn't get the feeling that she was sacrificing her life to save Clark, therefore saving Lex. I got the reverse feeling, especially when she heard that Lex had 'died.'

Anyway, just wanted to tell you that these are amazing updates and I can't wait to see what's next. Here's hoping that Lex will know that it was Chloe to have saved his life, unlike on the show.

[purplemoon123]

WOW!!! You're really on a roll!!!! Love it!!

This is one amazing chapter!!!!


She took one last look at Clark, her best friend, her hero, then moved to Lex. Her enemy. Her lover, if she could call him that. One silly girl's life didn't really matter after all. She was just someone off the picture, just to the side of two great men. They both had great power in their different ways. They both could do great things.

Love this!!!!


She felt her body crumpling, her mind fading to black. A cold stole over her limbs as the floor rose up to meet her...

I saw the episode, I know what happens but you had in suspence to what could happen next!!!

[Jusperson]

Surely, you are not going to make me suffer too long, are you? I waited for Fracture spoilers in this story. It's amazing. Lex didn't learn the truth about his healing in the show. But he must learn it! Looking forward for an update.

[malugargula]

Great update
:)
I loved how you described Chloe`s thoughts about Lex and Clark
Please more soon

[somethingeasy]

During the whole of season seven, I had been 'easing' my way out of watching Smallville. I would miss about two or three episodes, but keep abreast of the narrative (I use that word VERY loosely in connection with Smallville's 'redux and reboot' idea idea of continuity). Anyhow, I would miss a couple of episodes, but then I'd hear about an episode that would sound interesting, so I'd watch that one... and feel so disgusted that I wouldn't watch the next two or three until the NEXT interesting sounding one came along... you get the idea, LOL!

Anyhow... the point of my rambling is that Fracture happened to be the LAST episode of Smallville before I finally went cold turkey. THAT was the episode that finally broke me away from Smallville with a contemptuous 'enough is enough'.

I think it was the fact that Chloe saved Lex in that episode, but it ended with Lionel telling Lex that HE saved him?!? And I knew, I KNEW that the whole fact of Chloe saving Lex's life at considerable risk to her own was yet another in a loooong series of relevant, interesting and important plot points that was going to be swept under the carpet, and forgotten by the next episode. I couldn't stand that! I couldn't stand seeing this ALSO being swept under the carpet and forgotten.

The discarding of this beautiful, intriguing character defining moment... it was the final straw that broke the camel's back. Since then, I have no seen a single episode of Smallville, nor have I so much as read summations/spoilers about the episodes I have been missing.

I'm not exactly sure myself why I gave this long rant over here... I guess I just wanted to thank AmazingApe for illustrating the full beauty of this memorable and character defining moment that effected me SO much, that I kicked the Smallville habit when it wasn't given proper due relevance in the series ;)

Dammit, I don't even know if I'm explaining myself properly. Thanks again for your interpretation of Fracture, AmazingApe. I loved it! And I really hope that it's something that covered in later chapters... please, PLEASE don't have Lex 'not find out' about Chloe's brave, risky, reckless, self-sacrificing decision to save his life at risk to her own. I can't STAND the idea of him not appreciating that beautiful moment Chloe experienced when she begged Lex to 'be good, be worthy' when she thought she was pouring her life into saving him.

I look forward to the next update. Please post soon... whenever you have time ;) (this is me actively trying NOT to be pushy, LOL)

[TheAmazingApe]

Dammit, I don't even know if I'm explaining myself properly. Thanks again for your interpretation of Fracture, AmazingApe. I loved it! And I really hope that it's something that covered in later chapters... please, PLEASE don't have Lex 'not find out' about Chloe's brave, risky, reckless, self-sacrificing decision to save his life at risk to her own. I can't STAND the idea of him not appreciating that beautiful moment Chloe experienced when she begged Lex to 'be good, be worthy' when she thought she was pouring her life into saving him.

Though I am still going with canon in the form osf "missing scenes" at this point, I do hear you. Though you might not get immediate satisfaction on this... just wait.

I can feel that you all want me to veer off canon... and yesterday.

But I really do want to stick with canon as much as possible. I hope what I'm doing has believable missing scenes and, hopefully, makes some sense out of events that seem so disjointed in the show itself. It didn't make sense to me that Chloe and Lana seemed fine in later eps without a scene to clear the air from Wrath and Persona. So I gave them one. I don't think Chloe is over Clark, but I do think she's accepted that Lana is the one he wants after all this time. Her personal feelings aside, she's trying to be supportive. I'm trying to give a life to Offscreenville and make this show make more sense to me.... That and Chlex smut.

CHAPTER 12

Lex finished buttoning up.

He couldn't shake this feeling. It was this creepy feeling of... violation. When he was little, he'd been stung by a bee. It throbbed dully, but didn't hurt so much besides. But he'd been horrified, pulling the stinger from his leg. Than was a foreign object, piercing his skin and entering his body with no permission from him. He'd felt about the same way about needles, through the years. Sure, there was that tacit consent in that he knew shots were for his own good. But it was still that feeling of violation. Something foreign has invaded his body. It was a feeling that always made him shudder.

He did so now, having that same feeling, and he couldn't think why.

Lex stared at his image in the mirror. Not even a hole in the head. Though he should be grateful to be alive, it was all very disappointing.

He'd been expecting something different when he woke up. His last memory was a sharp pain in his head and the knowledge that that pain was cause by a bullet. At that moment, he'd fully expected death. A part of him welcomed it. Not that he was suicidal, but because he'd finally know what happened after. One of life's great mysteries. He'd been so near to it before. This wasn't his first near-death by far. After every survival, a part of him was disappointed that he survived at all. That he didn't know what happened when the lights went out.

He grasped his jacket from the bland wooden hanger in the bland hospital room's bland closet. Everything was rather bland, compared to what he was expecting. He didn't foo himself that he'd get to Heaven, should it exist. But to know whether it did or not was so tantalizing. He just liked being on the inside.

He stared down at his jacket. Might not be so great. Cant come back, after all, to tell the tale. Unless he could. He didn't know. He figured he wouldn't know... until he actually died. He'd have to concern himself with those earthly mysteries for now. There were plenty. He hand to find Linda... Kara again. He had to...

"You had us worried today." He glanced up, saw his father behind him in the mirror. "How you feeling?"

"That's the problem, Dad." he turned and shrugged his jacket on. Here was another earthly mystery. "I feel fine. What's going on? I'm admitted here with a bullet in my head, and now there's not so much as a scratch on me."

"You can thank your friend..." Friend? What friends did he have? "Oliver Queen." He wanted to point out that he and Queen had never been friends, but he waited for his father to go on. "The healing technology developed by Queen Laboratories." Was that it? was it just another needle, leaving him with this feeling? "You of all people should remember that," his father finished.

Lex narrowed his eyes. "I was under the impression that all the serum was destroyed."

"Yeah." His father moved forward. "All but a single dose, which I salvaged... for myself, if I should ever need it."

"But you gave it to me?" He didn't take pains to hide the scepticism.

"You sound surprised. You're my son. You think I'd stand there and watch you die?"

"Honestly, Dad, I... I don't know." All he knew was that Lionel wasn't being completely honest. He stared at him, waiting... For what? He didn't know.

His father held his gaze a moment before turning, moving to the door. He stopped suddenly. "Today, I realized when..." He turned back as Lex waited. He moved back intothe room "There is something I was afraid that I would never have the chance to tell you."

"Yeah? And what's that?" There was this part of him that hoped it would be good. But nothing from his father had ever been good. Deception and lies and "lessons" he was meant to learn. Nothing ever felt "good." He could argue, in his father's that it was all necessary, that it made him stronger now. But there was this piece of him that was waiting for just two words. Just two words that might let him know that he could have a father again.

"I..." he heard the first part and wondered if they were finally coming. Those words he needed. "...love you, Lex... my son."

He stared at his father. Wrong words. He moved past him, stopping once to look him over again. There was a time when these words would have meant everything. Now was not that time. It was too late. He moved out the door. Now the right words would be "I'm sorry."

He didn't know why, but it all seemed so fresh in his mind, every time his father grabbed him too roughly, hit him too hard, berated him in front of others, told him to be a man, be a Luthor...

Love? Love didn't make it better. Because he knew Lionel. Lionel could justify all he did as if it was out of love. But wherever it came from, it wasn't okay.

He needed him to be sorry.

But he was used to his father never being what he needed.

************************

Her body ached, but Chloe slipped her feet into her slippers. That part about cold feet after the morgue was true. For weeks after her first "death," she felt she could put her feet directly in fire and they would still feel ice cold. She leaned over and secured her slippers, rather glad Clark had left to get her a drink.

She'd been, at first, relieved to wake up at all. Then she saw him with his tired and even accusing eyes. And she wasn't in the mood to argue. She'd done what she had to and it worked out well for everyone. Why did she have all this power if not to use it, to make things better?

"Here you go," she heard behind her.

She straightened and took the glass, avoiding his eyes. There was something in them that made her feel guilty. "Thanks." She took a long drink. She had nothing to be sorry for. But Clark still had the ability to make her feel as if she'd kicked a puppy when she'd actually saved a life. She decided to avoid the obvious line of questioning as long as she could. "Lois didn't, uh... see me, you know..." And there was no other word for it "...dead, did she?"

"No. She had to shoot back to The Planet to write a story about what happened in Detroit."

"Yeah," she scoffed. "Lex will kill that story in a heartbeat." She took another sip of her water. Why did Lois still fail to realize that?

"Speaking of heartbeats, you didn't have one for over 18 hours."

Chloe turned to stare back at Clark. She knew this was coming. She really shouldn't have given him an opening. She stood. "Look, I was hoping we could skip the lecture and go straight to the welcome back dinner. I'm starving."

Clark blocked her as she tried to pass. "It's 15 hours longer than the last time, Chloe. I've been sitting here, literally, trying to think about what to say at your funeral."

"Well, let's both be glad that I'm alive." She forced a smile. "Cause I know how much you hate giving speeches." She passed him then, moving to the snk with her glass.

"Chloe, I appreciate what you did for me," he said, still dogging her. "It goes beyond friendship. But you can never do it again."

She placed her glass in the sink and faced him over the counter. "Clark, I have the power to save people's lives. Now, obviously, I am the last person who thought she would drag Lex back from the clutches of death, but it was my decision to make."

He nodded. "Of course it was."

Her mind went back to one of the last thoughts she had before this all happened. Had he seen? Did he know that her saving Lex was not just about Lois and Kara? In true Sullivan fashion, she plowed past it, breaking his stare. "But, you know, you're not wrong. I mean, as great as this power is, it does come with a lot of consequences. And I think that one of the responsibilities for both of us is...staying alive. You know, maybe I am pushing my luck with this whole death thing. I mean, it is death, after all." And maybe she got lucky both times.

He came around the counter and folded his arms, leaning against the sink. "Does that mean you're never gonna use your abilities again?"

No. She couldn't say that word outright to him, not when there was still such concern in his eyes. Faced with the same situation, she'd make the same choice. But she wasn't likely to be faced with these two men at her whim again. She might be faced with something less... or more. She had no way of knowing what she would do and why. "It means I'm more confused now than ever. Out of the entire catalog of meteor abilities, why was I the one chosen to be in charge of such an amazing gift?

She held his stare for a moment. "And an even bigger question... Did you not hear me say I was starving?"

He still stared back, so serious.

"I just bet, with all this drama, you didn't stop to have a bite, either. Don't even tell me you couldn't do with a hot dog, burger, pizza, large bucket of fatty fried chicken..." She squinted at him for a while until he finally broke and smiled.

"Which one?"

"Any." She shrugged. "All. I might eat live insects right now."

He started past her, grasping her hand before he moved on. "I'll be back."

She stood against the sink as the door opened and shut, waiting for that tell-tale whoosh before she crumpled onto the counter, sobbing. She couldn't do this in front of Clark. She couldn't do this in front of anyone. Despite the front she put on, this was death. And maybe she could put it into perspective and say it was worth it, that she'd saved lives, but it didn't change death itself.

Honestly, she didn't know why she was crying... just that it felt so... big. If she could cry when she skinned an elbow, she could cry now... just not in front of Clark. He would worry. He would feel guilty. He would harangue her never to do it again when he of all people knew that, if saving a life was in your power, you did it.

It still didn't take away the sting.

She'd cried after the first time, too. When she was alone, her burnt death certificate smoldering at the bottom of this very sink. She mourned the loss. Because she had died. And she couldn't help feeling that a part of her was still dead, even though she walked and talked and breathed. She'd felt strangely empty since then. Nothing mattered as much as it had when you had known death, when you knew that, at the end of the day, everyone was just worm's meat.

She squeezed her eyes shut and willed herself to stop crying. This was no way to live, mourning her own loss. She had to go on. I think that one of the responsibilities for both of us is...staying alive. She'd said the words. Now she had to live by them. She had to live... period.

In a way, it made her think of herself as a soldier returning from war, his life intact. What was the first thing that soldier did? He indulged in those things that made it good to be alive. Earthly pleasures. Things like food and... sex.

A shiver ran through her body. She was alive. In a matter of moments, she'd taste again. Whether it was pizza, fried chicken, a burger, a hot dog filled with things she knew were bad for her body, but that tasted even better when you thought you might never taste them again.

She looked at the clock, then out the window. It was five. It was dusk. Clark would be back soon with... she didn't care what. After that...

It was Friday now. He was supposed to be there Friday. She knew he was okay from Clark, but she had to see... to touch. To see him alive. And to prove to herself that she still was. She vaguely wondered that a night with Lex Luthor would become, for her, some affirmation of life. Six months ago, she saw him as nothing but death and destruction. He was a man who did very bad things under some justifiable grounds he himself had invented. The torture of freaks like her. But wasn't he a freak?

Would anyone else have survived what he had and been put into a coma rather than a body bag?

It was almost fitting, two freaks like them celebrating life.

And she was in the mood to celebrate.

She was also in the mood for food, she realized as her stomach growled loudly. As if on cue, Clark burst throught the door with a pizza box and several bags.

"Okay, I got wings and thighs, but I thought you might also want a little pizza. So I got it with pepperoni and sliced tomatoes like you like, with those pepper seeds on the side. But I figured burger and hot dog would be overkill, so I just went for burger. I didn't know if you wanted fries or onion rings, so I..." She burst into tears and he stopped, staring at her as she stood by the sink, her eyes watering and her breath hiccupping. "Chloe? Are you.."

"I'm fine, Clark." She smiled through her tears. "I'm alive. I'm fine."

He stood, dumbstruck. He was a male, after all. He didn't always get that tears could be happy. And she was happy at the moment. Because he cared to care too much what she might want. If Clark Kent wasn't madly in love with Lana Lang... the things she might do to him...

She stepped forward instead, taking two bags dangling from his hands. "Thank you," she said.

They ate in silence for a while, Clark polishing off more than was humanly possible, as usual.

She sat back, a hand on her stomach, putting her feet up on the coffee table. They'd had many moments like this, just sitting and talking about their day. Their day didn't usually involve her death and a journey into the mind of thir enemy. But it was never far off. Chloe Sullivan and Clark Kent didn't often put their feet up after a humdrum day. There were no humdrum days. "So... you saw Lois.., and Kara?" She didn't dare ask the thing she most wanted to. Did you see us f*cking, Clark? Me and Lex? Somehow, I think you didn't. Because you might not be plying me with junk food disguising itself as dinner, otherwise.

"It was all so surreal. Sometimes, he... he wouldn't let me see. I had to keep finding them, keep a step head of him. Because he didn't want me to see it. Didn't want me to know."

Maybe he didn't want Clark to know what he'd done, hiding Kara's whereabouts. And maybe that wasn't all about keeping a step ahead. Maybe some of that was... something more. Something like regret. Like shame. She'd like to think he still felt shame.

"But I... Well, they weren't all I saw." He looked uncomfortable.

She tried to catch Clark's eyes, but they avoided hers. Maybe he had seen. Maybe that was the reason for that sort of accusation in his eyes when she woke up, not just some sort of misplaced blame that she risked her life for him... for them. "Clark.... If you're upset with me, I'd rather you just..."

"Upset with you?" He shook his head. "Upset that I could have lost you? Yes. But... No, Chloe. I know that what you did was... Well, beyond friendship, like I said."

She narrowed her eyes. "You still seem to be holding something back." If he knew, she wished he'd just tell her, get it out in the open. She took her feet down and leaned forward on the couch. "What did you see?" She prayed he hadn't... And yet she prayed he had. She'd not spoke of this to anyone and this piece of her wanted to share it with him. Only him. The only person that knew everything. For the first time in her life, she had somethng that would definitely fall under things he didn't know. And yet there was this petty piece of her that wanted him to know, not for their friendship, but so he would see... She was desirable. She was something to be bedded. She was more than a search engine. So much...

"I saw Lois and Kara... Just enough to find them, but... There were detours, Chloe. I saw things I never thought..."

She squeezed her eyes shut and waited.

"It's Lana," he finally said. "I... I saw them together. I saw them in bed."

She looked up, surprised. Lana? But that was long before we...

"He... he made me watch, like he wanted to hurt me with it. He..."

"That's enough detail," she cut in quickly. She felt strangely hurt, herself. It wasn't only that Lana was the best way to hurt Clark. She'd long since resigned herself to it. LeX must know it as well. It was that her, their nights, so fresh in his mind, wouldn't be seen. That maybe they weren't important enough to be seen.

"That wasn't all, Chloe." She almost didn't want to know. How many more things ranked above her inside Lex? "I saw a boy. I saw... Alexander."

"You mean Lex," she said, still reeling. Not me. Not for Clark. Not for Lex. It's never me.

"No." Clark shook his head. "Not Lex. At least... not the one that we know now. I met that boy in Lex. I... I knew him from... so long ago." He smiled slightly. "I remember when he stayed on the farm. He worked so hard to prove himself to my father. And I thought Dad was being hard on him. He wasn't Lionel. He wasn't destined to be like Lionel. I saw Lex and I saw... I dont know. I was a kid. But I always thought I saw something better in him."

"Me, too," she said softly, surprised she'd said it.

Clark looked up, surprised as well.

"Well... those months leading up to Lionel's trial..." She rolled her eyes. "That first time I died. He made me feel... safe." Even if it was to take Lionel down, he'd been so... gentle with her, then. She'd even fancied herself with a bit of a crush. He may have changed that year. Her loyalties may have shifted so fully to Clark and no one else, knowing his secret. But maybe there was still that boy inside Lex all along. The one who just wanted that pat on the head, that "Good boy." That knowledge that he was worth something. "It's... it's not childish to think there's something good in him." He hadn't seen her inside Lex. But a part of her wanted him to know that she saw the same thing. Just in case he should find out. Just in case she ever told him... Maybe he would understand.

"Lionel... I saw a side of him I never had, too. The way he treated Alexander was... I couldn't imagine being a child and fearing my father that way. And I think... I don't know how we got here. Lionel being Jor-El's vessel. Lex being the enemy. I... it's like findng yourself smack in the middle of an upside-down world you don't understand. How did it come to this?"

"Maybe it hasn't." She took a deep breath. "Come to it, that is. Maybe there's hope for him." She wasn't the only one who'd died and lived today.

Clark looked to the window, brows furrowed. "Maybe I shouldn't give up."

**************************

Lex knew Clark was waiting in the study. And he couldn't imagine why Clark had actually announced his presence. Usually, he just burst in, in a cloud of self-righteousness.

He waited a moment before opening the door, knowing he had to go in on point, ready to face the sanctimonious prattle Clark had become so adept at delving out. He was Jonathon Kent all over again. All judgement and no understanding. He opened the door and strolled in. "It's like a reflex. I see you and start defending myself."

"That's what guilt does to a person. Now, what were you doing in Detroit with Kara?"

And there it was, the thing he was meant to defend. "I was trying to help her."

"And she ended up kidnapped?" Clark stepped forward. "You knew she had amnesia."

Lex didn't falter. "Sure, once she told me. That's when I volunteered my help."

"Did it ever occur to you to pick up a phone and call me?"

"I did call -- twice," he said. And he had, whether he would have said why was another matter. "Lana hung up on me before I could get a word out."

"Do you even know when you're lying anymore?"

He moved around his desk. "You know, I've stopped pretending to care whether or not you believe me." He sat and adjusted the box Clark had disturbed. "So why don't you?"

"Because I do care, Lex. And there's a side of you that knows what's right."

"Wow. Now, what would I do without Clark Kent, voice of reason?"

"That voice isn't me, Lex. It's you." He glanced down. What did Clark know about what was right? He was as puffed up with purity as his father before him. "There's still good inside of you. Let that voice lead you back to it." And now he was even sounding like him.

He glanced up with a smile. "I didn't know it would only take a brush with death to see your softer side."

"Trust me, Lex, there's nothing that's lost that can't be found again."

He watched Clark leave. As true as his platitude should ring... Trust you? I might as well trust my father and his love. It seemed like everyone was coming at him with such concern these days. He wondered why. He wondered why now. What exactly was going on that he suddenly warranted such care.

As it got dark, he found himself snapped out of himself by the ringing of his phone. He stared the the caller ID. It was from The Talon. Not the apartment number, but the coffee shop. Was it her? Was this how she would end things? He shouldn't even flirt with the possibility that he'd be seeing her again, outside of work. She was Clark's better half, after all. Now that she knew why he'd been away, she wouldn't be waiting to greet him on his return. As much as he dissembled for Clark, the truth was that he knew where Kara was. He knew and he hadn't said. She'd judge him as Clark had, wanting for ethics, simply because he wanted the truth.

She shouldn't be so judgemental. Truth was once Chloe Sullivan's deepest desire, after all.

He picked up. "Hello?"

"Lex? Is this... Lex Luthor?"

It wasn't Chloe.

"I... I heard you were okay, but I couldn't believe it. Not after what I saw."

"Linda?"

"It's... It's actually Kara... Or so I'm told."

"You were told right," he said, deciding on honesty. "I knew your name myself from the moment I saw you."

There was silence. "You... You knew? Why didn't you..."

"I wasn't sure what it would do to you," he said quickly, "just telling you. I was hoping my treatment... Well, we never got that far."

There was silence again before Kara's voice whispered over the line. "Lex... I'm... I'm at this place called The Talon. I need to see you. Could you come here?"

He smiled. "Absolutely." He was suddenly in the mood to venture out.

*****************************

As he left his car and approached The Talon, he glanced up. There was a light upstairs. Was she there?

He shook his head. Best not to think of it. Maybe he wouldn't be inside her tonight... or ever again. But he lived to see another day. He deserved a latte, at least. That and the truth. He approched the blonde on the couch. Not the blonde he most wanted to see, but a degenerate like him couldn't quabble. There were merits to this meeting. There was something about Kara Kent. There was also something about Clark Kent. But only one of them was currently speaking to him.

She sat forward, listening to her ipod with such concentration. He moved to the couch. "Hi," he said loudly.

She glanced at him and pulled the buds from her ears. "Lex?"

He smiled. "Hi," he repeated.

She smiled as well. "Hi. I... was told you were okay, but..." She stared at him. He knew where she was looking. His forehead. He was surprised to find it so clear himself.

"I know some talented doctors. I'm just glad you're okay," he said quickly. "But what are you doing here?"

"I just... I had to get away. My cousin keeps staring at me like... like I'm going to fly off or something. I felt sort of smothered there. You know?" She stared down at her ipod. "This was mine, apparently. I just took something that was mine and just... got away for a little. I think I can learn me better by myself, maybe."

He sat beside her. "I want you to learn you. I hoped that my treatment would help you get back your memories so you could go back to your cousin... Well..." He glanced down, trying for a sad smile. "I wanted you to come back whole. It was the least I could do."

Her brows furrowed. "The least you could do... why?"

"We were friends once."

"You and Clark? But..."

"Would you like a latte? When I'm here... Well, its pretty much on the house."

"Uh..." She shook her head. "Do I like lattes?"

He pursed his lips. "I don't actually know. But you look like a caramel machiatto girl to me." Or was he confusing her with someone else, someone who preferred that drink and light, repetitive pressure on her clitoris? He glanced up the stairs, both dreading and willing her to come down, to see him, to react as she would, even if...

"I don't know machiattos much, but I know caramel," Kara was saying with a bewildered look. "That sounds kind of good."

He snapped his eyes back to her. "Then I'll be right back."

He moved to the counter, willing himself not to think of what he couldn't have, but what he could.

"The usual, Sir?"

He turned to the girl at the counter. "Yes," he said blankly. "And a caramel macchiato"

He stared as he waited. Maybe he couldn't have lithe legs wrapped around him. A compact, but powerful little body against him in room 23 at The Paradise Motel. But... He glanced at Kara, replacing her earbuds. He could have the truth.

"Anything good?" he asked loudly, approaching with their cups.

Kara took her earbuds out. "Um...I don't know. Supposedly, this is one of my favorite songs, and I don't even remember how it goes." She grew silent for a moment. "Lex, I saw what happened." Her hand moved to his forehead. "You were bleeding."

"I told you. I know some talented doctors."

"Obviously you do." He placed their coffee cups down on the table and she picked hers up. "So, I guess I used to work here. I wonder if they'll give me my job back."

Lex smiled. "Well, I think the owner will understand."

Kara put her cup down without drinking from it. Now that was something Chloe would never do when coffee was before her. "Thank you for meeting me," Kara was saying. "I mean, home isn't feeling very..."

"Familiar?" Lex supplied.

"Yeah. I mean, Clark seems like a really nice guy and everything, but I can't help but feeling he's hiding something from me."

Lex chuckled to himself. "As his former best friend, I know the feeling all too well."

"See, Clark didn't even mention that you guys were friends. What happened?"

"I grew up," he said, honestly sad for what could have been. He never wanted to sneak, to lie. He'd rather that he'd be let in. But now... "Kara I'm not interested in keeping secrets." That was true. "This treatment will help you get your memories back, and with it, we'll get the truth... ...once and for all."

She was smiling, staring at him as if he was her savior. He liked that. He was so sick of being painted as the villain. He wasn't. He was something more than that. Maybe he wasn't the savior, but he was someone after the truth.

He glanced up the stairs again. He'd think that was something she could understand.

***********************

Chloe woke, shivering, on the bed in room 23 at The Paradise Motel, her limbs stiff and cold. She probably should have got under the covers, but she had no idea she'd fall asleep. She'd been waiting, poised for that door to open. No thought that he wouldn't come.

It was Friday. He was supposed to be here.

She'd been here since dusk. She'd bathed and dressed so carefully and now she wondered why. It wasn't just for sex. It was for life. He was alive. She was alive. He might not understand that her life was something that needed reaffirming, what with Lionel's careful lie. But she thought he'd want to affirm his life, at least. And, despite that he hadn't a thought of her in his mind, that he'd want to affirm it with her.

She glanced at her phone. It was after midnight now.

She never thought she would be in this position again, waiting on a man without a thought for her. she shouldn't be this pathetic.

But there was something about what Clark said. Something in that lost boy. Something that made her need to see him, search him. Sure, both Clark and Lionel insisted he was fine, not even a scar. But she had to see.

His absence now didn't change that.

She shrugged into her coat.

She had to see...

TBC

[purplemoon123]

Another update!!! :ecstatic:


Though I am still going with canon in the form osf "missing scenes" at this point, I do hear you. Though you might not get immediate satisfaction on this... just wait.

I can feel that you all want me to veer off canon... and yesterday.

If the writers can't follow canon why should others???


But I really do want to stick with canon as much as possible. I hope what I'm doing has believable missing scenes and, hopefully, makes some sense out of events that seem so disjointed in the show itself. It didn't make sense to me that Chloe and Lana seemed fine in later eps without a scene to clear the air from Wrath and Persona. So I gave them one. I don't think Chloe is over Clark, but I do think she's accepted that Lana is the one he wants after all this time. Her personal feelings aside, she's trying to be supportive. I'm trying to give a life to Offscreenville and make this show make more sense to me.... That and Chlex smut.

Yes, what you're doing is believable because I can actually see how the characters go from one point to another and not just being told that it happened in Offscreenville. The Chlex smut is very much appreciated!!!

That was an amazing chapter!!!! This was def. missing in SV. Actually seeing how Chloe reacted to dying again. I'm in awe!!!

Lex waiting for Chloe to come down the stairs and Chloe waiting for him at the hotel is heartbreaking because they both wanted what no one else could offer them.

[lj715]

Another excellent chapter!

[Jusperson]

Oh, thank you so much for this update. I like it. A lot! You are doing great work showing the Offscreenville without altering what was in the show. Not words, just feelings.
I wonder if there will be any Chlex confrontation considering Kara/Linda?

[basmas84]

updated!!!! :D
soooo happy about it... and this chapter was very good...

I wonder why lex didn't have any thoughts of chloe, or didn't he want clark in on the secret...

and why didn't he show up in to their meeting? I mean chloe went... he could at least have checked... grrrrr... *angry-with-lex*

I hope the next chapter will have more chlex in... and some more answers... :blinkkiss great chapter, keep up the brilliant work!!!

[lilinny]

Oooh! Is Chloe being replaced by Kara? Better not!

Fantastic chapter!

[tatie87]

That bastard didn't meet Chloe. I'm so angry. She died for him, and the jerk didn't even show for their Friday tryst. I can't wait to see what happens. I love this story.

[Esther25jm]

Great chapter! I loved the conversations between Lex/Lionel and Chloe/Clark. It's also sad to see that the only time Chloe will breakdown is by herself. I don't know, I was a bit hurt, too, that Lex didn't show Clark his time with Chloe, but it also makes me think that he didn't because he wants his time with Chloe kept to himself. Not as a bad thing, but as a selfish thing. He didn't want Clark to see Chloe (the passionate, sensual side) that Lex sees because he wants Chloe for himself.

I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed in Lex staying to get the truth from Kara, but it goes so well with what's in his head. He honestly believes that Chloe wouldn't want anything to do with him after all this, so he's letting her go to find out the truth about Clark/Kara. And he's right, the truth was once so important to Chloe that I do think, had the circumstances been different, Chloe would've been right there with him wanting to find out what's going on with Clark/Kara. Oh and I loved that he kept glancing up at Chloe's apartment, not even realizing that Chloe was waiting for him at the motel.

Can I say that I love that she was waiting for him and after her chat with Clark, is seeing that there is more to Lex than the 'villain' he's supposed to be? I also like that she isn't going to give up and is going to see Lex to make sure he's alright, with her own two eyes.

Sorry for all my rambling, but this chapter just got made me really happy. I loved it and can't wait for more!! :D

[westwingwolf]

I would like to think that Lex kept the memories of Chloe secret because they meant more to him than just as leverage to piss Clark off...which let's face it, that's all Lana ever was and all memories of her will ever mean to him.

I wish Lex would have gone to the motel but if Chloe's going to see him at his place...what will she do?

[malugargula]

Great chapter!!!
I can`t wait to see what`s going to happen next
:)

[dagney]

I really felt so sad for Chloe in this part, and Lex didn't seem that affected that he seemed to cheat death yet again. Dagney

[Kit Merlot]

A gorgeous update!

I think you are right that all Lex wants to hear from Lionel is that he's sorry for the horrible way he treated him growing up.

As much as I hate that Lex chose to stay to talk to Kara rather then have sex with Chloe, it does fit in with Lex's obsessive need to know the truth about Clark.

And to me, Lex sees Kara as another Lana--someone he can manipulate and use to hurt Clark. Lex has too much respect for Chloe's intelligence to even attempt to manipulate her.

Keep up the great work on this fic, and I can't wait to see what happens next;)

[somethingeasy]

But I really do want to stick with canon as much as possible. I hope what I'm doing has believable missing scenes and, hopefully, makes some sense out of events that seem so disjointed in the show itself. It didn't make sense to me that Chloe and Lana seemed fine in later eps without a scene to clear the air from Wrath and Persona. So I gave them one. I don't think Chloe is over Clark, but I do think she's accepted that Lana is the one he wants after all this time. Her personal feelings aside, she's trying to be supportive. I'm trying to give a life to Offscreenville and make this show make more sense to me.... That and Chlex smut.

I’d like to pout for not getting ‘my way’, but the truth is that I really ADMIRE you, AmazingApe, for deciding to stick by canon. The truth is that you HAVE done an amazing job in filling in a significant number of the gaping plot holes of this season. You already did the miraculous and helped Smallville canon make sense!!

I think I’d like to see how you continue with your canon-interpretation. And I also appreciate you telling us that there WILL be some ‘satisfaction’ about Chloe’s self-sacrificing decision for Lex in some later chapter. I look forward to that too :D Good luck!


He couldn't shake this feeling. It was this creepy feeling of... violation. When he was little, he'd been stung by a bee. It throbbed dully, but didn't hurt so much besides. But he'd been horrified, pulling the stinger from his leg. Than was a foreign object, piercing his skin and entering his body with no permission from him. He'd felt about the same way about needles, through the years. Sure, there was that tacit consent in that he knew shots were for his own good. But it was still that feeling of violation. Something foreign has invaded his body. It was a feeling that always made him shudder.

I loved the description of Lex waking up feeling like the victim of a date-rape drug. It WAS actually nearly unforgivably invasive of Clark to make the decision to enter into Lex’s mind to rip out the information he needed. No wonder inner-Lex was so pissed off having Clark in there.


He stared down at his jacket. Might not be so great. Can’t come back, after all, to tell the tale. Unless he could. He didn't know. He figured he wouldn't know... until he actually died. He'd have to concern himself with those earthly mysteries for now. There were plenty. He hand to find Linda... Kara again. He had to...

ROTFL! I loved hearing about the extreme nature of Lex’s self-destructive sense of curiosity… that would lead him, not only to the edge of death, but even beyond it if he really believed that was the only way he could get his answers.

And I loved how it was explained… his obsessive need to know everything was summed up so simply, honestly and truly ‘he liked being on the inside’. I never considered that, but his obsessive curiousity is yet ANOTHER way for him to feel ‘close’ to people, isn’t it? Or to mean something to SOMEONE. Wow!


"You can thank your friend..." Friend? What friends did he have? "Oliver Queen." He wanted to point out that he and Queen had never been friends, but he waited for his father to go on.

The way that Lex dismissed the idea of having ANY ‘friends’ in his life was just so… tragic! And the worst thing is that he was so casual about his acceptance that he’s basically unloved and friendless.


"Yeah? And what's that?" There was this part of him that hoped it would be good. But nothing from his father had ever been good. Deception and lies and "lessons" he was meant to learn. Nothing ever felt "good." He could argue, in his father's that it was all necessary, that it made him stronger now. But there was this piece of him that was waiting for just two words. Just two words that might let him know that he could have a father again.

That sneaky bastard, Lionel. Despite how this ended up sweeping Chloe’s heroism under the carpet, I did feel admiration for the slick way that Lionel took full credit for Lex’s miracle healing. He even managed to sneak in some ‘self-sacrificing’ points for himself… the utter bastard! LOL! This is why we love the vicious old MB.

And I loved the way that Lex was NOT falling for his father’s slick, smooth lies over here. The lies WERE very convincing, but Lex has had years learning his father’s minuscule ‘tells’ when it comes to bluffing and fibbing, and he’s actually learned to identify the moments when Lionel is lying through his teeth. Excellent!

And I ALSO loved the yearning way that Lex seemed to be waiting for the old bastard to give him JUST the right reason to trust him again. It’s so simple, but Lionel could have gained Lex’s absolutely trust and loyalty just now… of only he had known JUST the correct two words to say. Heh… but Lionel miscalculated, and said the ‘wrong words’.


He didn't know why, but it all seemed so fresh in his mind, every time his father grabbed him too roughly, hit him too hard, berated him in front of others, told him to be a man, be a Luthor...

Love? Love didn't make it better. Because he knew Lionel. Lionel could justify all he did as if it was out of love. But wherever it came from, it wasn't okay.

He needed him to be sorry.

But he was used to his father never being what he needed.

This is scary and tragic. Tragic for obvious reasons… Lex, once again, losing hope of ever having the father he yearns for… and scary because, every time his hope for ‘a normal, loving family’ is killed, Lex becomes ever closer to becoming a complete, outright monster.

I can’t help but feel that Clark made a horribly significant contribution towards ‘monstrifying’ Lex. Lex woke up feeling violated, and fresh open to all the new wounds that had been inflicted on him from having his mind messed around with in such a brutal and careless manner. For heaven’s sake, that’s a beautiful and brilliant mind inside of that bald head… please treat it with care, people!!!


Her body ached, but Chloe slipped her feet into her slippers. That part about cold feet after the morgue was true. For weeks after her first "death," she felt she could put her feet directly in fire and they would still feel ice cold. She leaned over and secured her slippers, rather glad Clark had left to get her a drink.

yikes! It was quite frightening to hear that the effects of Chloe applying her mutant powers leaves her levelled, not only for hours, but for WEEKS afterwards. There are precious few other people in the world who would be willing and able to use a power like this that leaves the user in such severe discomfort and trauma afterwards. Even discounting the ‘coma for almost 24 hours’ part of it, recovering from this mutant use is a horrible, difficult experience. Chloe is nothing short of heroic for being willing to go through this.

DAMN, I want Lex to know and appreciate what at least ONE person in the world is willing to put herself through for his sorry ass.


"Yeah," she scoffed. "Lex will kill that story in a heartbeat." She took another sip of her water. Why did Lois still fail to realize that?

*sigh* oh, Lois! But you can’t really blame her for insisting on pursuing a story that took her so long and so much to gather evidence for. I suspect she half-knows that it’s going to get killed, but she can’t help but TRY to get it in. Anyway… Lex had been shot, right? LOL! Perhaps he’ll let this slip through the cracks while he’s not paying attention? LOL!


No. She couldn't say that word outright to him, not when there was still such concern in his eyes. Faced with the same situation, she'd make the same choice. But she wasn't likely to be faced with these two men at her whim again. She might be faced with something less... or more. She had no way of knowing what she would do and why. "It means I'm more confused now than ever. Out of the entire catalogue of meteor abilities, why was I the one chosen to be in charge of such an amazing gift?

I think the answer to that should be obvious. Everyone’s meteor gift was somehow a manifestation of what they wanted more than anything in the world. So it always made sense to me that Chloe’s gift would have such a miraculously life-saving and yet double-edged self-sacrificing slant to it. You have this gift, Chloe, because no other person would have been willing to use it like you do! In this amazing, heroic, noble fashion.

Sometimes, I really feel like Chloe is completely clueless about how amazing and incredible she truly is. LEX! Get there and tell her what a special one in a billion person she is!!!

I liked the way that Clark was clucking over Chloe like a mother hen. LOL! He was verging on obnoxious ‘ordering’ Chloe not to use her powers again, but that bossiness was coming from genuine fear of losing her… so it’s all good!


She stood against the sink as the door opened and shut, waiting for that tell-tale whoosh before she crumpled onto the counter, sobbing. She couldn't do this in front of Clark. She couldn't do this in front of anyone. Despite the front she put on, this was death. And maybe she could put it into perspective and say it was worth it, that she'd saved lives, but it didn't change death itself.

Honestly, she didn't know why she was crying... just that it felt so... big. If she could cry when she skinned an elbow, she could cry now... just not in front of Clark. He would worry. He would feel guilty. He would harangue her never to do it again when he of all people knew that, if saving a life was in your power, you did it.

It still didn't take away the sting.

She'd cried after the first time, too. When she was alone, her burnt death certificate smouldering at the bottom of this very sink. She mourned the loss. Because she had died. And she couldn't help feeling that a part of her was still dead, even though she walked and talked and breathed. She'd felt strangely empty since then. Nothing mattered as much as it had when you had known death, when you knew that, at the end of the day, everyone was just worm's meat.

This was intense! I felt like cringing, crying and shivering at the description of Chloe’s suffering because of her mutant powers… the suffering, AND the profound, mind-blowing revelations that she’d had during her ‘dying and rebirth’. It’s amazing to see, not only the physical, but also the psychological effect that ‘coming back from the dead’ has had on Chloe. What a brilliant, amazing, insightful capture of Chloe’s psyche, AmazingApe!

I was also awed by the way that Chloe managed to hold in her overwhelmed emotions and tears until AFTER Clark had left her… because she didn’t want to ‘unduly upset him’. Dammit, Chloe! I appreciate that you want to spare your best friend the true depths of your horror and trauma, but couldn’t you have kept him there for emotional support?! Chloe always acts like a sidekick and emotional sounding board to EVERYONE around her, but isolates herself whenever SHE needs emotional support. It’s damned frustrating (and yet awe-inspiring) to see her sheer stubbornness, strength and resilience.


It was Friday now. He was supposed to be there Friday. She knew he was okay from Clark, but she had to see... to touch. To see him alive. And to prove to herself that she still was. She vaguely wondered that a night with Lex Luthor would become, for her, some affirmation of life. Six months ago, she saw him as nothing but death and destruction. He was a man who did very bad things under some justifiable grounds he himself had invented. The torture of freaks like her. But wasn't he a freak?

Would anyone else have survived what he had and been put into a coma rather than a body bag?

It was almost fitting, two freaks like them celebrating life.

I loved the description on how Chloe’s near-death experience, although it left her shaken and traumatized, has ALSO given her a euphoric new appreciation for life… more specifically, the baser pleasures of life, such as food and sex :D

And of COURSE when she starts thinking of sex, her thoughts naturally turn to Lex Luthor now, LOL! Awesome! But I ALSO loved the way that it wasn’t JUST sexual satisfaction that Chloe wanted from Lex. She also genuinely wanted to connect with him… so see that he was alive, well and unharmed from his experience. She was worried about the man, and wanted to make sure he was well.

I’m just trying to imagine the awed gratitude in Lex if only he had the slightest inkling of an idea of the genuine concern and care that Chloe was feeling for him at this moment. I can bet he would have laid himself down at her feet like her doormat slave, if only he had known about her feelings here and now.

Heh… it’s eeeevil of you, AmazingApe, to tease your readers like this. We can see Chloe’s affections and cares for Lex… and we KNOW that Lex would be overwhelmed beyond all belief if only he knew about these feelings. But you’re keeping Lex completely ignorant of them. LOL! You’re an evil tease, AmazingApe! LOL!


He stood, dumbstruck. He was a male, after all. He didn't always get that tears could be happy. And she was happy at the moment. Because he cared to care too much what she might want. If Clark Kent wasn't madly in love with Lana Lang... the things she might do to him...

LOL! awww, isn’t he such an adorable, sweet dork? Look at him anxiety-ridden and dumb-struck not knowing what to do because he’s seeing Chloe crying. And it was really wonderful seeing the open generosity of Chloe’s heart, where she genuinely wishes for Clark to be happy, even if it means he can only find joy and ecstasy with someone other than herself.


Maybe he didn't want Clark to know what he'd done, hiding Kara's whereabouts. And maybe that wasn't all about keeping a step ahead. Maybe some of that was... something more. Something like regret. Like shame. She'd like to think he still felt shame.

I really have to admire the beautiful, sweet, hopeful way that Chloe views the world. She actually thinks that the reason Lex tried to hide away Kara was because he felt slightly guilt-stricken, and cared too much abot Clark’s opinion to reveal this latest ‘sin’?

Personally, I would have thought that Lex had tried to keep Kara hidden away because of sheer spite. He didn’t want to share THAT secret with Clark… especially not when Lex would see Clark as a violating intruder in the most private sanctuary of his mind.


"That's enough detail," she cut in quickly. She felt strangely hurt, herself. It wasn't only that Lana was the best way to hurt Clark. She'd long since resigned herself to it. Lex must know it as well. It was that her, their nights, so fresh in his mind, wouldn't be seen. That maybe they weren't important enough to be seen.

"That wasn't all, Chloe." She almost didn't want to know. How many more things ranked above her inside Lex? "I saw a boy. I saw... Alexander."

"You mean Lex," she said, still reeling. Not me. Not for Clark. Not for Lex. It's never me.

Oh Chloe, NO!!! What a horrible, awful interpretation she’s put on the fact that she didn’t show up in Lex’s thoughts while Clark was rummaging through them. She assumed that she wasn’t worth thinking about?!? I don’t believe that! Not for a second, not for a MOMENT! I know that Lex has, by this point, become completely obsessed with Chloe. I can’t explain why Chloe didn’t flash by Lex’s mind.

Actually, there are two possible explanation…. One is Clark oriented, and the other is Lex oriented.

Lex oriented: Lex strained himself to hide away Chloe, because he wasn’t yet ready to share that secret with Clark. Possibly because he knew that letting Clark know about the Chlex affair would end up with Chloe breaking things off for good.

Clark oriented: Whatever memories Clark stumbled into, he found them because he was somehow focusing on finding them. He might have been wondering about what made Lex into the kind of man he is now… which led him to scenes of Lionel’s ‘training’ of his son. He was obsessed with the Lexana relationship, so he was led to a memory of that too. And his purpose to entering the mind in the first place was the find Kara, so of course she flashed up as well.

Clark didn’t find any flashes of Chloe because the thought of Chloe never entered his mind, not once, during his searching through Lex’s.

Heh… these are just a couple of possible interpretations. What I’d really love is for Lex to give a proper, final explanation in this fic about why Chloe didn’t show up during Clark’s explorations.


"Lionel... I saw a side of him I never had, too. The way he treated Alexander was... I couldn't imagine being a child and fearing my father that way. And I think... I don't know how we got here. Lionel being Jor-El's vessel. Lex being the enemy. I... it's like finding yourself smack in the middle of an upside-down world you don't understand. How did it come to this?"

"Maybe it hasn't." She took a deep breath. "Come to it, that is. Maybe there's hope for him." She wasn't the only one who'd died and lived today.

Wasn’t that beautiful? See, THIS is one the reasons why this episode was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me. Because they had all the characters reach such mind-bending epiphanies… and I was filled with despair because I KNEW that all of this would be forgotten by the next episode. I couldn’t bear to watch all the potential of this episode being squandered, so I made this my last SV stop, and broke away from the show.

I’m really VERY glad, AmazingApe, that you’re filling in the blanks, and actually following through with this character revelations.


"I did call -- twice," he said. And he had, whether he would have said why was another matter. "Lana hung up on me before I could get a word out."

"Do you even know when you're lying anymore?"

heh… I rather liked Clark’s indignant comeback over here. It was a perfect call on Lex’s habit of twisting half-truths around on whim.


He watched Clark leave. As true as his platitude should ring... Trust you? I might as well trust my father and his love. It seemed like everyone was coming at him with such concern these days. He wondered why. He wondered why now. What exactly was going on that he suddenly warranted such care.

That was really VERY tragic. Granted, Clark handled himself in a rather heave-handed, obnoxious way… but I sensed that he was trying to express genuine care and concern for Lex. Concern that Lex didn’t allow himself to believe was true in any way. It’s really such a pity seeing this lovely friendship broken, twisted and made so ugly by this point. I can’t believe that Lex is so far gone in his distrust of Clark that he’s actually comparing Clark Kent to Lionel Luthor!!


As it got dark, he found himself snapped out of himself by the ringing of his phone. He stared at the caller ID. It was from The Talon. Not the apartment number, but the coffee shop. Was it her? Was this how she would end things? He shouldn't even flirt with the possibility that he'd be seeing her again, outside of work. She was Clark's better half, after all. Now that she knew why he'd been away, she wouldn't be waiting to greet him on his return. As much as he dissembled for Clark, the truth was that he knew where Kara was. He knew and he hadn't said. She'd judge him as Clark had, wanting for ethics, simply because he wanted the truth.

She shouldn't be so judgemental. Truth was once Chloe Sullivan's deepest desire, after all.

Woah! It seems like Lex woke up with his already heightened sense of paranoia increased to all new levels of disturbing extremism. You can’t really blame him, because I think he’s STILL feeling the after-effects of the ‘violation’ that he can’t quite remember the details of. A new level of paranoia was only to be expected. Now he’s also applying his ‘everyone is out to get me’ to Chloe as well… Chloe Sullivan, the woman he’s been fucking relatively happily for several weeks before the shooting.


There was silence again before Kara's voice whispered over the line. "Lex... I'm... I'm at this place called The Talon. I need to see you. Could you come here?"

He smiled. "Absolutely." He was suddenly in the mood to venture out.

I was both admiring and aghast at the smooth, slick way that Lex handled the conversation with Kara. He managed to actually make himself sound like the hero of the situation, didn’t he? Amazing considering how he’s ACTUALLY the villain who tried to keep this girl separated from her family, friends and past until he could trick her into a lab for some ‘testing’.


He pursed his lips. "I don't actually know. But you look like a caramel macchiato girl to me." Or was he confusing her with someone else, someone who preferred that drink and light, repetitive pressure on her clitoris? He glanced up the stairs, both dreading and willing her to come down, to see him, to react as she would, even if...

"I don't know macchiato much, but I know caramel," Kara was saying with a bewildered look. "That sounds kind of good."

He snapped his eyes back to her. "Then I'll be right back."

He moved to the counter, willing himself not to think of what he couldn't have, but what he could.

I loved, LOVED the way that Lex’s thoughts persisted in running back to Chloe, despite how he tried to wrestle them back to pay attention to the subject at hand, LOL! You know that Lex is completely obsessed when even his carefully strategised are relegated to ‘second thoughts’ below whatever he cannot get his mind off. Look at him glancing at the Talon apartment stairs hoping for Chloe to come down! Not to mention looking at Kara, the furnishing, the coffee and only thinking of Chloe, Chloe, CHLOE! LOL! He’s well and properly obsessed with the blonde reporter, isn’t he? Awesome! And this is BEFORE he knows about Chloe risking her life to save his OR the growing feelings she’s developing for him. I can’t imagine how much that obsession would grow if ONLY he knew!


"I grew up," he said, honestly sad for what could have been. He never wanted to sneak, to lie. He'd rather that he'd be let in. But now... "Kara I'm not interested in keeping secrets." That was true. "This treatment will help you get your memories back, and with it, we'll get the truth... ...once and for all."

It’s incredible seeing that Lex actually believes all of this to be true! Clark was right… Lex doesn’t know when he’s lying anymore. I know that it DOES make Lex ashamed to sneak around, lie and hurt people, but Lex is too obsessed with control as well as truth to stop the sneaking and lying. Even if everyone let him in on ALL the secrets they’ve got, he still wouldn’t be satisfied, and would continue to sneak, steal, lie until he was satisfied that he had attained a ‘satisfactory level of mastery’ over any given situation.


She was smiling, staring at him as if he was her saviour. He liked that. He was so sick of being painted as the villain. He wasn't. He was something more than that. Maybe he wasn't the saviour, but he was someone after the truth.

There IS however a good portion of truth in this as well. Even more than wanting the truth, Lex also wants to be ‘the hero’ for someone, anyone, everyone. The man is a paradox. He’ll stop at nothing to attain control of any given situation, but he’ll also despise the way that he’s seen as a ‘villain’ for the means he feels he needs to use.


He glanced up the stairs again. He'd think that was something she could understand.

Lex! You MORON! You really think that Chloe wouldn’t understand this part of you?!? She understand this better than anyone in the world! She’s a truthseeker herself, so of COURSE she understands how this part of your nature drives you to sometimes commit unspeakable acts. She might not condone it, but she understands!

Aaargh! It’s so damned frustrating seeing Lex NOT REALIZING what a perfect soul-mate, partner and match he’s found in Chloe. He’s still trying to convince himself that she’s merely one of the masses who doesn’t ‘get him’.

Heh… I can’t wait to see what happens when Lex finally realized what an idiot he’s been in his judgement of Chloe, LOL!


She'd been here since dusk. She'd bathed and dressed so carefully and now she wondered why. It wasn't just for sex. It was for life. He was alive. She was alive. He might not understand that her life was something that needed reaffirming, what with Lionel's careful lie. But she thought he'd want to affirm his life, at least. And, despite that he hadn't a thought of her in his mind, that he'd want to affirm it with her.

She glanced at her phone. It was after midnight now.

She never thought she would be in this position again, waiting on a man without a thought for her. She shouldn't be this pathetic.

AmazingApe! You’re an awful, evil, heartless TEASE!!! LOL! And I love it! I loved the tragic irony seeing both of these people thinking and yearning obsessively for each other, but utterly convinced that the other wasn’t thinking of them AT ALL! I can’t believe that they both were waiting at ‘each other’s place’ waiting for the other to show up… not knowing how they both were separately waiting.

LOL! You’re evil, AmazingApe! I loved the way you had my fingers itching to reach into the screen and PULL them both together. Preferably into a Vulcan mind-meld or something, LOL!

I can tell the next few chapters are going to be amazing. I can’t wait to see what happens next. It’s going to be a complete surprise for me, because, from this point onwards, I have NO idea about what happened in the rest of the season. I look forward to your next chapter. Please update soon!

[showntell]

Thanks for the updates...they were great but hwat a place to leave it at.

I really liked Lex's rationale about "I love you" not being good enough.

So sad that Chlex didn't meet up and all because of Kara.

Please continue with the up dates they were awesome

[Chica]

:clapclap: great updates.. ♥

[SVfan1286]

I am so lucky, I got to read three update's in a row. *grins* And they were fabulous chapter's too!

I loved the battle between Lex and Chloe in the elevator... It was fabulous! Lex is such a sexy bastard. The tease! But Chloe does give good as she gets... They are perfect for each other.

Your take on the episode Facture was wonderfully done... Definitely better than the show. And I hope in your story Lex will find out what really happened, that Chloe's the one who saved his life... Unlike the show.

The Chlana conversation was really well done. But I still couldn't like Lana, or even feel sorry for her... But that's just me!

Chloe's thoughts on both Lex and Clark while she was saving them was great... I love that she still has hope for Lex to be a better person.

The last scene with Chloe waiting for Lex in their hotelroom was just so bittersweet. I so wanted him there and instead he was with.. that Kara. But it does give me hope that Chloe cares more about him than she is willing to admit.

I look forward to reading more... Continue the excellent work!!

[katieandjason]

Oye, that was a heartrending end to the chapter.

Honestly, what is it about Chloe that we all turn her into a masochistic heroin of love? I just realized that in pretty much every story Chloe is a strong, noble, passionate woman who consistently prostates herself at the altar of Male thanks to her self doubt or loathing. She's not like that in the show, and yet she's like that in pretty much every fanfic out there, no matter if it's Chlex, Chlark, or Chlollie. Though Chruce does have her more as a savior and lets Bruce be the masochistic one. Hmmm.

Anyway, this is developing beautifully and I LOVE that you are keeping it so close to canon. It creates a fuller picture for me when I can mesh what I'm show with what I'm reading, and it really does help me like the show more. So onward!

[TheAmazingApe]

Honestly, what is it about Chloe that we all turn her into a masochistic heroin of love? I just realized that in pretty much every story Chloe is a strong, noble, passionate woman who consistently prostates herself at the altar of Male thanks to her self doubt or loathing. She's not like that in the show, and yet she's like that in pretty much every fanfic out there, no matter if it's Chlex, Chlark, or Chlollie.

Wow. I have never actually realized this. I wouldn't say it's every fic I've written or read, but quite a few. I'm guilty as well. I think it has to do, for me, with my passion for Offscreenville and writing fics that take place there, just off the side of official canon and trying to blend. Chloe is definitely a masochist in these particular fics of mine, considering the way the show kicks her around and she puts up with it. So Chloe and lex having an affair in OffScreenville, considering what he's done to her onscreen, it's pretty damned masochistic (same with Almost lark and the Kal/Chloe affair). But I think Chloe on the show also has a hidden masochist/martyr kink. Though she doesn't act beat down by life, I think Chloe putting up with this universe that kicks her in the teeth kind of shows that. Even her meteor power might be a subconscious martyr choice, taking on others' pain.

If I were her, I'd chuck it all and look up those hot brothers that fight demons.

[crazydeaf]

Loving this story. Update soon!

[katieandjason]

Wow. I have never actually realized this. I wouldn't say it's every fic I've written or read, but quite a few.
...
But I think Chloe on the show also has a hidden masochist/martyr kink. Though she doesn't act beat down by life, I think Chloe putting up with this universe that kicks her in the teeth kind of shows that. Even her meteor power might be a subconscious martyr choice, taking on others' pain.

True, it's not every fic. And I do like your summary of SVChloe, it's rather poetic. And what a doosie if her subconcious got her that gift! Woo, I don't think the writers would be able to handle a revelation like that. Though at this point they don't need to because she doesn't have them anymore, nor does she have her insider info. That's kinda like a fanfic I read somewhere where JorEl removes her healing ability and Chloe gets her memory wiped....


If I were her, I'd chuck it all and look up those hot brothers that fight demons.
:rofl:

[LaLa]

really enjoying this series, great work!

[TheAmazingApe]

That's kinda like a fanfic I read somewhere where JorEl removes her healing ability and Chloe gets her memory wiped....

Heh! Are you talking about the one where couples go missing and "Lois" and Clark pose as a couple and investigate?

Sounds like a season of Smallville I know.

I know it's probably crazy coincidence, but if the writers were raiding my fic, I wish they'd take the parts where Chloe gets to have sex with real men.

[letia84]

These last few updates I have missed are great. I really want Lex to know the truth of what happen to him and not some lie from Lionel. Great scene here with Lex and Clark and Lionel as well. Offscreeen SV is so much better.

Update soon.

[somethingeasy]

I remember TheAmazingApe mentioning that this fic provided for some good 'therapy' in writing whenever she's getting the blues. It's still available, AmazingApe... AND you don't have to pay some quack $300 per session to get your psyche harmoniously untwisted. Just pour ALLLL of your concerns into Lex's and Lionel's waiting ears, and they'll be MORE than happy to tell you how to make your life aaaaallllll better :D (there are worse ways to live than being brainwashed by a Luthor).

[merdeliquesce]

please reply soon!

[darkangel]

This is such a good story................I hope you continue it.

[TheAmazingApe]

Been busy, but I have definite plans to update this in the next day or so.

Sorry about the delays

[fleyval]

Please Update Soon!! I'm dying to know what is going to happen!!....

[TheAmazingApe]

Just posting a half-chap for now as it's hard to concentrate. I'm working on the rest of it and should have it up tomorrow.

Chapter 13A

Lex racked them up again. It was him against him. And it looked like he was winning. At least he had that going for him.

He grabbed his scotch from the edge of the table and took a long sip. It was a hell of a celebration of life. He wondered what getting out of the hospital after a near-death experience was like for normal people. From TV, it seemed to involve mylar balloons with cartoon characters, a meal accompanied with jokes about how bad hospital food was, and a large, hand-painted banner when he got home.

He'd had none of these things after any stay in any hospital. He didn't exactly want them, plebeian as they seemed. But sometimes he wondered just what it would be like. To have his life celebrated.

You are as alone as anyone could be, for all your money and power. If you died tomorrow, half the world wouldn't care. The other half would throw a party.

"Bitch," he muttered, putting his scotch down to break. The words had been said months ago, moments before she'd taken him in and changed everything. He'd never absorbed the words then. But they came home to him tonight. Her words haunted him because... despite that he'd survived, despite the progress he'd made with Kara, gaining her wary trust, it meant nothing. He was still alone tonight.

Does it ever bother you that absolutely no one wants to be around you?

Not no one. Gina had been waiting with the bottle of scotch he was halfway through. Did that count?

Let's not count the help

No. he supposed it didn't. He'd just taken the bottle and told her to go home till Monday. He said the same thing to his staff members, after the many forced recitations of "Welcome home, Sir." He didn't want to ring in a new start on life with his employees. He wanted... He wanted things he couldn't have. It wasn't as if he wanted to go back, say power didn't matter, just live some normal life somewhere, but... He wanted those things that came with normal life. Mylar balloons and a messy banner and a large table at Applebee's with people who weren't paid to be around him. Maybe he did want those plebeian things.

But that would mean a plebeian life. A life where he wouldn't have seen what he had. Wouldn't have done what he did. And maybe being alone was just the price of, one day, being remembered as the hero. The one who had figured out if Kara Kent was a savior or a warning. And if Clark Kent was...

He tried to push Clark from his mind, just focus on the game. He'd just sunk three solids. He'd have a real job keeping up with himself now.

It was so hard to even think of it. So hard to think of Clark (nice kid, kind, clear eyes, never judged him... once upon a time) as someone not to be trusted.

He'd stared across his desk at Clark today and... Trust me, Lex, there's nothing that's lost that can't be found again.

Perhaps he was getting drunk and sentimental, but what if...

What if he'd stood, come around the desk, asked Clark to sit. Told him everything. About Reeves Dam and the army he'd been building to defend the earth. About Kara and the fact that he knew --- he knew --- she saved him in the river. About how everything he did, he did because it was needed.

And what would have happened?

Clark would have lied. Clark would have called him silly and paranoid. Clark... Clark knew more than he was telling. The fact that the very girl who he was sure (he was fucking positive) pulled him from the water showed up as Clark's cousin from out-of-state only confirmed that Clark knew. Whether it was more than just knowing...

And Chloe... He had a feeling that whatever Clark knew, Chloe knew.

"Fuck em," he muttered, sinking a stripe. "Fuck em both." He chuckled as he realized he was still behind himself.

Because he wasn't going to have a normal life. He wasn't going to gain Clark's friendship again by lying to himself. And he wasn't going to have her in his bed again because he refused to stop.

He was on a path now. He was closing in on the truth. He felt it. No one was going to stop...

He straightened. His study door was open. He could feel the air at his back and the light scent of honeysuckle that accompanied it. It couldn't be her. She didn't wear perfume.

He turned slowly, eyes widening as he saw it was her. Standing in the middle of one of the double doors. "Chloe?"

She stared back at him from the doorway.

He turned back to the table. "I won't even ask how you got in. Between you and Clark, my house has always been wide open." He took another sip of his scotch. "Remind me to beef up security." Remind me not to give security a whole fucking weekend off.

He waited, but no snarky response came.

"What are you doing here?" He set his glass down and lined up to sink another stripe. "I thought Clark's lecture was sufficient. Come to make sure I'm properly contrite?" He placed the cue between his fingers and pulled back as the silence dragged on.

"Why would I do that?"

Her voice startled him and his cue scraped against the felt. He tossed it and turned to her. "Because I knew where Kara was. Because I found her and never said. Because I obviously did all that for some dastardly purpose."

She stared back calmly. "Yes. You did all that," she said. "And obviously for some nefarious reason of your own. But you forgot something."

"Oh? What else did I do to upset your little cabal?"

She stepped forward. "You didn't show."

He furrowed his brow.

"It was Friday," she said, as if that explained everything.

He shook his head, so bleary. "And?"

She stepped forward again. "And you didn't show," she repeated.

His head cleared as he stared at her, coming closer. "And you did? I never thought you would."

She opened her mouth several times. "Is that what you think of me?" She narrowed her eyes. "You nearly died. I'm not supposed to be... concerned?" she finally finished, her face red.

"No, you aren't," he shot back.

"Why?"

"Because I... Because you aren't supposed to be. Period. Do you know what this is?" He gestured between them. "This is not just hate sex. This is loathing sex. You fuck me because I am the worst possible choice and I fuck you because..." his voice stopped. He found himself panting.

"Because?"

"Because I want to know." He rushed forward. When she didn't back away, he grasped her shoulders, pushing her against the one door that still stood closed. "I want to know what it is about you that makes you so far above me. I want to know why I can't stop..." He grabbed fistfuls of her sleeves hard, as if that would make thinking easier. "I want to know what it is about you and... all of you. But... mostly you." He relinquished her sleeves and slid his hands up her shoulders to her neck. Such a pretty neck... He grasped either side of her head. "I want to see into that mind of yours Sullivan. It's not just that you're here, you know. That you can be here in spite of what I did. But I want to know what exactly I did."

She only stared back, her eyes steady, not wide and frightened. Why the fuck wasn't she frightened? He sure as hell was. From the minute he saw her there. Because he wanted her to be there so badly. Too badly.

Ask him years ago and he wouldn't have thought they would be here, either fighting or fucking. There was a time when she worked beside him, a witness against his father. He hid her. He sheltered her then... "We... walk this line now." His hands softened on her and he ran them over the hair behind her ears. Some of it came undone, still slightly wet. "There's this gulf between what you know and what I know. we're on these opposing sides and I don't know why. what happened? How did we even fucking get here?" How did I? Can I ever go back?

"Lex..." He saw hesitation so clearly. She was measuring, somewhere in there. What to say and what not to...

"No." He grasped her by the shoulders again, pressed her against the door. "You tell me." Something changed somewhere. If he wasn't fucking her, he might not have the right to ask. But he was inside her... yet never really there. "When did I become the fucking enemy?"

Her hands came up between them, pushing. "Maybe when you kidnapped me and my mother, it put a damper on..."

"Bullshit," he growled, gripping the forearms that pushed against him. "It was two years before that. Suddenly I was..." What? The bad guy? He'd been the bad guy long before. He knew that. But she'd had no way of knowing, way back then. "Suddenly I was dirt under your heels," he breathed. "And I never knew what changed."

"If you're talking about when you dragged me by force to the Kawatche caves..."

"It started before that. You were sneaky."

"You mean you were." Her eyes narrowed. "Always trying to..." Her voice trailed off and he shook her.

"To what? What was I too close to, Chloe? What do you know?"

The hands that were pushing at him suddenly grasped his shirt, nails scraping his skin through the fabric. "Stop... talking... shop," she growled, before pulling him down, meeting his lips hard.

TBC

[lj715]

So glad you updated. Excellent & can;t wait to read the rest of the chapter.

[westwingwolf]

That was so good getting into Lex's feelings. For Lex's sake, I don't want Chloe to distract him with sex. I want Lex to get an answer, even if she only admits to there being a secret about Clark and that's what divided them. If she doesn't explain the whole truth and I know she wouldn't, she owes it to him to admit that it was nothing he did that pushed her away from him. It was her choosing to help Clark, and Clark deciding that Lex couldn't be trusted that set them on this path. Even though Clark didn't know that Chloe knew the truth until after the second meteor shower, and Chloe had protected Clark before that making sure he didn't reveal anything to Lex about himself during the time that he loss his memory in Blank, even though Clark was still technically Lex's friend until Mortal...Chloe had split herself from Lex before all that. If anything I'd bet it happened during a combination of her finding out Clark's secret in Pariah and the evil part of Lex trying to kill her and Clark in Onyx. To which I say, yes Lex can be dangerous, especially if not controlled, but so can Clark. Why does Clark get forgiven and not Lex? The kind of control a person like Lex would need is friendship and love, and she took that away from him. So I think it's time Lex got some answers. Chloe doesn't have to explain Clark's reasons and she sure as hell shouldn't make excuses for them, but she does need to explain herself. Part of her came to Lex because she cares about him. She didn't have to, her friends would certainly think better of her if she didn't. And she can't pass it off as just because they had an agreement for sex...if that is all it was then as much as she hates Lex, she'd be thankful that they skipped a night. She came out of concern and opened herself up to this possibility so now she has deal with it.

[dagney]

Powerful chapter, lex's anguish with what he wants and doesn't have, I'm glad he's trying to find out why, yet is also puzzled by Chloe. His outsider status and him questioning his purpose and what difference he makes in the world. Wow, I'm looking foward to the next part. Dagney

[superag]

Powerful update. i find it interesting that Lex even at this point is able to even partly open up to anyone even in his own strange way. Looking forward to the next part!

[tatie87]

Go Chloe!! I'm so glad she confronted Lex about not showing for their meeting. Lex was so depressing in this chapter, playing pool by himself. It made me want to slap him out of his funk. Loved the end with Chloe and Lex working things out physically.

[somethingeasy]

Lex racked them up again. It was him against him. And it looked like he was winning. At least he had that going for him.

LOL! I guess a bitter, self-loathing and cynical sense of humour is better than no sense of humour at all…?


You are as alone as anyone could be, for all your money and power. If you died tomorrow, half the world wouldn't care. The other half would throw a party.

"Bitch," he muttered, putting his scotch down to break. The words had been said months ago, moments before she'd taken him in and changed everything. He'd never absorbed the words then. But they came home to him tonight. Her words haunted him because... despite that he'd survived, despite the progress he'd made with Kara, gaining her wary trust, it meant nothing. He was still alone tonight.

Does it ever bother you that absolutely no one wants to be around you?

Not no one. Gina had been waiting with the bottle of scotch he was halfway through. Did that count?

Let's not count the help

I loved the way that all these nasty, hurtful comments kept rattling around inside Lex’s head. He’s not one of those people who finds it easy to live with being a friendless, unloved monster… even if the monstrous actions seem to come far too naturally to him sometimes.

It’s quite interesting that Lex still firmly believes that Chloe’s feelings have not changed a single iota for him ever since their first hate-fuck. I wish, I WISH he knew how Chloe was seriously concerned (near to grieving levels) when everyone believed he was going to die. Not to mention the fact that she nearly gave up her life to save him.

I’d LOVE to know how Lex would react knowing that there’s just ONE person in the world who is hugely emotionally invested in wanting him alive and in her life (playing a very twisted role in her life, but still IN IT, nonetheless).


But that would mean a plebeian life. A life where he wouldn't have seen what he had. Wouldn't have done what he did. And maybe being alone was just the price of, one day, being remembered as the hero. The one who had figured out if Kara Kent was a saviour or a warning. And if Clark Kent was...

I really loved how Lex’s mind drifted over all the various ways that ‘common folks’ celebrate welcoming someone back home again… and how he compared that he had NONE of these welcoming gestures waiting for him when he returned to his manor.

I also loved, LOVED the way that Lex truthfully acknowledged that a part of his mind disdained the ‘commonness’ of these gestures while craving them at the same time. LOL! Don’t you LOVE those split personality desires in his brain?


What if he'd stood, come around the desk, asked Clark to sit. Told him everything. About Reeves Dam and the army he'd been building to defend the earth. About Kara and the fact that he knew --- he knew --- she saved him in the river. About how everything he did, he did because it was needed.

wow! I loved seeing how Clark’s earnest statements had more of an effect on Lex that anyone could have believed. I really enjoyed seeing Lex’s mind flashing back to his original perspective of Clark when they first became friends… honest, simple, open, decent, kind and everything that’s lovely and wholesome.

I enjoyed seeing how Lex was yearning to return back to that friendship, and trying to imagine an ‘if only’ situation where he could have easily gotten that friendship back.

Heh… unfortunately, Lex can’t fool himself with that ‘what if’ and ‘if only’ delusion for too long. He’s probably right that if he HAD tried to connect with Clark during that earnest moment, then they only would have ended up having yet another frustrating time where Lex would try to ferret out Clark’s secrets, and Clark would dodge around evasively.


He was on a path now. He was closing in on the truth. He felt it. No one was going to stop...

heee! I loved, LOVED how Lex’s inner rant about his ‘destined path as a monster’ was suddenly interrupted by Chloe’s arrival. I thought it was perfect that Chloe should arrive at THAT particular moment… as if a symbol on how his ‘destined path’ might have some crossroads in it yet :D


She stared back calmly. "Yes. You did all that," she said. "And obviously for some nefarious reason of your own. But you forgot something."

"Oh? What else did I do to upset your little cabal?"

She stepped forward. "You didn't show."

He furrowed his brow.

"It was Friday," she said, as if that explained everything.

heh… it was only to be expected that Lex would try to brace himself for the lecture that was so ‘obviously’ coming… only to be knocked off balance because it didn’t happen. LOL! I love it when Chloe throws him in for a loop like that.


"Because I... Because you aren't supposed to be. Period. Do you know what this is?" He gestured between them. "This is not just hate sex. This is loathing sex. You fuck me because I am the worst possible choice and I fuck you because..." his voice stopped. He found himself panting.

That was brilliant! I loved how Lex was actually angry because Chloe has finally given him what he’s been craving for sooo long… an indication that she IS now emotionally connected with him. I loved how he was actually ANGRY at getting what he wanted, because it complicates the situation into even more of a baffling mess… and dammit, he doesn’t want these kind of bewildering complications. LOL! Ever heard the phrase, be careful what you wish for, Lex? ROTFL!


"Because I want to know." He rushed forward. When she didn't back away, he grasped her shoulders, pushing her against the one door that still stood closed. "I want to know what it is about you that makes you so far above me. I want to know why I can't stop..." He grabbed fistfuls of her sleeves hard, as if that would make thinking easier. "I want to know what it is about you and... all of you. But... mostly you." He relinquished her sleeves and slid his hands up her shoulders to her neck. Such a pretty neck... He grasped either side of her head. "I want to see into that mind of yours Sullivan. It's not just that you're here, you know. That you can be here in spite of what I did. But I want to know what exactly I did."

That was awesome! I was a tad concerned that Chloe might have been handing over too much ‘power’ to Lex by approaching him tonight as well as admitting that she was ‘concerned’ about him. But it seems like Lex can’t help himself from babbling out HIS confused feelings for her as well… and placing them back on equal footing.

LOL! I think Chloe is now the only person left in the world that Lex cannot play his ‘games’ with anymore… not with a clear head at least.


She only stared back, her eyes steady, not wide and frightened. Why the fuck wasn't she frightened? He sure as hell was. From the minute he saw her there. Because he wanted her to be there so badly. Too badly.

wow! That was amazing! I loved hearing about how Lex is actually frightened right now. Frightened of Chloe… or himself… or his growing feelings for her? Perhaps all of that! I think Lex is coming close to becoming seriously emotionally dependant on her; perhaps even falling for her now… and he’s just realizing that! Awesome!


Ask him years ago and he wouldn't have thought they would be here, either fighting or fucking. There was a time when she worked beside him, a witness against his father. He hid her. He sheltered her then... "We... walk this line now." His hands softened on her and he ran them over the hair behind her ears. Some of it came undone, still slightly wet. "There's this gulf between what you know and what I know. We’re on these opposing sides and I don't know why. What happened? How did we even fucking get here?" How did I? Can I ever go back?

I loved Lex’s bewildered tone throughout this entire chapter, and most especially over here. He honestly seems desperate for an answer. And I loved how part of his desperation comes from a yearning to ‘backtrack’ on all the mistakes he made until he goes back to the relationship he used to have with people (Clark, Chloe, Martha, Lana… everyone! But most especially Chloe!)


Her hands came up between them, pushing. "Maybe when you kidnapped me and my mother, it put a damper on..."

"Bullshit," he growled, gripping the forearms that pushed against him. "It was two years before that. Suddenly I was..." What? The bad guy? He'd been the bad guy long before. He knew that. But she'd had no way of knowing, way back then. "Suddenly I was dirt under your heels," he breathed. "And I never knew what changed."

heh… the sheer nerve of the bastard! He objects to being treated as the bad guy, BEFORE getting caught committing monstrous actions? Ever heard of body language, Lex? It’s all too likely that our sharp, observant, brilliant Chloe picked up what a dangerous man you were becoming through pure gestures and mannerisms alone.

But I had to admit that I loved how Lex could manage to genuinely feel injured, indignant and bewildered about being treated so contemptuously, even as he admitted that he deserved that kind of an attitude. LOL! That multiple personality mess of a man!


"It started before that. You were sneaky."

"You mean you were." Her eyes narrowed. "Always trying to..." Her voice trailed off and he shook her.

"To what? What was I too close to, Chloe? What do you know?"

ooooh, skirted a little close to revealing something there, Chloe? But she pulled back in time, so it’s fine! Although I can see Lex practically grinding his teeth in frustration over the constant ‘so near and yet so damned, friggen FAR’ tone of the situation.


The hands that were pushing at him suddenly grasped his shirt, nails scraping his skin through the fabric. "Stop... talking... shop," she growled, before pulling him down, meeting his lips hard.

LOL! Well I wasn’t really expecting a tearful, joyous I’m so glad you’re alive reunion… but the first Chlex conversation after The Healing turned out even more sharp and acerbic that I expected. Which I actually LOVED!

I’m really glad to see a new update on this fic, AmazingApe. I’ve been going nuts trying to imagine where they’re going to go from here. I look forward to the next chapter. Good luck and best regards!

[malugargula]

I can`t wait to read more
:)

[Kit Merlot]

A wonderfully sexy update!

I love that Chloe and Lex can be so honest with each other--he truly wants to know why he's so drawn to her.

Can't wait for more of the delicious Chlex smut:grin3:

[purplemoon123]

Oh wow what an update!!!

[SVfan1286]

Fabulously awesome update!

I love that Chloe went to the mansion to confront Lex about why he wasn't there at their secret sex hotelroom on Friday.. and that she was well, concerned about him. Aw.

Very well done chapter... I look forward to the second half!

[TheAmazingApe]

Here's the rest of that there chapter. Sorry about the delay. Just busy with the holidays and singing and whatnot.

Chapter 13B

He wanted to pull himself off her. Fuck her rules about not talking shop. This wasn't about work. They were finally getting to some home truths. That mattered. That was everything he wanted.

But, with her mouth under his, he could no longer tell what he wanted more -- the truth or her. All of her. Any of her.

God, he was pathetic.

He really should stop this. Get back to those home truths.

He didn't, however. His hands dropped from her arms, moving down to her ass, pressing her against him. He suddenly realized he was hard. Not exactly new. Ever since they'd started this, he was hard in her presence. But this was the first time that hard-on hadn't been the first thing on his mind the minute he saw her. Maybe he wasn't so pathetic, then. This might even be progress. If they could get the fucking out of the way, then he could pick up right where they left off. His mind would be clearer then.

Even thinking it, he knew it was a rationalization for not stopping.

But why stop? Didn't he deserve one welcome home? It was no messy banner with a large group of friends underneath, but it was one piece of that simple life. Simple. It was nearly laughable to call any moment in this affair simple. Yet this was. It was a god damned messy before and after, but during... There was a sort of beautiful simplicity about being pulled into a warm, soft woman. Being welcomed home.

And she was warm and soft and her hair was still slightly damp and he could smell her shampoo and it was slightly surprising because she never came to him with damp hair. She came at night, straight from work or from home, not showered up because it would look suspicious if she took a shower before she left to "jog." But she had tonight. He deepened the kiss, breathing harder through his nose and he smelled honeysuckle again. Perfume or one of those girly sprays women doused themselves with. It was very faint, as if it had worn off and he was surprised again. She never wore perfume.

He noticed something else. Her hands were nearly clawing at him, first on his chest, then his neck, then the back of his head, then gripping at his back. He wanted to ask what the hell had gotten into her. But that would require tearing his mouth away from her and he just couldn't.

He pulled her backward, turning them around. There was a sofa in here somewhere. he found them stopped and opened one eye to see the pool table in the way. That could work, too. It had actually never been officially christened, Lana being so squeamish that way and...

He squeezed his eyes shut and pulled at her coat, dropping it to the floor. He really didn't want to think about Lana right now. Not when she was so... bare.

He pulled back, finally breaking the kiss. Her eyes stayed closed for a moment before they opened on his. He glanced down. It was a slip dress. Something flimsy. One step away from being loungerie. "A dress?" he choked out.

She swallowed, then sort of shivered, but didn't speak.

"Little cold?" Her nipples stood out and he could feel gooseflesh rising on her arms. No wonder. The dress was more suited to summer than late February. "So... all this..." He met her eyes again.

"Lex..." Her hands went to his buttons, though her eyes stayed on his. "I don't want to talk right now. When we talk," she parted his shirt, pulling it slightly out of his pants, "things get ugly and I... I don't want any ugliness. Not tonight. Okay?" Her hand dipped into his pants, completely bypassing his belt and buttons.

He found himself nodding without thought. She kind of had him by the short hairs right now. Not just literally, but with her dress and her smell and her... eyes.

Her eyes were hooded and sort of soft. Yet they were the hardest thing of all right now. He couldn't tell what she was thinking. Usually, it was so easy with her. Not that he considered himself a mind-reader by any stretch. But her face was an open book. He couldn't tell exactly what she was thinking, but he got the gist, whether it was lies, lust, or barely concealed rage. Really, that was all she had with him. But tonight... he couldn't tell. He hadn't seen this face.

He hissed when she squeezed him and decided he really didn't have to figure her out this second. He pulled her hand out of his pants and moved his hands to her waist, ready to lift her onto the pool table.

But she grasped his arms and shook her head. She moved from between him and the pool table and he turned, his body following hers. She grasped his wrist and lifted her face to his. He knew this face. Determination. She had some sort of plan tonight. Just as well. Someone should. His plan had been getting slowly drunk alone. He liked hers better, whatever it was.

She pulled on his wrist and turned, pulling him behind her as she moved. He was being led. And by a very minuscule blonde. It should be unthinkable that he was letting it happen, yet he was. He chalked it up to this determination he saw in her tonight, this single-mindedness. He'd seen it when she first came in. This nearly unflappable resolve to... he didn't know what. Something. He wanted to find out. Maybe that was why he let her lead him into the hall and toward the stairs and up...

She stopped at the top and he drew up behind her. Her shoulders suddenly stiffened as she stared around her. "So...I'm doing this," she whispered, almost to herself.

He didn't know what that meant, but it sounded like back-pedaling. "The best guest room is to the right," he found himself saying. "If you want..."

"No. End of the hall," she muttered, pulling him behind her again. "Double doors. Only you would need two damned doors." He heard something that might have been a laugh. but he wasn't sure. He wasn't sure of anything tonight. It was even more disconcerting that she seemed more sure of herself.

She pushed open one of the doors and turned, pulling him inside. Once in, he closed the door behind him, wondering where exactly she wanted this. Most of his clothes were in the closet and he had a scarcity of surfaces if she...

He was surprised, again, when she pulled him toward the bed. He was even more surprised when she stopped, turning to him and taking him by the shoulders, backing him towards it.

He wondered if she knew. She had to know. He'd been pushing for the bed all along as obviously as she'd been avoiding it. But for it to be his bed and in his house with a dress and perfume and... And now he realized that she did know. She knew that he wanted her in beds and dresses and perfume and those pretty things that would show she... cared. Did he want her to care? He wasn't sure. But the more pressing question was why. As justifiable as his actions with regards to Kara seemed, in light of the ends, he knew that they weren't justifiable in Clark's eyes... or in hers.

Her eyes were still unreadable as she pushed his shirt down his arms.

This all felt strangely like a... reward. And for bad behavior. He had to ask. "Why?"

She glanced up, holding his eyes before looking at his forehead. He wondered if he needed to elaborate before he felt her lips between his eyebrows.

She drew back. "You're alive." Her hand moved to his chest and she stared down at it, her eyes squinting slightly. "I'm alive."

So this was some kind of mortality thing. His near-death had made her think of her own or... It didn't seem like the answer. There was something more here. He ran a hand over her collarbone. "Chloe..."

She grasped his hand and pushed it back to him. "No touching." She didn't stop pushing, pushing him down on the bed, pulling herself over him, pushing him back even further until he felt the headboard at his back. "You're always doing all the touching."

"You touch me as much..."

"I touch in reaction. But you always start it. Not tonight." She shook her head. "Tonight, I start it. Tonight... I'm really doing this. This actually happens." She bent over him, running her lips along his jaw. He kind of thought this had been actually happening all along, but he wasn't about to mention it when her lips and tongue were working at his neck.

"So... this is my welcome home party?" He gasped as her mouth closed on his nipple. "You shouldn't have."

"No more talking," she said against him.

He didn't feel inclined to argue.

*****************************

It was new and strange tonight. Tonight, it was actually happening. It wasn't Lex, seducing her into things she would never do. Tonight, she was seducing him. She wasn't reacting. She was choosing. She felt strangely powerful doing so. It was on a par with the power she felt that moment she placed her hand on his chest, the moment she saved him. She placed her hand there again, bracing herelf as she lifted herself over him, lowering herself onto him.

It was as if, in saving him, she felt somehow responsible for him. That she couldn't let him greet this second chance at life alone. She had to be there because... she'd given it to him. It was entirely too big and scary to speak of. But she could feel it as he gasped and rose up, pushing himself deeper into her. She braced herself and rose up and down.

She thought of them again as soldiers returning from war with their lives. He knew he'd narrowly escaped intact. But he didn't know she had. This was as big for her and she couldn't... she wouldn't just let this moment go by unmarked. As messed up as this affair seemed, it was one of the only things that told her she was alive. It used be her job. But at work, she seemed to only keep afloat, so determined to hold the fort until her paper became everything it should be again.

He was the one that took it down, many great journalists with it.

Was it strange that he could be her ruin and her salvation all at once? Probably. But she was used her life being somewhere just above normal. Just shy of making any sense.

She let sense go and grasped his shoulders as his head lolled against the headboard. She moved faster, rising up and down over him as long as she could, then just snapping her hips forward when her strength started giving out. She could feel her body quickening and this sudden fear and languor took over at once. Even after nearly a day in bed, she was tiring. She didn't want to tire out. She wanted to feel life explode in her body. She needed that before she could rest again.

"Lex..." His eyes opened as her forehead fell against his. "I... can't..."

Whatever the message was, he seemed to get it, gathering her against him and rolling them over.

Her body sprawled under his lazily as he began pumping into her in earnest. His mouth opend at her ear. "So... f*cking good... never... so..."

She wanted to tell him not to talk. She'd said no more talking, damn it. But she hardly had the energy. Every scrap of life in her body was gathering inside the place where he shoved inside her... if she could just get there first, then she could let the languor take over. If she could just...

Her body tightened and rose up, using what strength she had to push up against him. She was dimly aware of him, shuddering with her. And there was this warmth inside her and then....

"...didn't use anything."

She wanted to tell whoever it was to shut up. She was trying to sleep for another day or so. Then she realized that Lex was still on top of her, still inside of her. "Huh?" She tried to open her eyes. She succeeded with one, saw his head on her chest.

"No... condom," he said against her breast. It tingled slightly and a part of her wanted him to talk against her some more, but she was too tired...

Condom... Oh, that. "S'fine. Shut up. I'm sleeping."

TBC

[dagney]

That was so worth waiting for. That Chloe realized she cares more for Lex than she wants to acknowledge. Lex being 'seduced', he recognizes his actions have not been acceptable yet he is being offered something do I dare hint at what he desires; unconditional love despite everything. That Chloe also recognizes on some level that opening up to unconditional love she risk having something wonderful returned or loosing herself/her value. This scene totally alters their relationship, the lack of condom much like the intentional 'feminine' ritual and use of bed, is yet another message either intentional or unconscious that equals I accept all of you and no more barriers. I look forward to the next part. Dagney

[peggy]

Thanks for update, AmazingApe !! that was great

[Kit Merlot]

A very gorgeous chapter!

The Chlex smut was beyond passionate--it was filled with all of their pent up needs and desires, and I love that she fell asleep with him in his bed.

I like that they both realize that their feelings for each other go deeper then just sex--nice:D

[superag]

Wonderful angsty smut chapter. I hope Lex feels the same in kind as Chloe obviously feels. Great update!

[somethingeasy]

heh… the beginning of the chapter was awesome with Lex basically calling himself a pathetic, needy weakling for not being able to resist Chloe. At least now we know that Lex prioritizes sex with Chloe even over those damned secrets that have been haunting him for years now. I wonder how Chloe would feel if she know that SHE’S Lex’s top obsession now… even above Clark’s secrets.


But why stop? Didn't he deserve one welcome home? It was no messy banner with a large group of friends underneath, but it was one piece of that simple life. Simple. It was nearly laughable to call any moment in this affair simple. Yet this was. It was a god damned messy before and after, but during... There was a sort of beautiful simplicity about being pulled into a warm, soft woman. Being welcomed home.

I’m going to pretend that Lex was referring to Chloe’s body as home over here :D That he was equating being welcomed back into her embrace and into her body as being ‘home’ again. In fact, I’m convinced that is what he subconsciously meant!! (he DID!!!)

Heh… but it’s pretty twisted that this affair with Chloe is what Lex considers to be the ‘simplest and purest’ thing in his life right now. But then again, Lex likes his life to be a little freaky and twisted, doesn’t he? Let’s face it, he’d get BORED with ‘simple’.

I loved, LOVED the observations that Lex was making about how Chloe looked tonight. He was utterly baffled about why Chloe had come to him looking as if she had ‘dressed up pretty’ for him this evening. With a lovely, sexy dress (JUST the way he’s been urging her all along), freshly shampooed hair, perfume?

Not to mention the way she was acting… pulling him closer into her and actually clinging to him as if she couldn’t get close enough. Lex can sense that this is the first time that Chloe came to him, not only wanting him, and wanting him to KNOW that she wanted him… and also wishing for him to desire her as if this was… a date in a relationship or something.


"Lex..." Her hands went to his buttons, though her eyes stayed on his. "I don't want to talk right now. When we talk," she parted his shirt, pulling it slightly out of his pants, "things get ugly and I... I don't want any ugliness. Not tonight. Okay?" Her hand dipped into his pants, completely bypassing his belt and buttons.

I liked this… I liked seeing Chloe basically admitting that she wanted something ‘simple and pure’ tonight as well. It’s amazing to see how both of their thoughts run along the same tracks, even if they don’t realize it… and will never admit to it.


Her eyes were hooded and sort of soft. Yet they were the hardest thing of all right now. He couldn't tell what she was thinking. Usually, it was so easy with her. Not that he considered himself a mind-reader by any stretch. But her face was an open book. He couldn't tell exactly what she was thinking, but he got the gist, whether it was lies, lust, or barely concealed rage. Really, that was all she had with him. But tonight... he couldn't tell. He hadn't seen this face.

This was awesome! I loved the idea that Lex was confused because he didn’t know WHAT to make of this ‘soft expression’ on Chloe’s face. He’s actually feeling a tiny bit freaked because she’s looking at him with tenderness for once… tenderness, and pleasure about him being there with her.

Of course he’s freaked… but he’s mostly freaked because I can see he finds that expression to be mesmerizing, and undoubtedly additive too! Heh, I suspect that this evening’s fuck will carry them up a new step in this twisted relationship that they’ve been forming.


"No. End of the hall," she muttered, pulling him behind her again. "Double doors. Only you would need two damned doors." He heard something that might have been a laugh. but he wasn't sure. He wasn't sure of anything tonight. It was even more disconcerting that she seemed more sure of herself.

I loved the visual of Chloe leading a docile and mesmerized Lex Luthor up the hallways and into the room that she wanted them in. LOL! She could have led them both to the roof, and he would have been HAPPY to have roof-top sex with her.

But this was even better than rooftop sex. This was Chloe leading Lex to his private bedroom (with the double doors? ROTFL! Arrogant prat!). It was great seeing Chloe choosing to take this affair to Lex’s bedroom… to Lex’s bed, and it was awesome seeing Lex meekly being led to wherever Chloe wanted without questioning.


He wondered if she knew. She had to know. He'd been pushing for the bed all along as obviously as she'd been avoiding it. But for it to be his bed and in his house with a dress and perfume and... And now he realized that she did know. She knew that he wanted her in beds and dresses and perfume and those pretty things that would show she... cared. Did he want her to care? He wasn't sure. But the more pressing question was why. As justifiable as his actions with regards to Kara seemed, in light of the ends, he knew that they weren't justifiable in Clark's eyes... or in hers.

I LOVED that! Lex understands that this is HUGELY significant. Chloe comes to his home, wearing perfume and dressed to entice. She leads Lex, not only to a bed like he’s been yearning for, but to HIS BED. I loved that Lex has picked up that there’s a special meaning behind their sex tonight… and it’s not simply two bodies banging into each other for an evening. He can sense the emotional charge between them.


She drew back. "You're alive." Her hand moved to his chest and she stared down at it, her eyes squinting slightly. "I'm alive."

So this was some kind of mortality thing. His near-death had made her think of her own or... It didn't seem like the answer. There was something more here. He ran a hand over her collarbone. "Chloe..."

Heh… I can understand why Lex is so damned confused about Chloe’s motivations for everything she’s doing tonight. This is all coming completely out of the blue for him, and he has no point of reference to explain why is this happening. Not that Chloe is going to explain her reasons.

But DAMN, I wish Lex could figure out what she meant when she commented on HER being alive as well as him!!!


It was as if, in saving him, she felt somehow responsible for him. That she couldn't let him greet this second chance at life alone. She had to be there because... she'd given it to him. It was entirely too big and scary to speak of. But she could feel it as he gasped and rose up, pushing himself deeper into her. She braced herself and rose up and down.

That was beautiful! I loved Chloe’s description about how she feels powerful and fulfilled because tonight she’s making the active CHOICE to be with Lex… not only to be with him, but to be with him completely without holding herself back like during previous fucking sessions. I don’t think Chloe has really felt this powerful, pure and in control since their first night together. And this time, she’s completely sober to enjoy it :D

It was wonderful hearing about how she wanted to celebrate this ‘second chance at life’ that they BOTH had been given tonight. Even if Lex doesn’t know about her near-brush with death, I thinks he still wants some part of him to acknowledge what happened between them… when she nearly sacrificed her life for him.

Dammit, I wish, I WISH someone would tell Lex about what happened that night he almost died!!!


He was the one that took it down, many great journalists with it.

Was it strange that he could be her ruin and her salvation all at once? Probably. But she was used her life being somewhere just above normal. Just shy of making any sense.

Heh… just when I start feeling melty about the situation, I’m brought back to reality about how twisted and complicated this whole thing really is. Granted, they might be able to enjoy each other as ‘purely as possible’ for one evening, but we must never forget the twisted, messed up relationship that really exists between them.

But I do love how Chloe seems to be thriving on the complicated mess that their relationship is. I guess Chloe would get bored with ‘simple’ just like Lex would.


Her body sprawled under his lazily as he began pumping into her in earnest. His mouth opend at her ear. "So... f*cking good... never... so..."

hot, HOT! I love Lex when he’s been driven to the point of monosyllabic incoherency during sex. And I can tell he’s trying to tell her that he’s NEVER had this so good with anyone else before! Awesome!


She wanted to tell him not to talk. She'd said no more talking, damn it. But she hardly had the energy. Every scrap of life in her body was gathering inside the place where he shoved inside her... if she could just get there first, then she could let the languor take over. If she could just...

heh… this was interesting. It’s as if Chloe wants to tire herself out, because she knows that if she’s even semi-alert at the end of their sexual session, then she’ll regret what happened. If she can just exhaust herself right afterwards, then she’ll be to just relax into the afterglow and fall straight to sleep… in Lex’s bed… in Lex’s arms :D


"No... condom," he said against her breast. It tingled slightly and a part of her wanted him to talk against her some more, but she was too tired...

Condom... Oh, that. "S'fine. Shut up. I'm sleeping."

Heh… she really DID exhaust herself right out, didn’t she? But Lex seems to be a little more awake then her… although not by very much. He also seems to be dropping off asleep right on top of her… with his cock still inside her I think. HOT!

I wonder what the morning after is going to be like…? *shudders at the thought of a horrific screaming tomorrow morning*

I can’t wait to check it out! Please update soon!

[westwingwolf]

I really did want Chloe to answer for her actions, but I suppose it's a fair trade that she's not pretending this time is Lex seducing her into something. That she's made this choice. They both really needed this. But how long before Chloe goes back to pretending things are the way they were.

[lj715]

An excellent chapter.

[tatie87]

Great chapter. I love that Chloe went to Lex to give him all the things he'd been trying to get from her. The sex was so intense between them. I hope they get their crap together now. Can't wait for the next update!

[purplemoon123]

OMG!! That was an excellent chapter!!!

Love how the first part revealed a lot of Lex this part revealed a lot of Chloe.

[malugargula]

Wonderful and tender chapter
:)
I loved how Chloe feels now that she saved him
Please more soon

[Chica]

:clapclap: great update.......can't wait to see how this will change Chloe and Lex's relationship (affair :grin:)

[MSedOpportunity]

I'm going to start replying to this fic on this site rather than the other one. I feel I'm bombarded by Clois love when I go there these days. I go by the username Bek over there, by the way.

I know I'm way behind on feedback, but maybe you'll forgive me when you see this little gift I've made for you. Once again you've inspired my creative juices :D

I was really hoping they'd make it to that bed, but this was just so much better. It was all HER doing and she insisted on HIS bed. I'm just wondering how far you're going to take this. Will you complete season 7? I just don't know how you'd come back from all THAT, but I'd love to see you try. I really hope this continues into season 8. I could use an alternate version of that. This was such a big step for Chloe. She has been having an affair with Lex, but still, somehow in denial. Not anymore. I had to laugh at her 'oh that' response to not using a condom. There's definitely going to be freaking out in the morning lol!

I hope this (link below) adequately expresses how much I LOVE this series. It's a wonderful outlet for my frustrations with this stupid season and last season. Almost Clark helps me through season six lol. Except that Clark makes me want bad things to happen to him at the same time I'm loving him. I know Lex is supposed to be the bad guy and yada yada, but I don't feel that same anger towards him here. Probably because he gets kicked as much as Chloe does.

I'm so happy I was able to finish this for you by today's end. My present to you. Your fics have been a wonderful escape for me for the past year and a half. I hope you continue to write Chloe fic, even though you're getting no inspiration from the show and it makes you want to scream most days...PLEASE keep writing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uwvC7l-naU

ok, it's a new day. Last night I was too tired to think. I went back and reread from the beginning. I'd completely forgotten the mention of Chloe being on the people, so I guess she won't be freaking out for that reason. I still don't think she's be so nonchalant about it, though, in the morning. I love it even more now that I've been reminded she was deliberately keeping that barrier there for reasons having nothing to do with pregnancy and such. It was just one more wall she let down.

so back to chapter 12, because that's where I stopped leaving feedback

I've been watching that first scene a lot, because of my vid. Michael really conveys so much in those first few seconds. I REALLY wanted Lex to know what happened. I know that you want to stay with cannon, and I have no objections. I think it best serves the story, but in Almost Clark you eventually went your way, and I'm hoping you do the same here. Lex NEEDS to know.


He'd been expecting something different when he woke up. His last memory was a sharp pain in his head and the knowledge that that pain was cause by a bullet. At that moment, he'd fully expected death. A part of him welcomed it. Not that he was suicidal, but because he'd finally know what happened after. One of life's great mysteries. He'd been so near to it before. This wasn't his first near-death by far. After every survival, a part of him was disappointed that he survived at all. That he didn't know what happened when the lights went out.

I sensed that same disappointment in him, both here and at the beginning of the season, but I see it a bit differently. I agree, he's no way suicidal or wishing for death, but when it's nearly thrust upon him, when he comes so close, he may welcome it...maybe find peace in it. His life is pretty miserable and he really has no one. He's now living for power and control. It's a very cold existence. Even as he's rationalizing the things he does, I think there's still a part of himself that is self loathing for letting it get that far, and continuing to take steps further and further. There was a time that he believed there were lines not to cross. Looking at his face as he stares in the mirror, I get a 'why the fuck am I still here' feeling from him. It's definitely not happy or grateful to be alive.


"I..." he heard the first part and wondered if they were finally coming. Those words he needed. "...love you, Lex... my son."

He stared at his father. Wrong words. He moved past him, stopping once to look him over again. There was a time when these words would have meant everything. Now was not that time. It was too late. He moved out the door. Now the right words would be "I'm sorry."

Something just occurred to me. In Truth, Lex admits to Chloe that the one thing he's ever wanted was for Lionel to love him. In fracture, Chloe brings Lex back to life...dies to do it, and because of this Lionel is granted that 'second chance' to say those words that Lex had wanted to hear for so long...but it's way too late. I LOVE that Chloe is tied into that. Chlex have had so few scenes over the years, yet Chloe has had some major impact on his life, as well as Lionel's.

I like the idea that Lex was waiting for 'I'm sorry' Of course it's too late for a simple I love you Lionel! You emotionally and physically abused him his entire life, and that's supposed to mean shit? If he really wanted to reach out to Lex he could. Definitely starting with a heartfelt apology, and then just keep trying, but he doesn't. Maybe he wants to be forgiven....or just his sins forgotten, but he wants it easy. Lex doesn't just go to him with open arms right away, and he's considered lost to him. Give up on him Lionel, not that he was ever a father to him anyway. But it really gets me that he tries to stand up all high and mighty and good against Lex.


"Okay, I got wings and thighs, but I thought you might also want a little pizza. So I got it with pepperoni and sliced tomatoes like you like, with those pepper seeds on the side. But I figured burger and hot dog would be overkill, so I just went for burger. I didn't know if you wanted fries or onion rings, so I..." She burst into tears and he stopped, staring at her as she stood by the sink, her eyes watering and her breath hiccupping. "Chloe? Are you.."

aww, this just made me smile. There's still Chlarker in me you know? I'm glad she let it out in front of Clark. I hate how she's always so strong for everyone. I love seeing him taking care of her, for once....ok it's happened more than once, but not nearly enough.

Love the conversation between Chlark about Lex and how maybe there's still hope. If only Clark knew, Chloe wants to believe that more than he does. I think it is too late, where Clark is concerned. Chloe is a different story. I think she could reach him. She doesn't expect perfection from him while giving less in return. Time will tell.

13A

I love how it starts with Chloe's words (from the first night) playing through his head.


Does it ever bother you that absolutely no one wants to be around you?

Not no one. Gina had been waiting with the bottle of scotch he was halfway through. Did that count?

Let's not count the help

No. he supposed it didn't.

LOL! he's having a conversation with her thoughts in his head LOL!


Clark would have lied. Clark would have called him silly and paranoid. Clark... Clark knew more than he was telling. The fact that the very girl who he was sure (he was fucking positive) pulled him from the water showed up as Clark's cousin from out-of-state only confirmed that Clark knew. Whether it was more than just knowing...

It's true. That's exactly what Clark would have done. Is it any wonder I can't point all fingers at Lex?

So he's ready to say fuck it all and go full steam ahead, because he believes he's lost Chloe ... the very last shred. What, if anything, will change when he learns he hasn't lost her?

oh wow! Such an intense confrontation between Chlex. All wonderful questions Lex and I would love them answered. This conversation I would love to keep going, would happily forgo the smut, even. But *sigh* if you must ...

13B


If they could get the fucking out of the way, then he could pick up right where they left off. His mind would be clearer then.

Somehow I don't think it's going to work out that way. She may be dropping some walls, but she's still guarded, and with good reason


He squeezed his eyes shut and pulled at her coat, dropping it to the floor. He really didn't want to think about Lana right now. Not when she was so... bare.

I first thought she'd shown up naked underneath, but you had in mind was much better. I loved that she got all dressed up for him. Of course he would notice. She's been so deliberate in not doing certain things, all this time. He's definitely going to notice all the glaring changes. Will they last, or is this a one time thing?


Was it strange that he could be her ruin and her salvation all at once? Probably. But she was used her life being somewhere just above normal. Just shy of making any sense.

WOW! Now that's interesting that she would think of him that way, as he's been thinking of her that way for a while.

There was a definite shift in this chapter.

[gab01]

I just caught up on all of this fic and OMG it is stunning!!! its amazing! i dont know how else to explain it hehe, and oh soooo very hot!

i hope she doesnt wake up all rude & nasty hehe im glad it seems that she is accepting that there is something more between them however small it is :)

love it cant wait for the next UD!

[nebti]

What can i say "j'adore". Waiting for more.

[lilinny]

I love how you tie the episodes to your story, the way the show should have been presented.

Fantastic chapter.

[lucrenzia]

This is a wonderful story. I anxiously await another installment.

Carol

[TheAmazingApe]

MSedOpportunity/Bek, I just want to say thank you so very much for the lovely Christmas present. It's as wonderful and lovely as your Almost Clark video and I am so touched that it was my fic that moved you to put so much of what was obviously hard work into such a brilliantly made and manipulated video. Really. Some of the manips were so gorgeous, I had to keep rewinding, wondering how the hell you did it. You somehow manage to capture the tone of what I'm writing and find the perfect song and pace, even. You're my visual brain twin and I love you for it.

For anyone who hasn't seen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uwvC7l-naU

Thank you everyone for your reviews and your patience.

I'm sick, so I decided to spend my new year's eve writing. You'd think I'd feel lonely, but I never do, knowing that there's fic that keeps me connected to all these wonderful people I've never met.

I'm getting sappy with the holiday season. Last night, I cried like a baby over the Alistair Sim Christmas Carol... pretty much the whole movie (which is, for me, the definitive version, IMO).

Chapter 14

At some point in the night, she woke to find him sprawled half on top of her. She pushed at him and he grumbled and rolled off, the covers falling down.

She rolled onto her side.

That wasn't a bad view. Really, none of him was. And she could appreciate that tonight. That was one of the nice things about tonight. It was why she didn't want to fight. She didn't want to lose this feeling. This strange relaxation, this blithe acceptance of what had changed.

And there was a change. A shift. She couldn't put her finger on when. It had been coming on so gradually. But she had felt it before he left for Detroit. With that need she'd sensed in him. That need she felt so compelled to answer.

She'd answered it the other night in ways she'd never imagined when she'd placed her hand on his chest.

It wasn't just about saving Clark. That just made the choice easier to make. But it was a choice she would have made regardless. She had to save him. What did she have this power for if not for that? I hope you do better things, Lex, she'd thought at the time. I want you to prove me right...

The things that run through your mind in life-and-death situations should be remembered. She hadn't seen the way Clark had taken her for granted, disregarded her feelings... She'd seen the many ways and times he'd saved her. And she'd seen Lex. Not the one that made her life hell. But the one that made her moan, shiver, even laugh sometimes.

There was hope for this man.

He needed her. He needed someone who saw that part of him that was worth saving.

And maybe she needed him just a little.

Coming back from the brink of death, she could appreciate things she often couldn't. If she stopped to think of Lex and all he'd done to her and others... Well, it made to hard to appreciate the man. But, coming home from a war against death itself... she could see a man here, not an enemy.

This was the man she'd saved. Not Lex Luthor, the unreasonable boss that was dismantling her dream. Not Lex Luthor, part-time dabbler in extra-terrestrial technology. Just Lex.

Just this man who snored lightly in his sleep, something she hadn't known before tonight.

And she was just Chloe. Not a meteor freak, not an investigator, not even a reporter here. Just a woman.

They were just a man and a woman here, doing what a man and a woman were technically built to do. Eating, sleeping, reading great books... all those other things were incidental. Just to pass the time between this. Mating. It was just a bonus that it felt good and, in these modern times, didn't have to result in progeny.

She could appreciate the simplicity of the act. She could appreciate the man who made it so good.

She could look at every line of his body and see the sort of lithe strength in it. So different from her idea of an ideal body or, to be honest, Clark's body. Clark... Well, she'd spent too many hours thinking of his body, replaying the moments she'd seen parts of him in her mind. He was sort of bulky and strong. She'd thought that was the only kind of body she could get behind. But that was before Lex.

She didn't often allow herself to contemplate Lex's form, not even during sex. There was a sort of secret giddiness to seeing it now, knowing that the sheen of sweat still there was because of her. Because of them. She pushed the cover down and looked her fill. She'd once observed he had the body of a swimmer and he did, lean with muscles that sort of stretched rather than bulged. He had slim hips, but a slight dip to his waist that she just wanted to bite.

She repressed the urge and just ran her fingertip over it.

Might have been a ticklish spot as he grumbled and rolled over, presenting his back to her.

That was okay, too.

She ran hand down his spine, strangely delighted when he shivered in his sleep.

The things he'd said tonight... She'd always thought that she was the only one wondering why she couldn't stop. She'd thought it was just some sort of appetite for sex... very complicated sex... that led him back to her. She'd never thought that he was as conflicted as she was as to why this was hard to stop.

She suspected, for him, it was a bit tied up with Clark and all those things she could never say just as, for her, it was a bit tied up with his work and whatever new crimes against humanity he was justifying to himself now. A good deal of this was about getting close to answers for both of them. Getting close to the one that held all the things you wanted to know.

But she knew... She was positive that least some of it was just them. Just Lex and Chloe. Just bodies finding solace and life.

She lazily swirled her fingers over the back of his neck.

"Stop it."

She jolted when she heard his voice and her finger skittered on his neck. He shivered and she smiled and continued running her finger up and down. "Stop what?"

"That. Stop it."

"Fine." She moved her finger to the dip of his waist and swirled it around, jumping when he turned over, grasping her hand. "I'm sorry. Did that tickle?"

He stared at her hard. "I'm trying to decide."

"If it tickled?"

"No." His hand grasped her wrist, thumb moving over her pulse. "If I like this new you."

She pulled her wrist away. "This isn't a new me. It's just... a different side."

"A side that wears tiny dresses. So far so good." He pulled at the dress that was still bunched around her waist. She'd got out of the top and pulled up the bottom, but there it still was.

"Guess that was a little hurried," she said, looking down at herself. She pushed it down over her hips and kicked it off. "I was trying to be more... relaxed."

"Oh, you were relaxed. So relaxed you fell asleep on me." She turned to him and he ran a hand over her hip, then behind. "And I was the one who was almost dead. What's your excuse?"

She closed her eyes. "Guess I don't have one," she lied. "You could move that hand to the front, you know."

"I would." His hand stilled. "But I haven't forgotten."

Her eyes opened on his, now staring hard at her. "Forgotten what?"

"What we were talking about before." His hand moved to the front, but hovered just shy of touching her. "Like about what you're hiding and why you ..."

She nearly rolled her eyes. "Could you stop, already? You know the rules."

"Well, you just fucked me bareback, so there's one rule shot to hell. We've also fooled around at work and..."

"Fine." She rolled over and faced away. She ahd done those things. Let those things go. "But this is one rule that stays. We don't talk shop."

"Technically this isn't talking shop because it has nothing to do with work. I would have pointed that out earlier, but you stuck your tongue down my throat. This is about..."

"It doesn't matter. It's not part of this." She shook her head and sat up, still facing away from him. "Lex, do you think you're the only one this is confusing for? I can't do this if I think about our history. We're never going to agree on it. And I can't do this if I think about all the reasons I shouldn't. Because then I wouldn't and... I... I don't want to stop. I think I need this, as bad as it looks on paper. I... I need... this." She stopped short of saying him. She wasn't ready to say it. She was still having trouble thinking it, it was so new.

She laid down again, staring at the ceiling. "I don't want to think about the rest of it. It's too cluttered up with anger and other people and..." She turned her head to him. "I don't know. I just want something that's... only mine." His eyes turned thoughtful as her voice dropped to a whisper. "It's my biggest secret, really."

"Bigger than why you suddenly started treating me like the enemy three years ago? You could, at least, explain that."

She pursed her lips. "And here I was, trying to make things so pleasant, but you just can't stop scratching." She sat up. "Fine. You want to talk about the past? Let's do it."

He sat up as well. "I'm not trying to start a fight here, Chloe. But we were... close that summer." He stroked a hand over her breast. Was he going to try to seduce it out of her?

"We were." She gave him a small smile nd leaned into his touch. "I think it was the closest I ever felt to you."

"We were almost friends then."

She hummed in agreement as his palm skated over her nipple. Always so damned sneaky...

"So what changed?"

"Oh, I don't know, Lex," she said lazily. "Maybe it was the fact that I hardly saw you after that summer." Learning about Clark's secret had, to an extent, changed everything she saw, including Lex and the sort of sneaky way he sniffed around Clark in those days. But that wasn't all of it. She grasped his wrist and held it away from her. "I guess my purpose had been served, as far as you were concerned, and I could just dutifully fade into..."

He narrowed his eyes. "That's not how it was."

"That's exactly how it was." She pushed his hand back at him and rose to her knees. "I did what I did to help you out and I came back worse off. Being 'dead,' my father had lost a job it wasn't exactly easy to get after your father had him blacklisted. We were struggling just to keep afloat and... Where were you? You were just going on with your life, going to benefits and sleeping with brunettes and getting accused of murder, another thing I helped out with," she said, remembering how she investigated with Clark to try to clear his name. "Something Clark told me you actually thanked him for. It was like I... I stopped existing for you until day you dragged me to the caves. So don't act like ours was some beautiful friendship was that I threw away."

He stared up at her. "I never thought..."

"Of course you didn't. I was just some kid who you only noticed because I happened to be able to implicate your father in a murder and gain you control of his company. You didn't think I existed outside of that or whatever else it is you might want from me, be it information or research or whatever manipulative..." She huffed and pulled at the sheet, trying to wrap it around her. "See, this is exactly why I don't want to talk shop. It brings up every reason why I should not be doing this. You just had to go and ruin everything. I hope you're happy now. You..." She pulled harder at the sheet only to find his hand wrapped around the other end. "Let go."

"No."

"Fine." She let her end go and stepped off the bed. "Where's my damned dress?" she muttered, bending down. "I kicked it off..." Her words were cut off as the world kind of flipped. She found herself on the bed with him looming over her.

He was staring down at her. She waited for him to say whatever it was. But he said nothing, only leaned down, running his lips over hers, back and forth. She stayed still until he pulled back. She figured it was just his way of stopping her leaving and waited for whatever counter-argument he had waiting. But he just kept... looking at her until the silence made her squirm beneath him.

She swallowed hard. "Lex... What do you want from me? I can't give you things that aren't mine to give. I can't..."

He bent his head again.

*******************************

He fitted his lips to hers, first the bottom, then the top, noticing somewhere in there that he never really explored the texture of her lips. Tongues always got involved right off and, after that, things just devolved to a place where there was no time to notice minute details...

Like the jutting cupids bow that softened into her lightly lined top lip that had a sort of point at the bottom edge just before it disappeared into her mouth where all was softer snd wetter. And that slightly pouty bottom lip that had the slightest dip in the middle.

These weren't things he lingered over. These things took him into dangerous territory.

The problem was that he was already there. He'd known it when she'd appeared in his doorway. He knew that this had become about more than heated sex and private gloating that Chloe Sullivan was writhing underneath him. This had become... needed.

He couldn't kid himself that it was just a fun distraction anymore. He hadn't been with anyone but her since that first night. Hadn't even considered it, really.

That was never the plan.

Nothing with her went according to plan. Especially not tonight. He'd wanted to further question her about all the things he knew she was hiding. He didn't want to let everything go just to have her first.

That being shot to hell, he'd wanted to pick up where they left off. He didn't want to zero in on a line of questioning just to back off when she made him feel like an asshole for ignoring her all those years ago.

He wanted to think up a really good answer for that, not kiss her because she looked at him with big, melting eyes. He wanted a plan.

The problem was he wanted her to stay more. And not to fight. Not even to fuck. Just to stay.

He rolled to his side and pulled her with him. "Stay," he whispered, hating the near-pleading tone of his voice. "Just stay."

She stared back at him, then sat up.

He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the bed to settle as she rose. It didn't. He felt his covers against his shoulder. "I wonder what it would be like."

He opened his eyes to find her across from him, eyes half-closed, hand moving to his chest. "What?" He tried not to sound surprised, as if he knew she'd still be there.

"If we'd met some other way. If none of the other stuff had happened."

It wasn't something he'd ever wondered. "I don't think we would have met. We don't exactly move in the same circles."

"But we could have." Her eyes turned thoughtful. "Maybe just on the street. Would that make all this easier?"

"This meaning..." He'd nearly said us. He didn't want to say us. Saying words like that meant he was well and truly whipped, worse then with Lana, worse than with Helen or... He was starting to rethink his ideas that he was a strong, stalwart man.

"This. What we do here," she said, pursing her lips. "Do you know why I need rules?"

He smiled slightly. "To keep me from talking and ruining everything?" She'd accused him of that more than once.

She shook her head, then stilled. "Well... Maybe a little. It's just that... this needs to be separate. It needs to just be... this."

He tilted his head. "So... I'm just kind of a real doll for you?"

"No." She twirled a finger on his chest. "You are... what you are when we're like this. I'm not going to bed with that other guy. I'm going to bed with you. It's separate. Different. I am, too. We aren't who we are outside of this. We're just... Lex and Chloe. Just two people who enjoy each other and the rest of it just..." She shrugged. "It just doesn't matter here."

Doesn't matter? It should. It should matter more than anything. And maybe later, he'd be kicking himself for thinking it didn't. But at this moment, with her near him, all soft skin and still smelling of fading perfume and sex... Nothing else mattered.

"Just Lex and Chloe, huh?"

She nodded, her eyes dropping to his lips.

He moved his head to hers. "I can do that," he said against her mouth. He was a sick, sad man.

***********************

She woke to blinding sunlight and a hand shaking her.

She opened her eyes to find Lex standing by the bed, fully dressed. "Oh. You're up."

She shook herself and pulled herself to a sitting position. "Hard to sleep with someone shaking..."

He thrust a cup of coffee under her nose, some sloshing on the blankets. "Here."

"Here's your hat. What's you hurry?" she muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing." She took the cup, securing the sheet around her. She supposed he wanted her up and out quickly. "Give me a second and I'll..."

"I have a meeting," he said, his voice kind of rushed. He paced away from the bed to the door. "Some of my shareholders want to be assured I'm not dead with the rumours of my injury floating around and you can tell your cousin that there will be no story on the events in Detroit no matter how many people she annoys."

"No. I didn't think there would be." She nodded to herself and stood. Wasn't it nice having a boss who generated front page news that could never be printed? It definitely chipped away at the haze of last night. "Anyway, I should..."

"You should... stay." He paced back to the bed. "I just... If you're tired, you can sleep more. I'm not trying to kick you out or... anything." He moved to the door again. He finally stilled, thankfully, as she was getting a little dizzy watching him. "I put your car in the garage," he said, his back to her. "There's no staff here until Monday, so no one knows you're here."

She nodded. "Good."

"And nobody would know if you... stayed longer."

She stared at his back. "Uh..."

He moved back toward the bed again, his eyes not meeting hers. "I was thinking about what you said and wondered if maybe..." His eyes slid to hers. "Maybe the rest of it, everything out there, could have a longer break. Maybe... until Monday."

"I... I'm..." Tempted? "No. What would I tell people? I..."

"You're a grown woman, Chloe. You can go out of town for a weekend for some alone time." He shook his head. "In fact, you might want to say you've already done it. When I got your keys, I saw your cell phone had about twelve missed calls, equal parts Clark and Lois. They always keep such tabs?" He put his hand up. "Never mind. It's... it's not part of this."

He held her eyes and she found herself nodding. "I... I could be out of town."

She expected... She actually wasn't sure what she expected, but it wasn't this sudden tightening of his features, then a jerky nod. "Good." He moved to the door. "I shouldn't be gone long."

"What about clothes? I don't have..."

"Do you think you need them?" He turned to her in the open doorway. "Really?"

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out but a rather high-pitched squeak.

TBC

[basmas84]

thank you thank you thank you for the chapter!!!! :blinkkiss

omg! now that was a really great 14th chapter.... and i loved the ending... that she would try to stay... but what i really loved was this line:


"Do you think you need them?" He turned to her in the open doorway. "Really?"

lol!!!

beautiful update! great chapter.... loved your chlex scenes... :yeahbaby:

[cypanache]

OMG! I've been so behind and almost drowning under everything that I somehow missed the last update, so I got to read 13 and 14 back to back. The shift of this has been amazing and wonderful. Nothing's solved, nothing's fixed outside these walls, but inside them, it feels like so much has changed. Like there might be hope there.

I haven't yet figured out where I think you're headed with this (not that it matters anyways because I'm often wrong), but with this fic I feel its a real toss up whether we're gonna end with destruction or hope. While I will read and treasure this fic and it will definitely go down in the chlex hall of fame, no matter what, can I put in my vote for hope? Or possibly the continuation of the fic for an indefinite period of time (I'll take that too).

[somethingeasy]

Review of MSedOpportunity/Bek's Fic Video Trailer
Wow! I just checked out the video, and it was In-credible! You did a great job in capturing the essence of the twisted but thrilling relationship in AmazingApe’s story. I loved how you managed to capture the hate and loathing that these two started out with… and showing how it translated so easily and naturally into one fucked up, hot, thrilling affair.

AND you managed to show how that hate and loathing turned into ‘something more’ that was unknown, confusing, complicated… but something that they both needed desperately in their lives. You did a wonderful job in capturing ‘The Depths We Sink To’. I don’t know whether you have more plans for future Chlex videos, but I’d love to see them!

Review of fic chapter
heee!!! What a wonderful start to the new year. THANK you, Ape, for writing this in time for my first 2009 fic reading (and reviewing), LOL!

Especially since it was such an AWESOME chapter with such a amazing beginning to it. I loved seeing Chloe NOT waking up the morning after with regret, self-loathing and self-recriminations about the stupid, STUPID thing she had done last night. She’s finally admitting that this is a full-blown affair to be relished and luxuriated in! In fact, I loved seeing her savouring her morning admiring her bed partner. As long as you’re waking up beside Big Bad Luthor… might as well enjoy the lovely eye-candy in front of your eyes, LOL!

It was awesome and wonderful seeing Chloe honestly enjoying herself with Lex… touching him gently, feeling the wonderful look of his body as well as the feel of his smoothness and hardness… She’s finally admitted to herself that she’s ‘allowed’ to enjoy this, and I think that was wonderful!


There was hope for this man.

He needed her. He needed someone who saw that part of him that was worth saving.

And maybe she needed him just a little.

Wow! It was also amazing seeing Chloe accepting that there’s a part of Lex that Chloe really appreciates… and even adores a little bit…? It was beyond wonderful seeing the feeling of strong HOPE that has sprung up in Chloe about this man… and the belief that perhaps he WILL be able to pull himself back from the brink of being a monster and prove himself a decent human being after all.

I also liked how Chloe noted that ‘perhaps’ SHE might be able to pull Lex back from the brink, and help him become a better person… the same way that Lex is teaching HER to get in touch with parts of herself that were sleeping and/or dead before their affair. It’s great to see Chloe admitting that Lex has re-ignited some passion and life in her. He might be a bastard most of the time, but he’s a bastard who helped her ‘find herself’ again… and perhaps she’s returning the favour??


They were just a man and a woman here, doing what a man and a woman were technically built to do. Eating, sleeping, reading great books... all those other things were incidental. Just to pass the time between this. Mating. It was just a bonus that it felt good and, in these modern times, didn't have to result in progeny.

She could appreciate the simplicity of the act. She could appreciate the man who made it so good.

Heh… I’ve always commented that this affair can also be interpreted as an unhealthy, ugly thing if you see the complicated difficulties about it. But Chloe is RIGHT that it can also be something pure and beautiful… if only they both try to ‘keep it simple’. I LOVE that! And it’s going to be interesting to see how much longer they can keep the ‘let’s keep it simple’ attitude up.


She didn't often allow herself to contemplate Lex's form, not even during sex. There was a sort of secret giddiness to seeing it now, knowing that the sheen of sweat still there was because of her. Because of them. She pushed the cover down and looked her fill. She'd once observed he had the body of a swimmer and he did, lean with muscles that sort of stretched rather than bulged. He had slim hips, but a slight dip to his waist that she just wanted to bite.

*drool* YUMMY! Thank you sooo much for this delicious description, Ape! I loved that Chloe is taking a moment to appreciate the sheer beauty of her lover… and exulting in the fact that, for now, he’s all hers, Hers, HERS to touch, tickle, feel and luxuriate in.


She suspected, for him, it was a bit tied up with Clark and all those things she could never say just as, for her, it was a bit tied up with his work and whatever new crimes against humanity he was justifying to himself now. A good deal of this was about getting close to answers for both of them. Getting close to the one that held all the things you wanted to know.

But she knew... She was positive that least some of it was just them. Just Lex and Chloe. Just bodies finding solace and life.

I loved how this part explained a LOT about Chloe’s change in attitude towards Lex. She’s now beginning to believe that Lex is NOT only out for her because of Clark… but that he wants her for herself as well. I love that she’s got the idea that now ‘Lex and Chloe’ can have an affair (and a relationship?) outside of ‘Clark and Lex’.


He stared at her hard. "I'm trying to decide."

"If it tickled?"

"No." His hand grasped her wrist, thumb moving over her pulse. "If I like this new you."

She pulled her wrist away. "This isn't a new me. It's just... a different side."

I really liked how Lex seemed so confused about this ‘new Chloe’ that he’s in the company of. LOL! The poor guy is NEVER satisfied. He’s been waiting for Chloe to ‘soften up’ towards him for ages now… and when she finally does, he think he liked the predictability of her contempt, anger and outrage better. LOL!

Don’t worry, Lex… it won’t really be a chore getting used to this new side that Chloe has deigned to reveal to you… you lucky, privileged bastard!


"Oh, you were relaxed. So relaxed you fell asleep on me." She turned to him and he ran a hand over her hip, then behind. "And I was the one who was almost dead. What's your excuse?"

She closed her eyes. "Guess I don't have one," she lied. "You could move that hand to the front, you know."

Heh… damn! I wasn’t really expecting her to blurt out the truth of her mutant power OR the way she used it to save Lex… but there was still a tiny bit of hope that JUST got crushed! :P


"Well, you just fucked me bareback, so there's one rule shot to hell. We've also fooled around at work and..."

heh… they wake up in the morning in a lovely, relaxed, soothed and sated mood… and Lex STILL can’t stop pushing. He should take a lesson from Chloe’s ‘let’s stop and enjoy the scenery/mood’ attitude. Instead he’s still stuck shooting off at the mouth, ruining everything. *sigh* What A Moron! LOL!


She laid down again, staring at the ceiling. "I don't want to think about the rest of it. It's too cluttered up with anger and other people and..." She turned her head to him. "I don't know. I just want something that's... only mine." His eyes turned thoughtful as her voice dropped to a whisper. "It's my biggest secret, really."

"Bigger than why you suddenly started treating me like the enemy three years ago? You could, at least, explain that."

heee!! Even if Chloe didn’t come out and SAY ‘I need you’… she might as well have. Anyone could have read that statement in between the lines of what she DID say out loud. But I think Lex ignored all of that, because he’s still fixated on pushing. Look at what you’re MISSING, Lex, you moron! LOL! He really is his own worst enemy! Which is rather fun to watch!


She hummed in agreement as his palm skated over her nipple. Always so damned sneaky...

heh… despite how I think Lex is basically a moron for continuing to push… I have to admire the skilful (although, not very subtle) way he’s trying to seduce the information out of Chloe. LOL! He truly thinks that playing with Chloe’s body when she’s obviously in such a good moos will finally get him the answers he wants. Silly Lex! Chloe can out-word you ANY day of the week, ANY time of the day, LOL!


He stared up at her. "I never thought..."

"Of course you didn't. I was just some kid who you only noticed because I happened to be able to implicate your father in a murder and gain you control of his company. You didn't think I existed outside of that or whatever else it is you might want from me, be it information or research or whatever manipulative..." She huffed and pulled at the sheet, trying to wrap it around her. "See, this is exactly why I don't want to talk shop. It brings up every reason why I should not be doing this. You just had to go and ruin everything. I hope you're happy now. You..." She pulled harder at the sheet only to find his hand wrapped around the other end. "Let go."

LOL! I see that Lex has learned his lesson about ‘pushing’, huh? Awesome! I really loved Chloe’s rant session about how Lex was the one who dropped her rather than the other way around. It was fantastic seeing Lex getting Chloe’s side of the picture, and realizing what an arrogant, self-absorbed IDIOT he had been for asking Chloe why ‘SHE’ dropped HIM. *rolls eyes* Gotten over yourself, Lex? LOL!

Chloe’s rant was a lot of fun (and very satisfying) to listen to, and I loved seeing her working herself up into a self-righteous rage and finally getting herself ready to walk out on Lex. And Lex could find NO reply to any of her statements other than grab her had and plead with her to stay. Heh… was that Lex’s twisted way of apologising for acting like an ass?


He fitted his lips to hers, first the bottom, then the top, noticing somewhere in there that he never really explored the texture of her lips. Tongues always got involved right off and, after that, things just devolved to a place where there was no time to notice minute details...

Like the jutting cupids bow that softened into her lightly lined top lip that had a sort of point at the bottom edge just before it disappeared into her mouth where all was softer and wetter. And that slightly pouty bottom lip that had the slightest dip in the middle.

I remember I was practically swooning, at the beginning of the chapter, where I could see Chloe relishing Lex’s presence and body… and taking such delicious pride in knowing that this beautiful body lying beside her is HER LOVER… and therefore hers to touch, feel and enjoy to whatever extent she wants. In a similar way, I loved seeing Lex ALSO coming to that same place of ‘slowing down’ and just enjoying being with Chloe… rather than focusing all his attentions on achieving some long-term objective or finding the answers to Mysteries and Secrets.


Nothing with her went according to plan. Especially not tonight. He'd wanted to further question her about all the things he knew she was hiding. He didn't want to let everything go just to have her first.

That being shot to hell, he'd wanted to pick up where they left off. He didn't want to zero in on a line of questioning just to back off when she made him feel like an asshole for ignoring her all those years ago.

He wanted to think up a really good answer for that, not kiss her because she looked at him with big, melting eyes. He wanted a plan.

Heee!!! Look at Lex’s mind going completely on the blink when it comes to Chloe. He was always pretty lost when it came to long-term thinking about what he wanted from her… and now he’s more lost than ever! And I LOVED seeing him like that! I love seeing Lex so completely befuddled by Chloe that he can no longer tell down from up anymore. I think this is a VERY good sign of Lex (perhaps?) starting to re-prioritize his life goals…? Perhaps this is a good first step to becoming the decent man that Chloe believes he is capable of becoming?

Heh… I especially loved that this ‘lost’ state was caused because Chloe was looking at him with those ‘big, melting eyes’… AND because he felt like an absolute ASS for hurting her feelings all those years ago. Excellent!


He rolled to his side and pulled her with him. "Stay," he whispered, hating the near-pleading tone of his voice. "Just stay."

squeee! Could that be a bit of an apology? It’s definitely a ‘I need you to stay’ statement!!! How delightful!!!!


"If we'd met some other way. If none of the other stuff had happened."

It wasn't something he'd ever wondered. "I don't think we would have met. We don't exactly move in the same circles."

"But we could have." Her eyes turned thoughtful. "Maybe just on the street. Would that make all this easier?"

I loved that Chloe is considering the ‘what ifs’ and ‘if onlys’ about their ‘relationship’. It means that that she’s seeing the potential of something strong, beautiful and amazing between them… if only they never had these complications arise between them in the first place.


"This meaning..." He'd nearly said us. He didn't want to say us. Saying words like that meant he was well and truly whipped, worse then with Lana, worse than with Helen or... He was starting to rethink his ideas that he was a strong, stalwart man.

LOL! Lex thinks he’s whipped already? This is nothing compared to the awed, worship-filled devotion he would have for Chloe IF ONLY he knew about how she used her risky mutant powers to save his life… or EVEN if only he knew about the hope, trust and faith she has in him to be a good man worth having in her life. Chloe has such incredible faith in you, Lex… you only have to live up to it!!!


"This. What we do here," she said, pursing her lips. "Do you know why I need rules?"

He smiled slightly. "To keep me from talking and ruining everything?" She'd accused him of that more than once.

ROTFLMAO! And I thought he hadn’t been listening the first million times she said that! LOL!


Doesn't matter? It should. It should matter more than anything. And maybe later, he'd be kicking himself for thinking it didn't. But at this moment, with her near him, all soft skin and still smelling of fading perfume and sex... Nothing else mattered.

"Just Lex and Chloe, huh?"

She nodded, her eyes dropping to his lips.

He moved his head to hers. "I can do that," he said against her mouth. He was a sick, sad man.

Wow! That was… amazing!! I loved how Lex actually agreed that they CAN actually have a real, simple working relationship outside of all the complicated sh*t of their ‘real lives’. And I even liked the poignant and slightly despairing tone in his thoughts as he thought to himself what a sad, pathetic, desperate, doormat state Chloe has reduced him to… and with scarcely any effort. Awesome :D


"You should... stay." He paced back to the bed. "I just... If you're tired, you can sleep more. I'm not trying to kick you out or... anything." He moved to the door again. He finally stilled, thankfully, as she was getting a little dizzy watching him. "I put your car in the garage," he said, his back to her. "There's no staff here until Monday, so no one knows you're here."

She nodded. "Good."

"And nobody would know if you... stayed longer."

woah! At first, I was wondering what the HECK was Lex doing so rudely waking up Chloe and basically pushing her out of bed to ‘get out’. Until I realized that was not the case AT ALL! Lex actually woke her up to say… goodbye before he left?! Because he didn’t want her waking up in a cold, empty bed without explanation? Wow! That speaks of layers of sweetness and consideration that had NEVER been present until very recently into their affair.

I also loved how Lex is basically pleading with Chloe to stay here and wait for him to come back. Of course he’s trying to phrase his request by telling her that she might feel ‘more comfortable’ doing all that… but he’s basically asking her for the continued favour of her company! Squeee!! How awesome is that?!? I’d say Lex is well in the process of falling HARD for Chloe Sullivan!


"You're a grown woman, Chloe. You can go out of town for a weekend for some alone time." He shook his head. "In fact, you might want to say you've already done it. When I got your keys, I saw your cell phone had about twelve missed calls, equal parts Clark and Lois. They always keep such tabs?" He put his hand up. "Never mind. It's... it's not part of this."

eh? TWELVE missed calls?! Over the course of one night and one day?! Lois and Clark are actually pretty scary in the way they cling to Chloe. The two of them fall apart when she’s not around or something?!? Seriously, it’s freaky and creepy seeing how much they depend on her to be there for them… without question.

Hmmm, I can see Lex was rather amused and disgusted by this show of neediness that Lois and Clark are displaying… but I also wonder whether a part of him felt envious and wistful… because HE would NEVER have anyone giving him so many missed calls because they simply missed his support and company.


"Do you think you need them?" He turned to her in the open doorway. "Really?"

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out but a rather high-pitched squeak.

ROTFL! That smooth, sexy bastard! I still don’t know how you manage to make him sound so irresistible when he’s clearly being obnoxious, Ape! ROTFLMAO! It’s truly magnificent writing… and amazing characterization of a really tricky pair of personalities.

Hmmm, I wonder what the heck was Lex in such a hurry for. He seemed to be acting just a little suspiciously in his hurry to leave to get something ‘important’ taken care of. I mentioned that I stopped watching Smallville cold turkey at this point… which means I truly have NO IDEA what kind of a ‘meeting’ Lex is scurrying off to.

Any help from anyone on filling in the details…?

Great chapter, Ape! Loved it, and I look hugely forward to more. Please update soon, Soon, SOON!!! (translated: now, Now, NOW!!!) ;)

[dagney]

What a beautiful chapter, The tone of hope of hope and acceptance of one another in turn helps each accept themselves, or perhaps that come first so they can start moving toward the unconditional love at its basic level. Neither can forget or discount the actions/behaviors that are unacceptable but Chloe is trying to separate the actions from the man. I like that Lex recognizes how much Chloe is trying. He also is able to see himself through her eyes perhaps. Thank you for the gift of your talents.


Dagney

[Kit Merlot]

This was just gorgeous and a wonderful New Year's present:D

Good for Chloe for explaining how Lex's ignoring her after the trial hurt her, and that it kind of proved to her that he didn't care about her or her dad or all of the sacrifices they made.

So, I think Lex's asking her to stay the weekend will give him the opportunity to explain his side of things. Good man;)

I always wondered why the SV writers threw away the S3 Chlex friendship/partnership. Didn't they care that fans were emotionally invested in that storyline?


Last night, I cried like a baby over the Alistair Sim Christmas Carol... pretty much the whole movie (which is, for me, the definitive version, IMO).
I couldn't agree more:D God bless Tiny Tim!

Keep up the excellent work on this story.

[happybum]

Oh you poor thing. Getting sick over the holidays is not fun. I hope you get better soon and totally kick the cold's ass. You should take it easy and not tax yourself writng fanfic but it makes you feel better then go right ahead. Maybe you just needa channel your creative energy in to your pet project and it can be your cure. :D Speaking of your story this was such a beautiful chapter. They were so vulnerable with them just mudding through it not knowing what to expect. There is hope for them in the future. It would be brilliant if they can work through the past and problems to bring them together. OH and OMG! I saw the video!! Bek really outdone herself. You two should put your creative minds together. The possibilities are endless. Imagine all the chlex art you two can make. I'm drooling just thinking about it! You should think about it! Only if you have time though. Get better!

[tatie87]

Great update!! I love that Chloe and Lex opened up a little to each other. Chloe needs to stay with Lex ansd stand up to Lois and Clark.

[lj715]

Another great chapter. Thanks.

[fleyval]

Thank you for the update, it was wonderful as always. Hope you feel better and happy new year!!!

[malugargula]

I hope you get better soon
:)

Loved this chapter... Just Lex and Chloe... that`ll be really interesting
;)

[purplemoon123]

Hope you're feeling better because being sick just sucks!!

MSedOpportunity/Bek: that was an amazing video. You really captured the story. It was like a mini movie. Just awesome!!!

This chapter was amazing!!! I love the image of Chloe running her finger up and down Lex's body!!!

[smithers]

Aww, I hope you're feeling better. This is probably my new favorite story!! I can't wait for the rest.

[lilinny]

I love it. An amazing chapter.

How far are they going to take this? More please.

[Chica]

Great update..... I :wub: the direction the story has taken!!

[westwingwolf]

I think it's great that she admired his body. In my opinion, his is way better than Clark's but then again, Lex's is my type: lean and cut over big and bulky. I love the almost playful way they were with each other, you can definitely see a change starting. And I can tell why she wants to keep things seperate. She likes what they have and if she starts thinking about why she wants him, she has to admit that he doesn't mesh with her ideals or what society dictates her ideals should be. Of course, I still say she should just say screw it and like what she wants and not give a damn about what anyone else will think. I'm guessing he woke her up so rudely because he knew he had to leave, but he didn't want to go without letting her know that he had to go. Dare I say, he was even reluctant to leave her. And it's so cool that he wants her to stay. Very promising that she won't be needing clothes for her stay. I think it's okay for Lex to be whipped by Chloe, she's the kind of woman who deserves to have a guy do anything for her. She's earned it.