HumbugGirl
8th August 2003, 20:17
Title: One Step Forwards, Two Steps Back
Author: HumbugGirl
Email: humbuggirl@hotmail.com
URL: http://www.geocities.com/oddfiction
Pairing: Gabe-centric, hint of Chlex
Rating: PG13
Summary: Gabe Sullivan – in his natural habitat, dealing with stress and the problems of being a father.
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: I would be lying if I said they were mine.
Author’s Notes: 1) Written from Gabe’s perspective on the things going on in his life. 2) Written for the sv_roast challenge.
Feedback: Yup, please.
Mr Luthor, Lex, Gabe mentally corrected himself, walked by his open office door at least six times a day. So regular were the young man’s excursions from his office that Gabe can almost set his watch to them if he really wanted to and Lex invariably found it impossible to walk by without sticking his head through the door and saying, “Everything going okay Gabe?” to which the answer was always a positive ‘yes’ and a mental thrill of terror at the thought something might have gone wrong that Lex knows about but that he, the plant manager, does not know about. The fear that such a question from the confident, swaggering young man invokes is both irritating and stimulating, urging him to work harder when he already knows that he works hard enough to have been rewarded with the position Lex currently holds long ago.
The only question that Gabe dreads more from his boss’ lips is the inevitable, always lurking around the corner ready to pounce, “So how are things at home then?” That question tended to stop Gabe dead in his tracks.
It could mean a number of things of course and that in itself was part of the problem. There was point of Gabe which always pointed out the fact that it might be an honest interest but there was also a part that said it might be a thinly veiled hint that he should go home and spend some time there instead of at the office. Then of course there was the other theory that Lex was *actually* asking about Chloe in an around about sort of way and that was the one which unsettled Gabe the most. Lex Luthor, renowned billionaire playboy and ladies’ man should *not* be asking questions about his daughter; especially not when the girl in question was both pretty and intelligent; a combination which would attract many a man to her. Even more so when it was taken into consideration that Chloe, god bless her, asked entirely too many questions about Lex for comfort and also happened to be only *fifteen* years old and (Gabe was nearly certain) relatively inexperienced.
As if to compound that idea Gabe now had a recurring nightmare where Chloe told him that she had gone to the plant to find him, come across Lex instead and the two of them had ended up screwing like bunnies on the ridiculously expensive rug on the floor of Lex’s office. The morning after the first time Gabe had suffered through the nightmare he had sat Chloe down at breakfast and said very seriously, “Lots of money does not equal lots of love.” Only to have Chloe say rather flippantly in reply before hurrying off, “But it does equal a house in every other major city in the world.”
It was perhaps around about that time that Gabe had felt the first twinges of the long promised ulcer. His doctor’s solution had been some new fangled relaxation technique that involved lots of laughter. The problem with that was that Gabe knew you could only laugh so long about the crap industry – it was a serious business after all.
The chime of the clock on the wall of his office, a slight knock on his door and the steady rumble of his ulcer alerted Gabe to the fact it was time to go home. Looking up he found himself staring right at the suave, confident, disgustingly relaxed form of Lex Luthor in the doorway with a smile on his features. “Gabe, I was wondering whether you wanted to walk down to the parking lot together.” Gabe offered him a brief nod in reply and hurriedly collected together his things. He walked across the floor and they stepped through the doorway, Lex clapping him on the shoulder as they did so, opening his mouth and sending a tremor through Gabe. “So how are things at home?”
Another rumble from his stomach sent Gabe reached for in antacids. The lucky bastard had probably never even had to think about getting an ulcer in his entire life.
THE END
Author: HumbugGirl
Email: humbuggirl@hotmail.com
URL: http://www.geocities.com/oddfiction
Pairing: Gabe-centric, hint of Chlex
Rating: PG13
Summary: Gabe Sullivan – in his natural habitat, dealing with stress and the problems of being a father.
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: I would be lying if I said they were mine.
Author’s Notes: 1) Written from Gabe’s perspective on the things going on in his life. 2) Written for the sv_roast challenge.
Feedback: Yup, please.
Mr Luthor, Lex, Gabe mentally corrected himself, walked by his open office door at least six times a day. So regular were the young man’s excursions from his office that Gabe can almost set his watch to them if he really wanted to and Lex invariably found it impossible to walk by without sticking his head through the door and saying, “Everything going okay Gabe?” to which the answer was always a positive ‘yes’ and a mental thrill of terror at the thought something might have gone wrong that Lex knows about but that he, the plant manager, does not know about. The fear that such a question from the confident, swaggering young man invokes is both irritating and stimulating, urging him to work harder when he already knows that he works hard enough to have been rewarded with the position Lex currently holds long ago.
The only question that Gabe dreads more from his boss’ lips is the inevitable, always lurking around the corner ready to pounce, “So how are things at home then?” That question tended to stop Gabe dead in his tracks.
It could mean a number of things of course and that in itself was part of the problem. There was point of Gabe which always pointed out the fact that it might be an honest interest but there was also a part that said it might be a thinly veiled hint that he should go home and spend some time there instead of at the office. Then of course there was the other theory that Lex was *actually* asking about Chloe in an around about sort of way and that was the one which unsettled Gabe the most. Lex Luthor, renowned billionaire playboy and ladies’ man should *not* be asking questions about his daughter; especially not when the girl in question was both pretty and intelligent; a combination which would attract many a man to her. Even more so when it was taken into consideration that Chloe, god bless her, asked entirely too many questions about Lex for comfort and also happened to be only *fifteen* years old and (Gabe was nearly certain) relatively inexperienced.
As if to compound that idea Gabe now had a recurring nightmare where Chloe told him that she had gone to the plant to find him, come across Lex instead and the two of them had ended up screwing like bunnies on the ridiculously expensive rug on the floor of Lex’s office. The morning after the first time Gabe had suffered through the nightmare he had sat Chloe down at breakfast and said very seriously, “Lots of money does not equal lots of love.” Only to have Chloe say rather flippantly in reply before hurrying off, “But it does equal a house in every other major city in the world.”
It was perhaps around about that time that Gabe had felt the first twinges of the long promised ulcer. His doctor’s solution had been some new fangled relaxation technique that involved lots of laughter. The problem with that was that Gabe knew you could only laugh so long about the crap industry – it was a serious business after all.
The chime of the clock on the wall of his office, a slight knock on his door and the steady rumble of his ulcer alerted Gabe to the fact it was time to go home. Looking up he found himself staring right at the suave, confident, disgustingly relaxed form of Lex Luthor in the doorway with a smile on his features. “Gabe, I was wondering whether you wanted to walk down to the parking lot together.” Gabe offered him a brief nod in reply and hurriedly collected together his things. He walked across the floor and they stepped through the doorway, Lex clapping him on the shoulder as they did so, opening his mouth and sending a tremor through Gabe. “So how are things at home?”
Another rumble from his stomach sent Gabe reached for in antacids. The lucky bastard had probably never even had to think about getting an ulcer in his entire life.
THE END