superag
22nd December 2009, 18:05
Title: Christmas Blessings
Author: Superag
Rating: PG13
Disclaimer: I own no part of Smallville, CW, Warner Bros or things would be run SOOO differently
Premise: Wrote as a continuation of my other Holiday fics, "The Gift Exchange" and "Never Meant to Be", but you don't have to read those to understand this
*****PART 1*****
"Dad, did you find it?" Chloe continued going through the piles of carefully wrapped Christmas decorations and pulling each one out the tissue paper. "He is going to kill me."
"Sweetheart, I doubt the man who has been completely enamored with you for the last two years is going to exactly kill you if you can't find one ornament." Gabe sat back on the couch and took a sip of the coffee. It was entirely too early in the morning for Chloe's latest rant.
Things had seemed out of whack with his only daughter since Thanksgiving and he laughed to himself every time he thought about it. He continued to ask himself if she had been spying or if she was simply that good.
The week of her finals it had begun. The strange questions about if her father had talked to Lex. He would simply say sure, at work, and leave things at that. Looking over in her direction, he watched her still unwrapping decorations from the box, now getting to those they had not put on in years. Then she stopped.
Gabe leaned forward and glanced over the coffee table in her direction to see the one she was holding. "Whatcha got?" he asked as he put the coffe in his hand down.
"One of mom's old Christmas ornaments," Chloe said quietly as she slowed her search. "I guess it's gone," Chloe continued depressingly.
Chloe continued to hold the paper Mache ball that had a picture of her and her mother on it. Sitting back from the pile of mess she had made in the living room, she suddenly felt the Christmas spirit ripped from her insides. "Why is it something every year?"
"What do you mean?"
Chloe looked over at her father as tears welled up in her eyes. "It's like an omen. Every year its something. Mom left a long time ago, but we still can't get one Christmas to work out. I thought dating Lex would slowly improve but even that seemed doomed for failure lately. I've seen him exactly three times since the beginning of the semester and one of those was for an interview during one of his business luncheons."
Gabe slid off the couch and leaned against the bookshelf, wrapping his arm around his only baby. "Lex is a very busy man and you have to admit you've been busy as well."
"The man owns his own plane. He could have come to see me once during my internship. The man is a corporate giant; you're telling me he hasn't been to New York once this whole semester? I don't believe it." Chloe cried through now the more heavy sobs.
The years had been difficult Gabe thought. The company had been suffering the same cuts and budgetary problems as the rest of the country, but Lex was trying. He had done more than a dozen trips around the globe trying to promise investors that their bottom line would be appreciated much more in the future if workers hours were cut back and not cut completely.
If Chloe had done anything to Lex over the last two years of their relationship, she had taught him something about the meaning of heart. Luthorcorp profits were generally in the toilet and his plans for the company to not cut anything were constantly criticized by brokers and the media, but he was as he stated in several press releases, "concerned for the average Joe."
"You told him last year when he was ready to shut down the plant in Michigan that he was making a mistake. You, honey, started this. And you have been right there with him all along as people from other companies laughed at him as he has tried to keep from adding to the massive unemployment. Now you're jealous of them?"
Chloe hated when her father was logical. And could remember. Now she had to pay for her trying to be the righteous one in reminding Lex what he had once done in Smallville could work anywhere, but a price of more than cash.
Leaning her head against his shoulder, she sighed without answering him. He was right; she could learn to share Lex. She would always come second. And she knew that; she had just hoped this year would be different, or at least they would get one holiday right after all the time.
"Do you think mom would have liked him?"
"Lex?" Gabe almost laughed thinking about what his wife would have said. "Your mom would have had some serious reservations about you even getting involved with someone, anyone, at the age you did. And you know how she felt about the corporate giants."
"Is that why you waited to get your job with him after she was gone?"
Gabe shook his head. "No, but it saved having an argument about it. But I think she could have been swayed if she could see the side of Lex that we've seen." Gabe hugged his daughter up in his arms. "Let's clean up the mess and start decorating the tree."
Chloe looked around the living room at the mess she had made. "Maybe it'll show up," she stated as she picked up a wad of tissue paper and stacked it in one of the empty boxes to save for after Christmas. The ornament from last Christmas at Lex's still completely missing from where she was sure she put it.
*********
"I understand the proposal is not what you were wanting but we have cut the budget here as much as we could possibly do without laying of employees. I can't run a plant like that; it's not soluble." Lex repeated as he ran his hand along his forehead.
The meeting he had been in for the last four hours was still on point one, being the number of layoffs that would occur on January 1 of the new year. Shaking his head in response to the plant manager's statements, the voices in his head from his father and Chloe continued to scream louder at each other. It was a constant battle since he had started letting his heart make business decisions for him. He had to thank his girlfriend for that later.
"Mr. Luthor, I have always respected you sir as my boss because as the manager, I have been lucky to live in a comfortable way. But these men and women that work the line are not the same as you and me. One missing paycheck and they could be on the street. There are children and medical bills. For once sir, can we not worry about the profit and worry about he people."
Lex stood up from the seat and somehow finally found the stance he had been missing for the last year. "Brad, I am truly sorry about this but my hands are tied. This is no longer about profits or about even breaking even. It's about me personally paying the off the debts that this plant is incurring every month. The demand is not there and I can't pay folks to stand around and do nothing. January 1 the plant shuts its doors. The severance package is the best I can do."
Brad opened his mouth and the attorney standing next to him signaled for him to finally stay quiet. The deal was the best the man could give in light of the current economy. As he watched the CEO leave his small boardroom, Brad finally felt the weight of the plant's demise fall on his shoulders. Happy New Years guys, you're all out of a job.
Lex climbed into the limo that had been parked out in front of the plant's main building, he turned and saw the one smokestack out of eight working. He couldn't bite off the fifty thousand dollars in debt every month anymore. The last one had come out of his own pocket. Leaning back against the padded seat, he groaned and rubbed his forehead.
Lex pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed. Taking a heavy sigh, he waited for the other line to pick up. "Brad, what are your plans for telling your crew?" Lex listened to the man sigh nervously. Lex looked back as the plant finally fell behind the trees as the limo turned down the small highway.
"It's cruel to tell them at the Christmas Party. The guys usually do something informal on the 23rd before we close shop for two days. I guess when they get back on the 26th."
The line went silent as Brad could barely hear Lex breathing on the other line. Lex leaned his arm against the window and closed his eyes. His father's voice used to hold so much more noise than now. Now it was someone else. "I'll take care of it on the 26th. No reason for you to take the blame." Lex hung up as Brad was obviously thanking him for saving him from town ridicule.
Lex threw the cell phone across the limo's back seat and closed his eyes. Another Christmas would be put off for reasons he didn't want to explain to his girlfriend. She was incredibly understanding but his three dates with her in one semester was starting to get to him. He wondered if she even thought it was worth the effort anymore. Sure, the emails and the sexting was something passable, but he wanted more.
Now, he was about to cancel on yet another planned Christmas trip. The repeated interruptions of their plans were starting to become the family tradition. He was surprised that she still spoke to him all things considered. They were supposed to put the first tree up in the mansion since his mother died when he got home. Pulling up his schedule on the laptop in the console, he promised himself to not tell her until after they got the tree up. At least something would go right.
*********
The tree was the wrong one. He looked at the 8 foot Douglas Fir and groaned. Chloe watched Lex's face wrinkle up in ways she had never seen before. She was sitting on the couch and looked on as the men continued to set up the tree and Lex continued to stare at them as if they to know to stop.
"I wanted a Noble Fir. An 8 foot Noble Fir. That's what is on the receipt here." He handed one of the little gentlemen the receipt and he stared at it. Handing the receipt back to Lex, he nodded.
"No Noble."
"I know that. I want a Noble."
"No Noble; best thing available."
"A refund perhaps then?" Chloe started to snicker as Lex continued to argue with the man that obviously had limited English abilities to the extent to Christmas Trees.
"Lex, let it go. The branches will hold ornaments as well as any other. Anyway, the fun is decorating it, not worrying about the sap content. I'll buy you a tree skirt for under it if you're worried about the floor." She walked over and thanked the men and gave them a small tip. As the men left, she turned and smiled. "It looks nice; it's a tree that will be here exactly a week if that. Don't worry."
Lex pulled her in closer to him. "Now I remember why I keep you around." Feeling her arms wrap around his waist, he felt the light weight on his toes and kissed her nose.
"That wasn't exactly what I hoping for after being apart for nearly a month," Chloe halfway joked.
"More like," Lex cut off as his hand glided up her neck and into her hair. Pressing his palm against the back of her head, Lex lowered his lips to hers and slightly teased her with his tongue, tasting her peppermint gloss before closing his mouth on hers.
Hearing her moan and feeling her body limp, he held her head in place before devouring her mouth once more. God he had missed the taste of her. He had to work out something.
Chloe pulled out of the kiss moments later, "Where did you go just then?" She ran her hands along the base of his neck.
"That I've missed you. I've really missed my rock this year."
Chloe ran her hands down his chest, trying to feel every tense muscle and hoping her touch would lighten it somewhat. "Me too," she whispered before kissing him again.
*******
Neither of them could quite explain how they had gotten from the library to the bedroom nor did they care. Chloe opened her eyes as she laid on his chest, looking directly at Lex's face. "That was unexpected," she giggled. "Although very good."
"Incredible," Lex whispered as he ran his hand along his naked girlfriend. Her body was something that should be worshipped he thought. Perfect curves, smooth skin that always smelled like something he could eat, devour.
"So not that I didn't completely enjoy the sudden two hour romp in the bedroom but what's going on? I have a feeling I'm being set up." Chloe rolled over and leaned on her palm while drawing circles on his chest.
"You have never doubted that have you? Well, after the last few years of being sick and my plane crash, and your secret Santa gift the first year, I figured I would keep the tradition alive. How would you like to spend Christmas in Dearborn, Michigan?"
Chloe's face wrinkled into confusion and then discontentment. "Ahhh, the catch. Why Dearborn?"
"I have to close a plant and decided that I would take the brunt of the responsibility. So, I'm attending the Christmas party tomorrow night and then staying for the announcement on the 26th." Lex looked over at the time on the clock and remembered her father would be arriving for the tree decorating and dinner in an hour. They hadn't gotten anything out of the basement yet. Her father would figure it out.
"I guess this is finally the last straw and you've tried everything else. Yeah, I'd rather go with you than sit around here alone." Chloe leaned over and kissed Lex on the cheek. "I love you, you know that?"
Lex turned and could see the look of disappointment on her face. "It was the last straw, but they are all getting a good package." Chloe tilted her head to the side. "I promise it's not a kiss off severance."
He knew what she was thinking. She had been through the loss of her father's job when his father had fired Gabe. She had been so angry at him. He hoped he would never see that look on her face again, but the disappointment was clearly on her face again. "I believe you, but let's go together because I would rather be there with you than not."
"What about you dad? This was going to be a family Christmas."
"He can come, can't he?" Lex just shook his head at Chloe's almost pleading. He knew the after two years Gabe would understand if the two wanted to just go away on their own, especially after the last conversation the two men had. But Chloe had been with her father so much of her life, it seemed odd to cut him out of her life. "Of course, but I do want some time alone with you."
"To have your dirty way with me?" Chloe giggled as her hand slid under the covers and grabbed Lex unexpectedly.
"Oh, of course," he groaned as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. He loved her hands there. "But now, we have to unpack the stuff from the basement." He unwillingly pulled her hand from him and rolled out of bed. Chloe laughed as the man everyone in town still was wary about after all these years sauntered to the bathroom naked and threw her clothes from the chair across the room to her.
********
The tree was perfect. Lex had been hesitant when Chloe had suggested a tree in the mansion. The only ornaments he knew that still were there were the ones from when his mother was still alive. His father may have been a heartless bastard, but never threw anything away that his mother treasured. It simply was locked away and out of sight.
"See, who cares what type of tree it is." Chloe commented as she crossed her arms and admired the job the three of them had done in the last hour and a half. "And all the ornaments are beautiful."
"Yeah, did you bring the other one? Ours?" Chloe swallowed suddenly and pasted on a fake smile. Lex looked so excited to add the ornament to his collection. The first thing that they truly called theirs and she had lost it. It was gone. It seemed like such an omen.
"Lex, I am so sorry, but...."
"You mean this one?" Gabe answered as he pulled the ornament out of the bag that he had brought over. "Yeah, I found it right there on the coffee table. Maybe both of our sights are going bad."
"No, I distinctly remember looking there." Chloe answered as she took the ornament from her father and stared at it. "What are you snickering at?"
The two looked over at Lex as Chloe gripped the ornament harder and felt it crack. "Damn."
Lex couldn't stop laughing. He could see the red starting to creep up on her cheeks and then her eyes started to water. And he was still laughing. Dammit, he wasn't supposed to be laughing; he was supposed to be ... crap.
He practically threw himself on the floor in front of her on one knee as top popped off the ornament. And it seemed like time stopped. Looking up at her expression, he couldn't tell whether she was actually happy or still upset. "I promised you and didn't want to be cliche or wait until Christmas or make a big to do."
Glancing quickly at Gabe, Gabe shrugged. His daughter was not usually without words. But with half of her ornament on the floor, and the other half displaying a perfectly cut diamond, she was still silent. "Chloe honey, talk to me."
"I...." was all she mustered. She lowered the container. "Dad?" She squeaked as she glanced in his direction. Gabe smiled.
Lex took her other hand. "I love you Chloe. And I meant it last year when I said I would ask you to marry me. So, Chloe you want to be a Luthor?"
Chloe twisted her face uncomfortably at the strange proposal but smiled through it. "Not sure how ready for that I am, but yeah. Married to you, definitely." She watched a grinning Lex slide the overly large diamond on her finger. It wasn't the biggest thing he could have bought but was definitely larger than the sorority girls' engagement rings.
"I love you," Lex whispered before kissing her with her father watching the whole thing.
Gabe crossed his arms and leaned back on his heels as he watched his daughter slowly blend into Lex's body. She was slowly slipping away and strangely he didn't miss her. She finally smiled like she used to when her mother was still around and her first year of high school. Before the Clark years, before the strange years. Anyone that could do that for her, he wanted to lose her to that person.
********
Chloe looked out the window as she watched the Luthorcorp land in Dearborn. Chloe glanced over at Lex and shook her head as he continued to flip through the same set of files as he was when the plane took off. Even though the trip hadn't taken too long, she knew that he was concentrating on not having to talk about the sad news he was in town to deliver.
Chloe looked down at her newly acquired piece of jewelry and fiddled with it. Only a couple of days into their engagement, she still had problems breathing every time she looked at it. This Christmas may not hold anything special, but she felt something different anyway. First she noticed that her father had put her on the jet with Lex without him.
That discussion was one that she couldn't believe. Her dad simply said that he wasn't going. And he wouldn't let her argue with him. Secretly, Chloe liked the fact that her dad left them alone for more than one reason.
"Come on, I'll get us checked into the hotel and then I can head over to the plant and visit with the families." Lex picked up his bag and handed it to the assistant on the ground.
"Lex," Chloe waited until Lex got in the car and she settled in next to him. She wanted him to actually pay attention to her. "Lex."
"Hmm?" Lex glanced over at her and then toward the window just to feel Chloe's hand move his face back to hers.
"I want to go with you. It's a party, not a meeting. And I'm going to be your wife. You need to realize that some of these things that you thought you had to do alone you don't anymore."
Lex took her hand and tilted his head in her direction. "Chloe, you don't have to."
"I want to. Besides, its soon going to be part of my duties I guess you could say." Chloe smiled as she moved closer and wrapped her arm in his and leaned against his arm on the rest of trip to the hotel.
*******
Lex opened the door to the plant opened quietly and looked around as most of the lights in the main entrance were off. Chloe and Lex let the door close behind them. Chloe followed Lex down the musty hallway until both heard the music coming from the main warehouse, which was mostly empty now.
Chloe pushed the door opened and marveled at the red and white lights randomly hung and the small fake tree that the kids were decorating with a paper chain. "I'm going to go check some things out. Lex, mingle and be nice."
Lex turned up his nose at her, at what she was insinuating. He watched her disappear into the crowd of kids sitting on the ground cutting and pasting. He watched as she immediately sat down and started asking names and picking out paper to help what their future held. He had been married before but she was the first one he finally pictured having kids with. Suddenly realizing he was beaming, he quickly poised himself and continued over to the adults.
As he approached, he saw Brad turn toward him and nearly faint at the sight. "Mr. Luthor, what do we owe this surprising visit?"
"I told you I would come back and assist you." Lex slid his hands into his coat pocket bored now as others started looking at the two in conversation. He could hear rumblings begin among the adults.
"I said after the holiday. Your presence is making them suspicious."
"Probably, or I could be here on my own accord. Come on, let's just enjoy the party."
Brad stared at the man and then past him at the woman now playing with his own 16 month daughter. She was bouncing her on her knee and singing. Noticing the ring on her finger, he pulled slightly on Lex jacket. "Who's the woman sir?"
"Chloe, she's my fiancée. She wanted to come."
"She makes you happy apparently. I'm very happy for you sir." Brad glanced at her once again and shook his head. He had read of the past antics in the Lex Luthor marriage saga and really hoped this one looked to work out. Chloe was different from the pictures he had seen before.
"Sir, if I may ask we had someone coming to dress up as Santa where we could take family pictures but he got sick. Everything is here and the kids from last year will start asking." Brad hesitated seeing the look on Lex's face. "I would dress up but my daughter would know."
Lex looked around silently and then smiled as he watched Chloe play with the kids. Corporate picnics and parties had never been his thing, but they seemed to bring the company together more. "Where's the costume?"
Brad nearly choked on his words in shock. "The men's restroom. You, I thought maybe your driver or..."
"Chloe," Lex raised his voice slightly and saw her head pop up before waving her over.
Smiling and patting some of the kids on the head, she walked over and ran her arm through Lex's while shaking Brad's hand. "Hello, I'm Chloe."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Brad Turner. I'm the plant manager." Chloe silently nodded her head knowing that he had the same position that her father had before Lex promoted him.
Lex turned and looked at her. "I need a little assistance if you don't mind honey. Give us a few minutes."
Chloe looked at Lex and questioned what he was talking about. Lex pulled slightly on her arm as they started out of the warehouse and back down the hall to the men's room. Pushing the door open, Chloe spotted the costume on the seat and broke into laughter. "You're kidding?"
Lex shot her a surprised look. "No, I need your help getting into it," Lex calmly stated as he started to unbutton his shirt. "And I need you to write down everything that the people say they want."
Chloe giggled. "Ok, anything to get you naked in front of me." She started helping him into the costume, complete with the fat suit. "Good thing there's hair attached to the hat. I am so writing an article about this."
Lex continued working on the buckles and straps to secure the 'bowl full of jelly' and ignored Chloe's snickering. "I would expect no less of you." He eyed her in front of the half mirror. "Is it at least buyable to a 3 year old?"
Chloe shook her head. "A toddler wouldn't buy it, but it's cute." Chloe tried to stop laughing.
"You have your little pad?" Lex shot her a dirty look and pushed on the bathroom door. Chloe could tell from the irritation in his voice that he was tired of the jokes and now wanted to just get the show over with. Besides, without Chloe in his life, he wouldn't have lowered himself to the suit to begin with.
*******
"Santa!" all the parents heard from the kids screams. Looking at the doors open, a pretty young blonde woman and Santa strolled in. Sitting down in the chair next to tree, Santa nodded at his pretty assistant and picked the first little girl up.
The voice was horrible. He sounded like what Chloe would expect he would if he ever got the flu, but the kids didn't care. The first girl hugged him and played with the end of the beard. "I want a bicycle, and a Barbie, and a tea set, and my mom wants a dishwasher, and a new bed for my brother."
"And how old is your brother?"
"He's turning four and can't sleep in the baby bed anymore." The little girl pointed out the little boy who was still jumping up and down on his mother's leg wanting to meet Santa.
"That sounds fair. Now if you've been good and your parents have worked hard this year, Santa will see what he can do." The little girl slid off his lap and ran over to her mom and beamed about meeting Santa. Looking up at Chloe, Lex spoke normally. "Did you get it all?"
"Yep, next!"
The trend continued with toys and Lex asked the children and then his employees what they all wanted, all in his gruff Santa voice. Most of the employees hadn't even seen him speaking with Brad and had no idea who he was. The last little boy wasn't so little and was missing most of his hair. "And you are?"
"Michael, my dad runs the plant." Santa glanced over in Brad's direction as Brad's face saddened.
"So what do you want this year?"
The boy sat on Lex's knee silently for several minutes. Lex could see the look of thought going into the question and Chloe glanced at Lex. His look was somber as if he felt something special for the child. "Well, dad's been real good about paying for the chemo treatments and they're almost done, but the roof leaks. I know he can't pay for both. He says his boss is trying to help. And my mom's sewing machine went out and I wanted a chemistry set, but the chemicals are too much."
"Well, Santa...."
"Look, I'm old enough to know better. This was great for the kids, but we're no different than anyone else here in Michigan. It's hard." The kid shrugged his shoulders and slid off Lex's lap.
Lex looked in Brad's direction and wondered for a moment if the man had put his son up to it. Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he looked up at Chloe. "Brad is not your father. I think the kid is for real. I know there's no way you can save the plant, is there?"
"No."
Another woman walked up and smiled at the two talking quietly. "Come on, you two in a picture." Chloe looked at the woman and smiled as she climbed on Santa's lap. To her surprise, Santa took advantage of her and slid his hand over her ass as they posed for the picture.
"So Chloe, have you been good this year?"
Chloe giggled at the beard that was falling down now. Lex's crystal blue eyes beamed through all the fake fur and made her insides tingle. She felt something and frowned. "If I say no, will you put your hand back on my ass?"
Feeling a little fire build in him, he grabbed her ass again, even harder this time. "If you've been naughty, I made need to discipline you back at the North Pole." He stopped and scratched the beard with his free hand. "But now I want to get out of this get up."
Chloe slid off his lap and watched him head for the door, waving at the kids as he left. "Tell Brad to come see me in the restroom in a few minutes." Chloe nodded as Lex disappeared down the hall.
********
The two men walked back into the party together and several of the employees turned around and stared. Whispers started but died down quickly as Brad stopped in front of the group. He watched as Chloe kept all the children occupied.
"It's bad news if he's here," one employee stated. "Way to kill Christmas Mr. Luthor. Have you no shame?"
Lex knew he was about to be attacked. He had never let people go or closed a plant from the same level as the employees. Behind a podium with guards normally, but he knew Brad for many years and expected his employees to be more reserved. Or maybe not.
"It's unavoidable ladies and gentlemen. This plant fed directly into a GM automaker and right now, just as last year, that's not a good thing. My team in Metropolis is currently working on some green projects that hopefully we can realign the plant to, but currently I'm running this place in the red. In fact the last eight months, in the red and I've been eating that debt."
"But you can afford it. You're letting us go at Christmas?"
"Not exactly, the plant officially closes on January 1. You'll be receiving a severance package that Brad and I have agreed on among a couple of other benefits. Your medical is in tact until February 1. At that time, unemployment and Medicaid will have to take over. I will keep Brad constantly in the loop about developments and you will be the first ones brought back on board if and when the plant opens again. I am very sorry."
Lex stood still and silent and waited for the backlash. He waited for the screaming and the crying and the accusations that his father always caused. One woman approached him and stared without saying a word. "Thank you, for being honest. You are not your father. I worked for him four different places, let go every time. Not once did I see anything but a pink slip and a gift basket."
Lex kept his emotions in check. Now he knew the reason for the podium and the stage. Then he didn't feel like this. "Thank you for your service all these years." Lex put out his hand but the woman hugged him. "We'll be in touch."
"Come on Megan, let's go home." One little girl got up from next to Chloe and followed her out the door.
The other employees followed until Brad shook Lex's hand and walked out with his son and wife. Chloe put away the rest of the art supplies in a nice pile, walked over, and leaned against Lex's back with her arms around him.
"How are you?"
"Empty."
TBC
Author: Superag
Rating: PG13
Disclaimer: I own no part of Smallville, CW, Warner Bros or things would be run SOOO differently
Premise: Wrote as a continuation of my other Holiday fics, "The Gift Exchange" and "Never Meant to Be", but you don't have to read those to understand this
*****PART 1*****
"Dad, did you find it?" Chloe continued going through the piles of carefully wrapped Christmas decorations and pulling each one out the tissue paper. "He is going to kill me."
"Sweetheart, I doubt the man who has been completely enamored with you for the last two years is going to exactly kill you if you can't find one ornament." Gabe sat back on the couch and took a sip of the coffee. It was entirely too early in the morning for Chloe's latest rant.
Things had seemed out of whack with his only daughter since Thanksgiving and he laughed to himself every time he thought about it. He continued to ask himself if she had been spying or if she was simply that good.
The week of her finals it had begun. The strange questions about if her father had talked to Lex. He would simply say sure, at work, and leave things at that. Looking over in her direction, he watched her still unwrapping decorations from the box, now getting to those they had not put on in years. Then she stopped.
Gabe leaned forward and glanced over the coffee table in her direction to see the one she was holding. "Whatcha got?" he asked as he put the coffe in his hand down.
"One of mom's old Christmas ornaments," Chloe said quietly as she slowed her search. "I guess it's gone," Chloe continued depressingly.
Chloe continued to hold the paper Mache ball that had a picture of her and her mother on it. Sitting back from the pile of mess she had made in the living room, she suddenly felt the Christmas spirit ripped from her insides. "Why is it something every year?"
"What do you mean?"
Chloe looked over at her father as tears welled up in her eyes. "It's like an omen. Every year its something. Mom left a long time ago, but we still can't get one Christmas to work out. I thought dating Lex would slowly improve but even that seemed doomed for failure lately. I've seen him exactly three times since the beginning of the semester and one of those was for an interview during one of his business luncheons."
Gabe slid off the couch and leaned against the bookshelf, wrapping his arm around his only baby. "Lex is a very busy man and you have to admit you've been busy as well."
"The man owns his own plane. He could have come to see me once during my internship. The man is a corporate giant; you're telling me he hasn't been to New York once this whole semester? I don't believe it." Chloe cried through now the more heavy sobs.
The years had been difficult Gabe thought. The company had been suffering the same cuts and budgetary problems as the rest of the country, but Lex was trying. He had done more than a dozen trips around the globe trying to promise investors that their bottom line would be appreciated much more in the future if workers hours were cut back and not cut completely.
If Chloe had done anything to Lex over the last two years of their relationship, she had taught him something about the meaning of heart. Luthorcorp profits were generally in the toilet and his plans for the company to not cut anything were constantly criticized by brokers and the media, but he was as he stated in several press releases, "concerned for the average Joe."
"You told him last year when he was ready to shut down the plant in Michigan that he was making a mistake. You, honey, started this. And you have been right there with him all along as people from other companies laughed at him as he has tried to keep from adding to the massive unemployment. Now you're jealous of them?"
Chloe hated when her father was logical. And could remember. Now she had to pay for her trying to be the righteous one in reminding Lex what he had once done in Smallville could work anywhere, but a price of more than cash.
Leaning her head against his shoulder, she sighed without answering him. He was right; she could learn to share Lex. She would always come second. And she knew that; she had just hoped this year would be different, or at least they would get one holiday right after all the time.
"Do you think mom would have liked him?"
"Lex?" Gabe almost laughed thinking about what his wife would have said. "Your mom would have had some serious reservations about you even getting involved with someone, anyone, at the age you did. And you know how she felt about the corporate giants."
"Is that why you waited to get your job with him after she was gone?"
Gabe shook his head. "No, but it saved having an argument about it. But I think she could have been swayed if she could see the side of Lex that we've seen." Gabe hugged his daughter up in his arms. "Let's clean up the mess and start decorating the tree."
Chloe looked around the living room at the mess she had made. "Maybe it'll show up," she stated as she picked up a wad of tissue paper and stacked it in one of the empty boxes to save for after Christmas. The ornament from last Christmas at Lex's still completely missing from where she was sure she put it.
*********
"I understand the proposal is not what you were wanting but we have cut the budget here as much as we could possibly do without laying of employees. I can't run a plant like that; it's not soluble." Lex repeated as he ran his hand along his forehead.
The meeting he had been in for the last four hours was still on point one, being the number of layoffs that would occur on January 1 of the new year. Shaking his head in response to the plant manager's statements, the voices in his head from his father and Chloe continued to scream louder at each other. It was a constant battle since he had started letting his heart make business decisions for him. He had to thank his girlfriend for that later.
"Mr. Luthor, I have always respected you sir as my boss because as the manager, I have been lucky to live in a comfortable way. But these men and women that work the line are not the same as you and me. One missing paycheck and they could be on the street. There are children and medical bills. For once sir, can we not worry about the profit and worry about he people."
Lex stood up from the seat and somehow finally found the stance he had been missing for the last year. "Brad, I am truly sorry about this but my hands are tied. This is no longer about profits or about even breaking even. It's about me personally paying the off the debts that this plant is incurring every month. The demand is not there and I can't pay folks to stand around and do nothing. January 1 the plant shuts its doors. The severance package is the best I can do."
Brad opened his mouth and the attorney standing next to him signaled for him to finally stay quiet. The deal was the best the man could give in light of the current economy. As he watched the CEO leave his small boardroom, Brad finally felt the weight of the plant's demise fall on his shoulders. Happy New Years guys, you're all out of a job.
Lex climbed into the limo that had been parked out in front of the plant's main building, he turned and saw the one smokestack out of eight working. He couldn't bite off the fifty thousand dollars in debt every month anymore. The last one had come out of his own pocket. Leaning back against the padded seat, he groaned and rubbed his forehead.
Lex pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed. Taking a heavy sigh, he waited for the other line to pick up. "Brad, what are your plans for telling your crew?" Lex listened to the man sigh nervously. Lex looked back as the plant finally fell behind the trees as the limo turned down the small highway.
"It's cruel to tell them at the Christmas Party. The guys usually do something informal on the 23rd before we close shop for two days. I guess when they get back on the 26th."
The line went silent as Brad could barely hear Lex breathing on the other line. Lex leaned his arm against the window and closed his eyes. His father's voice used to hold so much more noise than now. Now it was someone else. "I'll take care of it on the 26th. No reason for you to take the blame." Lex hung up as Brad was obviously thanking him for saving him from town ridicule.
Lex threw the cell phone across the limo's back seat and closed his eyes. Another Christmas would be put off for reasons he didn't want to explain to his girlfriend. She was incredibly understanding but his three dates with her in one semester was starting to get to him. He wondered if she even thought it was worth the effort anymore. Sure, the emails and the sexting was something passable, but he wanted more.
Now, he was about to cancel on yet another planned Christmas trip. The repeated interruptions of their plans were starting to become the family tradition. He was surprised that she still spoke to him all things considered. They were supposed to put the first tree up in the mansion since his mother died when he got home. Pulling up his schedule on the laptop in the console, he promised himself to not tell her until after they got the tree up. At least something would go right.
*********
The tree was the wrong one. He looked at the 8 foot Douglas Fir and groaned. Chloe watched Lex's face wrinkle up in ways she had never seen before. She was sitting on the couch and looked on as the men continued to set up the tree and Lex continued to stare at them as if they to know to stop.
"I wanted a Noble Fir. An 8 foot Noble Fir. That's what is on the receipt here." He handed one of the little gentlemen the receipt and he stared at it. Handing the receipt back to Lex, he nodded.
"No Noble."
"I know that. I want a Noble."
"No Noble; best thing available."
"A refund perhaps then?" Chloe started to snicker as Lex continued to argue with the man that obviously had limited English abilities to the extent to Christmas Trees.
"Lex, let it go. The branches will hold ornaments as well as any other. Anyway, the fun is decorating it, not worrying about the sap content. I'll buy you a tree skirt for under it if you're worried about the floor." She walked over and thanked the men and gave them a small tip. As the men left, she turned and smiled. "It looks nice; it's a tree that will be here exactly a week if that. Don't worry."
Lex pulled her in closer to him. "Now I remember why I keep you around." Feeling her arms wrap around his waist, he felt the light weight on his toes and kissed her nose.
"That wasn't exactly what I hoping for after being apart for nearly a month," Chloe halfway joked.
"More like," Lex cut off as his hand glided up her neck and into her hair. Pressing his palm against the back of her head, Lex lowered his lips to hers and slightly teased her with his tongue, tasting her peppermint gloss before closing his mouth on hers.
Hearing her moan and feeling her body limp, he held her head in place before devouring her mouth once more. God he had missed the taste of her. He had to work out something.
Chloe pulled out of the kiss moments later, "Where did you go just then?" She ran her hands along the base of his neck.
"That I've missed you. I've really missed my rock this year."
Chloe ran her hands down his chest, trying to feel every tense muscle and hoping her touch would lighten it somewhat. "Me too," she whispered before kissing him again.
*******
Neither of them could quite explain how they had gotten from the library to the bedroom nor did they care. Chloe opened her eyes as she laid on his chest, looking directly at Lex's face. "That was unexpected," she giggled. "Although very good."
"Incredible," Lex whispered as he ran his hand along his naked girlfriend. Her body was something that should be worshipped he thought. Perfect curves, smooth skin that always smelled like something he could eat, devour.
"So not that I didn't completely enjoy the sudden two hour romp in the bedroom but what's going on? I have a feeling I'm being set up." Chloe rolled over and leaned on her palm while drawing circles on his chest.
"You have never doubted that have you? Well, after the last few years of being sick and my plane crash, and your secret Santa gift the first year, I figured I would keep the tradition alive. How would you like to spend Christmas in Dearborn, Michigan?"
Chloe's face wrinkled into confusion and then discontentment. "Ahhh, the catch. Why Dearborn?"
"I have to close a plant and decided that I would take the brunt of the responsibility. So, I'm attending the Christmas party tomorrow night and then staying for the announcement on the 26th." Lex looked over at the time on the clock and remembered her father would be arriving for the tree decorating and dinner in an hour. They hadn't gotten anything out of the basement yet. Her father would figure it out.
"I guess this is finally the last straw and you've tried everything else. Yeah, I'd rather go with you than sit around here alone." Chloe leaned over and kissed Lex on the cheek. "I love you, you know that?"
Lex turned and could see the look of disappointment on her face. "It was the last straw, but they are all getting a good package." Chloe tilted her head to the side. "I promise it's not a kiss off severance."
He knew what she was thinking. She had been through the loss of her father's job when his father had fired Gabe. She had been so angry at him. He hoped he would never see that look on her face again, but the disappointment was clearly on her face again. "I believe you, but let's go together because I would rather be there with you than not."
"What about you dad? This was going to be a family Christmas."
"He can come, can't he?" Lex just shook his head at Chloe's almost pleading. He knew the after two years Gabe would understand if the two wanted to just go away on their own, especially after the last conversation the two men had. But Chloe had been with her father so much of her life, it seemed odd to cut him out of her life. "Of course, but I do want some time alone with you."
"To have your dirty way with me?" Chloe giggled as her hand slid under the covers and grabbed Lex unexpectedly.
"Oh, of course," he groaned as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. He loved her hands there. "But now, we have to unpack the stuff from the basement." He unwillingly pulled her hand from him and rolled out of bed. Chloe laughed as the man everyone in town still was wary about after all these years sauntered to the bathroom naked and threw her clothes from the chair across the room to her.
********
The tree was perfect. Lex had been hesitant when Chloe had suggested a tree in the mansion. The only ornaments he knew that still were there were the ones from when his mother was still alive. His father may have been a heartless bastard, but never threw anything away that his mother treasured. It simply was locked away and out of sight.
"See, who cares what type of tree it is." Chloe commented as she crossed her arms and admired the job the three of them had done in the last hour and a half. "And all the ornaments are beautiful."
"Yeah, did you bring the other one? Ours?" Chloe swallowed suddenly and pasted on a fake smile. Lex looked so excited to add the ornament to his collection. The first thing that they truly called theirs and she had lost it. It was gone. It seemed like such an omen.
"Lex, I am so sorry, but...."
"You mean this one?" Gabe answered as he pulled the ornament out of the bag that he had brought over. "Yeah, I found it right there on the coffee table. Maybe both of our sights are going bad."
"No, I distinctly remember looking there." Chloe answered as she took the ornament from her father and stared at it. "What are you snickering at?"
The two looked over at Lex as Chloe gripped the ornament harder and felt it crack. "Damn."
Lex couldn't stop laughing. He could see the red starting to creep up on her cheeks and then her eyes started to water. And he was still laughing. Dammit, he wasn't supposed to be laughing; he was supposed to be ... crap.
He practically threw himself on the floor in front of her on one knee as top popped off the ornament. And it seemed like time stopped. Looking up at her expression, he couldn't tell whether she was actually happy or still upset. "I promised you and didn't want to be cliche or wait until Christmas or make a big to do."
Glancing quickly at Gabe, Gabe shrugged. His daughter was not usually without words. But with half of her ornament on the floor, and the other half displaying a perfectly cut diamond, she was still silent. "Chloe honey, talk to me."
"I...." was all she mustered. She lowered the container. "Dad?" She squeaked as she glanced in his direction. Gabe smiled.
Lex took her other hand. "I love you Chloe. And I meant it last year when I said I would ask you to marry me. So, Chloe you want to be a Luthor?"
Chloe twisted her face uncomfortably at the strange proposal but smiled through it. "Not sure how ready for that I am, but yeah. Married to you, definitely." She watched a grinning Lex slide the overly large diamond on her finger. It wasn't the biggest thing he could have bought but was definitely larger than the sorority girls' engagement rings.
"I love you," Lex whispered before kissing her with her father watching the whole thing.
Gabe crossed his arms and leaned back on his heels as he watched his daughter slowly blend into Lex's body. She was slowly slipping away and strangely he didn't miss her. She finally smiled like she used to when her mother was still around and her first year of high school. Before the Clark years, before the strange years. Anyone that could do that for her, he wanted to lose her to that person.
********
Chloe looked out the window as she watched the Luthorcorp land in Dearborn. Chloe glanced over at Lex and shook her head as he continued to flip through the same set of files as he was when the plane took off. Even though the trip hadn't taken too long, she knew that he was concentrating on not having to talk about the sad news he was in town to deliver.
Chloe looked down at her newly acquired piece of jewelry and fiddled with it. Only a couple of days into their engagement, she still had problems breathing every time she looked at it. This Christmas may not hold anything special, but she felt something different anyway. First she noticed that her father had put her on the jet with Lex without him.
That discussion was one that she couldn't believe. Her dad simply said that he wasn't going. And he wouldn't let her argue with him. Secretly, Chloe liked the fact that her dad left them alone for more than one reason.
"Come on, I'll get us checked into the hotel and then I can head over to the plant and visit with the families." Lex picked up his bag and handed it to the assistant on the ground.
"Lex," Chloe waited until Lex got in the car and she settled in next to him. She wanted him to actually pay attention to her. "Lex."
"Hmm?" Lex glanced over at her and then toward the window just to feel Chloe's hand move his face back to hers.
"I want to go with you. It's a party, not a meeting. And I'm going to be your wife. You need to realize that some of these things that you thought you had to do alone you don't anymore."
Lex took her hand and tilted his head in her direction. "Chloe, you don't have to."
"I want to. Besides, its soon going to be part of my duties I guess you could say." Chloe smiled as she moved closer and wrapped her arm in his and leaned against his arm on the rest of trip to the hotel.
*******
Lex opened the door to the plant opened quietly and looked around as most of the lights in the main entrance were off. Chloe and Lex let the door close behind them. Chloe followed Lex down the musty hallway until both heard the music coming from the main warehouse, which was mostly empty now.
Chloe pushed the door opened and marveled at the red and white lights randomly hung and the small fake tree that the kids were decorating with a paper chain. "I'm going to go check some things out. Lex, mingle and be nice."
Lex turned up his nose at her, at what she was insinuating. He watched her disappear into the crowd of kids sitting on the ground cutting and pasting. He watched as she immediately sat down and started asking names and picking out paper to help what their future held. He had been married before but she was the first one he finally pictured having kids with. Suddenly realizing he was beaming, he quickly poised himself and continued over to the adults.
As he approached, he saw Brad turn toward him and nearly faint at the sight. "Mr. Luthor, what do we owe this surprising visit?"
"I told you I would come back and assist you." Lex slid his hands into his coat pocket bored now as others started looking at the two in conversation. He could hear rumblings begin among the adults.
"I said after the holiday. Your presence is making them suspicious."
"Probably, or I could be here on my own accord. Come on, let's just enjoy the party."
Brad stared at the man and then past him at the woman now playing with his own 16 month daughter. She was bouncing her on her knee and singing. Noticing the ring on her finger, he pulled slightly on Lex jacket. "Who's the woman sir?"
"Chloe, she's my fiancée. She wanted to come."
"She makes you happy apparently. I'm very happy for you sir." Brad glanced at her once again and shook his head. He had read of the past antics in the Lex Luthor marriage saga and really hoped this one looked to work out. Chloe was different from the pictures he had seen before.
"Sir, if I may ask we had someone coming to dress up as Santa where we could take family pictures but he got sick. Everything is here and the kids from last year will start asking." Brad hesitated seeing the look on Lex's face. "I would dress up but my daughter would know."
Lex looked around silently and then smiled as he watched Chloe play with the kids. Corporate picnics and parties had never been his thing, but they seemed to bring the company together more. "Where's the costume?"
Brad nearly choked on his words in shock. "The men's restroom. You, I thought maybe your driver or..."
"Chloe," Lex raised his voice slightly and saw her head pop up before waving her over.
Smiling and patting some of the kids on the head, she walked over and ran her arm through Lex's while shaking Brad's hand. "Hello, I'm Chloe."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Brad Turner. I'm the plant manager." Chloe silently nodded her head knowing that he had the same position that her father had before Lex promoted him.
Lex turned and looked at her. "I need a little assistance if you don't mind honey. Give us a few minutes."
Chloe looked at Lex and questioned what he was talking about. Lex pulled slightly on her arm as they started out of the warehouse and back down the hall to the men's room. Pushing the door open, Chloe spotted the costume on the seat and broke into laughter. "You're kidding?"
Lex shot her a surprised look. "No, I need your help getting into it," Lex calmly stated as he started to unbutton his shirt. "And I need you to write down everything that the people say they want."
Chloe giggled. "Ok, anything to get you naked in front of me." She started helping him into the costume, complete with the fat suit. "Good thing there's hair attached to the hat. I am so writing an article about this."
Lex continued working on the buckles and straps to secure the 'bowl full of jelly' and ignored Chloe's snickering. "I would expect no less of you." He eyed her in front of the half mirror. "Is it at least buyable to a 3 year old?"
Chloe shook her head. "A toddler wouldn't buy it, but it's cute." Chloe tried to stop laughing.
"You have your little pad?" Lex shot her a dirty look and pushed on the bathroom door. Chloe could tell from the irritation in his voice that he was tired of the jokes and now wanted to just get the show over with. Besides, without Chloe in his life, he wouldn't have lowered himself to the suit to begin with.
*******
"Santa!" all the parents heard from the kids screams. Looking at the doors open, a pretty young blonde woman and Santa strolled in. Sitting down in the chair next to tree, Santa nodded at his pretty assistant and picked the first little girl up.
The voice was horrible. He sounded like what Chloe would expect he would if he ever got the flu, but the kids didn't care. The first girl hugged him and played with the end of the beard. "I want a bicycle, and a Barbie, and a tea set, and my mom wants a dishwasher, and a new bed for my brother."
"And how old is your brother?"
"He's turning four and can't sleep in the baby bed anymore." The little girl pointed out the little boy who was still jumping up and down on his mother's leg wanting to meet Santa.
"That sounds fair. Now if you've been good and your parents have worked hard this year, Santa will see what he can do." The little girl slid off his lap and ran over to her mom and beamed about meeting Santa. Looking up at Chloe, Lex spoke normally. "Did you get it all?"
"Yep, next!"
The trend continued with toys and Lex asked the children and then his employees what they all wanted, all in his gruff Santa voice. Most of the employees hadn't even seen him speaking with Brad and had no idea who he was. The last little boy wasn't so little and was missing most of his hair. "And you are?"
"Michael, my dad runs the plant." Santa glanced over in Brad's direction as Brad's face saddened.
"So what do you want this year?"
The boy sat on Lex's knee silently for several minutes. Lex could see the look of thought going into the question and Chloe glanced at Lex. His look was somber as if he felt something special for the child. "Well, dad's been real good about paying for the chemo treatments and they're almost done, but the roof leaks. I know he can't pay for both. He says his boss is trying to help. And my mom's sewing machine went out and I wanted a chemistry set, but the chemicals are too much."
"Well, Santa...."
"Look, I'm old enough to know better. This was great for the kids, but we're no different than anyone else here in Michigan. It's hard." The kid shrugged his shoulders and slid off Lex's lap.
Lex looked in Brad's direction and wondered for a moment if the man had put his son up to it. Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he looked up at Chloe. "Brad is not your father. I think the kid is for real. I know there's no way you can save the plant, is there?"
"No."
Another woman walked up and smiled at the two talking quietly. "Come on, you two in a picture." Chloe looked at the woman and smiled as she climbed on Santa's lap. To her surprise, Santa took advantage of her and slid his hand over her ass as they posed for the picture.
"So Chloe, have you been good this year?"
Chloe giggled at the beard that was falling down now. Lex's crystal blue eyes beamed through all the fake fur and made her insides tingle. She felt something and frowned. "If I say no, will you put your hand back on my ass?"
Feeling a little fire build in him, he grabbed her ass again, even harder this time. "If you've been naughty, I made need to discipline you back at the North Pole." He stopped and scratched the beard with his free hand. "But now I want to get out of this get up."
Chloe slid off his lap and watched him head for the door, waving at the kids as he left. "Tell Brad to come see me in the restroom in a few minutes." Chloe nodded as Lex disappeared down the hall.
********
The two men walked back into the party together and several of the employees turned around and stared. Whispers started but died down quickly as Brad stopped in front of the group. He watched as Chloe kept all the children occupied.
"It's bad news if he's here," one employee stated. "Way to kill Christmas Mr. Luthor. Have you no shame?"
Lex knew he was about to be attacked. He had never let people go or closed a plant from the same level as the employees. Behind a podium with guards normally, but he knew Brad for many years and expected his employees to be more reserved. Or maybe not.
"It's unavoidable ladies and gentlemen. This plant fed directly into a GM automaker and right now, just as last year, that's not a good thing. My team in Metropolis is currently working on some green projects that hopefully we can realign the plant to, but currently I'm running this place in the red. In fact the last eight months, in the red and I've been eating that debt."
"But you can afford it. You're letting us go at Christmas?"
"Not exactly, the plant officially closes on January 1. You'll be receiving a severance package that Brad and I have agreed on among a couple of other benefits. Your medical is in tact until February 1. At that time, unemployment and Medicaid will have to take over. I will keep Brad constantly in the loop about developments and you will be the first ones brought back on board if and when the plant opens again. I am very sorry."
Lex stood still and silent and waited for the backlash. He waited for the screaming and the crying and the accusations that his father always caused. One woman approached him and stared without saying a word. "Thank you, for being honest. You are not your father. I worked for him four different places, let go every time. Not once did I see anything but a pink slip and a gift basket."
Lex kept his emotions in check. Now he knew the reason for the podium and the stage. Then he didn't feel like this. "Thank you for your service all these years." Lex put out his hand but the woman hugged him. "We'll be in touch."
"Come on Megan, let's go home." One little girl got up from next to Chloe and followed her out the door.
The other employees followed until Brad shook Lex's hand and walked out with his son and wife. Chloe put away the rest of the art supplies in a nice pile, walked over, and leaned against Lex's back with her arms around him.
"How are you?"
"Empty."
TBC