Ah, nonky, you’re a brave little toaster for posting this story for which we of the shoutbox pestered you endlessly.
What can I say except that I absolutely adored it…okay, I have lots more to say.
I know that this isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, but I love to read fics that explore the darker side of human nature that a family like the Luthors can provide. Psychological damage seems to be their calling card and it makes them well suited to stories that are dark or angsty in nature.
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Originally Posted by
nonky
AU One-shot, Complete
ROTFLMAO Don’t worry, the “no sequel” comes through loud and clear.
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A/N: I'm going to make this very redundantly specified; this is a Chlex story that includes graphic sex between an alternate universe Chloe and Lex who have both been raised by Lionel. They are not biological siblings, but from the time Lex was 9 and Chloe was 2 they've been living, playing and fighting together. Though this is not legally incest, readers should avoid this story if they feel it will offend them. It also include a little violent content and a level of creepiness and obsession. At the beginning of that sexual relationship both Chloe and Lex are of legal age of consent.
Thanks to the fellow Chlexers who contributed bits and pieces of this idea during a very long shoutbox session. The idea of having Chloe adopted by Lionel after the meteor shower is PMD's. After that comments from Avalanche, Skauble, Somethingeasy, Superag and Westwingwolf led to some other ideas. Due to the nature of how this was written – essentially improvised in paragraphs posted in the shoutbox, there are plot holes to be found. It's more of an impressionistic take on this situation.
Being AU, a lot of the canon details are different but some are the same. Smallville is still a weird little town, Lionel is rich and lives in the castle he brought over from Scotland. He has three sons, two living. He adopts Chloe with his wife Lillian, who later dies. Lucas is not being raised in Smallville and his existence is a secret. Both Chloe and Lex attend private schools, so they don't befriend Clark Kent, Pete Ross or the other teenagers of Smallville. Chloe's parents were the Sullivans, her father an employee of LuthorCorp.
Summary: Lex Luthor loves his little sister too much, and he can't make himself stop.
Once again, the Chloe and Lex in this story have been raised as brother and sister, but there is sexual interaction between them. If you don't want to read that I won't be offended.
Now see that. *That’s* a warning. And it came in front of the scaring material. I’m so proud.
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Mortified on her brother's behalf, and feeling guilty for her own good grades, Chloe didn't ask any further questions.
I like how you lay the groundwork here of Chloe’s sincere and deep affection for Lex.
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Blistered with his father's disapproval, Lex went upstairs. He could take the yelling and loss of privileges. It wasn't as if he could tell his father what was bothering him. The punishment was less than he deserved and he was almsot glad for the distraction. If Lionel was looking at his poor grades he wasn't looking at Lex's sudden isolation from the young women he had held like cheap pearls on a string. He wouldn't notice his social life ended, then his grades dropped.
Poor Lex. His head’s so messed up with his guilt and obsession that his grades are bad, he can’t date. These details really underscore Lex’s growing problem.
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Lex looked away and made a nondescript noise of inquiry. “Sometimes when we were playing Hungry, Hungry Hippos I would look at you concentrating so hard and want you to kiss me,” she confessed, a taunt for his ego that ached truly. She didn't mean it as more than a jibe.
ROTFLMAO The thought of Lex Luthor playing Hungry, Hungry Hippos completely made my day. I’ll carry that image always and take it out to soothe me the next time you post a link in the shoutbox.
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He did not want to be able to seduce every young woman he set his eye on; his eyes only stayed on one now, and she bounced up and stuck her tongue out brazenly. Innocence made her teasing vicious. Her cute letters at school were dabbed with perfume that was her new, grown-up scent. He had to photocopy them and throw out the originals lest he find himself pressing the paper to his heated face.
I feel bad for Lex here. He’s trying so hard to fight against his feelings, but because they’re so close everything she does plays on two levels, and because she doesn’t know he can’t even ask her to stop so that maybe he’d have a chance of recovering.
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He didn't have a mom. He had Chloe and couldn't afford to make her angry.
Broke. My. Heart.
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“Make me,” she taunted, wiggling around and moaning appreciatively. “Wow, so comfy, what a great bed!” She turned on her side and looked at him, squinting in the dark. “Hey, brother bear?”
“Yeah.”
“You haven't been splooging all over these sheets have you?”
It was so sweet for a moment with the “brother bear” and then, or course, the snark beat the moment down.
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She was sad now, recalling the latest father-son chat. The more pressure their father put on him the worst it got. “You know when I'm joking with you I really am joking right? Not like Dad's little challenges.”
Then the tenderness returns.
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“And that I love you no matter what because I secretly always knew I was the smart one,” she continued, throwing the blanket back over him.
But the snark makes a comeback! I love the way you transport us back and forth so effortlessly.
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His mind gave him flashes of mouthwatering sins against his little sister, things he could do with any other woman and only wanted with her. On their honeymoon they could go to private beach and lie naked on the sand all day, and he could take her when he wanted and erase the stigma.
Lex’s obsessions are never small things and I love the way that you’ve captured that his inner conflict doesn’t diminish the scope of his longing.
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She moved back and Lex rolled onto his other side to find her curled up and ready to sleep.
“Teddy bear,” she asked, and he closed his eyes in despair.
It wasn't a brotherly hug for him when he pressed his chest into her back and hugged her, his face brushing over her hair. She put her hand over his and sighed happily.
“I know you don't like living with Dad anymore, but I live for your visits. No one understands but you.” She was nearly asleep, so he kissed the top of her head and let himself imagine things were different. She was the only woman he could imagine marrying.
It’s so easy to see how Lex let’s his imagination get the better of him. Of course Chloe doesn’t know that anything’s amiss, but Lex has always had an impressive knack for denial.
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And he wouldn't do that to the person he loved more than the worth of the world.
Poor Lex really does deserve points for trying.
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“She's your sister, Lex! She's sixteen. You've been raised together. I don't know how or why this happened but it stops now.” He looked at Chloe with a slightly kinder expression. “Have there been other times where he touched you? I won't let it happen again but you have to tell me the truth.”
Lionel’s got some nerve here. I know he’s protecting Chloe, but he might want to consider that if he ever gave his son any affection he might not have turned out so desperate and somewhat disturbed.
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She waited for the denial, for Lex's flawless rationalizing to talk sense into their father, but he just looked at her, eyes empty. His head dropped and he crossed his arms. She froze, gasping in shock. “Just tell me he's crazy and we'll leave so he won't hurt you ever again.”
I feel so bad for Chloe. Her first loyalty is automatically for Lex. Even if it means she’ll lose everything she knows.
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“It makes sense if think about it,” Lex insisted. “We're not really related and I don't care what he thinks of us. You knew that I love you Chloe. Given time I think you can love me the same way.”
Her blond head turned in all directions, searching around her for the sign that this was a nightmare. It couldn't be real.
“We've been flirting,” he insisted. “Joking, but flirting. When you touch me I know you feel . . . desire. I don't believe it's wrong to love you the way I do.”
She shook her head, speechless. “I was going to give you more time to figure it out for yourself. It's too late for that now. If you stay here with him I won't be allowed near you, but you can come with me. We can be together.”
I love the way that Chloe was waiting for Lex to use his logic on Lionel, convincing him that he doesn’t have any inappropriate feelings, but instead he’s using it on her to convince her that he *does* have those feelings but they’re okay to act on.
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“You can't kick me out of a home you never made! She tells me to go. Chloe, if you tell me to go I will, but you have to think about this. Think about how many times you've fallen asleep in my arms in the past few weeks. Think about how we only understand each other. This isn't about hurting you and it's not about sex. I love you. I love you enough to go if you say I should.”
She was shaking her head and he didn't know if she heard him. “I'm not angry, Chloe, I'm not going to hurt you or rush you. Please give us a chance. I can't live without you.”
It’s so awful because you can see that she’s his whole world.
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“You're all I have. I don't have anything anymore unless you come with me,” he told her, meeting her green eyes. “You don't have to love me the same way. I didn't say it's not sick and wrong on some level, but on another level it's right,” he pleaded. “I didn't mean to hurt you or scare you. I'm sorry.”
Maybe she only loved him as a sister now, but he could change that if he had more time with her. She was beginning to notice and enjoy the little touches and lingering hugs in a different way. If their father hadn't overreacted they could be together, driving toward the Metropolis penthouse for the weekend. They could still –
I love the way he’s soothing her while his mind is still spinning ways to make all of his plans for her work.
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“No,no,no,no,no,” she chanted between sobs. “Teddy bear.”
Somehow she had encouraged him and if he killed himself she didn't have her life either. Their father had tried to stop her but she was stronger than she'd ever let on, and she had to save Lex. With the last of his ability, Lex dropped the gun and hugged her, giving in to the part of himself that wanted to fuck his sister. She loved him enough to save him and she could love him completely.
Oh man…what a train wreck…a dark, beautiful, compelling train wreck.
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The bed moved as she got up and Chloe watched Lex settle back into sleep. Her husband's face was deceptively innocent and she almost laughed at the thought. He was insane, absolutely. She had watched him humour the therapy that was meant to relieve him of his sexual urges toward her. He just came back from each session with some words of devotion and little presents.
I love how you let us know right away that Lex finally triumphed and then work backwards.
And it’s great to see Chloe acknowledging his lack of stability.
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He wore her down with gentleness she'd always had to coax from him while they were growing up. Chloe finished high school and went to college, greatly surprised when Lex took a job in the same city to be with her. She kicked him out of her apartment after he moved her in, and he bribed the super to let him rent the one next door. He told her the next day her bed and his were on opposite sides of the same wall. She found it oddly pleasant.
And so the pursuit begins. There’s something about Lex’s gentle but relentless pursuit that is more chilling than an outright assault.
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He believed they were lovers who hadn't consummated their relationship yet. After hearing it so many times she started to believe it.
I love how he said it enough to himself to steadfastly believe it and then used his utter faith to, in some odd sort of way, almost brainwash Chloe.
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She graduated and moved to take a job. That time they shared an apartment, mainly due to Lex's refusal to physically leave without a key. He made her breakfast and packed a lunch for her. He bought her tampons and cuddled with her on the sofa. She went to her bedroom sorry they couldn't sleep in the same bed like they used to, knowing that if they tried now it would be different from the innocent comfort. Eventually she wasn't thinking of him as her brother at all. He was family she found after her parents died. Chloe perfected denial. Lex wrote a thesis on why they were completely legally able to marry and taped an engagement ring to the last page. She balked.
I have to admit that I really loved this paragraph. I can absolutely see Lex moving himself in and then simply refusing to go. And the thesis on marriage – brilliant!
It’s such a hard thing to take something extremely AU and still stay true to the characters. You do this magnificently.
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She kissed him back and felt the confusion and shame fade away when it kept happening. She moved back in. She kept the ring in her purse and put it on her finger sometimes. She left work sick and cried in her car on the way home because she finally understood the depth of pain she had inflicted on him. He came home to her desperate embrace and apologies. He cried a little when he saw she was wearing the ring.
I also think you did a fantastic job writing a realistic and organic change in Chloe perception and acceptance of the situation. By allowing it to play out over years you create an integrity in the story that rushing wouldn’t have permitted.
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She informed him they were too screwed up for kids, but agreed to a wedding during a European tour since, as she so romantically put it he 'wouldn't go the hell away.'
Yeah, even I’d have a hard time pressing for a Chlex baby here.
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Traveling frequently to duck Lionel's incensed messages, they reverted to a base system. They were comfortable on first and second wasn't a major challenge. Three nights into their marriage they stripped down in front of each other and he looked at her with awe.
Fantastic job in not making everything hunky-dory just because they're in love. It’s a hard, trauma filled situation and their awkwardness and hesitation reflects that perfectly.
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Lex ran his mouth over her skin with aching slowness and opened her legs to touch her. He cupped her hips and licked her pussy with his eyes closed, trying to take in as much of the moment as he could. Chloe was sighing and moving her body like gentle waves were hitting them, rocking his face between her thighs. She leaned up on her elbows and watched him, finding no disconnect between her brother Lex and her lover Lex. They both loved her more than anyone else, valued her happiness foremost. He had waited years for her to grow up and catch up with him.
She called his name and he lined them up perfectly, sliding inside her with a look on his face she could only describe as bliss. She expected awkwardness or shame to interfere but it was just the two of them allowing themselves each other. There was no one to argue their right to be together and nothing standing in their way.
This may be horrible to admit (and yet I feel no shame), but I’m really glad that this had a happy ending. Lex’s adoration for Chloe is so painfully clear. And, although it’s built on so many of his issues and insecurities, his love for her comes through as genuine and so very deep.
Obviously I love this story. A fact I repeated, without end, in the shoutbox. It’s such a hard topic to cover in a fic and you’ve explored it in such a compelling and satisfying way. It’s beautifully written and a stellar look at where the obsessive, sometimes amoral nature of Lex could take him in other circumstances.
Just amazing. And bonus points for posting (someone *is* keeping socre, right?)
~Sarah~
P.S. I’d like to address this –
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Perhaps the Muppet smut will push you over the edge when you post that (and that in no way implies that I want to read Muppet smut so quiet skauble!)
I would never say anything. Besides, it was Ava who wouldn’t back up you claims of innocence in the great Beaker scandal of ’07.
*pulls out the parenthesis of silence*
(But I don’t think it’s a coincidence that www *did* reintroduce the subject of Muppet porn. I’m just saying that it makes one wonder.)
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Excellent work! It won't be long before we lose you to the Wincest, but please finish your other stories before that happens.
No Wincest for nonky! She still has 72 Lexes that need closure!