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Excellent, natural banter in this fic.Quote:
“You realize I could have you arrested for trespassing.” He told her calmly.
“You realize I could have you arrested for stalking.” She replied. He just looked at her.
Great start. I like how you're writing the characters and can't wait to see where you take them next.
Oooo... this story new story sounds very interesting so far. Can't wait for more.
Thanks
Loved the first chapter. Can't wait to see where this leads.
AN: I forgot to mention it in the first post but for the sake of this story I presume the whole Chloe getting tangled up with Lionel things didn't happen and the scene in Truth is the most significant interaction Lex and Chloe had had.
Chap. 2-
Lex awoke the next morning to more noises in the kitchen. Slipping into a pair of black cotton pajama pants and a gray t-shirt he went to investigate. Chloe was in the kitchen sipping coffee, singing and sometimes dancing a little along to some oldies station on the radio, and doing something involving the stove and presumably food. Whatever she was making smelled good. She turned suddenly and caught sight of him in the doorway and gave a surprised little shriek.
“God, somebody needs to put a bell collar on you or something,” She was blushing a little. He ignored the remark and helped himself to some coffee.
“You can cook.” He observed, sitting down on the other side of the counter from her.
“So?”
“I never thought of you as the type. I would have thought you were too busy investigating things, breaking and entering, etc.”
The blonde glared at him across the counter, “My Dad’s not very ‘culinary’ even when he’s actually home for meals,” -a dig at him and the long work hours that were presumably his fault, “and it’s cook or starve.” She regarded him coolly. “I don’t suppose you cook at all?” She asked.
“A little.” He admitted. Chloe raised an eyebrow mockingly.
“What can you cook?”
“Omelets, waffles, eggs benedict. . .”
Chloe snorted, “Morning after food.” She said dismissively, “I’m surprised you bother.” Lex shrugged. Most of the time he didn’t but when he was here or in any of his other little ‘hideaways’ in the city, there was no Cook and even he had to eat.
“What are you making?” He asked.
“Chocolate chip pancakes.” She gave him a sour look but admitted, “There’s enough for you, too.”
“Thank-you.” He resisted the urge to point out that it was technically his kitchen and his food so she needn’t be so begrudging. He thought for a moment. “Wait, I have chocolate chips?”
The pancakes were delicious and by some unspoken agreement they both waited to shower and dress before discussing their situation. Chloe was in the kitchen again, putting away dishes when Lex sat down. Chloe broke the silence first.
“We’re in trouble, aren’t we?”
“Yes.” Lex agreed.
“What kind of trouble?”
“I’m not entirely sure. That’s part of the problem. If I knew who was behind this attempt I could take the necessary steps but right now. . .I just don’t know.” He paused, “You know-“
Chloe sighed, “I know I can’t go home without you. Whoever did this would just grab me again to get to you.”
“I’m sorry.”
She seemed to have a million smiles. This one was sharp, the bitterness directed inward, “You told me to get out of the car,” She bit her lip, “I have to call my Dad, though and let him know I’m all right.”
“Chloe-“
“Lex. I didn’t come home last night. He’s got to be out of his mind-“
“I’m truly sorry for that but it can’t be helped.”
“Yes, it can. I won’t even make the call from here. I’ll use the pay phone.” Her voice was getting desperate.
“No. They’ll be listening.”
“An e-mail, then-“
“They will have thought of that, too.”
Desperation turned to anger. “Just because-“ She stopped suddenly, lips pressed together in a thin pale line. Lex stood in one abrupt graceful motion. The relieved congeniality of the morning had vanished.
“Just because what, Chloe?” He asked, approaching her slowly, his voice low. Chloe was reminded of a trip to the Metropolis Zoo her bio class had taken last year. She had been leaning over the rail of the tiger enclosure with her camera, trying to get the perfect shot, when the cat turned and looked past the camera, straight at her.
Lex was almost on top of her, now. “Please, Miss Sullivan, finish your thought.” She was trying not to look at him but her back was pressed against the refrigerator and he was everywhere-
Chloe straightened in the confined space made by his body, glaring at him fiercely. Nobody would intimidate her. Nobody would bully her. “Just because no one cares that you’ve disappeared doesn’t mean nobody cares that I have.” She was looking straight up into his eyes and she saw something flicker. Cheeks turning red, Chloe felt immediately ashamed. Although, except for that flicker his expression didn’t change. He stepped back away from her and Chloe couldn’t help but sag a little. Lex turned his back to her to pick up his glass of water.
“Fair enough.”
Stepping away from the refrigerator, Chloe realized she was shaking a little.
“My father will probably be glad to hear it. It will give him a chance to grab up LexCorp.” Despite the ugliness of the words, he didn’t sound bitter. He could have been talking about the weather or Russian poetry. I want him to love me. She remembered.
“Wait, you don’t mean that Lionel-“
“My list of enemies isn’t short by any means but my father has always stuck close to the top.” That was bitter. He knew it to because he turned away again to set the empty glass down.
“But you don’t know for sure.”
“No. Some research is in order.”
“I’m your girl.” Big grin.
They sat down and made a list of Lex’s enemies, detailing the source of the animosity between them, and the possible benefits of his kidnapping to each of them. Lex was pleased by the systematic way Chloe’s mind worked, not to mention her internet searching skills, which were considerable. They fell into an easy division of labor, Chloe checking on leads and then the two of them talking over and evaluating the results. He tried to keep her as busy as possible to keep her mind off her father but he knew she was sneaking looks at the media coverage of their disappearance. There were moments, when he was sure she thought he didn’t see her, when she would just deflate. A pale lost girl would be sitting where a strong focused woman had sat before.
They worked the day through, forgetting to eat until the evening when they would cook a meal together: Lex chopping, peeling, or stirring things and Chloe orchestrating the more complex parts of the culinary process. Lex was disturbed by how much he enjoyed this time of the day. His life had rarely ever been . . . domestic. They would argue over the music they listened to, the way Lex chopped vegetables, and poetry or literature. After a leisurely dinner they returned to their work. Chloe would usually fall into bed around midnight or one. Lex was always careful to wait until he was sure she was asleep before getting into bed. They never discussed the sleeping arrangements. It seemed more comfortable that way.
At the end of three days they had narrowed the list down to three suspects, two were business rivals who had the resources and the motivation to take revenge on the billionaire and the third . . . was his father. They were sitting in the main room. Chloe was on the couch, her legs curled up beside her in a way he knew now was habitual. Three days in close quarters could teach you a lot about someone- certainly more than two weeks watching them in a coffee shop. In the chair across from her Lex frowned at the list.
“What now?” Chloe asked, gently. She knew that he had not really believed his father was behind their kidnapping when he suggested it. He said it out of a kind of dark humor. Bitter habits die hard. But their research showed that with Lex out of the picture LexCorp was at a crucial juncture. If he wasn’t returned to the world safe and sound before one month had elapsed, Lionel could swoop in, make a quick buy out, and take control. A very profitable turn of events for the loveless old vulture.
How did Lex cope with it, Chloe wondered. Her mother left when she was five. One betrayal she knew in the quiet depths of her mind, she still wasn’t over. Lionel seemed to betray Lex once a week just to keep in practice.
“I think we’ve gone about as far as we can from this apartment,” Chloe smiled despite their situation. Oh, please God let them get out of this apartment! Lex frowned repressively at her. “Who said I’m letting you out of here and into danger?”
“How are you going to stop me? Besides you need me.”
He was just looking at her. She hated it when he did that. Hated it. He could at least argue. She was tempted to just let the silence run and see who broke first but she tried that on the first day and had given up after three hours of complete and utter quiet. Chloe couldn’t even hear him breathing for God’s sake. “So what do we do? Where do we go?”
He still didn’t respond.
“Look, Lex, let’s not be stupid. You need someone to watch your back, someone who’s good at asking questions and getting answers.” She stared back at him. Don’t let the big cat stare get to you, she told herself. Don’t let the big cat stare get to you, “You’ll have to tie me to a chair to keep me here and trust me, you don’t want to try that.”
His lips twitched, “Probably not.” He agreed. “There’s a club near here where the wheeler dealers hang out. I can call in some favors, get some answers.”
“What kind of wheeler dealers?”
“All kinds.” The blonde rolled her eyes at this evasion. “The thing is, I can’t walk into that club and be recognized. We need to get in, have our discussion, and then get out again.”
Fingers drumming on the arm of the couch, and her gaze focused on something only she could see, Lex knew she was applying herself to the problem. She sat up in a manner much like the one just before she had suggested their escape from the warehouse. Standing and hurrying toward the foyer, she turned to Lex, “Give me some money.” She demanded.
“Excuse me?”
“Money. I know you’re familiar with the concept.”
“What do you think you’re going to do with it?”
“Buy you a disguise, of course.”
“A pair of glasses with a fake mustache?” He suggested. Chloe stopped dead in her tracks, trying to wrap her brain around the image of Lex in Groucho glasses. It was too much to process. “Where are you going to buy this disguise? You’re not leaving this apartment without me.” He was standing, now. Chloe had noticed this was another of his favorite little tricks. Always meet the enemy on your feet.
“There’s a used clothing store down the block. I saw it the night we came here.”
The argument lasted over an hour. First he refused to let her go out by herself. She argued that the distance was minimal, that she knew such places and could get in and out in minutes, and that Lex Luthor would definitely stand out in a used clothing store. He argued about the danger of her being recognized. She tied her hair up in one of his silk kerchiefs, did a few things with some of the forgotten make up in the bathroom and put on the hoodie they had stolen the first night, to show him how unlike herself she could look. He was starting to lose and knew it. He expressed some distaste at the idea of wearing someone else’s clothes. Chloe didn’t even bother responding to that. Eventually, grudgingly, and borderline angry he conceded to her logic.
“How much to you need?” He demanded finally.
“What club are we going to?”
“Heat.” Chloe was surprised and impressed. Heat was underground, for the hard core clubbers. It attracted an interesting and sometimes frightening mix of people. Chloe had never been there herself but she had heard of it. That opened up the wardrobe possibilities. Hmmm. . . She eyed Lex speculatively and then disregarded the more outrageous ideas. Better keep it simple. He’d probably rather die than go in drag.
“Sixty should be plenty.” He made a face- probably appalled anyone could spend so little money on clothes. Lex pulled some bills out of the drawer in the little table by the door.
“Here,” He looked her straight in the eye, pinning her with his gaze. “If you are not back in one hour,” he said very slowly, very deliberately, “I will come looking for you. Do you understand?” Chloe swallowed and nodded. Lex nodded in turn and opened the door for her to go.
“I’m not wearing this.” Lex said, tossing her the black leather wrist cuff she had picked out for him.
“Trust me, no one will believe you’re Lex Luther with this on.”
The cuff was simple, black leather, an inch and a half wide, with two silver button snaps to fasten it. It was the only accessory she had purchased other than the hat which, obviously was an absolute necessity. The hat was a knit cap, dark gray, tight fitting, the kind skater punks were so fond of. That was the angle she had decided to go with- a kind of hard ass growing out of his skater roots sort of thing. It was completely different from the way Lex usually dressed, fairly common, and the shop had plenty to choose from in that particular vein. Also, skater were one of the few groups of modern day men who regularly wore hats. A pair of indigo jeans (a good buy, ten bucks and they fit him very very well) and a vintage style ring tee in navy. She was particularly proud of the t-shirt. There was a Porsche printed in dark red on the front. He did not seem to appreciate this.
Letting the matter of the cuff go for the moment, Chloe eyed him critically. He looked . . . younger. No, not younger. He had never looked old exactly. It was just that now, dressed like any twenty-something on the street he looked- youthful. He had always carried a kind of dark knowledge that made him seem ancient despite his years. The clothes softened that, cloaked it.
Then Lex stalked over to the foyer to look at himself in the mirror and she knew it wouldn’t work. He smiled mockingly at his reflection and turned to her.
“How do I look?”
“Like Lex Luthor in disguise.”
“Even with the hat?”
“It’s just- look, can you try not to be so Lex-like?”
He raised one eyebrow.
“First of all,” Chloe said approaching him, “Don’t do that. And second, could you try not to act like you own everything within a three mile radius?”
He was just looking at her . . . again. She let out a frustrated sigh.
“How do I put this? Okay,” She brightened, “you know how Clark-“ she dimmed again, just as quickly, “no, that won’t work either. Ah, I’ve got it! You’ve seen Pete, hanging around the Talon, on the farm with Clark. . .”
“Yes.”
“You’ve observed his behavior, his body language.”
“I suppose so.”
“Okay. Think about Pete: how he walks, how he talks and try to,” she waved her hands a little, “channel that.”
“You want me to channel Pete?”
She glared at him, “Lex-“
“Alright. Alright.” Lex frowned in concentration for a moment or two and then crossed the remaining distance between them in a perfect parody of Pete’s bouncing sidle. Chloe had to laugh.
“Maybe Pete isn’t the best choice.”
She smiled up at Lex, who was standing at her left shoulder like Pete always did, standing close like Pete always did.
Lex was smiling down at Chloe, pleased by her laughter. She was wearing her most beautiful smile, unrestrained and warming. He didn’t realize how close they were until she backed up away from him suddenly. He watched her curiously. To his disappointment, her smile when she looked at him again was a little more restrained.
“I guess if you can do that, I don’t have to worry too much about your performance.”
“I’ll do my best.” He assured her gravely.
What's Chloe dressing in I wonder? Can't wait for more
That's what I was thinking. They are going to a hardcore club, so maybe something...clubbish? A short leather mini and a top that will have Lex so close no one will know they're two people?Quote:
Originally Posted by Louie
Hmm...just an idea. :devil: *grins mischeviously*
this is wonderful.....
:rofl: Lex as a skater punk. That is something I would like to see. And I can't wait to see what Chloe wears. I love how they are slowly but surely falling for eachother. :wub:
Hope ;)
I love your descriptions of everything. Can't wait for more!
Great update. Loved Lex's "disguise" and the way you portray their interaction. Good, compelling plot and once again excellent dialogue. Their banter is great, but you also do a remarkable job of making their less teasing dialogue realistic and in character. Case in point:
I could perfectly visualize that moment, and it rung very true to me. Looking forward to more.Quote:
Lex was almost on top of her, now. “Please, Miss Sullivan, finish your thought.” She was trying not to look at him but her back was pressed against the refrigerator and he was everywhere-
Chloe straightened in the confined space made by his body, glaring at him fiercely. Nobody would intimidate her. Nobody would bully her. “Just because no one cares that you’ve disappeared doesn’t mean nobody cares that I have.” She was looking straight up into his eyes and she saw something flicker. Cheeks turning red, Chloe felt immediately ashamed. Although, except for that flicker his expression didn’t change. He stepped back away from her and Chloe couldn’t help but sag a little. Lex turned his back to her to pick up his glass of water.
“Fair enough.”