Chapters Seven and Eight
LOL! The fic is still as hilarious as ever. Although I still feel both so frustratingly irritated with as well as sincerely sorry for poor, idiot Lex. On one hand, it’s so sad seeing him working so hard for a present, trying to make his Christmas proposal as perfect as possible, not knowing that his relationship is falling to pieces while his back is turned. The poor, oblivious sap! I hope he enjoys this ignorance of the upcoming disaster as long as possible, because it’s going to be devastating for him to find out that Chloe has rebounded to another guy because he wasn’t paying her the right kind of attention.
It’s really ironic, but very plausible on how such a thing could have happened. Lex has a tendency to become very blind-sided and single-minded when faced with a challenging task. And THIS is something that going to be very important to him, to get it as wonderfully sublime and perfect as possible. The problem is that Lex thinks a big, extravagant gesture is what’s needed… it’s the flamboyant showman in him that pressurizes him to make a huge dramatic presentation of ‘everything’, LOL!
You’ve captured that aspect of his obsessively single-minded personality perfectly, Nonky! Excellent work! I can really see how Lex ‘could’ allow his wonderful relationship to fall apart, not from lack of attention and appreciation, but because of lack in attention in the right places. Poor Chloe.
This was a BRILLAINT present for Lex to give to Chloe. It seemed custom made for her… LOL, actually, it WAS custom-made for her.... Nonky really knows how to dangle the perfect temptation to distract and lead Lex away from Chloe during her most dire time of need, LOL! Sneaky Nonky!Quote:
Lex's nose itched at the dusty and poorly ventilated smell of old books. The room he stood in was only a small shop, but it was supposed to have what he was looking for. In the 1950s there had been a publishing firm called Chloe, and they produced hardback copies of classic books in green velvet so near Chloe's eye colour he had been amazed when he saw a picture of one. The company had long been defunct, and their books were only available in far flung second hand shops.
He was unlucky enough to have found them only in Europe, where a single collector seemed to have brought them and sold them by individual volumes. There were one hundred titles in the complete set and he wanted it for Chloe. To make life more difficult, he had made a rule that he needed to go and get the books for the gift to count. He had to go to the bookstore, look around and buy them without any assistance.
ROTFLMAO! Oh dear me! No WAY! Rare, dusty, collectable books in a second hand book store sorted out by COLOUR??!!? As if I needed further proof on how much Lex loves Chloe, but THIS??!! This really goes above and beyond. This was a brilliant, hilarious, cruel and unusual kind of punishment Nonky devised for her latest Lex. Isn’t it lovely when she starts torturing him for all of our amusement? ROTFL!Quote:
Hoping his ears were failing, the younger man leaned in. “I'm sorry, did you say sorted by colour? As in the colour of the book jacket?”
After a nod that spanned a decade, the man turned back to his work. The thousands of books, perhaps edging up to tens of thousands, were sorted by colour. Not author, year, publisher or title. There were red books filling one shelf, the next white, the next shades of yellow or gold. Somewhere in the back there were green books, every green book they had, apparently. Lex shrugged out of his jacket and picked up a basket, heading into the musty unknown.
He kicked over a stack of books with every step into the gloom that was 'the back.' Wishing for a flashlight, Lex strained his eyes glancing between one large and shadowed bookcase and the one next to it. After getting nose to nose with a shelf he decided the left was green, albeit a very dark forest green, and the other was black. And he assumed he still had five fingers on each hand, despite not being able to see them directly in front of his face.
LOL! London weather is horrible, the service is terrible and the food is always something that has to be choked down… but the books almost always make up for everything :D I like the way you captured London, Nonky! It was as if you had actually been there, LOL!Quote:
London rain dripped off his face as he entered the bookstore later that night. It was near closing, but they only had three books he needed. It couldn't take that long to find three books. He was happy to see labels on shelves, and multi-coloured hues. The books weren't arranged by colour.
He didn't bother speaking to the bored twenty-something clerk, just followed the helpful labels. The new books were out front where they could sell more and the older, rarer volumes sat further back waiting to be discovered. It made sense from a business standpoint and Lex could appreciate that. He was also pleased there was adequate lighting and a true sense of organization.
Darn, now I want a copy of that beautifully illustrated volume of Kama Sutra that caught Lex Luthor’s eye. I can see that the book browsing is a little bit easier over here than at the store where everything was organized by (ROTFLMAO) colour, but it’s still hard, dusty work… and I don’t want to imagine the paper cuts he might have gotten, lol!Quote:
He followed the corridors of books logically, thinking the 1950s would be near the 1940s and 1930s. He was wrong. There were more classics in Latin, Greek classics, Gothic novels, and finally a case devoted to The Bible. Lex retraced his steps, found the 1950s and headed in the only other direction he could go. He passed the encyclopaedias and reference books. He found a section of romance novels. His shoulder knocked an illustrated volume of Kama Sutra down to a page so artistically sexual he took the book with him to buy. He counted his steps, tried to think of an overview of the store by picturing the layout from above. He scanned for the Chloe green and felt his eyes burning. There were barely enough hours of the day for the travel he'd done, and his schedule hadn't included four hours in a single store.
ROTFLMAO! If only he had thought to ask the clerk before spending all those hours browsing through the shelves. Oh well! At least he found a lovely copy of the Kama Sutra through all his searching.Quote:
“I'm looking for the Chloe books,” he nearly screamed.
A pair of headphones pulled leisurely down, the guy spoke in a London drawl. “These th'uns ere?”
He picked up three books in green, gold seals reading Chloe across the spines. Lex took them and turned to the title pages, making sure they were the right ones. He smiled. There were 11 books in Hamburg and 46 in Paris. He would be able to continue that night and sleep on the plane. He was reaching for his wallet when he felt the first twinge.
It was too easy, he thought.
LOL! I should have expected that Nonky would be putting in this bit of tortured complication in Lex’s life. Even AFTER he finds the merchandise, he finds out he can’t pay for it. Now that’s a problem that I can imagine Lex has never faced before… it will do him some good to understand how ‘regular folk’ feel when they can’t instantly purchase whatever fulfills their heart’s desire, LOL!Quote:
“Canlytekash.”
The clerk pushed the credit card back to Lex with the baffling statement. Perhaps his piercings were getting in the way.
“I'm sorry?”
The pseudo-punk shrugged and said more clearly, “We c'nly take cash.”
The books weren't expensive, less than $75 dollars each, but Lex didn't have it. He had cash before he arrived in Amsterdam and had to have it converted to buy the first forty books. He asked for some British pounds, but only enough to get a taxi to the store and back to the airport. He wasn't intending to stay long and didn't bring his employees with him. Usually they would have made maps and local currency available. It was their role to make his life seamless.
ROTFL! Loved this! It was hilarious seeing Lex liken Chloe to the book in such a besotted, smitten, poetic fashion. It’s so much fun seeing how ridiculous and ‘stupid’ Lex can become when he’s in love, ROTFL! Lovely writing, Nonky! I really enjoyed your portrayal of Lex Luthor in this fic. It was lovely, sweet, heartwarming and also so darned hilarious, ROTFLOL!Quote:
It wasn't that the books were an expensive present. They represented Chloe's love of the written word, his sincere belief that one day her name would be on a novel or a full-length investigative book instead of a newspaper column. He respected her tenacity to dig back through time and attempts to hide to fill her articles with reliable information. He loved her work ethic. The velvet coverings of the books even felt like her; softness with strength and longevity underneath.
LOL! Ouch! I remember that heart-wrenching emotion one feels when you find the ‘perfect buy’ in some store, but you have to hand it back to the clerk, or put it back on the shelf after seeing the price-tag. It’s a horrible feeling, and I’m feeling a nasty sense of malicious satisfaction in seeing Lex Luthor also suffering from this ‘new and alien’ feeling of merchandise denial, LOL!Quote:
It hurt to hand the books back to the disgruntled youth, but Lex stayed civil. He asked for them to be held until the next day, and he flicked up his collar to walk to the taxi he had paid to wait for him. At least at The Savoy they would take his credit.
ROTFL! Don’t count on it Lex. It’s London, AND you have Nonky watching your every move just waiting for a chance to inflict misfortune, LOL! Actually, I’m impressed that Nonky managed to abstain from throwing a gang of muggers at Lex on his way to the book-store… Perhaps later when he’s leaving the book-store? ;)Quote:
Lex slept only as long as he could justify and called for room service early in the morning. He was insistent there would be no more delays. He would pay in cash, move quickly and efficiently, and he would not strangle the irritating people he was likely to meet.
At least it's too early for muggers, he thought, looking around at the foggy morning that could pass for twilight.
Heh, sadly enough, this is actually typical of the kind of sales service one gets in London, :PQuote:
He checked out of his hotel and called the pilot to have the plane readied. The bookstore opened on time, and he was waiting outside when the elderly owner arrived. She looked him up and down, saw he was cold and took an extra few minutes to dig her keys from her purse. Her eyes narrowed under blue shaded lids, and she lit a cigarette.
“S'only five to,” she said, and strolled away to pollute her lungs.
Again, it was so hilarious, cute, heartwarming, sweet and FUN to see how incredibly happy Lex becomes even from the thought of Chloe. No matter how miserable his situation, Chloe always manages to lift his spirits. No wonder he needs her so much. He adores her too much to be able to live without her… yikes! Heartbreak warning up ahead? Excellent!Quote:
Lex gritted his teeth. He was not going to let himself be shaken. There was time for a five minute delay. He leaned on the building and imagined Chloe's reaction when she had her own selection of novels taking up a shelf in his library. He had no qualms about giving her part of his space because she would be so happy. She might go into one of her rare giggling sprees and need to be kissed out of it.
He was smiling to himself when the woman came back to unlock the store. She ducked inside quickly, presumably to punch in an alarm code, then eyed him unkindly. Thinking his brooding was making her suspicious, Lex smiled with as much warmth as he could. Her mouth twisted into a maroon sneer, and she walked away from the door. Lex took that to mean he was allowed inside, so he let himself in.
ROTFL! Oh poor Lex! And now he feels like a perverted lech. It’s so much FUN seeing Lex experience this sensation of being ‘ashamed and embarrassed’ over his sexual inclinations and preferences. I can imagine Lex has indulged in all kinds of depravities without apologizing to anyone, but this one time… he bought a classic piece of literature and he’s embarrassed about it, ROTFMAO! That was brilliant, Nonky! Love it! And I don’t think I’ll be getting these two chapters of Lex’s book-buying escapades out of my head for a very long time, LOL!Quote:
She stared for so long he felt obliged to explain himself, sincerely regretting the impulse buy. The influence of an elderly British woman was making him feel like a pervert trying to buy girlie magazines. He was an educated man and he did occasionally enjoy erotic literature, but it was literature first and foremost. He was not a pervert. She was really making him angry and he didn't have to justify himself to her. His personal life was quite full without having to drool salaciously over strange women.
Awww, so sweet and cute. I really enjoyed how Lex is looking forward to being mocked by Chloe. He really does enjoy every single aspect of her personality, even when she’s turning that personality against him.Quote:
She took Lex's money, gave his change back, and put the books neatly into a bag. As the receipt was printing he mentally rolled his eyes. All the sneaking around was making him paranoid and crabby. He would be much happier once Chloe knew everything and was making fun of all his troubles. She always enjoyed that and made him laugh at things.
Heh, Lex is in for a nasty surprise on his homecoming. AND he’s going to be getting some nasty lessons on the value of prioritizing when he gets home too. I loved the ending sentence, Nonky! It summed up everything that Lex is doing wrong, and even WHY he’s doing wrong. Excellent work! I look forward to seeing how future chapters turn out. Good luck!Quote:
He said a polite goodbye and took a taxi to the airport. He was trying to make Hamburg the quickest stop yet, so he paid exorbitant interest to have his money exchanged at the airport. Chloe was back in Metropolis and she hadn't been feeling well. From her voice on the phone he could tell she wasn't fully recovered. He hoped the gift basket had helped until he could be there in person.
It was about Chloe, otherwise he wouldn't have left her at all.
