The Great Deception (NC17) Updated 6th November 2015

The Great Deception

Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: I don’t own Smallville, hence the lack of Chlex action in the series.
Spoilers: Up to S4 possibly.
Summary: What would have happened had Smallville been a soap and Chlex centric.

Prologue

It was past midnight and horrendously cold, the kind of night that everyone should be curled up in bed fast asleep. Evidently, most people were; there was only one car speeding along the long stretch of highway which lead deep into the Kansas countryside. The lone Jaguar battled its way through the howling wind and pounding rain which slammed against it.

The driver craned forwards straining to make out the road through her puffy streaming eyes as the windscreen wipes fought ineffectually against the torrent of water which almost drove the vehicle backwards. Her hands gripped the steering wheel as they battled their way forwards, with only headlights to combat the darkness which surrounded her. She had no idea where she was going. She just knew that she had to get away.

Her breath came in harsh pants, interspersed with occasional choked sob as she tried desperately to come up with some plan of action beyond simply escaping. There was a sign some way ahead although mostly covered by foliage. With some difficulty – being as she had to keep both hands on the wheel and her eyes on the road – she managed to negotiate the voluminous layers of white silk and lace around her legs to slide further forwards. Her corset digging into her rib cage, she leant so that her nose was almost pressed against the glass and, with only a few metres to spare, she deciphered the town name on the sign.

She ignored the exit, forging ahead, still hoping that something would occur to her. She tried to think but was too overwhelmed by the relentless pounding in her ears of the rain, the stinging of her eyes, and the crippling pain in her chest. She felt like death. Actually, death might have been preferable.

An angry cry shattered her concentration. She glanced in the rear view mirror. Her heart constricted even more painfully. Her darling angel was nestled in his car seat and was just stirring from sleep. The one thing left in her life. The one things worth living for.

“It will be all right, darling”, she tried to coo but her voice came out distorted. So much for never lying to her child.

She fixed her eyes back on the road, blinking back the tears, her heart shattering even further as she heard another squall. She would have to find somewhere to stop soon she just had to …

She let out a blood curdling scream mimicked by her child as another car came out of nowhere, heading the wrong way, straight for them. She yanked on the wheel, narrowly missing a head on collision only to swerve off the road, flip over and plough into a ditch.

The screaming ceased.


A/N: So, yeah, I don't learn. The plot bunny demands a new story and I start to write it before I have finished the others. If anyone is interested in this one and wants it to continue then please let me know.

nice start curious to see where you go with this story

Interesting start, wondering who the woman and child are.

I am interested. Please more...

Hfce: Hello, again. Glad that you are interested. Sorry to hear about your search for work in the other thread, hope that things are better now.

Dannibfree: Hello *waves excitedly at my new reader* We have never met before had we? I'm Catherine. Your questions should be answered in the next chapter.

Cbrunberg: Yay! *does a little dance* Curiosity, that was what I was aiming for.

Chapter One

It was a freezing cold morning in early March, but inside the Luthor Mansion it was sweltering. The combination of central heating and crackling fires piled high with logs in every room had proved to be too much even for the Mid-west’s icy winds. Sheltered inside this furnace, in a room large enough to contain the local high school's gym with room to spare, sat one lone indiviual.

He was a youngish man, barely thirty with a healthy physique, handsome features (in spite of his premature baldness), and clearly more money than he could spend in several lifetimes, yet his green eyes spoke eloquently of more sorrow than one person should ever have had to bear.

He sat behind a large mahogany desk, staring at his laptop, lost in thought. He had a million things to do, but only one thing on the screen: a picture of a gorgeous young woman who seemed to radiate light and love, holding a child. It had been a year since she had left him. Fifty-two weeks since she had betrayed him. Three hundred and sixty-five days that he had lived in hell, desperately exploiting every resource he possessed to locate her only to be met with disappointment after disappointment. Still, he refused to give up. He would scour the earth for if need be, but he would find her. He would.

Not a single day had gone by that he hadn't thought about her. With a pang he turned away from her picture, closing his laptop as he went. He removed his passport from one draw and pocketed it before straightening his tie, as he rose to his feet and scanned his desk as he always did before leaving to check for anything out of place. He was striding purposefully towards the doors when they swung open.

A benign expression took hold of his features before he even saw who it was.

“Lex darling”, a petite dark haired woman greeted him with a smile, “I was just looking for you”, before rising into her tip toes to kiss him.

“Well, you've found me”, he said, turning his head so that she could place her lips against his cheek before he wiped away the rose tinted evidence of her affections.

She pouted slightly, it wasn't his cheek that she had been aiming for and whilst he never exactly wore what most people would consider normal attire even around the house, a jacket normally meant that he was headed out. “Are you going somewhere?”

“Yes, I have to attend a meeting”, he placed his hands on her shoulders, “Now, what did you want to see me about?” He asked kindly.

“Oh, it doesn't matter”, she had only going to ask him about attending a gallery opening. “A business trip? You have had a lot of them recently, is everything okay?”

He smiled, a practised expression which, although generally convincing, never quite reached his eyes. “Everything is fine”. He was the second in command of his father's lucrative multi-national a position which did indeed require a great deal of travel, there was no reason for her to know that his seventy-two urgent conferences scattered all over the United States that year, had actually had nothing to do with the company. Just as he had no intention of divulging his mission that day to her.

As he manoeuvred himself around the beauty, with a few well chosen words, he returned his focus to the task at hand once more. He would soon be in the air and a few short hours more might bring his hunt to a close. His normally measured tread quickened as he sped through the winding corridors of his family home out to the helicopter, in spite of his best efforts to keep himself under control.

Since the day that she had torn his heart out, he revealed no more emotion than a stone. He never let anyone suspect the agony he lived with each day, the skill it took to remain patient and not jump out of his chair every time that a new clue came to light, the effort it took not to break down every time it turned out to be nothing more than a dead end, or how close he was hanging onto his sanity to keep from drinking himself to death every time he returned from a 'business trip' to his home without either of them.

In spite of his famous self-control, he felt his hopes twitching back into life. Deep down he knew that this wasn't just another day, or just another clue, this was going to be the time that he found them. He just knew it. Just like he had known it every other day for the past year. He refused to even entertain, let alone accept, the idea that they might actually be gone. She had to just be hiding from him.

These were the thoughts which plagued him on the helicopter ride and only intensified as his plane sailed east out of Kansas. By the time that they landed he was in danger of going stir-crazy, terrified that somehow they had worked out that he was on to them and that they would have left by the time that he arrived.

“What is the situation?” Lex demanded of his private investigator as he sprang from the plane and practically sprinted for the sports' car which lay in wait.

“We are still watching the hotel, there has been no movement. No one has been able to get a positive ID yet though”, the elder man said as he ran along side the entrepreneur. He had known him for years and his company had often done odd jobs for him, but over the previous twelve months had made enough to retire on just from the search from his lost fiancée and knew just how desperate he was to find her. He would have done it even if he had been paid although as it was he was not only paid exceedingly well, not to mention the potential bonus for finding her which ran into seven figures.

“Right”, he dived into the car and barely gave his employee time to get his belt on before they were off.

“A helicopter might have been faster”.

“She would have heard it coming”, he glanced to the side before making a sharp left turn without bothering to slow down.

“We could have held her, I ...”

“No”, his voice cut through the air like a whip, “I have already told you. Your men only touch her if there is absolutely no other way to keep her from leaving, otherwise stay out of her way. I am the only one who can get her to leave with me”.

“Right”. He knew better than to doubt his boss although even he was getting scared by him at that moment. He gripped the door handle until his knuckles turned white, relieved when they finally came to a screeching stop outside a small, slightly run down, hotel.

“She is staying somewhere like this? I'll kill her!” He hissed as he took in the faded décor.

“I'm sure ...” he broke out, seeing that the man had already leap from the vehicle taking no more pains to secure it than an ordinary person would have a bottle of water they had ceased to desire.

One of the other agents on the case jogged up to show him the way and they raced up several flights of stairs without pausing until he was faced with a shabby door.

“Chloe, open this damned door right now”, he bellowed and hammered it.

There was no answer.

“Chloe”, he shouted.

Still there was no sound.

He glanced to the side by saw the man nod to say that she defiantely could not have left.

“Right, stand back”, he ordered and took several steps back only giving her enough time to get clear if she was nearby before slamming his foot into the wood, not even blinking as the weak plywood splintered. “What is she thinking being somewhere like this?” He torn into the room, scanning the room quickly to see that there was no one there. He headed straight for the only door, nearly ripping it off its hinges before coming to an abrupt halt.

“Where is Chloe?” He demanded of a woman who was cowering in the centre of the bedroom, holing a child in her arms. “Are you the maid?”

“I don't know what you are talking about, whoever you are ...”

“You know damned well who I am”, it wasn't arrogance, everyone did. He ate up the space between them, “Give me the child”.

“No, Sir, please, I ...”

The child gave a lusty cry and turned her head slightly, enough for Lex to make out the features. It was definitely a girl and not the one he was searching for. He paled. It couldn’t be. It just couldn't be. He took a step back.

“Where is she?” He repeated his question.

“I don't know who you are talking about”.

“Today at precisely 8:35 am, a child was treated for earache at the local hospital. That child and its mother used a health insurance card which I paid for, they left the hospital immediately afterwards against the doctor's expressed instructions but were described as being blonde haired and green eyed”, Lex spoke slowly and deliberately. “My men were quick enough to see them leaving and to track them here, to this hotel, to this room. Explain, where you got the card”.

“I didn't steal it”, she protested holding the child close to her.

“I'm not accusing you of stealing it, yet. I merely want to find its rightful owner. If, however”, his voice became soft and extremely dangerous, “I am not fortunate in this, then questions might start being asked. It would be a shame if this little girl ended up in care wouldn't it?”

“No, please Sir, I don't know anything about ...” She protested.

“Why don't you start by telling me exactly what you do know”, he suggested. “We can have a little information exchange. Someone I trusted stole something extremely valuable of mine and I want it back. She fled, God only knows where, and has been attempting to hide from me ever since – far too successfully for me to believe that she had really disappeared or that she is not being helped by someone”, he eyed her suspiciously, even though there was no way that she had the resources (or, as far as he knew) the inclination to do so.

He walked around the room, “You would think, with resources like mine, that it would simply be a matter of waiting until she made a mistake. Used her health insurance. Her social security number. You know, I even have people scouring medical records every day just to make sure that something doesn't slip through. I know far more about the number of twenty-four year old women with children than I have ever wished to, and yet … nothing”.

“That must be very frustrating for you”, she said shakily, holding onto her baby tightly.

“You have no idea”, he said with a look which stated that if she crossed him then she would. “Just between the two of us”, ignoring the fact that his detectives in the other room could probably hear everything they were saying through the paper thin walls, “I think that it is starting to effect my judgement, but of course, that is one of those things that you can never be certain of”.

He came back around so that he was standing right behind her, looking into the eyes of the child who now had her head resting on her mother's shoulder. Lex took her hand between two long fingers and shook it gently, making her smile, “Hello little lady, I'm sorry to hear that you aren't feeling too well. Am I to take it that you went to the doctor's this morning?”

“Yes Sir, it was us. No one else was with us”, the woman answered for her baby who merely continued to grin. She wanted to turn around or else to flee but she couldn't move her legs.

“Well now we are getting somewhere, aren't we little one?” He addressed his questions to the little angel before him. There was silence as he stroked his thumb over the back of her thumb. The mother shivered, frozen in place.

“You must be incredibly grateful to whoever gave you access to that health insurance card”, he hypothesised, “doctors can be extremely expensive, especially with a little one”.

“Yes”, she somehow managed to croak out the syllable.

“I take it that you don't have much money”, he didn't need to wait for her to answer to know that he spoke the truth, “this is a rather dangerous area, any number of things could happen. It is certainly no place for a baby”.

“Please sir”, shock and desperation swinging her around. The baby let out a cry at having lost sight of her new playmate and turned around with her mommy.

He pretending to examine their surroundings, actually just disguising his expression from them. “No place at all”, he said thoughtfully. “Living in a place like this, what do you think that her chances are?”

“We will manage somehow, I will provide for her, I will ...” She clung to her child.

“Steal from someone else?” He raised an eyebrow.

“I didn't steal I ...” She broke off.

“I am not accusing you of anything, I just want the truth”, he closed the gap between them. “The woman who stole from me, I need to find her. I am going to find her, and you are going to help me. Tell me what happened”.

She opened her mouth, then closed it. She didn't know what to do.

“Disloyalty is a terrible thing”, he said understandingly, “but not as terrible as prison, I assure you. Not as bad as never finding employment again so long as you live. Not as bad as losing your child to a fo -”

“Eight months ago”, the words jerked from her, “eight months ago we were in Kansas. My little one was ill and we went to the doctor, she got her medication but I had no idea how I was ever going to pay for it. The debt was just so large. Then I met another woman, she had a card for her and her child which said that she didn't need any more. We … we swapped. She took the debt and I took the card. She said that she needed to escape and …. and …”

“Was she hurt? Did she have a child with her? Did she ...” He choked on his own words.

“No”, the first answer came out easily, the second with a shocked expression, “No, no child”.

Lex felt the blood draining from his face. “You are sure? There was no child?”

“I'm sure, she didn't have a child with her at least. We were in a hospital, I don't know why she was there, we...”

“You swear to God that you are telling me the truth?” He asked, about to grab her by the shoulders and only just refraining at the last second. “You swear?”

“I swear”, she said. Her voice was weak and shaky but sounded sincere.

He swore loudly, then called for his detective. “Find out everything you can from her, any trace, sliver of information, anything and look into it. Then, take her, set her up in one of the company apartments and get her a job in the company as anything she is trained to do with full benefits”. He was about to take his leave of her, possibly even come close to appologising for scaring her so, but then the baby made a noise which sounded like “Bguguga”.

His heart constricted as if caught in a vice. He left without a backwards glance, never knowing that she had been lying. She had done just as she was instructed, and he had been as generous as Chloe had told her that he would be.

~*~

“Sir”, the detective finally broken the silence which had permeated the car ever since they had got in it. He was relieved that at least this time he had been allowed to drive, but although he wasn't actively fearing for his life he was even more nervous and disconcerted than before.

During the course of their acquaintance, he had witnessed Lex Luthor in many states of emotions from boiling anger to silently fuming but never as he was now; just sitting there listlessly.

He swallowed, wishing that he didn't have to broach the subject which had been nagging at him for a year, but he couldn't reconcile it with his conscience to keep silent any longer. “I don't want to be a defeatist, but has it ever occurred to you that ...”

“Don't”. It wasn't so much a word as an inhuman snarl, like that of a wounded beast.

“Sir?”

“If you value anything you have, including your health, you will not continue with that line of thought. They are fine. They are both fine”, Lex announced, decidedly. “She is playing me!” That had to be it. They had to be alive, if not how could he still be drawing breath? How could the world still be spinning?

They were alive and well and mocking him. This was the thought that kept him going through the long plane ride back to Kansas. When he finally descended he was exhausted, too far gone to even try to master a smile for his butler.

He was weary beyond belief. If he had any sense he would go straight to bed but he didn't. He never did. As with every day he ended it in the basement. He made his way through the racks of wine, no longer noticing the cold or the smell of cork and stone which he had once found so soothing, as he neared the end of the final rack. He reached out his hand and placed his thumb against the grove in one of the old stones to be greeted by a new door way materializing in front of him.

As he stepped forwards into the darkness lights flicked on one by one and there was the sound of rock grinding against rock as the door automatically closed and locked itself behind him. This was his most important room.

The whole chamber was bathed in an odd florescent glow from the harsh lights above. They revealed that below the mansion there was an entire laboratory, in the centre of which sat a hunk of metal. It would have been difficult even for a car aficionado to have identified it as a black Jaguar in its current state, but his scientists had. His scientists had combed every inch of the vehicle and its surroundings to piece together what had happened. Every plausible theory had been expounded upon, models had been made, digital reconstructions created, the best minds in the world involved but every single one of them came to the same conclusion. Both occupants had got out from the car under their own steam before it had burst into flames.

He had known that she had got out from the second that he had heard about the crash, every millimetre of ground had been covered in the search for the body, no hospital in the local area had any record of anyone with injuries from a car crash – or anything similar – coming in that week let alone that night, the horrible thought always flashed that she might have been picked up by someone with nefarious intent but today proved that that couldn't be the case.

She was alive and she was mocking him.

He put his hand through part of the wreckage in a rather pointless display of manly temper. It said something for his current state of mind and anxiety that he did not feel it.

He ended his day the way that he ended all of the others, resolving to put this behind him and not let the search consume his life, knowing full well that even as he lay next to his fiancée that his thoughts would be of the woman who had betrayed him and that the following morning when there was the faintest whiff of a possibility of a clue concerning her whereabouts … he would be off again.

A/N: Hello again, I hope that you liked it if you read it. Either way, tell me what you think. Did you think that Lex was mean? Do you think that Chloe is hiding? Is she dead? Do you think that someone is hiding her? Ummm ... anything else?

Just got a chance to read this story for the first time and I am hook. Please updates soon.

Trckyrcky: Thank-you, I'm happy that you are reading it. There will be an update later today so it will be ready whenever you next have time to read. Hope that life isn't being too stressful. *waves*

Chapter Two

The following morning, the engine of his car roared as he raced down the highway, the same one she had disappeared on three hundred and sixty-six days ago.

Lex was an idiot. It wasn't the first time that this idea had occurred to him in his thirty years on the planet, but never before had it slammed into him as viscerally as the night before. At one o'clock that morning, when he had been staring up at the darkened ceiling of his bedroom, teetering at the edge of his enormous king sized bed to evade the grasping limbs of Lana - a woman regularly mistaken for a supermodel - determined not to think about Chloe he had realised that he was certifiable. Not to mention, a complete and utter unadulterated idiot. He had let emotion and fear get the better of him. In no other situation in his life would he ever have allowed that to happen.

When his initial enquiries had turned up nothing, he had allowed himself to get into such a blind panic that he had flown all over the country every time a piece of software registered a voice that sounded like hers, or a face that somehow resembled hers turned up on a CCTV camera, following connection after connection, family friend after family friend. He had bugged her father's house in Florida and while she hadn't 'officially' contacted her Dad in the last year, and Gabe refused to tell him a damned thing, he knew that they must be talking somehow. They were too close not to. Odd phrases he had caught from the house via the microphones had also sent him to weird and weirder parts of the country until he had discovered that Gabe was just reading a travel guide for reasons best known to himself. As if that weren't bad enough, Lex had had a team of experts scouring hospital and medical records only to finally come to a realisation: she had never left the state. It was the only thing that made sense.

He pulled over to the side to park illegally where the accident had occurred. His conviction that not only was she close by but that she (or someone else on her behalf) had been running him ragged on purpose did not stop his heart growing heavy at the sight. Even though the scorched grass was now thriving once more, he could not shake the image of the burnt wreckage from his mind. The horrific image which had greeted him a year ago when he had come across the scene.

Lex climbed out of the car and down the steep incline to stand exactly where the burnt out vehicle had once been and surveyed the surrounding areas. He knew that he would not find any new clues, his men had combed the area for months, but he knew that this was the starting point. He had allowed himself to be swayed earlier.

There had been one other car on the road at the time of the crash, which had somehow ended up flipped over on the other side of the carriage way. Thankfully someone had come along and seen it and called for help – the paramedics guessed – within half an hour, by which time the Jaguar was burnt to a crisp but empty. The driver of the other car – a drunken man whose leg had been caught on a jagged piece of metal swore – once Lex had beaten the truth out of him and then ensured that he would spend the rest of his life in prison – that no one had driven along the road in the intervening time, and that he had never had the relief of passing out. And from then on teams of people had been combing the area.

He swallowed as he imagined the scene, wishing desperately that he could have been there. No, if he had been there he would never have let her run in the first place. He would have protected her.

She must have got herself and the baby out of the car and headed out across the fields. The problem was that they were so surrounded by corn and (thankfully) there was no blood so it had been impossible to work out which direction she might have taken. At the time it hadn't occurred to him that she might not want him to find her, he had been searching hospitals and offering rewards for information. Now, he saw that he had been wrong.

There were a dozen farm houses within a two mile distance – the maximum distance she would have been able to limp between the accident and helicopters with motion detectors starting their rounds. One of them must have taken her in, then sent her somewhere before he started banging on their doors two days later. His brow furrowed as he took out his phone and called his lawyer.

“Did you manage it?” He demanded, without preamble.

“Yes, sir. The bank foreclosed on all of the mortgages and loans in the area, all of which have been deferred to you. No line of credit of any type will be forthcoming”.

“Excellent”. He hung up. Someone knew something and they would tell him.

After a day spent travelling from farm house to farm house, reinterviewing everyone with a combination of bribery and threats it was revealed that the young woman and her child had indeed stumbled to one of the houses and been taken in. They had wanted to take her to the hospital but she had refused, instead asking that they called a doctor from a private clinic and never to tell anyone. They said that they had seen such fear in her eyes they had agreed and been extremely relieved when the doctor came and took her away.

Lex could have kissed them he was so grateful, but instead he settled for signing their farm over to them. Finally he knew that they were both safe, they had both survived and according to the family: had been tired and scared but otherwise fine. The only sign of violence was a large bruise across the woman's cheek which he knew (only too well) had not been from the accident.

Before he left he had the phone records from that night draw up and got the number of the doctor. He had of course gone through all of the phone records before but it hadn't registered before as it was just a local mobile number. Nothing officially connected to medicine or unusual for a Kansas farmer. He called it in, by the end of that night he would be one enormous leap closer to finding them.

It was already dusk by the time that he got home, and he found Lana waiting for him in the living room.

“Hello darling”, she greeted him in a flurry of hugs and air kisses.

“Good evening”, he said kindly, but could never bring himself to call her darling. She could live in his house, spend his money, possibly become his partner one day, but she would never be 'darling'. There could never be two.

“Would you like a drink?”

“I'd love one”, he answered gratefully as he sank into the high backed arm chair.

He watched her as she sailed across the room to pour him a generous measure of scotch. She was beautiful, she always had been. She had the same grace, ingenuousness, and gentle spirit that he had always admired. He had almost forgotten about that, along with a lot of things about her. They hadn't spent much time together lately, he hadn't spent much time with anyone actually. Not since Chloe's disappearance.

He smiled at her as she brought him his drink and allowed her to perch on the arm of the chair, even wrapping his arm around her waist as he took a sip of the amber liquid, his eyes fixed on her features. As always he was hit by an overwhelming sense of her purity, and then …. something else, flickering just below the surface.

He couldn't quite remember how their relationship had started after Chloe's abandonment. She had just somehow ended up in the house, he had needed someone and had chosen her. To think that something he had once schemed for now came so easily to him and he didn't even want it.

“You look very nice this evening”, he commented evenly.

“Thank-you, it is new”, it was indeed a very fine silk robe.

He drained his glass and placed in on the table next to him. He had never bothered himself about Lana's spending habits, he had given her a credit card after the first time that they had slept together post Chloe and didn't even look at what she used it for.

He had realised on the drive home that this lack of attention to what was going on in his own home had been a mistake. He had been looking outwards for his fugitive when he should have been looking at his circle of family, friends and escort. Someone was hiding her.

Lex smiled, “This isn't an attempt to get my attention, is it?” He asked as he placed his hand on her knee.

She moved her head to the side and gave him the doe eyes which he had once thought of as the epitome of pure innocence. God, he had been a gullible fool.

“I haven't been a good boyfriend recently. The last year has been”, he paused, he studied her expression as he searched for the right word, “difficult”.

“I know”, her voice was understanding and warm. Her eyes were large and soft. And she was beautiful. It would have been so easy to give in, to allow himself to be comforted by her.

He ran his hand on her leg before pulling her into his lap, eliciting a gasp, “You”, he ran his hand across her cheek, bringing their faces close together, not a flicker would escape him as he said, “You're the only one I can trust, aren't you? The only one who is always honest with me. Who is always on my side”.

“Of course”.

Her delivery was perfect. Neither too fast nor too slow. Her eyes did not stray from his and her face remained passive. There was nothing to tell that she was lying and yet he knew, so absolutely, that she was.

She had betrayed him too. It was only fair he supposed considering what he had tried to do once, but he couldn't quite get over it. He didn't feel hurt, just shocked by his own idiocy. He stared hard at the woman before him and realised for the first time that he didn't know a thing about her. Torn between the urges to laugh and put his fist through a wall, he strove to remain calm.

“Lex”, she whispered his name, concerned by his silence. “Is something wrong?”

There was a definite tremor of something.

“Yes, something is very wrong, terribly wrong”, he said. “I have been taking you for granted and I've lied to you”.

At first she looked relieved, then confused.

“I have a confession to make. I have never stopped looking for Chloe”.

Yes, there was definite fear in her eyes now.

“I just can't forget about her and I am worried about the boy”, he continued with his explanation.

“He wasn’t yours”, Lana reminded him.

Lex's jaw shut firmly.

“I'm sorry darling”, she obviously realised that she had said the wrong thing, and tried to make amends, “I know how much you loved him. We all did. But he wasn't yours, we have no idea whose he was and, as much as it pains me to say it”, she really did look pained, “Chloe wasn't who we thought that she was either. She was just using you for your money and she used that poor sweet innocent baby as a pawn”.

“I know. Believe me, I will never forget, or forgive that”, he still felt the knife in his heart every time he thought of it. “But it doesn't change anything. I love him more than anything in this world and I don't believe that Chloe was just after my money. There was more to it than that”, he shook himself out of his dark musings, “anyway, it doesn't matter”.

She looked at him sceptically.

“It doesn't”, he answered steadily. “I made a promise the day that he was born that I would love and protect him whatever happened. Lack of biological connection doesn't change that. If Chloe is somewhere out there with him, hiding from me or something else, I don't know what exactly. She needs to be here with me, with us, surrounded by the people who love her and will support her. She isn't even in contact with Gabe, well, I'm sure that she is somehow but not the regular variety. That isn't right”.

“She was always so close with her Dad”, Lana agreed, “I just don't want you getting hurt again Lex”, she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder so that her face was obscured from his sight. “Besides, after a year you aren't going to find her, I mean, she must be in another country or something. I hate to see you torturing yourself like this”.

His hands tightened around her. How had he been so blind?

“Actually, I have got the final piece of the puzzle. I found the all important clue this afternoon”, he said in a calm manner, as he felt her heart-rate quicken slightly. There were some physical signs of nerves that even she could not hide.

“So you know where she is?” Lana asked, gingerly sitting up and peering at him.

“Not quite yet”, he admitted. “But I will receive a call to tell me in”, he raised his arm to examine his watch, “the next, oh say, ten minutes”.

“That's fantastic”, the smile which showed every single one of her pearly whites was a little too dazzling. “I will leave you to take your call in private”, she kissed him on the cheek, “Come and find me when you are done”.

“You can count on it”, he took her hand and kissed it before letting her sliver away.

Lex rose to his feet, retrieved his glass and walked over to the decanter to pour himself another measure of scotch before casually strolling back through the mansion into the security room. Once there, he focused the camera in Lana's private sitting room onto her computer and watched with interest as she logged into an online bank she had never told him about and began to close several accounts.

He didn't even really need to hear from the men now but he took the call anyway. He knew that he was being manipulated.

He had another glass of scotch and then made his way up to bed.

When Lana came in a few minutes later, looking surprisingly calm she found her partner of sorts standing in the middle of the room, staring directly at her.

“Did they call?” she asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

“Yes, as a matter of fact they did”, he replied slowly, noting that she was unwilling to look directly at him. She walked over to the dressing table and sat down, focusing on brushing her hair. She allowed the silk of her nightgown to fall off one shoulder.

He smirked. It was a feeble attempt to seduce him.

He could catch a glimpse of her expression in the mirror, her mouth was drawn into an 'o'.

“Would you like to know what they had to say?”

“Of course, have they found them?”

“No, they found a doctor who came and took her away from the a farmhouse near by the accident”, not that he called one and a half miles near all things considered. It made his blood boil to think of her walking all of that way, in her wedding dress, the baby in her arms, after suffering such a crash. “He was a private practitioner used almost exclusively by rich families who are having … problems”.

Lana swallowed. “Problems?”

“Unwanted pregnancies, adoption, that sort of things normally”, the words stuck in his throat.

“You don't think that she would have ...”

“Since that phone call I have wondered, I just have to hope not. It is always possible that he was just used as a way out of the situation, he is a regular doctor too”, he reminded himself as much as Lana.

“Well, that is good”, Lana continued to brush her hair.

“Yes, the question becomes, how did she know about him?” Lex baited the trap carefully.

Lana froze. “Why shouldn't she know about him?”

“Simply because I never told her about him. He is not the most reputable man alive and I had no intention of ever letting him near my child”, he fought hard to keep any note of accusation from his tone.

“He isn't your ...”

“I know”, he snapped. “But I never told her about him. So how did she know? None of her accounts have been touched, so how is she surviving?” He asked as he walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders, “How does she have the resources to send me all over the country looking for her?”

“Lex, I ...”

“Lana, I suggest that you consider your next words very carefully”, his voice was low and dangerous.

She opened her mouth to protest but then risked looking at his reflection in the mirror. He knew. He knew and she was about to be out on her ass if she didn't try to paint this in the right light.

“I'm sorry Lex”, she felt his fingers tighten slightly. “I know that she hurt and betrayed you and I hated her for that but I just couldn't let her go out into the world with that little baby without something”, her eyes filled with tears. “I just couldn't Lex”.

“You gave her the name of that doctor?”

She paused and then hung her head, “Yes, I didn't know what he did. I had just heard him spoken about as being a good doctor and discrete”. In light of the new information, that word took on a new meaning, “I thought that he was a paediatrician or something, I didn't know Lex. I swear”.

“You opened an account with my money in it for her”. He knew that she didn't have any money of her own. “You gave her the number of a potentially dangerous doctor. What else?”

“Nothing, I swear Lex. I did nothing else”, her tiny body was surging with adrenaline and fear.

“Your laptop, your credit cards, your phone, everything. I want it now”, he stressed the final word.

Shaking she did as he demanded. Then, she stood there, in the room that they had shared, watching for hours as he went through every vestige of information on the devices before calling in someone else and consigning them to him.

When he finally stood up she found her voice, even if it did quaver terribly as she asked, “Lex, where are you going?”

“She hasn't touched the accounts. The doctor has no information newer than ten months old. I'm going to get a drink”.

A/N: So, what did you think?

interesting. looking to see what happen next.

I don't like when I see that Lana is comforting Lex in Chloe's absence, but I'm glad Lex saw her for what she is and is throwing her out.

EEWWW Blana. Why? Of all the women her barf. Why is she running from Lex? What did he do to her? Why would blana help? I don't believe her.

P.S. I am still looking for work. It is hard not easy. :(

Cbrunberg: Thank-you. :D

Trckyrcky: Me neither. Yep, he did, but that doesn't necessarily mean that she is completely out yet. I know, I'm evil, but I have to amuse myself somehow.

Hfce: I know, I know. He he you'll find out ... at some point. I don't believe her either. Shall I let you in on a secret? *looks around and whispers* I don't like her either, so I doubt that it is going to end well for her. ;) I'm sorry to hear that you are still looking, the market is terrible right now. I'm looking for parttime work while I am a student and starting to panic about finding a real job NEXT september 2015. Hope that it gets better for you.

Note for everyone, my harddrive on my laptop is apparently about to die - great isn't it, just when everything is going crap you have to part with an extra 60-70 pounds. Anyway, this means that I probably won't be around much for the next ... not sure. Two weeks probably. However, I will be trying to read through Accidents once more and sending it off to a publisher by the end of this month - on my other computer. So I won't be idle and will be refused probably in August but at least I will have tried. Anyway, I won't have stopped Chlexing, just silly harddrive.

Chapter Three

Lex was lying stretched out on the chaise longe the following morning. His eyes were closed, his head was pounding, and his mouth tasted like he had licked a hairy sailor's arm pit. The reason for this stood neatly by his side, lined up neatly like little empty soldiers, four decanters in total.

“Ah Alexander my boy, nice to see that you are embracing your role as a captain of industry”, a dark haired man said, as he strolled into the office and tugged open the curtains unfeelingly.

“Do you have no sympathy for the afflicted?” Lex groaned, his hands going over his face to hide it from the glare of the sun.

“Not in the slightest”, he marched over to his son, pulling his hands from his face and said, “Wakey wakey”.

“Oh God”, Lex groaned. “What the hell do you want? Are you here just to torment me?”

“No, not just”, Lionel walked over to the side board, “I actually came in for a drink, but I see that you beat me to it. Honestly Lex, I know that you have a freakishly strong immune system, but this is ridiculous”

“Your concern is touching Dad”, he croaked dryly. He really needed another drink.

“I am concerned”, there was a note of truth in his voice, it would have been touching had Lex's head not been so sore. Lionel poured out two glasses of water and took one over to his son, “Drink this before I am tempted to pour it over your head, you idiot”.

Lex grunted, but knowing his father's temper did deign to drag himself up and take the glass glugging the clear liquid down. He pulled a face.

“You're probably just not used to the taste of water”, his father noted unfeelingly.

“You're one to talk”, Lex snorted.

“I never let myself get into such a pathetic condition”, Lionel reclined in the chair opposite Lex, regarding his son closely.

“You've never loved anyone let alone lost them”.

“If you say so”, he wasn't sure of that, but he wouldn't argue the point. “I am quite fond of my company though”.

“Hmmmm”, he made a non-committal sound.

“The stocks are doing well”, Lionel started, “everyone is happy with your performance”

“Yup”, he was starting to wish that he had another glass of water - as foul as it had tasted, he hadn't realised just how dehydrated he was until that moment -, but he wasn't going to get up. Chances were that he would fall over and he had already displayed far more weakness in front of his pater than he ever wanted to.

“Imagine what you could do if you were actually focused”, Lionel continued, as if absent-mindedly.

“What are you trying to get at, Dad?” Lex asked, finally looking over at his father. The man didn't look much like him, they were similar builds with noble features but that was where the similarity ended. The abundance of chestnut waves which fell in Lionel's face as he laughed compared to Lex's sleek bald head only served to highlight the difference.

“Dad ...” He tried to pull his father's attention back to the matter at hand when it seemed that he had no intention of interrupting his chuckling.

“I heard about what happened”, Lionel cut in, his mirth at an end.

Lex's head snapped to attention. The world swam around him.

“Lana isn't very good at keeping secrets and I got the rest of the information from your man”, Lionel explained.

“Well, as he doesn't have any new information ...”

“Oh Alexander my boy”, Lionel tutted, “still so much left to learn”.

“What do you mean?” The younger man ground out, in no mood for these games.

”Such a soft little boy”.

“Dad”, he barked.

“Men tend to be rather more forthcoming when they are dangling from one foot from the roof of an extremely tall building”, Lionel informed his son, conversationally.

“What!?”

“There is a car waiting out front, the driver is ready because clearly you are not in any condition to drive yourself”, he gave him a disgusted look.

Lex jumped to his feet but couldn't move any more than that. He just stared straight at his father. This had to be a trick.

“Son, just promise me that after today you will make a choice. Either bring her back her with that boy, or move on with Lana but stop doing this to yourself”, he indicated to the area around him. He took a slip of paper out of his pocket and held it out to him – even though the driver already had it.

After so long, it was within his grasp but Lex just stared, unable to force himself to move. “This isn't a joke is it?”

Lionel sighed, “No son, I promise you, this is no joke.”

As Lex tore out of the mansion Lana crept into the study.

“Lionel?” She asked in a whisper as she crossed the room to watch Lex's car screeching out of the gates next to where Lionel now stood, staring out of the window.

“Don't worry my dear”, he said as he turned to her with a smile, “I told you that I would take care of everything”.

She bit her lip.

“Ah darling, what's wrong, did you not sleep well?” He asked, cupping her face and running his thumbs across the dark circles under her eyes.

“I was up all night”, she admitted with a shaky breath, “I was terrified that Lex was going to kick me out”.

“Ah, well that explains it. But you should know that I would never let that happen, princess”, he wrapped his arms around her. “Things have got out of control and it's time for me to take the reigns once more”.

~*~

“Can't you go any faster?” Lex demanded from the back seat. Were he behind the wheel, they would have been there by now.

“Not really, sir, no”, the nervous reply came from the front of the car.

This was absurd, they were only forty miles away from Smallville, it hadn't been worth getting the helicopter as it would have taken too long. All of this time and she had been so fucking close. He was trying not to leap out of the car and attempt to out run the fucking thing.

“Come on”, he slammed his fists against the seats.

“We are travelling at 100 miles per hour, sir. If we get caught ...”

“I'll buy off the cops”, he growled and continued to do so until they pulled up and he almost cried. There was no way that this was the correct address.

They were in a town that was so small that it made Smallville look like Metropolis, a handful of houses, no schools but oddly enough a semi-delapedated boarding house which only seemed to get any custom because it was near the free-way and people just couldn't manage to go any further. Chloe couldn't be there.

“This has to be wrong”, he muttered.

“No sir, this is definitely the right address”, the chauffeur opened the door for him and waited as the dazed billionaire climbed out of the car on legs which were suddenly shaky.

He took in the three story house from the peeling paint on the wooden surfaces to the untidy garden. They couldn't be living there. They just couldn't.

As if in a daze he struggled forwards. Looking back on it in the years to come, he would never know how he managed it without his legs buckling or his heart giving out from the strain but somehow he made it inside. Against all reason, he found himself expecting to see Chloe standing there babe in arms, ready to greet him and answer all of his questions. What actually met him as the sight of a small reception area with a kindly old woman sitting there.

“Chloe”, he croaked. In a voice which he didn't recognise as his own.

She smiled at him oddly but nodded her head and beckoned for him to follow her. He did so, up the winding staircase and then down a dark hallway. The place as run down: the wall paper was old-fashioned and was not always smooth against the walls which seemed to bow a little in places; there was a smell of must which clung to the place like the thin layer of dust and occasional spider's web; and the antique floorboards creaked beneath his Italian designer shoes, but he didn't notice any of it. Lex was focused on one thing, the door in front of which the little old lady had left him.

He stood there. His heart was thudding in his chest. His mouth was as dry as the desert. His palms were wet with sweat. And he was petrified. He raised his fist and knocked at the door which gave worryingly under his knuckles.

“Come in”, a voice which he remembered only too well floated over to him. After a year and a day of searching, he had finally found her and yet he was unable to move. It as all that he could do to breath.

“Penny, is that you?” Chloe called through the plywood, “Did I hear someone pulling up outside? I've just given the room a once over and ...” She opened the door. “Oh God”, she whimpered.

There she was, the love of his life standing before him in a small double room which was just as run down as the rest of the house if a little cleaner. It contained a small, slightly warped window - through which filtered a small quantity of light, but not enough to fight off the general gloom of the place -, a bed, wardrobe, Chloe and nothing and no one else. He remembered her so well, her small ripe figure, her creamy skin, her large green eyes which stared up at him in shock.

Chloe peddled back inside, the colour draining from her face. Her mouth was open but no sound was forthcoming. Her hand still on the door tried to close it but he forced it open as he advanced into the room.

“Chloe”.

He strode in from the darkness. She scurried backwards into the light. She was even smaller than he remembered, no longer able to fill out her now heavily worn clothes. Her creamy skin was almost too pale. Her large green eyes were as gorgeous as ever but had bruises beneath them. He stared at her. She was still gorgeous.

“Darling”, the word came out of him without thinking. “Come here”. He reached out his hands, Chloe peddled back until she found herself against a wall and could move no further.

“Chloe, darling, I can't believe it. I have been looking for you for so long. Here”, he finally reached her and extended his hand to caress her soft cheek. He couldn’t believe it, she was real. He had finally found her.

“God, please tell me that this isn't a dream”, he groaned. He stroked his hand through her hair.

She placed her hands on his chest, pushing him back. He glanced down to see cleaning products still held in her delicate fingers. This definitely wasn’t a dream, he couldn't have dreamed something like that.

“What is going on?” He asked, taking the products from her.

“You are the one who just burst in here”, she reminded him feebly, leaning back against the wall as if it were the only thing keeping her up.

“I've been looking for you for a year, Chloe”, he growled, throwing the stuff to the side, “do you have any idea what it has been like?”

She shook her head.

“Tell me Chloe”, he grabbed her shoulders. “Why did you run away? Why did you take my son? Why didn't you call? Why have you been hiding from me? What is going on?”

“When Lana told you that he wasn't yours you were so angry you ...”

“Chloe you can't be afraid of me, you know that I would never hurt you. Either of you. Come on”, he ran his hands down her arms, “let's just get little Alexander and we can get going. I realise that you are upset, I'm not feeling too well myself, this is a lot to take in. We can work out everything when we get home”.

“Lex, I ...”

“I know, I know maybe you never loved me. I don't know what made you do it but that doesn't change anything. I promised to protect both of you and that's what I'm going to do. You can stay in the guest house if you prefer, if you don't feel comfortable exactly living with me. You can have anything you want, I’ll build you a separate house in the grounds if that is what it takes but let's just get our son and ...”

“Our son?” She repeated the words in a questioning, nervous tone, having yet to move.

Lex made a noise, as if someone had plunged a knife into him, “I know that he is not biological my son and I promise that I won't confuse him by saying that again”, he had no idea how he was going to manage that when that was how he still thought of him, but if that was what it took then he would do it. “I won't. I'll control myself just please ...”

She shook her head, as her eyes filled with tears.

“Chloe ...”

“I … I can't”, she finally choked out.

“What?” He let go of her, “What do you mean you can't? Of course you can. Is he at nursery?” He cast another glance around the room, searching for the baby, not that he honestly thought that there was any chance that he had missed him.

Her restraint snapped and huge fat tears spilled from her eyes. She slammed them shut as if suffering from a mortal blow, her face turned completely red, her chest heaved, her breath came in strangled pants and she began to shake.

Somehow, in spite of everything, two words made it through her blood less lips. Soft, shaking, but just about distinguishable. “I. Can't.”

He froze, panic and realisation coursing through his veins. The child was gone. He couldn't believe it, couldn't wrap his mind about it. Over the last year he had been tormented by nightmares, images of both of their broken bodies amongst the worst of them, but he had never truly believed that his son could be gone.

His son was gone. He had to know how. Was it the crash that he had caused? Another complication? Had she given him up? Or, he felt his blood running cold at the thought, had she been forced to take a more permanent solution?

“Oh God no”, Lex couldn't get any more out. The pain was radiating off her in waves. He turned, he stumbled, he ran. He couldn't do this. He couldn't hear that his boy was gone. He was barely back inside the car when he broke down in tears, the first time since his mother's death over a decade ago. There was no hope, no future, Alexander was gone.

The chauffeur had the sense to stay outside the car until Lex had calmed down and the door opened from the inside. He billionaire, looking a good decade older than he had that morning, thrust into his hand an envelope with Chloe's name scrawled onto it. It contained a cheque which he had just written and with the driver’s help found its way inside and into the young woman's possession. One hundred thousand dollars. It would look after her. It would … it wouldn't do anything important.

He wanted to die.

He actually thought that he might. The chauffeur had returned and started to drive away when he was hailed to stop. Lex he barely got out before he threw up. Violently. His body jerking forwards. Veins bulging in his head. Water running down his cheeks.

His boy was gone. His darling was destroyed and it was all his fault.

As he finally straightened up, wiping his mouth on his expensive suit cuff he looked around. He could go back to her, he burned to go back to her, to hold her but he wasn't strong enough. He was just going to cause her even more pain and suffering. He staggered back into the car. He was going to do what he was supposed to have done all along, marry Lana, settle down and be the head of a major cooperation but he would never produce an heir. There was only room in his heart for one child, and he was dead.

He would speak to his Dad, he would know how to take care of Chloe without her ever having to see him again. He would never hurt her again. No one would. She deserved the chance to move on with her life, find someone she actually wanted to be with, who would love her, worship her, with whom she could have more children.

He broke down.

~*~

Chloe slumped down to the floor as she watched the love of her life leave along with what little remained of her strength. What had she done?

“Chloe? Sweetiepie?” Penny poked her head around the door, “Oh, sweetheart, don't cry”, she came in armed with the envelope she had taken on her young friend's behalf and another little present nestled in her arms.

“I thought that you might need this, I checked in on him. He is still fast asleep but I don't think that he would mind you needing a little cuddle”.

Chloe managed a small smile. She was shaky, tired, heart broken, but he was the one thing that made it all worth while. “Adrian”.

A/N: So, what do you think?

looking forward to see what happens next

Why did she lie? :(

Cbrunberg: Happy to hear it. :D

Hfce: Well if you look closely she didn't actually lie ... unless I wrote it wrong. But the reason why will appear ... eventually. How many more times can I use ... in one answer ...?

Chapter Four

Several years earlier …

Chloe shifted uncomfortably in her tiny seat, trying not to elbow the person sitting next to her in the ribs as she did so. She had been in this God awful contraption for the last three hours and she was fairly certain that her spine was now severed for life. If only she could stretch her legs, just a little bit … she didn't think that she could bear this for another thirty minutes.

“Are you going to squirm for the rest of the flight?” Complained the owner of the rolls of fat which continued to spread across the dividers and into Chloe’s seat, rather impressively while continuing to chew her gum, noisily, smacking her lips and spraying the back of the seat in front of her just as she had since they had taken off from Boston.

“Yeah, probably”, Chloe said, as she planted her feet and attempted to lever her hips slightly, hoping that that would take the excessive pressure off her spine. How was it possible that someone as short as she was couldn't even sit without their knee caps pressing uncomfortably into the back of the hard plastic seat in front of her? Well, she supposed that this was what you got when you tried to get a flight for 300 bucks. There wasn't even enough space for her to get her laptop out; added to everything else, she was going through withdrawal symptoms.

She turned her head – the only thing that it was possible to turn in the excuse for an aeroplane - and stared out of the window. Nothing but darkness. That was what happened when you got a flight at two on a Tuesday morning just to keep costs down, she supposed. A ping, accompanied by a light with a picture of a fastened seat belt brought her attention back to the flight and, with a suppressed groan, she complied. She really hated flying.

By the time that she got off the plane, almost bent double like an old woman, she was ready to drop to her knees and kiss the ground. She cradled her bag holding her beloved laptop as she staggered over to the baggage claim and heaved her three enormous suitcases off the conveyor belt. As large and cumbersome as they were, it was still rather depressing that they could (and did) contain everything that she owned in the world.

She heaved them up onto a little buggy and took the occasion to twist herself into several odd contortions until she heard a rather satisfying series of clicks and cracks and felt herself grow a few inches. That was much better. Or at least, she thought that it was until she caught a glimpse of her reflection. She looked like terrible.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go. She had been away at University. She wasn't the same girl who had left: the one who had been unappreciated and in love with her best friend. She had graduated maxima cum laude from Harvard for God's sake; she was supposed to return to her home state in a tidal wave of glory. Not like this.

She wasn't even exactly sure why she was returning, everything was different now. There was nothing tying her to Kansas really, she hadn't been back since she had started college (as her father had moved away to Florida for the climate), but after graduating – at the top of her class – she had still found that jobs were scarce. Ones which actually paid the rent even more so. With the world as her oyster, she discovered that she was allergic to shellfish. She had grades, extra-curricular activities, a certain amount of experience, references and bucket load of determination but a thousand applications later, only one real job had opened up.

A low, demeaning, degrading job as someone's assistant in a field only remotely connected to what she wanted to do but with the possibility of advancement. Still, she had lugged her suitcase from her college dorm to a dingy 25m2 apartment if it could be called that in a suspect neighbourhood with something close to enthusiasm. A month later, she was heaving that same luggage out of her apartment which she could no longer afford to her friend’s car on their way to the airport. Life was a bitch and there was absolutely no gratitude. She had worked her ass off at something she was over qualified for and they promoted someone else just because they were willing to sleep with the boss. She had looked for another job but no one was hiring. Finally, she had been forced to accept the reality of the situation.

She had barely enough money to survive for a fortnight in Boston, which would stretch to about a month in Metropolis. She walked out into the main hallway of the airport and saw someone holding a sign with her name on it: “Chloe Sullivan”.

She breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't expected any of her friends to come to the airport, they didn't even know that she was coming, but if this one person hadn't come she would have been royally screwed. They greeted each other and he led her outside to a beat up, rusted out old car that she was going to pay for on instalments.

“So, you staying in Metropolis?” The man asked.

“No, hoping to get a job here but living a little way out”.

“Oh, where?” He asked conversationally.

“Smallville”, she said, with a smile, and handed over the first instalment of the money and gratefully accepted his help in loading up the vehicle. Fortunately, although it sagged significantly, it didn't collapse.

Her money would stretch to about four months in Smallville, even with the extra expense of commuting into Metropolis. Hopefully one of her old contacts there would pay off. It was with that thought that she climbed into the car and headed off to the town she had once called home.

The journey seemed to take forever as she travelled through field after field of golden corn. She could remember when her father had first taken her out there to show her where they would be living for her High School years, she had not been impressed. In fact, she had been so desperate for a glimpse of Metropolis at times that she had accomplished this journey twice a week at some points during her High School career, it shouldn’t be so bad. Besides, Smallville had grown on her.

Finally, she started to see more sights that she recognised, that meant that she was getting closer. She sped passed the small brightly coloured farm houses and the one and only Luthor Castle towards the town. She almost giggled at the thought of calling it a town; it was so tiny, comprised mostly of row after row of minute quintessentially small town shops which she didn't think had changed at all since she had last seen them four years ago. In fact, as she past the cake shop, she was fairly certain that they had exactly the same pastries in the window.

Her car crept along for another minute or two and she found herself in the ‘downtown’ area, where she could see that there had been some alterations. The refurbishment project which had started with the opening of a coffee shop called The Talon had obviously continued as it all looked much smarter. She was momentarily concerned but remembered her research which confirmed that this was still the cheapest area in Smallville – unless she wanted to live about fifteen miles in the wrong direction in a small house without running water, which she didn't.

She pulled up just outside The Talon, mostly because she couldn't believe that it was still there now that Lana wasn't there to preside over her little endeavour. She left her car in a parking space, marvelling at the idea that it would remain safe even with three suitcases in. Still, she couldn't quite break her big city habits; when she went in, brought a very small black coffee and picked up one of the free newspapers she positioned herself by the window so that she could still keep one eye on her rusty old banger.

Chloe opened the paper and began to sift through the various offers. She would have liked to have had this all sorted out before she arrived, but it appeared that the greater part of Smallville (and even local firms in Metropolis) had yet to embrace the internet, which made searches in Boston difficult. She read through the offers of apartments without much luck, then she turned over the page to the jobs section. Even worse. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. She would just have to compromise. She wasn’t going to ask her father for money, he had done more than enough for her over the years.

“Temporary jobs, temporary jobs”, she searched the next column. The only apartments which were available were pretty diabolical but she would have to choose one of them; she could always just rent by the week as long as she got some sort of job.

She wasn't going to be a stripper. She wasn't going to be 'an interpretive performer (clothing optional)', she wasn't going to be part of a sex chat line. How was it possible that the only jobs in Metropolis which would actual pay enough to make the gas money worth it were all sex based? The recession had hit Kansas hard.

“Over we go to Smallville”, she thought. If she was going to get a short-term employment for minimum wage, she might as well save herself the commute at any rate.

“And there is a big fat load of nothing”, she sighed. This was ridiculous, she wasn't that proud. She wasn’t asking for a six figure job with benefits or anything that she was actually qualified to do, just something to pay the rent.

“What you doing?” A sing song voice came from just behind her causing her to jump out of her skin and send her coffee cup flying over the table, narrowly missing a waitress who waved off her apologies and got to cleaning it up. This was not Chloe’s day. Or the waitress’ apparently.

“Oh God Chloe, I am so sorry”.

Chloe turned to see a smiling brunette. “Lana, hi, how are you?” She attempted to cover her surprise as best she could.

“I'm great thanks”, the smaller girl wrapped her arms around the other in a slightly awkward embrace. “I'm so sorry, I really didn't mean to give you such a fright. I just came downstairs, saw you, did a double take and then couldn't resist”, she added with a shrug as she released her, apparently having picked up on the stiffness on Chloe’s part.

“Oh don't worry about it, it's so great to see you”, Chloe injected more enthusiasm into her voice and stood up to hug her former best friend again, before rubbing her hands up and down her arms. “You look exactly the same”, she said, without much tact. Lana had always been the loveliest girl at Smallville High, the ‘it’ girl, with long flowing chestnut locks, dainty frame, flawless skin, a heart shaped face and eyes so large that they almost looked unnatural. Whilst Chloe, at an inch taller than her and a good ten pounds heavier had always been curvy on a good day, a little chubby on a bad one with an unfortunate tendency to cover it with brightly coloured ‘eclectic’ clothes and odd hairstyles. She would always lack Lana’s innate grace and winsome aspect. Chloe probably would have hated her had she not always been one of the kindest people she knew.

Lana gave a soft laugh, “That’s so odd. I was just about to say that you look so different”. She tried not to be someone who always judged by appearances and certainly never to comment on them, but the change in Chloe was remarkable. Gone was the puppy fat of youth and the awkwardness which had accompanied it. Her hair, allowed to remain its natural shade of honeyed blonde, fell down to her shoulders, better highlighting her delicate features and now crystal clear, even if she did display signs of having travelled a long way.

“It’s been a long time”, Chloe commented as she sat back down and seeing Lana hesitate waved her hand to indicate that she might sit if she wanted.

“Yes”.

Chloe was relieved to see that Lana appeared only to have been waiting for an invitation rather than being unwilling as she took her seat after placing her hand on a passing waitress’ arm and whispering something to her. She was always so proper.

They sat in silence for a few seconds, neither entirely sure what to say to the other until they both blurted out at the same time, “I didn’t know that you were back”. They laughed and Chloe admitted, “I guess that we haven’t talked for a while”. She tried to think of the last time she had actually spoken to her old friend. She thought that it must have been a year, but it couldn’t have been that long. It wasn’t as if they had had a falling out or something of that ilk, they just somehow stopped talking both too consumed with the other things which occupied their lives. She was embarrassed by that oversight.

“No, it must have been”, Lana racked her brains, “a year?”

Chloe nodded.

“It can’t have been”, she rechecked her maths. No, it had been a year. “Well, that is awful. We will have to make up for lost time, ah”, she smiled as the drinks she had ordered appeared.

They tried their best to make up the time, discussing absolutely everything that was of no importance until Lana grabbed the newspaper which Chloe was leaning on.

“So, what was it that you were staring at so secretively when I came in?” She demanded, “And why were you doing the casual lean?” She had lived with the Sullivans for long enough to recognise Chloe’s slightly too casual leaning on a piece of evidence lean.

“Oh it’s nothing”, Chloe said dismissively.

“Really? It looks like a newspaper”, Lana said, snatching it from under Chloe’s elbow before she could react and starting to read it. “You are looking at apartments? And temporary jobs?”

“Um ... Yeah, something like that”, Chloe said, extending her arm to take it back.

Lana move it out of her reach. “Something like that, or actually that?” She had seen Chloe talk around people before without ‘actually’ lying to them, you had to be crafty when dealing with a Sullivan; they were too clever by half.

“Yeah”, she scratched the back of her neck, “that”. She felt herself colouring up. That was one of the worst things about being pale. She blushed at everything.

“That’s great”, Lana enthused but then added, staring at her, “but why? I mean, you graduated from Harvard, right? Shouldn’t you be in Boston? Or New York? Or London? Or Paris? Or Rome?” Her voice grew with excitement with each new city name. She had always wanted to travel, she had imagined herself at 21 strolling along the Boulevards of Paris, not sitting in a coffee shop in Smallville

“Yes, I should”, she tried to put a brave face on it, “but that isn’t how things worked out so”, she broke off with a shrug.

“That’s great!”

“I beg your pardon?” Chloe gasped.

“I didn’t mean it like that”, Lana tried to explain, “it’s just ... Well, you were always the one who was going places”.

“You wanted to travel too”.

“Yeah, and I lasted exactly four months away from home and have been pretending ever since”. She had been ashamed to let Chloe, her most successful friend, know of her abject failure. “Everything I just told you was well not a lie exactly. I mean, I did come back and retake over the running of the The Talon but ... It isn’t exactly what I dreamt of as a child”.

“Life never is”, Chloe agreed taking a sip of a coffee.

“So”, Lana said after a few seconds, “where are you going to live and work? A newspaper?” She couldn’t imagine that there were actually any Chloe-level jobs in Smallville.

“No and I don’t know”, Chloe tried to keep her voice calm, even as her heart-rate increased, as it always did when she thought about her future recently. “There are a couple of options and I’m only looking for a temporary job at the moment, until something else turns up”.

Lana wrinkled her nose with disgust as she scanned the appropriate columns. “You have to be kidding me. Chloe, you can’t take any of these. They are so beneath you”.

The blonde girl sighed, not enjoying this conversation at all. Privately, she agreed with her friend but she couldn't say that she was too desperate not to find work somehow.

Although she tried to look brave and stoic, something in her expression must have tipped the smaller girl off as she exclaimed, “I have a solution”.

“Considering that the particular page you are now looking at contains mostly sex related businesses and the apartment without the toilet, I’m not sure that I want to hear it”, Chloe tried to joke, finally having retrieved her newspaper.

“You should live with me and work at the Talon!”

Chloe stared at her in shock. That hadn’t occurred to her.

“Come on, it is perfect”, Lana enthused, “It is a nice apartment, you know that I’m not an axe murder”.

“Although you did once try to kill me with an axe”, Chloe reminded her.

Lana looked uncomfortable, “Well, it is a nice apartment and you know that I would never have tried to hurt you if it hadn’t been for ...”

“I know”, Chloe assured her, “and it is really kind of you but ...”

“No buts”, she said with more decision than Chloe had ever heard coming out of the small girl, “It will be fun. I know that it’s not what you dreamed of, but at least this way you can go to every single job interview that you get and quit as soon as you want, you can have whatever hours you need to make sure that you get on your feet and a clean apartment until then too. See, it works”.

“It’s a great offer but I don’t want to be an imposition and ...”

“You wouldn’t be”, Lana broke in, “besides I lived with you and Gabe for over a year”.

It was true, Lana had lived with them rent free for that long. It had been exceptionally kind seeing as they hadn’t even been friends at the same time and competing for the same man - a competition which Chloe had basically forfeited by enabling Lana to stay in the area rather than having to follow her aunt to the city.

Chloe considered the matter.

“I’m not going to take no for an answer”.

She really didn’t have any other options. No where to go. No job. Pride be damned, she was moving in with Lana Lang for the second time in her life.

“Great”, Lana could read her expression, “and remember, when you are big successful business woman attending soirées I want to tag along”.

~*~

Chloe looked around the apartment above The Talon in a kind of awe. She had been up there before of course, she had visited Lana when she had lived there in her final year of High School but she couldn't believe it now. It was about fifty times bigger than her last apartment, without the smell of mould, a working bathroom, a kitchen and a window. It was amazing how time changed ones perspectives, when Lana had first come back off holiday after her eighteenth birthday, she had felt sorry for her as she had decided to live there rather than back at home with Chloe; now the apartment seemed close to being a palace. There was just so much space. She stretched her arms out and twirled around, just because she could before collapsing back onto the couch which was going to be her bed until she could get a proper one.

“So much space”, she sighed contentedly as she looked around the apartment. 150 dollars per month (utilities included) was nothing and she would be earning eight dollars per hour for serving coffee. That meant that working 10 hours per week and she should be able to make ends meet and add a little to her bank account, leaving plenty of time to get a job, maybe even an internship if that was how she had to start out. Although, as much as she like the apartment, she would have to be careful not to get too used to this. If the apartment weren’t comped she would never have been able to afford it and she wasn’t going to trespass on Lana's hospitality for too long. Chloe always had been the girl who needed to stand on her own two feet. Speaking (or rather thinking) of which, she grabbed her laptop and entered the internet code and opened her Skype.

“Hello Dad”, she said cheerfully.

“Hello sweetiepie, is everything going okay? Are you eating properly? I got your email a few days ago saying that you were travelling for work, did they give you the full-time job? You know I don't like you working somewhere without a full-time contract”

“Well, that isn't something that you need to worry about now Daddy”, she assured him, always keeping in him his heart condition. It was minor but there was no denying that he was a worrier. “I am actually back in Smallville, I have a good apartment and steady employment, it isn't exactly what I want to do but it is absolutely secure and it will give me an importunity to climb the ladder, especially in Metropolis”.

“Oh”, Gabe paused, “what aren't you telling me? Nothing is wrong, is it?”

“No Daddy, of course not. I promise, I have everything sorted out”.

“Good, so have you been eating properly? You look tired”

She smiled, “Thanks Dad, I love you too and yes I am quite tired, I had to catch a very early flight and yes I have eaten, I saw Lana and she treated me to the biggest muffin you have ever seen.”

“Oh, that's nice. Give her my love, won't you? And try to eat something at least semi-healthy for dinner. I'd love to talk more but I think that I had better let you have a nap, you look exhausted pudding”.

“All right, I'll PM you later”.

“Afternoon afternoon”, he said with a smile.

She looked at him quizzically.

“Instead of night night as it is the afternoon”, he explained.

“She turned her computer of and put it gently on the coffee table before kicking off her shoes and lying down, “I am really too old for an afternoon nap”, she told no one in particular as she drifted off.

“Chloe”.

“Wah?” She demanded grumpily. Since when did her alarm clock have a voice? She forced her eyes open and peered up.

A tall manly vision with dark curly hair, pretty blue eyes and a boyishly handsome face stared down at her.

“Clark”, she croaked before closing her eyes again. Oh great, she was back to having those pathetic High School dreams about her old best friend, that he would come to her desperate to tell her of his love and burning passion and ….

“I'm sorry”.

“I know, you're sorry and you love me blah blah balh”, she murmured to her dream trying to turn back over and continue sleeping.

“Um, no”, the deep voice sounded hesitant, “I'm sorry for waking you up”.

“Huh?” She turned around, rather impressively, her back cracking all of the way down her spine, her head craning around.

“Damn, are you all right, Chloe?” Clark demanded as he rushed to her side and helped her move slowly around to a more normal sitting position and sat down next to her.

“Yeah, sorry, I'm just I thought that you were one of my old housemates, always waking us all up in the morning with false declarations of passion”, she tried to cover her ass metaphorically, but she did glance down to ensure that her actual one hadn’t slipped out of her jeans during her nap.

“Right”, he nodded, he had heard of him. Chloe had mentioned him in an email. “But I thought that you said Clark?”

“Did I?” She looked shocked. “How odd”.

Clark looked relieved but confused as he stared down at her. “It's so good to see you again Chlo”, he pulled her into a hug, “Lana told me to come up because she had a surprise for me, but I didn't think that it would be this good”.

“A surprise hmm”, Chloe gave him a knowing look.

“Not like that”, he blushed slightly.

She grinned. She adored him. Not in the way that she once had, but in the cute little puppy who was just so good. She loved that he still blushed, deciding so see just how red she could make him go, she gave raised an eyebrow at him, “My my Clark, I'm shocked that you got the implication”.

“I … um ….”

Fushia. Interesting.

“Don't worry about it Clark”, she gave his hair an affectionate ruffle.

He flushed an even darker hue. He looked down at his hands, “So, um”, he returned his gaze to her face, “are you here for a visit? No one told me that you were coming”.

“Not exactly, hey why are you smiling like that? Do I have couch head?”

“Ummm … a little”, he reached out and ran his fingers gently through her hair. “There”, he smiled, “you are less fluffy”.

She smiled and surreptitiously wiped her mouth with the back of her hand to check for drool. Hardly any.

“So, you are here visiting Lana. Why didn’t you tell me? I would have come with her to get you from the airport, how long are you staying for?” He asked, leaning back against the couch.

“Lana didn't know that I was coming either, I didn't know that either of you were in the area. Last I heard you were both in Metropolis”, Chloe explained.

“Things change”, he said awkwardly, “Last I heard, you were in Boston”.

“Things change”, she said in an equally evasive manner.

“Chloe, you're not in trouble are you?” He asked, “You haven't done something, made somebody powerful angry?”

“No Clark”, she laughed, “i don't do that any more. I … Things didn't exactly work out”

His brow furrowed.

“When I graduated I could only get one job, well more of a paid internship for one month really, after which they got rid of me to replace me with someone who would sleep with the boss. Smallville is much cheaper than Boston but still near enough a major city (Metropolis) to make it a good option to live in. I hoped that one of my old contacts in Metropolis might be able to help me out. Lana very kindly said that I could stay here with her and gave me a part time job at The Talon to see me through”.

“Oh, I'm sorry”, he felt an inexplicable sense of guilt.

She held up her hand, “Don't be. I'm in a much better position than most graduates, the average is six months to find any job. That's just the way it is. Besides, I'm not defeated”.

She gave him her most winning smile.

“The world isn't fair”, Clark complained. He had his fair share of problems but he had always just assumed that everything would work out perfectly for Chloe as soon as she left High School; she had worked so hard and suffered so much loss in her childhood. She deserved things to go right for her for once.

“No, it's not. Some people are starving in war torn countries”, she pointed out.

“I guess, but I'm still mad”.

“I know”, she patted her arm before admitting, “me too actually”. It really wasn't fair after she had worked so hard, she was supposed to have more than this. Still, what she had was more than most.

“Well, as you are going to be here. We might as well make your stay as comfortable as possible”, Clark decided, standing up. “So”, he looked around, “where is the rest of your stuff?”

“This is pretty much it”, she indicated to her three large suitcases and laptop and bag.

“Oh”, he said thoughtfully. Then looked back around. “Where are you going to sleep?”

“You were sitting on it”, she patted the sofa, “until I buy a bed, and wardrobe, and chest of draws and well, you get the picture”. She had briefly run the figures in her head so far and after working to pay rent etc and not dip into her almost non existent savings, paying for the car, job hunting, saving for and finding an apartment of her own, possibly finding an internship, and rebuilding her savings, she had worked out that she would have to work four days per week – leave three to job hunt – and be very sparing with what furniture she brought, and from where.

“You can't sleep on the couch, you'll get a terrible back. We have a spare bedroom set, bed and all of that stuff”, Clark said.

“That's nice Clark but I can't accept it”, she already felt uncomfortable enough about living with Lana. That was as near to charity as she was planning on getting.

“Why not”, he used his puppy face, “it is just sitting there gathering dust as it is”.

“Clark”, she didn't believe him for a second, “your parents have a two bedroomed house, how do you have an extra set of furniture?” She wasn't going to let him by her furniture and then pass it off as just something that he had lying around.

“No, honestly Chloe”, he didn't look entirely honest, “for wood work in High School I made an entire bedroom set, remember?”

Now that he mentioned it, she did remember hearing something about it and that it was only fit for giants and so ugly that it had been stored somewhere in their barn.

“Okay, you are sure that it won't be putting you out?”

“Chloe”, he placed both of his hands on her shoulders, “I promise. No problem and no cost, just stuff that I already had lying around”.

“In that case, thank you Clark”, she threw her arms around him.

“Any time”, he returned the embrace, “I've miss you so much Chloe”.

“I've missed you too”, she assured him.

“Good, I'll be back soon”, he promise, breaking away from her and heading for the door. When he got there he called back, “Oh hey, I just thought, we have this really huge wedge of material left over from something my mom was making for someone, we were just going to throw it away but you could use it to corner off that area over there”, he pointed to a square space free from anything else, “to make it into your bedroom”.

“Double check with your mom first”, she advised before asking, “do you want me to come with you?”

“No no, it will be easier by myself”, he said her before giving her a sunny smile and bounded off.

Small towns really aren't so bad, Chloe decided as she went to wash her face and check her hair before heading down to see if there was anything that she could do to help out. She wasn't due to start work until the following morning, but that didn't mean that she couldn't lend a hand.

Hey Chloe”, Lana smiled at her and beckoned her over, “going out to explore and see what has changed?”

“No, actually I was wondering if there was anything that I could help with or observe or something so that I can hit the ground running tomorrow”, she offered as she watched the other young woman carrying a huge tray of coffees around the place, distributing them with a smile.

“Oh, that's so nice but um ...” she looked around, “I think that I have it covered for the moment. The only thing which is causing problems at the moment is some paperwork”.

“Well, I can do that if you like”, Chloe offered and Lana gratefully accepted. She was good with people but hated forms with a passion which was odd considering that she was a manager.

“Really? Chloe, you are a life saver”.

When Clark returned with his Dad carrying a bed, then various other items of furniture into the room along with linen and some cakes from his mom Chloe was halfway through an inch stack of papers.

“Wow, that's a lot. Thank-you so much, are you sure that none of this is stuff that you are going to miss?” She asked after she had greeted them both.

“Only when I don't bang into them”, Mr Kent assured her. “Clark's over zealous building has been rather a hindrance”.

“Well I am very grateful for it at least”, she smiled as she saw it all. It was very good actually, plain and quite masculine and large but neat and sturdy.

“Martha was delighted to hear that you are back and demanded that I invite you to dinner very soon”, Mr Kent continued as he wiped the sweat from his brow before they started arranging the double bed, mattress, bedside tables, double wardrobe, bookcase and desk.

“Happily, whenever is convenient”, she beamed. There were definitely things that she had missed about small town life, and Mrs Kent's cooking was one of the main ones.

~*~

The next morning when Chloe ambled down the stairs to The Talon, the wedge of papers from the night before tucked under her arm, she realised that she actually felt better than she had in several months. She wasn't where she wanted to be, but she was comfortable and safe and there was some distant, glimmering ray of hope for her future. Things could definitely have been worse.

She placed the stack on the counter as she went to turn on the coffee maker and start about Lana's check-list of things to do before opening up. Chloe had insisted upon letting her friend have a break from always doing the earliest shift for once. It was the least that she could do.

She went about her work quickly and was just about to go and open the front door for the five-thirty crowd – which didn't actually exist – only to be shocked to come face to face with The Talon's owner. Still, she took the key out of her pocket and opened the door for him, stepping aside to let him enter.

Her astonishment was nothing compared to his. “Chloe?” He exclaimed and looked around behind her to see if something else out of place.

“Good morning, Mr Luthor”, she greeted pleasantly.

His brow furrowed, “Since when do you call me Mr Luthor?”

“Since I started working here”, she had thought that she had been very polite.

He raised an eyebrow at that and Chloe felt the bottom of her stomach dropping, “Does Lana have to ask your permission?” She couldn't lose this job.

“No no”, he shook his head, “Lana can make any decisions like that that she wants, I just thought that she might have informed me”. He gave her a tight, little smile as he headed over to the bar along side Chloe who busied herself with getting a cup out and asking him what he wanted to drink.

He didn't know what on earth Lana had been thinking to give Chloe a job there or why the hell she would have accepted it. She was a Harvard graduate last he had heard, although Lana didn't really talk to him any more.

“Expresso, please. Is Lana around?”

“No, she is in bed. I insisted”, Chloe explained, as she prepared his beverage.

Lex just stared at her. She had changed. He had first met her when she was a fourteen year old who had been far too smart for her own good, stomping around in overly large shoes, clothes so bright that they hurt his eyes, but with an odd fixation for business jackets, with almost bleached blonde hair which stuck out at odd angles. Over her four years at High School she had matured, slimmed down a little and lost her need to hide behind her clothes but still, she hadn't looked like this.

The young woman standing before him was completely different. Well, no, not completely. She was still obviously intelligent, determined, she had that spark about her but even making coffee she was as confident as hell. Hardly wearing a scrap of make up allowing her features to speak for themselves, her hair pulled back into a messy bun and dressed simply in a black t-shirt and jeans. What the hell was she doing there?

“Here you go”, service with a smile. That was the key.

He blinked, out of practice dealing with her blinding smile.

“Thank-you”, he handed over the money. It might have been his establishment but he still always paid, and always tipped.

“Thank-you”, she deposited the money appropriately.

“So”, he took a sip of the coffee and blinked. It was much better than normal, much stronger too. He might have known that Smallville's resident coffee-o-holic would know how to make an excellent cup. “Lana isn't around?”

“No, why, did you want?”

“Um, we were supposed to go over some numbers and she was going to give me some paperwork. Quite important actually”.

“Ah”, Chloe pushed the papers towards him, “would this be what you are looking for?”

He scanned the first page and confirmed that it was. The small, precise writing covering it did not belong to Lana.

Chloe breathed a sigh of relief, it was a good job she had brought it down with her to put in the safe, she hadn't known that it was due today. “Everything all right?” She asked as she noticed the clouds drawing over his expression.

“Absolutely”, he gave her that small tight smile again.

She didn't like it.

“If I have just poisoned you or something, it might be helpful to know, Mr Luthor”.

“Lex”, he corrected her, “and I doubt that you would care”.

It was her turn to look shocked. She knew that things had cooled between what was left of the Smallville gang and their former friend but surely he didn't think that she would attempt to murder him.

“I mean, this isn't your career, right?” He clarified.

“Ah”, she nodded understandingly.

Not satisfied with this answer he briefly considered being polite before his curiosity got the better of him and he was compelled to ask, “You went to Harvard right?”

“Yep”, the blonde nodded as she checked that all of the handles on the mugs were facing the right way.

“What did you study?

“Business, politics and economics”, she answered easily. She knew what he was getting at, but she didn't have to admit anything.

“And yet you are here?”

“As you can see”.

He nodded thoughtfully.

A/N: Phew, there you go, that was a long one. I'm sleepy.

That was a long one but a good one. I liked the back ground info on how they started.

A/N: Here are the updates, thank-you to SkyBlue for pointing out that I hadn't posted Chapter Five before Chapter Six, so here it is. *blushes* Hope that everyone is still reading and enjoying.

Chapter Five

Lex Luthor had many, many faults. Some would have argued that he was comprised of nothing but faults. But his principle one was curiosity. Ever since he had walked into his local coffee shop to witness a Harvard graduate working behind the bar and apparently filling out forms for the supposed manager, he had felt that familiar gnawing at the pit of his stomach. There was a mystery that needed solving.

So it was that at lunchtime, rather than having his personal chef whip him up something or going out to a restaurant as he frequently did, he was striding back into the now crowded hot spot in search of a coffee, a sandwich and answers.

He made his way to the bar.

Lana was there by that time. He had the impression that she was studiously avoiding his eye; the second that he had entered she had scurried off to ‘take care’ of some customers who hadn’t called her and didn’t seem to appreciate her zeal. Yes, she was definitely avoiding him. This didn’t bother him particularly as she strolled over to the bar and looked around for a particular blonde head, demanding to know her location from one of the other waitresses when he didn’t immediately find her.

“Oh, she's in back”, he was informed with a friendly smile and a point in the direction of the stock room.

He nodded his head at her. She was one of the regular waitresses and much more the type to be working in this place; sixteen and saving up for a car over the summer, not an Ivy League graduate. He wasn't even an Ivy League grad, unfortunately they didn’t give out BAs in partying.

With a nod and a word of thanks he headed in Chloe's direction. He pushed his way through the swinging doors into the kitchen, enjoying the smell of baking and strong coffee until he reached the narrow corridor which led off it. It was small, and dark and always had an odd slightly musty smell. Lex crinkled his nose but reached the stock room to see the object of his search sitting in the centre of the room, at a small table, bent over a stack of papers in the glow of one flickering light-bulb. That could not be good for her eyes. Or her back.

“Good afternoon Chloe”, he greeted.

“Lex”, she sounded slightly surprised as she straightened up, her hand going to her lower back the only sign that she had probably been there quite a while.

He smiled, at her return to familiarity.

“Is there something that I can do for you, was something wrong with the forms?”

“No, nothing at all”, he gave her a reassuring smile. It was an understatement of considerable magnitude. Even if he had not recognised that the neat small writing hadn’t belonged to Lana he would have realised that she had nothing to do with it once he had read the forms. He had been chasing the paperwork for six months and had only been hoping that it had actually been filled in, he had never expected the depth that she had gone into. “What are you up to?”

“Oh, you are being gouged by some of your sellers and your energy bills are horrendous. You do know that, right? I am complying a way of you saving about half of your running costs”, she explained.

He raised an eyebrow.

“This amazing brand of solar panels which came out only a few weeks ago, they are far more effective than any previous ones. It is an investment but a tax deductable one so ...”

Lex sat down across from her and beckoned for her to hand him the papers. He scanned them quickly and let out a low whistle as he read the bottom line. “That is impressive. It would be worth doing even if it weren't tax deductable”.

“Yes, but seeing as you pay a whopping 5% tax per annum, I thought that you needed to get it down”, she said archly.

He shot her a look, “Something that you would like to say, Miss Sullivan?”

“Not at all Mr Luthor”, she replied pleasantly.

“Don't call me that”, he snapped, before adding uncomfortably, “it reminds me of my father”.

“Right back at you”.

He raised an eyebrow at that, “Miss Sullivan reminds you of Gabe?”

“No”, she rolled her eyes, “your father is wont to refer to me as Miss Sullivan”.

“Ah, I see”, he murmured thoughtfully, his eyes straying back to the piece of paper in front of him. 50% was definitely a saving he wanted to take advantage of. “Do you think that this could be implemented in the factories and other office blocks?” He asked. More to himself than Chloe, but she answered anyway, detailing several ways that it could be and what the probable savings would be.

He was impressed by her but annoyed that his experts had yet to come up with it and said so.

She just shrugged, “They probably either didn’t bother actually looking. Either that or they could be getting back handers”.

“Yes”, he agreed. He would have to do some investigating himself, “Although, that does bring me back to my point for coming”.

“This wasn't a social call?” She feigned shock.

“If you were this cheeky to your old boss then I can see why you got the sack”, he shot back.

“I wasn’t”, she had been a perfect paragon of virtue in that office, even if the boss had been an idiot who could have done with being taken down a peg or fifteen.

“Sorry”, he said gruffly, “I know that you wouldn’t have been”. She was generally very polite.

“I wasn’t”, she continued to defend herself, “I graduated at the top of my class in three subjects, I had an internship, excellent letters of recommendation and then I worked my ass off for that company”.

“I know”.

She looked at him.

“I thought that it was odd that you were back here and working at The Talon, so I researched you”, he answered, not entirely sure why he was explaining himself, other than the fact that she was about to save him a hell of a lot of money. “As I understand it you accused the company of corruption, one of its CEOs of taking bribes and of their business model being horrible because they were using another CEOs brother-in-law's supply company rather than a competitor”.

“Well, accuse is a little strong. I wrote a letter and left it on the head of the board's desk”, she explained, “and all of those things were true. I not only provided the addresses of my citations, I included articles and everything. The proof was there in black white and yellow. I highlighted bits of it”.

“I don't doubt it”, he laughed, “still not the kind of thing that they wanted to hear”.

“Well, that's stupid. You would think that someone would want to know if they had a traitor in their midst or if someone was taking money from them. Wouldn't you want to know?” She demanded.

“Indeed I would, which is why I am here”.That got her attention, he waited a beat before continuing. “I was actually thinking about offering you a job”. He studied her expression, wondering what she thought of that possibility; he hadn't been getting on well with their mutual friends recently.

Chloe’s face acquired an interested expression, tinged with scepticism before she finally answered, “Lex, technically I already work for you”.

He laughed, “I meant”, he clarified, “in something you are a little more suited for”.

“Meaning?”

“Meaning that as much as I like your coffee, I think that it might be a little too strong for other people. It isn't your job to manage the place either, it's Lana's. You've done more than enough already to earn whatever your hourly wage is”.

“Eight dollars”.

He curled his lip in disgust. About $40 for saving his business thousands of dollars per year and doing six months of back paperwork was absurd. He wasn't a philanthropist but he did believe in paying his workers a fair wage, and that was decidedly unfair.

“I don't accept charity Lex”, she informed him, which seemed odd considering the position that she was in.

“Good, because I'm not offering you any”, he informed her, thinking that she was the oddest woman he had ever met. Most people couldn’t wait to take his money.

“Promise?”

Honestly he had never had to work so hard before to get someone to take a lucrative job from him. With a huff of irritation he stooped to explaining his motivations, “Chloe, I promise. I am offering you this job because I need someone smart, capable, and utterly trustworthy”. He found himself staring deep into her eyes and felt rather uncomfortable.

Chloe appeared to have the same sensation and broke the tension with a joke, “Well, my Dad always did say that I was the smartest person in the whole planet”.

Lex smiled, “I know, I worked with him for several years”.

“You poor thing”, she returned his smile before asking, , “So, when do you want me to start?”

“First thing tomorrow morning”, he said decidedly, “but come along now and I will show where everything is and what you need to do”.

“I can't, I promised Lana that I would finish this and I can't let her down. Maybe if you wrote it down I could memorise it all tonight and ...”

“Your faithfulness is touching but let me worry about Lana, besides, you are fired so you really don't have a choice”. Honestly the woman was so much trouble, why couldn’t she just come and work for him without all of these morals and scruples?

“That makes the second time in less than a week, this is not going to be my self confidence any good”.

He smirked, “I thought that you were maintaining that your contract just wasn't renewed, not that you were fired”.

“Well, technically it was the contract thing, but it amounts to the same”, she shrugged.

He nodded, privately thinking that the company had been full of idiots and they deserved to fail if they not only let someone like Chloe slip through their fingers but actually propelled her on her way.

Chloe stacked her papers neatly as Lex took the report she had prepared for him and opened the door for her on their way out. It was a relief to be outside of the cramped overly warm stock room with only that tiny flickering light. He blinked several times as they moved out and back into the bustling centre.

He scanned the area and his green eyes fell on Lana who had evidently noticed him as well and ducked down behind the bar as if she were looking for something.

“Just one thing before we get going”, he placed his hand on Chloe's lower back as he guided her over to the bar and pulled out a seat for her. “Lana”, he called down over the other side of the bar.

“Oh hello Lex”, Lana said, a little too brightly as she popped back up. She appeared to be addressing him, but her eyes kept straying over to Chloe who was smiling a little suspicious, something was obviously going on to which she was not privy. She didn't like being out of the loop.

“I see that you have met our newest employee”, she announced sunnily, hoping that he would not object, “Chloe came back and ...”

“Ex employee”, he corrected her, before anyone who might be passing by could hear anything more. It was a tough economy, there were thousands of talented graduates out of work praying for an unpaid internship and a chance, it was unfortunate that Chloe comprised one of that number (or had before he had found out) and that her one previous chance had been for someone so unscrupulous. But there was no reason for anyone else to know about it.

“I'm sorry?” Lana blinked.

“I said ex employee”, he repeated slowly and quietly, “I just fired her”.

“Lex”, Lana's eyes focused on his face, “I realise that this is your business but I really don't think that you should be coming in here and firing people”.

“Oh, you don't, do you?” His face adopted the passive, unreadable mask which always made her uneasy.

“No”, she took a deep breath, nervous, but unwilling to back down when Chloe's future was at stake. “I'm sorry but I stand by my decision to offer her a job and I think that ...”

“It's all right Lana”, Chloe assured her with a laugh, touched that her friend was willing to stand up for her like that.

“I fired her because I have a very important task for which I can imagine no one better suited than Chloe”, Lex explained and felt his heart melting a little for the brunette was a genuine smile of relief suffused her face.

“That's great”, she grinned.

“We think so”, Chloe answered for both of them.

“Well, what are you handing around here for then?” Lana demanded, “Stop sitting around slacking and get to work”, she made a brushing motion with her hands to get them out of the door.

Another laugh escaped Lex. “We stopped by to inform you of my intention and to grab something nice for the road”.

“Right, what do you want?” Lana asked.

“Two coffees, back for me and whatever Chloe wants and two of those muffins”, he pointed to a display, “to keep our strength up until lunch”. Now that she was in his employ, there was no need for him to slum it, his chef could prepare their lunch.

“Okay great, mocha latte with almond-flavoured syrup and extra whip cream?” Lana checked with Chloe.

“Actually could you make mine decaf, caramel, java-chip, white-chocolate mocha with three shots, please?” Chloe requested her favourite drink of the moment – or rather of several months before when she had still been able to afford it – and reached back into her purse, it was a celebration after all and she was in full time employment now. Even though she didn't know for how much or how long. She was sure that she could afford her coffee and didn't want Lex to pity her.

“Quite a sophisticated palate you have there”, Lex chucked before telling her, “Don't even think about it”, as he saw her hand going for her purse, “this is a business lunch or rather a pre-business lunch snack”, he handed a large bill over. “And what muffin did you want?”

“Oh, okay, thanks. Umm …”, she wasn't sure which flavours they sold now and didn't want to waste everyone's time asking and deciding, “Whichever, I don't mind”.

“Okay, one whichever and a banana nut one”, Lex ordered as he watched Lana making both drinks and bringing them over.

“No problem”, she scurried off again, seeming not to be too fond of Lex's company, even after her little pro-Chloe outburst earlier.

“So, do you want to tell me more about this job?” Chloe inquired, conversationally.

“I'll fill you in over lunch at the mansion”, he assured her, then it clicked and he laughed, “More than 8 dollars an hour I assure you. It will be a step up”.

“I assumed that it would be”, she coloured slightly, not wanting him to think that she had thought that he would ever even consider underpaying someone for their efforts or contriving to force her into a lower paying job.

They were saved from having to say anything further by Lana's reappearance with two pastries.

“One banana nut muffin for you”, Lana handed it to Lex, “and one quintuple chocolate muffin for you, Chloe”.

“Wow, thanks. Quintuple”. She looked at it, yep, quintuple looked about right.

“Yes, it was Martha's invention. Cocoa powder in the mix, with white, milk, and dark chocolate chips and chocolate fudge sauce running through the middle and on the top”, Lana explained.

“Wow, that is impressive”, Chloe said, as she held the still warm treat in her hand.

“And here I was choosing the healthy option”, Lex said taking possession of his own treat, briefly wondering whether they were getting any back handers from local dentists.

“Don't kid yourself. Martha taught me to make her original muffin recipes including banana and nuts, it has even more butter and sugar than the other ones to make up for the healthiness of the bananas and the nuts”, Chloe gave him a superior smirk.

“You see, this is why I need you and your unflinching honesty”, he smiled, without taking offence. “Should we get going?”

Chloe nodded and waved goodbye to Lana as they headed for the door.

“My car is just over here”, he pointed to his car.

“I would never have guessed”, she teased him. He was the only resident of Smallville with an Aston Martin, not to mention the only one with the number plate “XL”.

“Were you going for your fortieth car or the word excel?” She wondered.

“It is way more than my fortieth”, he said, without bragging but also without sensitivity. “And I was going for an excel vs XL combo”.

“Subtle”, she snorted.

“It’s a good way of telling people apart”, he shrugged.

“What, between those who believe that everything they read is true and those who think that if you have to advertise you are probably a little insecure?” She inquired with an expression which was far too innocent to be believable -at least not on her face.

“You definitely weren't this cheeky before”, he said, not without admiration. “Shall we get going?”

“Sure, I'll follow you in my car”.

“All right”, he agreed, understanding that she liked her independence. “Where is it?”

“Right over there”, she pointed at the car which was just about in view around the corner of the Talon.

“You have to be kidding me”, he gaped, “I was considering asking someone to have thing removed”.

“Hey”, she protested.

“It is an eyesore, it can't be good for business to have that sitting there”.

“It is a classic”, she argued.

“Chloe, I know about classic cars. I have an entire garage dedicated to them”, he ignored the raised eyebrow she gave him, at the idea of multiple garages holding dozens of cars. “A 1904 Rolls-Royce 10 HP is a classic car. That”, he couldn’t even deign to acknowledge it by pointing to it, “is a wreck. The only thing holding it together is the rust”.

She bristled. “Well, it is mine so get used to it”, she strode over to it.

“Come on Chloe, get in mine. You can eat your muffin on the way if you aren't driving”, he tried her lure her into this luxury vehicle. She was so much more work than anyone else.

“But then I wouldn't be able to get back”, she pointed out.

“I will get a driver to bring you back”, he offered.

“Lex Luthor”, she turned to him, “you are going to have to learn that I am the kind of girl who likes to be in the driver's seat”.

He laughed, loud and long, a sound which caused passing pedestrians to turn in surprise. It had been a long time. “Touché”, he relented, “but I will see if they have some rope somewhere for when I end up having to tow you”.

“Snob”, she rolled her eyes at him.

He laughed again and she went to get into her car as he did indeed go and procure a length of rope from a shop on the same street.

Chloe rolled his eyes at his armature dramatics, but was pleased that he wasn’t around as she stuck the key in the ignition. Nothing happened. “Come on”, she tried again and this time got a slightly spluttering sound. “Oh for pity's sake, please start”, she begged the car as she turned her key once more and rocked back and forth trying to urge it into life. “Oh thank God”, she groaned with relief when it finally chocked into life. She didn't want to be even more humiliated in front of Lex Luthor of all people who was just strolling back out with a rope in his hand.

He waved it at her in a friendly manner. She resisted the urge to wave something else back at him and off they went. It took slightly longer than it would normally have to get there, thanks to Chloe's car rattling terribly if it went much above thirty but their snacks were still warm when they seated themselves in Lex's study and he ordered dinner to be prepared.

“So, I should probably tell you a little more about the job”, he said with the faintest of smiles, seeing that she was already almost bouncing up and down in her seat.

“I have recently acquired a new company and I need to clean house. It is a pharmaceutical company in Kansas which was causing me quite a few problems and I knew that there were some”, he paused, “unsavoury links between some of the members of my companies and others”.

“Right”, that didn’t surprise her.

“So, I need someone to go through the companies records work out what is what etc”, he tried to judge her reaction to the job.

“I get the drift”.

“So, I need someone that I can trust. This job has been waiting for months because I didn't have anyone like that”, he confessed, “it would be better for me never to open the company again than allow it to continue with that level of corruption, which is a shame as it is in a great source of revenue”. He knew that he had to stress just how much money he stood to make from this, otherwise she might refuse the offer, “We are talking a minimum of 500 million per year profit from the company, but if we can clean it up and with a bit of luck closer to 5 billion”.

Chloe was relieved that she had been saving her drink and snack for after the meeting. It would have been terrible to either choke and die or spit hot coffee all over the Luthor scion. As it was, she managed to just nodd and look semi professional.

“This job is secret, partially to make it easier all around but also because I don't want anyone to ever have negative associations with you. So, while you will be doing this you will be titled as … what title would you like?”

Chloe had to think for a second.

“Well, never mind, we can think of that later. We will just put 'job' on the contract and then we can change it later. Obviously there will be a LuthorCorp job waiting for you after this is finished but I will also support you going into anything else you want and we can change the title to reflect your future aspirations best”, he continued.

“That is a very kind offer”, she was aware that a personal letter of recommendation from Lex Luthor was worth more than gold.

“No”, he corrected her, “it isn't. I am never kind, merely practical”.

“Good to know”.

“So, on to the practical matters. This job is 9 until 5 with one hour lunch break and a couple of fifteen minute coffee breaks throughout the day. You will work here at the mansion in your own office – the room where the documents were currently being stored – and you won't take any single paper or copy of a paper out of Luthor property”, he was firm on that, “you also won't talk to anyone about the details of this job. Is that clear?”

She nodded.

“Good, I'm not sure exactly how long this job will last, between four and five months I would guess but it is difficult to say. As I said before, when you finish there is always another job ready for you here. I had my people draw up the normal contract for you”, he pushed it across his desk, “holidays, health care, bonuses, privacy policy and all that sort of thing”, he explained.

Chloe nodded once again as she began to read the contract, all much as she had expected from a contract and gave her very good rights. She could get pregnant if she wanted to, not that she planned on doing so.

Finally she turned it over and gasped upon seeing the final sum.

“Is something wrong?” Lex inquired, already having a fair idea of what it might be.

“Lex”, she lifted her head up to look at him.

“Remember, this is a project which will spell millions if not billions for LuthorCorp and which has been on hold for months so far”, he spoke calmly. Now that he thought about it, she was perfect for this job and he was excited for it to get under-way. She was going to sign that contract whether she liked it or not. He thought ruefully that this was probably the first time in his life that he had had to convince someone to take more money rather than less.

300 dollars per day was more than she had ever dreamed of. She could have done a little dance, but instead she signed the contract and handed it back to her boss.

“Great”, he filed it away, “now, let me show you to your office”.

Chloe was so excited that she could hardly stand it, an emotion which only increased as she was faced with her new office. A room about the size of her new apartment dressed in an elegant style but covered in boxes upon boxes of papers.

“See, I told you that it wasn't charity”.

Chloe grinned. Security. Home comforts. Her own office. Good prospects. The chance to snoop and actually use her education. Plus, a quintuple muffin and coffee which were still warming her hands. Lex was right, that car wasn't safe, it had clearly exploded and sent her to Chloe heaven.








Chapter Six

At some point between leaving Chloe happily ensconced, devouring her muffin and highlighting a document and going back to inform her that lunch was ready Lex received a call summoning him to Metropolis and so, what was supposed to have been a business lunch ended with him telling her to have whatever she wanted, passing her his business card, and making her promise to call him if she had any problems.

He had been out of town for three days when he returned to find Chloe, seated in her office in the centre of the thick Persian rug, surrounded by boxes which were now stacked neatly with papers fanned out around her and a large piece of card in front her upon which she was drawing what looked to be a rather complicated chart.

He tapped the open door lightly.

Chloe looked up, her face suffused with delight. It was the way that she used to look when she was hot on the heels of a major story.

“Good afternoon”, he greeted her.

“Good afternoon”, she replied, climbing to her feet and carefully making her way through her leaves of paper.

“I see that you have been extremely busy”, he noted the organised chaos which surrounded them.

“Yes”, she agreed following the direction of his gaze, “but I'm afraid that I don't have anything concrete for you just yet. I'm ...”

“No no”, he shook his head with a smile, “don't worry I wouldn't have expected you to. I’m impressed that you have just managed to make so much headway with organising the boxes. If you need any help just call the butler, he can get someone to do any lifting that you might need. This is just a social call to check that you are okay and not having any problems of any sort”.

She smiled back at him. “Thank-you everything is great and Baxter has been in several times to check that the boxes aren't too big etc”.

“Right”, he clapped his hands together, not sure what else to say but not wanting to leave just yet. “So, are you settling in well?”

“Absolutely”, she waited for a second after pronouncing the word, but upon seeing that that it hadn’t been a mere pleasantry continued, “It is so strange to be back but it is nice and Dad is so happy now that I can tell him that I have a stable job with benefits and a large roof over my head and my own Clark shaped body guard to keep dropping off pieces of furniture that he finds”.

Lex smiled a little brittlely, he was happy for her but he missed the days when Clark had been his friend too. When he could have taken part in their easy camaraderie. “I take it that Gabe hasn't heard anything about your car yet then?”

“Hey, there is nothing wrong with that car”.

“Chloe, there are scrap yards that wouldn't touch that thing”

“Snob”, she shot back without any real animosity.

“It is horrendous Chloe, I am fairly sure that our property value has plummeted just by having it parked out front”.

Chloe rolled her eyes, “Please, as if it could be any lower”.

“Excuse me, this is a one of a kind Scottish castle”, his father had had it brought over stone by stone, pretentious sod that he was.

“Oh come on Lex, you know how the market works: supply and demand. It is lovely but no one else in the world with the money to buy and maintain this place would want to live in Smallville, you didn't even want to live in Smallville”, she reminded him.

He had to acknowledge the truth of that statement.

“And it isn't as if we need a hotel or anything”, she pointed out. “So ...”

“Okay okay I get your point”, he put his hands up.

“Good, so stop bashing my car. I bet that I could get a buyer for it before you got a buyer for this place”, although it probably would have to go for parts or scrap.

“Possibly you could, if you only charged 50 cents and flashed your cleavage and a smile at a teen-aged boy”, he smirked.

“I resent that”, she placed her hands on her hips.

“Oh please, I know that a good proportion of your stories were got through fluttered eyelashes”. It was as if she had forgotten the time that he had walked in on trying to get information out of one of his interns.

She tried to deny it, but she couldn't. Boys had always been more willing to talk to her about the strange things that they have seen if she flirted a little bit. “So what if I did? I bet that the great Lex Luthor has at least attempted to flirt a nugget of information out of a secretary at some point”, she challenged.

“Certainly, but … wait, only attempted?”

She shrugged. “What can I say, I doubt that you have my skills”.

“Oh really?” He raised an eyebrow.

She couldn't maintain the charade. She giggled, dimpling deliciously.

He shook his head. “You really enjoy pushing my buttons, don't you?”

“It's just so easy”, she defended herself, “You always rise to the bait”.

“Right back at you”. He had always taken a certain amount of dark delight in his ability to rile her up.

She just laughed.

“So anyway, I had better get to work as I have lots to do. Remember just call if you want or need anything and”, he looked around, “keep up the good work”.

“Will do boss”, she saluted.

With another laugh and shake of his head he felt the room, closing the door softly after him. She really was something else.

He found his mind wandering back to Chloe several times during the course of what was otherwise an extremely boring afternoon. Her joy, her zest for life, he decided that he had spent enough time cooped up in his office for one day. He got up, stretched his legs and went in search of some sustenance to make up for his lack of lunch and was just passing the front door when he saw his former friend entering.

“Clark”, he greeted him with surprise. “What are you doing here?” He would never have admitted it, not even under threat of (or actual) torture but his heart quickened a little as he thought that maybe he needed his help or had come to make friends again.

“Lex”, Clark said, a little stiffly. “I’m here to see Chloe”.

Lex brow furrowed. “It is after five Clark, she will have left for home by now”. He found it very odd, he was certain that Chloe wouldn't have invited a friend to visit her during working hours so he had to assume that it was Clark's own idea, which seemed to suggest that they were a little more than just friends.

“I know”, Clark said curtly, “she called me about quarter of an hour ago when she couldn't get her car to start. I said that I would come and pick her up”

“Oh”, Lex looked concerned and hurt. “She should have said something”. He turned on his heel and marched along to Chloe's office, Clark looking around a little, feeling a unsure of himself before following along.

“Chloe”, Lex called, tapping lightly on the now open door, “is there something that you forgot to tell me?”

“Oh hello again Lex”, she smiled up at him from her position kneeling on the carpet as she tided her diagrams away for the evening. “Tell you? No, I don't think so. Why?”

He walked into the room allowing Clark to do the same.

“Oh, Clark. Right, you two aren't”, she stopped herself just before she said 'getting along any more, are you?' and complimented herself on her tact. “You weren't expecting me to just have someone else come into your house. I'm sorry, my car broke down so ...”

“You are perfectly welcome to have someone come and meet you after work, I was just surprised that you didn't think to inform the butler, or me, that you were having car trouble. We could have arranged for someone to drive you home”, he said stiffly.

“Right, I know, thank-you but I was going over to Clark's anyway so …” She trailed off, feeling awkward, “It is really nothing to worry about, I'm sorry to have bothered you”.

“No bother”, he assured her smoothly, “so, how bad is it?” For once he refrained from making comments about the banger.

“I don't know”, she shrugged, “it wouldn't start and I know that there is enough petrol in it - which is about the limit of my technical knowledge -, so I called Clark”. She didn't have the money to call a mechanic, she didn't get paid until the end of the week and even then she had a horrible feeling that it was going to be thousands of dollars.

Lex nodded, “Well, don't let me spoil your evening but I will have one of my mechanic look at it, if I can bribe him enough to touch it”, he gave her a knowing look, “and will make sure that a car is there to pick you up tomorrow morning”.

“It's ...”

“I insist”, he would brook no further arguments on the matter, “if you need a car to take you home from the Kents’ then call this number”, he grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled the number down before handing it to her, “and Chloe, if you do need something, please do call them. I don't like to find out things from other people”.

“I'll be fine Lex, I promise”, she took and pocketed the note. “Nothing will stop me from getting to the bottom of a mystery”.

“Right, the case”, he smiled and let her go, locking the office after her and Clark. He could hear her bell like after tinkling down the hallways after her as she left him to an empty and echoing mansion. He went back in search of sustenance.

~*~

“God Clark, your family are hilarious”, Chloe giggled as she staggered out of the Kent family home on his arm.

“Not normally that funny”, he replied, his eyes watering.

“I swear your Mom was trying to set me up with everyone in the greater Smallville area and attempting to feed me up for the next year”, she indicated the boxes which Clark was carrying over to his truck.

“Not every man”, Clark said with a laugh.

“Well no”, she considered, “but every one with a degree and good prospects”. Martha’s list of requirements for anyone dating Chloe had been rather intensive.

“Well, she likes you and knows that you can't cook”, he beamed down at his friend fondly.

“Hey”, she protested, “you don't know that I can't cook”.

“Um Chloe as much as a I adore you, I have tried your attempts at cooking before. Take it from me, you can't cook”, he shook his head with a laugh.

“That was four years ago Clark, you don't know, I could have changed, I could be a master chef now!” She reasoned.

“”Well, are you?” He asked with a knowing smile.

“I might be, I don't know. I haven't tried”, she had been living off instant noodles for the last month since she had left her catered dorm room, a fact that neither her father nor Martha Kent were ever going to discover.

“You think that you might just magically have become a wonderful cook?”

“Stranger things have happened, especially around here”, she said as she watched him packing the boxes in the car. He really was a very fine specimen of a man; very tall, with extremely broad shoulders, a hard body, lovely arms, dark curly hair, chiselled features and soft blue eyes. Plus he was so kind and a gentleman. Besides, he wasn't stupid. He had done quite well at college. It was no wonder that her little teenaged heart had fluttered every time she drew near him. He had a nice ass too from this angle.

She smiled at him in the pale evening light as he turned back around and opened her door for her. “Thank-you”.

“Well, you are a big city woman now, we have to prove that the Heart Lands still have something to offer”, he teased, he had actually always opened doors for her. It was one of the things which had made her fall for him.

“Gentlemen?”

“Exactly”.

~*~

It was five o'clock in the following evening when Chloe finally looked up from her work for the day. She put everything away and was just standing up and stretching when there was a familiar soft knock at the door.

“Come in Lex”, she called, grabbing her bag and turned to smile at him.

“Hello”, he greeted her, entering and closing the door behind himself. “Everything going all right?”

“Yes, thank-you”.

“Good, I had my mechanic look at your … car”, he couldn't use more precise language at that moment, in the presence of a lady. “He says that it is dead and needs to be put to rest”.

“Oh”, she groaned, she had feared that that might be the case but had been hoping that it wouldn't be. She saw his expression of concern so tried to joke, “So, you did manage to threaten/bribe him into touching Clunk”.

“Clunk?”

“I named him Clunk”.

“You named him Clunk?” He repeated slowly. The woman was brilliant, intelligent but also quite possibly insane.

“Yes, he is quite clearly a male”, she said, as if that explained everything.

“Clearly”, he conceded, with a huff of amusement.

“And Clunk seemed to be a fitting name”.

“Indeed, well Clunk is well and truly defunked”, he summed up.

“Hmm”, she considered, “that was almost funny”.

That was funny, at least to him.

“Anyway, I've come to give you the bad news but then the good: which is that you left all of the documents in the glove compartment so my mechanic made some calls, and put the fear of God into the jack ass who sold it to you so you will get your money back and can start putting it towards a more suitable vehicle when you are quite ready to do so. And”, he stressed the word, “for as long as you are working on this project for me a Luthor car will always be at your disposal”.

“That's very kind of you Lex but I can't put you out like that, I will work something out. Not to worry”, she smiled at him bravely, “Wait, how did he get into my car? I've got the only set of keys”.

Lex gave an arrogant smirk.

“Don't tell me that you employ reformed car jackers”. She wouldn’t put it past him.

“Hardly”, he snorted, “The door was so rusted that not only was the lock even to get around, the door came off its hinges”.

“You are kidding?” It hadn’t been that bad.

“No”, he remained straight faced.

“Well … he shouldn't have been so heavy handed then”. She hadn’t ripped the door off its hinges.

“Sure, that was the problem”, he didn’t roll his eyes but his tone gave the impression that he would dearly have liked to.

“Oh well, at least it got me here”, she said philosophically.

“I suppose so”, he felt his smile returning, “Anyway, I am heading into Smallville so I came to see if you wanted to ride with me or go by chauffeured car like this morning. I know that you don't like what you think of as 'fuss'”.

“That would be very nice, thank-you”, she glanced around just to check that she hadn't forgotten anything.

“You are more than welcome”, he didn’t add that he wouldn’t mind the company. They walked outside and over to one of his favourite cars, which he opened he door of for her. Kansas men really were gentlemen.

She glanced over at the body of her car which was still sitting in front of the mansion.

“Don't worry Chloe, I have called someone to tow it away so you don't have anything to think about”, he assured her.

“Thank-you. So”, she got herself settled and fastened her belt, “what have you been up to in the last four years?”

He laughed. “Habits of a lifetime can't be broken I see”.

“Are you implying that I am being too nosey and impertinent and that you would prefer some silence?” Only a tiny touch of insecurity in her tone, which she did well to hide with humour.

“Not at all”, he answered as he started up the car and took off far slower than normal, allowing them to enjoy the cool night air after a hard day's work. He had a fair few questions for the diminutive blonde himself, but oddly enough didn’t feel like asking them at that moment. They ended up just chatting about random things until the reached the Talon and he accompanied her inside. Lana was nowhere in sight.

“So, do you want to come up?” Chloe asked as they came to a stop, “I mean, unless you have something else to do. Oh, you do, that is why you were coming into town in the first place”.

He stared at her, shocked. At first not sure if she had offered only because she knew that he couldn't take her up on it, but as he stared at her eyes he knew that that wasn't why she had done it. She was just that sweet.

“Sure”, he gave her a smile, “the only thing I had to do was get an invoice from the Talon”, he explained, “I can do that on my way out”.

“Right”, she smiled, privately thinking that he could have asked Lana to drop it off for him, it would have saved him a trip. “Come on up”. She skipped up the steps ahead of him and opened the door for him. “Welcome to Chez Lana plus Chloe”.

“Chez Lana plus Chloe, nice name. Very … European”.

“I thought so”, she ushered him inside and he looked around, he hadn’t been up there in a while.

It was still a rather odd shade of gold with some artistic, if inaccurate, hieroglyphs adorning the walls. The large open plan space was laid out pretty much as he remembered it, with the exception of one corner - which he took to be Chloe’s - filled with large, very solid looking furniture and was a curtain drawn to the side. As if to highlight the difference between the size of the furniture and her own diminutive stature, Chloe rushed passed the re-straightening the cushions which had already seemed fine to him. He knew from Gabe that she wasn’t normally that neat. He guessed that she was trying to be considerate as she was someone else’s guest. He smiled slightly as he observed her buzzing over to the kitchen like a bee with a belly full of honey.

“So, what would you like for dinner?” She inquired, “We have home made soup, homemade lasagne, homemade chips, homemade apple pie and homemade ice cream”, she rattled off the list as she examined the contents of the fridge freezer, enjoying having one more than she had ever thought possible.

“Homemade?” He queried the word, “You mean that you brought a microwavable pouch and heated it up all by yourself?”

“No I don't”, she peeked her head up over the door so that he could fully appreciate the expression she was giving him, “these are made from scratch”.

“You cooked?” He gaped at the miffed face before him.

“Did I say that?” She scoffed, “Of course not, I went to dinner at the Kent's and this is what is left of my left overs”.

“So your culinary abilities have in no way improved from your Ivy League education?” he teased, moving around behind her to see how much food was counted as leftovers.

“No, I was a little busy studying”, she admitted. “Besides”, she added with a shrug, “my scholarship included full board in the dorms. I still have no idea how to cook. Wait, how did you know that I couldn't cook?” She had never subjected him to her culinary exploits before.

“Chloe, your culinary skills are legendary”.

“Seriously?” Something about the way he said it, didn’t sound good. She wondered how and what he had heard and from whom. Her Dad? Clark? Or plant employees from that time she had almost killed an entire family at the LuthorCorp picnic with her brownies a few years before Lex took over? Honestly, how was she supposed to know that she should have broken up the nuts first? It wasn't obvious, whatever anyone else said. “So, what would you like?”

“You don't have to feed me Chloe”, he said politely.

“But I want to, unless ...” she trailed off. She supposed that it was odd that he was there, in her new apartment with her trying to feed him. She didn’t really know how they had got there, it had just felt natural until that moment.

“No”, he assured her quickly, recognising the flash of hurt and rejection which passed through her big, green eyes. It was what he had experienced every time the Kents hadn’t invited him to dine with them when he had been visiting Clark dinner time. “I was just being polite. I want the lasagne followed by apple pie”.

“Good man”, she took the appropriate containers out of the refrigerator and was immediately relieved of them.

“Thank-you”, she said with a smile as he put them in the oven.

“You're welcome”, he said, feeling a little uncomfortable in the presence of what appeared to be genuine warmth after being without it for so long, he tried to direct the focus away from himself. “I especially like the fact that Mrs Kent has even gone so far as to write out the reheating instructions on a note on top of it”, he smiled, making sure that they were no longer affixed to the lasagne when he closed the oven door.

“You are really having fun mocking my inability aren’t you?” Chloe demanded, her hands on her hips.

“Of course”, he straightened back up with a smile, “it's so rare to find something that you do not immediately excel at”.

“Well”, Chloe started a little unsettled, “I doubt that you can cook either”.

“Shows what you know”, he set the timer as per the instructions, “I am an excellent cook. I can prepare an entire five course meal in under an hour”.

“Really?” That didn't fit with her image of him.

“Of course”, he paused for dramatic effect, “you do include making reservations or ordering the cook to prepare something as me doing it, right?”

“Um … no”.

“Damn”, he still gave her a smirk until he caught sight of something on the counter top. “Please tell me that that is Lana’s, not yours”.

“What?” She followed his line of vision, “Ahh”.

“Ah”, he acknowledged.

“Well, you see actually this”, she picked up the pink kitty timer with sparkles, “is a treasured possession which I ...”

“You know Chloe, you really need to work on your lying”.

She shot him a scathing look.

“It is very obvious”, he said with a shrug.

“Fine”, she set the timer and returned it on the counter before crossing her arms, “all right, what gave it away?”

He leant back against the counter, crossing both his ankles and his arms and fixed her with a questioning look.

“Come on Lex”, she huffed, “you are a great liar”.

“I think that I am insulted”, he didn’t look it.

She rolled her eyes, “When you want to be and that was not convincing. Come on, be a mentor”.

“I’m not sure that I want to corrupt you”, he claimed, before reconsidering that statement.

“Oh come on”, she complained.

“Chloe, no”, he tried to sound stern.

“Lex”, she turned big, very obvious puppy dog eyes on him.

“Does that ever work?”

“Yes”, she batted her eyelashes and he laughed.

“Fine”, he relented.

A brilliant grin suffused and bounced a little.

He thought that his face might split in two, “But only”, he stressed, standing up straight, pointing a finger at her, “because you weren’t even remotely trying to manipulate me”.

“Or”, she grabbed his finger and moved it out of her face, “possibly by being so obvious I was lowering your guard for later ... Oh my God, you have already thought of this possibility, haven’t you?”

“Of course”. He suddenly felt hot, then cold, and embarrassed and out of place and he didn’t know what else. He always evaluated every single option.

“Dude, you need to learn to relax or your won’t see forty”.

“I ... I don’t know how”, he found himself saying uncomfortably, not knowing why he was revealing these things to her.

She was silent. That was a first. “Well”, she placed a hand on his shoulder, it felt weird but it was what she would have done with any other friend or acquaintance in that situation, “first you take the pink girlie timer, then you come over to the sofa with me, then you teach me to lie better”.

He took the timer, with a look of disgust, but followed her over to the settee and sat where she patted. “Okay”, he started, feeling that he needed to take back some control of the situation, “first of all, unless absolutely necessary, don’t lie”.

She raised her eyebrow at him.

“If it is something clearly unbelievable”, he continued.

“Unless you are as good as you are?” She asked sweetly.

“Sure”, he had no idea why he let her speak to him like that. “As you already admitted that you have no idea how to cook ...”

“So I would need a creative back story”.

“Exactly”, he smiled, “and”, he reached out to cup her face, the pad of his thumb ran along the sides of her eyes, “you crinkle when you lie”.

“I crinkle when I lie?” She demanded in horrified accents, her hands going to the same place and brushing against Lex’s as they were removed uncomfortably.

“Yes, like a little girl who is trying not to laugh when she is about to do something naughty”, he felt an almost overwhelming urge to tweak her nose.

“I do not”, she protested, slapping him lightly on the arm.

“You do”, he said, holding his hands up, in mock surrender. “I’ll prove it”.

She stopped hitting him long enough to say, “Okay”.

“I will ask you some questions, you tell the truth sometimes, and other times, lie”.

“Okay”, she drew out the word with a grin that would have made a Cheshire cat envious.

“Lie!”

“What?”

“You are lying, you are planning to tell all the truth or all lies to prove that I am wrong”, he scolded her.

She remained silent.

“See”, he shook his finger at her.

“Fine, ask your questions”.

He grinned, she was cute when she was grumpy. A grumbling sound coming from the region of her stomach, indicated the probable reason for her feelings. “Name?”

“Chloe Ann Sullivan”.

Well, at least she was allowing him to have a control; that was definitely her name.

“Height?”

“5,5”, that looked to be about right.

“Weight?”

“Mine your own business”.

He smiled, no crinkle.

“Favourite ...” Oh the possibilities. She shot him a warning look. “colour”. That was boring.

“Pink”

She crinkled.

“That one wasn't a fair test”, he smiled, he would have guessed, even without the crinkle.

“Favourite ... Sport?” He raised an eye.

She rolled her eyes, “Football”.

“Because of all of the hunks?”

“No”

“Oh, a blush and a crinkle. A clear lie”.

“No, you just ...

“I just what?” He leant over, so close that she could feel his breath on her skin.

The timer went off. It was strident for something so small and pink.

~*~

“So”, Lex said, as they repositioned themselves on the sofa with large plates of lasagne - they didn’t have a table to eat off - and he negotiated how to actually eat his food like that.

“You okay there?” Chloe inquired politely, seeing that he wasn’t accustomed to such undertakings.

“Yes, thank-you”, he finally managed it. “Wow, this is really good!”

“Yup”, Chloe agreed, taking an enormous mouthful of her own dinner. “Everything Mrs Kent cooks is an amazing!”

“I’ll say”, it has been ages since he had anything this good.

In fact, it was so good that he forgot what he was going to say and just ate as Chloe turned on the TV, “Do you like Whose Line is it anyway?”

He gave her a blank look.

“Right, you probably don’t watch TV. I think that you will like it”, she decided and was pleased to see that it was on as a marathon.

“I will endeavour to do so”, he said nobly.

“You do that”, she reached over to pat his arm in a deliberately patronizing manner before returning her hand to her fork. Lex shook his head with a silent laugh, he didn’t think that anyone else would dare treat him like that. He was surprised to find that he didn’t mind as much as he had though he would.

They ate their meal in silence as they watched Ryan and Colin compete for points and Lex, being far more domestic than she was even in someone else’s house, took the plates over to the sink rather than just leaving them on the coffee table.

“You’re so domestic”, she teased him as she followed him over as the adverts came on and reached for the dish towel as she saw him start to wash up.

“Don't tell anyone”, he said with a grin, stopping as he looked at her.

“What’s wrong?” She wondered.

“You really like Martha’s lasagne”, he stated mildly.

“Of course”, she said slowly, who didn’t?

“I mean, you really like it”.

“Lex, you are being really weird”.

He smiled and shook his head. “Come here”, he said even as he took a step towards her and ran his thumb slowly over her lower lip, removing most of the tomato sauce.

“Oh God, is it really that bad?” She asked, she had always had that problem.

“Just a little left”, he pointed and her tongue poked out to get it.

“There, perfect”, he tousled her hair with his non tomato covered hand.

She groused and pushed him away. “Get cleaning Mr”, she use the towel to whip him slightly.

“I didn’t know that you were that kind of girl, Miss Sullivan”, he winked.

There is a lot that you don’t know about me, Mr Luthor”, she teased although she couldn't keep the blush from her cheeks.

He raised an eyebrow at her and she blushed even more although she didn’t know why. She dried and put away the dishes as Lex towelled off his now soapy hands and they made their way back over to watch Whose Line after the commercial break ended. They watched the next instalment, Chloe’s eyes glued to the screen, unlike before when she had been looking over at him every two seconds to see if he found the same things funny as she did. He had clearly actually embarrassed her and found that her silence bothered him.

“Oh”, he got her attention, “I just remembered what I was going to ask you”.

She looked over at him hesitantly.

“Do you like it here?”

“Um”, she thought for a second, “yeah”. She folded her leg underneath herself as she turned to him, apparently realising that he wasn’t disgusted with her or anything. “I mean, this is absolutely not where I expected to end up but yeah. I am surrounded by some really great people, I have a degree of security, and I mean”, she grinned, “have you seen my furniture?”

“I take it that that stuff is yours?” He hand noticed it and guessed that it wasn’t Lana’s but hadn’t wanted to pry.

“Sure, come look”, she bounded off the settee and over to her ‘bedroom’.

“My my Miss Sullivan, so anxious to get me into your bedroom?”

She chucked a teddy bear at him, learning not to take him too seriously.

He caught the fluffy individual easily and turned it right side up. It was a greyish purplish hippo who had obviously been well loved over the years. From over her enormous nose, she smiled up at him.

“Where’s her ear?” He took it to be a female judging by the tutu, although now you couldn’t be sure.

“Don’t ask”.

“Ah”, now that he thought about it he vaguely remembered one of Gabe’s stories including Lois as well as Chloe when a little boy had attacked one of her teddies and the girls had been forced to retaliate in such a way that had landed the boy in hospital. He had never been sure just how serious that had been though seeing as there had been several teenaged boys close by at the time (sons of other workers) and Gabe, in true father form, had been want to include several subtle threats whenever teenaged boys were concerned.

He handed the plush back to its rightful owner lest the same fate befall him as he entered her room and looked around. “Nice, where on earth did Lana find this furniture though?” He remembered when she had originally sent him the bill for doing up and furnishing the apartment - as it was his after all - and had complained about the difficulty of finding anything in Smallville.

“Oh, Lana didn’t, this is mine”.

He raised an eyebrow, “It must have cost you a packet to move all of this with you”.

“No, I mean that it is mine now. Clark came by and saw me on the settee and mentioned that he had the stuff that he made back in High School for wood-shop and that I was welcome to it and that Mrs Kent had some material”, she pointed to her curtain, “so now I have all of this stuff”.

“He made this in shop?” Lex inquired disbelievingly.

“Yeah, it’s impressive isn’t it? Is a little well, Clark sized, I’m so happy because I would never have been able to afford a full set like this otherwise”, she sat on her bed contentedly. She loved having so much space.

“Very”, he agreed, especially as he had seen the stuff that Clark had made in shop class and knew that this was not it. Still, he knew that Chloe would refuse it if she knew that so he said nothing, although the cold shoulder would have to thaw between him and Clark as he was going to have a little talk with the farm boy. “But, you are happy, here I mean? There are no problems or anything?”

“Nope”, she smiled, “you are such a good landlord”.

“Yeah”, he returned the smile, although he hadn’t been thinking of himself in that regard, just as someone who didn’t want a former acquaintance of his to be ... uncomfortable. It wasn’t kind, or good of him, it was just pure practicality. It would cost nothing to him to have anything fixed and it would make her happy, which would make her work better which would bring him greater profits. That was all that it was.

“Although, I have to say Lex, for a ruthless businessman you really don’t make enough of this space”.

“Meaning?”

“Well, it is a good apartment and fits two comfortably but the price is so low, not that I am complaining, of course, but you could easily get five times more than you are receiving at the moment”, she hypothesised.

“Than I am receiving at the moment?” He repeated the words dumbly.

“Sure, well more probably because what we are paying includes utilities etc so ...”

“And of course you are paying your half of this figure?” The idea that she was talking about the rent she paid suddenly clicked.

“Of course”, she looked insulted at the idea that she might be doing otherwise.

“Of course”. It was strange as he hadn’t been aware that Lana had been paying him any rent of any kind.

“But you aren’t going to be staying here forever?”

“Tired of me already?”

“I mean here, with Lana, you’ll want your own space eventually?”

“Oh yeah, I mean, I’m going to be saving up for that”, she answered, wondering if there was something going on between Lana and the billionaire, that would explain the odd behaviour of each around the other.

“Well, when the time comes let me know”.

She cocked her head to the side, couldn’t he wait to make a booty call to the lovely Miss Lana Lang? Surely she could just go to his place.

“I know a lot of people in real-estate, they will be able to find you something good”, he explained.

“Thanks Lex, but look I don’t mean to sound ungrateful or anything and I know that this is ridiculous considering that I am living in Lana’s apartment, with Clark’s furniture with a job that you gave me on a whim”.

He opened his mouth to object.

“Really not fishing for compliments here Lex”, she interrupted him, “I don’t want anything more from you or anyone else really. I just want to stand on my own feet”.

He held up his hands, “Fine, just trying to be helpful”.

“I know”, she got up, “Have you seen my chest of draws?”

“No”.

She walked over to them and pulled out of the draws and he burst into laughter. It had a suitcase in it. “We think that it was exposed to meteor rock and grew”, she explained closing it again and heading back over to the settee.

“That would seem to be the most logical explanation”, it really was huge.

Even though her teasing tone he could make out the slightly smitten smile which touched her lips and knew that she valued them highly and the thought which had gone into giving them to her. He found himself lowering down to the sofa with a little less than his usual grace, drawing her attention back to him.

“I’m stuffed”, he confessed.

“Me too”, then after a beat, “I want something sweet. I’ll get the dessert”. He watched in wonderment as she made her way back over to the kitchen with an unconscious sway to her hips. Well, that explained where she put all of that food.

He grinned.

A/N: I'm sleepy!

Great update.

Hi! Really enjoying this story, but I think I missed something. Was there a Chapter Five?

Thank-you and yes there was *blushes* I apparently forgot to post a bit. I am going to edit the chapter six post to include C5 at the beginning sorry.

I've been away for awhile and I'm just getting caught up, thank you for posting Chapter 5! I noticed that that this is the second story with a purple stuffed hippo. And I love love love Whose Line! I know you just posted, but when can we expect Chapter 7? ;)

Great update. I wish Clark wasn't part of it though. I really don't care for him. LOL!

i agree great update.can't wait to see what happens next.

Cbrunberg: Thank-you.

Hfce: Me neither, but who else is going to drive her around and make her furniture? How is the job hunt going?

Skyblue78: Is it? Which other one had a puprle hippo in it? Me too, best show ever! Do you like Would I Lie To You? Here it is!

Trinna: Thank-you.

Chapter Seven

“Chloe”, Lana called as she entered her apartment, her voice muffled from behind the stack of boxes that she was carrying. “Chloe, are you home?” She asked again, juggling the heavy boxes only to find them removed from her grip with apparent ease.

“Oh, I see you are, thanks, hey I was going to”, she broke off as her helper stepped away and she realised that it wasn’t Chloe. “Chloe?” She looked around for signs of her room mate and an explanation but just saw her apartment, the way that she had left it, except for the male legs behind a set of boxes.

“She’s in the bathroom”, a voice she knew all too well explained, “she wanted to brush her teeth, too much sugar”.

“Lex”, Lana said nervously, “I didn’t know that you were here”, she took one of the boxes off the top and went to place it on the counter, anxious not to have to look him in the face, he followed her and did likewise.

“Chloe invited me up”, he stated, a little more coolly than she was used to.

“Right, you two have more work to do?”

“No”, his face remained neutral but there was just the hint of an edge of a bite to his voice as he spoke, “it was a social call”.

“Oh, how nice”, she turned away from him and moved around to the other side of the kitchen island, trying to put some space between them.

He didn’t follow her, he just stayed where he was watching as she moved around clearly wishing to avoid his gaze, at another time he might have obliged her, either that or pressed his suite, but strangely he wasn’t in the mood to do either. Something else was on his mind. “Chloe was telling me how much she likes living here and how grateful she is to you”.

“It was nothing, I don’t mind being a little cramped when one of my friends is in need”, she focused her attention on him, blushing a little from the compliment.

“Right, that is very kind of you”, he smiled and she returned the expression. “Especially considering how low she said the rent was”.

Lana’s smile faltered just a little. “It sounds like you really got into some details. I didn’t know that you two were friends, I thought that you were always closer with Clark and”, she looked up at him almost shyly, “me”.

He inclined his head, “We’re not friends, we just work together and I was giving her a lift home and as for you and Clark well, you know how things stand on that front”.

“Lex, I never ...” She reached out her hand across the counter-top but he held his up, to indicate that she could stop.

“This has nothing to do with us, I am merely concerned”.

“About Chloe?” She sounded mildly put out.

“About both of you”, his face softened.

“Lex”, she whispered.

“I know that we have not always got along, that we have had our problems”, she made to deny it but he raised his finger to her lips, “but that is not why I’m here”, he stroked the pad of his thumb down her cheek. “I just want you to know that you were will always be special to me, you and Clark and, well, everyone here in Smallville who ever gave me a chance even if it was for a very short time”.

She didn’t know what to say.

“And I want you to know that I would never try to hurt you”.

“I know”, she said softly.

“So, if there is anything wrong you can come to me”, he said in a voice which was almost a whisper.

She smiled at him, an expression which had brought hundreds of men to their knees. An expression that dropped so abruptly, when next he spoke, that it was almost comical.

“Clearly there has been some problems between you and one of my managers, because I wasn’t aware that you were paying me any rent”, his tone was still soft, almost tender.

She swallowed. “Well, it isn’t much. I didn’t think that you needed to be bothered with it”, she murmured, nervously.

“It is enough, I don’t like to be out of the loop. So tell me Lana”, he leant in, “who is it exactly that you have being paying all of this time?”

“Um ...” She searched her brain, “Does it matter?”

“Yes, I think it does”, his voice was like silk and he continued to cup her face, a warm gentle gesture, “I like to know everything about my business and you have been being taken advantage of all of this time. Who told you that you had to pay rent? I know that I certainly didn’t”.

“Um, no”, she agreed, “you didn’t, but you see that isn’t fair. When I started living here I looked at the rent from other places and paid you that”.

He almost left out of a tiny huff of derision, there was no way that she had looked at comparable properties, if she had, she would have been ‘paying him’ far more. “Who did you give the cheque too?”

“The cheque?” She racked her brains.

“Yes, the cheque. I don’t imagine that you paid such a large sum of money in cash, that would not be wise at all”, he stroked her cheek.

Lana just stared at him, like a deer caught in the headlights.

“It doesn’t matter”, he said kindly, “maybe he was using a fake name. Just describe him to me, never mind actually”, he apparently thought better of it, “I can trace the transactions from your bank accounts”.

“No, I didn’t pay by cheque, I paid in cash every month and ...” she paused.

He regarded her expectantly.

“I didn’t pay it to anyone directly. I just put the money in an envelop and pushed it through the mail shoot in LuthorCorp”, she explained.

He didn’t look angry, but he didn’t bother to hide his incredulity either.

“Oops”.

Both of their heads turned.

Chloe covered her eyes and retreated into the bathroom, “Don’t mind me, I’ll just be going back in here and ...”

“It’s fine Chloe”, Lex called out laughing, “I promise you that we are not going to starting having sex on the kitchen counter”.

“I should hope not indeed, most unsanitary”, she joked, coming into the room and examining them both.

“I should probably get going”, Lex said, a little regretfully.

“Don’t let me chase you off”, she really hoped that she hadn’t just ruined his night.

“You didn’t, I just have some stuff to do.Thanks for the dinner, I’ll have to return the favour sometime. See you tomorrow”, he said, realising only then that he didn’t really know how to take his leave of her. Chloe had moved, it looked like to hug him - he knew that she did that with everyone - but had then pulled back and waved.

“Bye”.

“Bye”, he returned the wave, and then turned to Lana, “Good evening Lana”.

The girls watched him leave and as the door closed Chloe turned to Lana, about to apologise for interrupting the two of them when Lana pinned her with a concerned look. “Chloe, I think that we need to talk”.

Chloe was still thinking about that ‘talk’ when she arrived at work the following morning. Lana had been kind and sweet as always but had made it very clear that she and Lex had “had a moment” a while ago and that she thought that he was still in love with her.

It didn’t bother Chloe that her boss was in love with Lana - as the brunette seemed to think that it would -, he was attractive but she wasn’t attracted to him but she didn’t like to think that he might be trying to exploit her to get closer to Lana. She didn’t like the idea that he was using her. She wanted to be strong, to throw his job back in his face and yet the following day she found herself going to work.

Ultimately she was weak. Security won out over everything else. So she got into the Luthor car which had come to pick her up and went to work in the castle throwing herself head first into boxes of papers.

“Really there is no reason for me to feel uncomfortable”, she said to herself, “just because Lana is my friend, gave me a place to live and I am betraying her by being here ... I should just go and tell Lex that I can’t remain in this job. Oh!” Her eye caught a particularly juicy document and everything else went out of her head.

At five o’clock she was still hungrily pursuing her lead when there was a soft knock at the door she jumped, sending the papers she was rifling through up into the air.

She turned accusing eyes on her interrupter.

“Sorry”, Lex chuckled ruefully as he strode in and crouched down next to her and began to pick up the papers which clearly were not supposed to be scattered across the floor and handed them back to her, “I really didn’t mean to give you a fright”.

“That’s all right, thanks”, she said, he was her boss after all.

“I take it that you were very involved”, he said as he watched her quickly sorting through the papers he had returned to her.

“Yeah, what gave it away?” She wondered.

“Well, one you jumped out of your skin at the slightest noise, two the lunch Baxter left you is still over there uneaten, three you don’t appear to have noticed that it is five”.

Her head snapped up at that, to stare at the clock. Wow, he was right.

She heard him laugh, “And, that would be six”, her stomach let out an embarrassingly loud rumble.

“Yeah, well, I was in the middle of something”.

“So I see”, he rose to his feet and extended his hand to help her do the same, but Chloe seemed not to notice it as she got up by herself and placed the small pile of papers back in the top of one of the boxes. “Are you all right?” He wondered.

“Yes, of course”, she said, perfectly pleasantly as she turned back to look at him. “Why do you ask?”

“No reason”, he stared at her hard, “you just seem a little off today”.

“Oh, sorry”, she shook her head, “probably a little out of it”.

Her stomach growled angrily again.

“That might explain it”, he teased, “Got any plans for tonight?”

“I don’t think so”, she thought about it, “I was going to do a bit more work but that’s pretty much it. Clark and I are going to get together tomorrow afternoon to hang out”.

“Right, although you know you don’t need to work overtime”, he informed her, “anyway come on”.

“Where are we going?” She wondered, allowing herself to guided along by him. He was her boss after all.

“The kitchen, before your stomach attracts attention from the local media”, he joked.

“You know, a gentleman would ignore it”, she pointed out.

“Noted”, he opened the door for her.

Chloe found herself in the middle of a large, extremely well appointed, chef’s kitchen. It was a combination of something you would see in a restaurant all marble and steel, and odd reminders that they were still inside a castle. She wasn’t that surprised by the design and layout, it was pretty much what she had imagined - or would have imagined had she ever given Lex Luthor’s kitchen arrangements any thought - but there was one thing that seemed clearly wrong in a billionaire’s castle.

“It’s empty”, she pointed out.

“Yes, yes it is”, he smiled over at her, “I don’t actual require that an entire staff remains tied to the stove just in case I get hungry, I can call them if need be but I thought that I could probably scrounge up some sort of snack”.

“Well you see now I’m just disappointed”, she teased, “I wanted to see the Oompa-Loompas”.

He shook his head with a smile before turning and looking in the fridge which was about the size of her new bed.

Chloe couldn’t help but notice that, for all his faults, he did possess a very nice ass. This realisation brought back the absurdity of her situation and once again she was amazed by the fact that he ever managed to make her forget it. Lana’s words started to creak back inside her head.

“You like sandwiches, right?” He was certain that he had seen her devour one at some point.

“Sure, you know that you don’t actually have to feed me though”, she reminded him. They weren’t friends they were just ... employer and employee.

“Nonsense”, Lex declared coming back out armed with loads of food.

Not sure what else to do, she took the items which looked like they could topple out of his arms and placed them on the counter and then followed him as he beckoned her into what turned out to be the pantry. “Seriously?”

“What?”

“This place is bigger than my childhood home”, she gaped.

“I suppose that it is rather big”, he looked around, “great for treats though”.

“You eat treats?” She doubted it from the looks of him. He probably followed one of those diets with ratios and all of that junk. He and Lana would be perfect for each other in that regard.

“Yes, I eat treats ... Sometimes. Okay, generally I don’t but you do so here we are”, he started hunting.

“Honestly Lex, I guarantee you that employers are not required to feed their workers”.

“I’ll do it anyway”, he continued to look around. “Ah ha”. Chocolates and sweeties. Chloe surreptitiously moved her hand in front of her mouth to check for drool, nope she was all right. Or she was until she noticed Lex’s eyes flick back to the front and the tension in his shoulders which indicated that he was trying not to laugh. She continued to look straight ahead, as if nothing was bothering her. Honestly, how was a girl supposed to be around all of that chocolate and not have a reaction?

“Anything in particular you want?” Lex asked.

She studied the packets carefully only to discover that he didn’t have any milk chocolate. “No, I don’t really like dark chocolate”, even organic perfect stuff. She liked junk. “Too healthy”.

“I’ll get ones I think that you will like then”, he grabbed a few packets and led her back out to the kitchen where he promptly started making huge sandwiches.

“Can I help?” She inquired politely, reaching for one of the knives.

“No”, he removed the utensil from her grip, and reminded her, “you are a guest”.

“A minute ago I was an employee”.

“You have multiple personalities”, he informed her as he worked deftly and then, “Here we go”. He placed an enormous Clark sized sandwich in front of her along with a drink, moving the chocolates away, “those are for afterwards”.

“Meanie”, she pouted.

“Do you want to eat here”, he indicated to the breakfast bar, “or ...?”

“Here is fine”, she smiled and thanked him for the sandwich before examining it carefully wondering how one attempted to consume it with finesse. It was about four times as large as the opening of her mouth.

Lex grabbed his with two hands and tucked in. Well, that answered that question.

She dug in herself, Lex Luthor made a great sandwich. Much better than subway. It wasn’t until the first bite that she realised just how hungry she had been and the herculean portion which she had thought was impossible was soon merely crumbs on the plate. When she looked up and found Lex looking at her, a smile playing around his lips.

“I was hungry”, she defended herself.

“So I see”, he smirked. “Want another sandwich?”

“Oh God no!” She blushed, “I mean. No, thank-you Lex, it was delicious but I am not stuffed”.

“So, you are ready for something sweet now?” He was getting used to her routine.

She shot him a scathing look.

“I’ll take that as a yes”, he grinned and began to break the chocolates up. “Come on, be a big girl and try it. I promise that you will like it”.

“That’s okay Lex, honestly the packaging looks lovely but I don’t really like dark chocolate”, she demurred.

“Come on”, he coaxed.

“Lex”, she shook her head, “No”.

“Come on, be a big brave girl. Come on, open up”, he took a piece and brought it to her lips.

“Lex, I ...”

And in the morsel popped.

She was outraged. She was disgusted. She was going to give him a piece of her mind. The taste settled on her tongue. She moaned.

“See, I told you that it was good”, he smirked as he sat back, eating a piece himself. It really was good, although failed to have the same orgasmic effect on him as it did on her. Something about the endorphins he believed. If everything else fell through - not that Lex would allow that to happen - she could make millions advertising chocolate. He watched with a scientists attention to detail as her eyes fluttered closed and her head rolled back slightly, although moan escaping her followed by a breathless sigh.

“You are sure that you like it?” He asked, not without humour.

“Yeah, it’s so good”, she groaned, then opened her eyes and grinned voraciously, “so what other types do you have?”

“Loads”, he studied the collection and then made his selection. It was a deep, burnt orange package with ornate gold writing, “90% Venezuelan with orange is one of the most delicious, but”, he teased her, “it might be a little intense for you”.

“No, not too intense”, she stretched her hand out to him greedily.

“Well, we will just have to see about that”, he broke off a piece and was about to feed her again only to reconsiderer and place it in her outstretch hands and watch her gobble it down before taking some himself.

Taking advantage of peaceful, sensual look on her face he asked, “So, are you going to tell me the truth now?”

“Hmm?” She looked over at him in sated confusion.

“Earlier, you said that nothing was wrong when that obviously wasn’t the case. You want to tell me about it?”

“Oh”, she was the worst person in the world. The thread of a good mystery and close proximity to Lex and she forgot about all of the things which had been on her mind until then.

“Oh”, he repeated the word and she knew that she had been caught out, she couldn't deny it.

“I just ...” she sought for the words, “had a couple of things on my mind”.

He nodded thoughtfully. “Anything that I can help with?”

She looked down at her hands for a second, then back up at him. “Why did you hire me Lex?”

He frowned at her, the chocolate turning to ashes in his mouth. “I explained that to you before”.

“Yes”, she conceded, “but ... it just feels strange”.

He nodded mechanically, as if he understood even though she didn’t see how he possibly could. His teeth clamped together and she could see his jaw working and she thought that he was trying to fight back the urge to swear at her. She studied him intently, watching for the tiniest flicker of emotion before he ground out, “Because I wanted to. Isn’t that a good enough reason?”

“No, not really. I mean, you say that you have this project which is worth so much money, yet you put it on hold because there wasn’t anyone that you could trust, then you find and give it to me even though you don’t even know me that well. Then you are really nice to me and I’m just wondering why”, she babbled. “I mean, we aren’t friends”.

“You like make things hard on yourself, don’t you?” He sounded more than a little irritated.

“I don’t like getting things that I haven’t earned and I don’t like taking advantage of people. So why Lex?”

He sighed and ran his hand over the top of his head. “I don’t know”.

She placed both hands on the side as if she were about to push back from it and leave.

“No”, he snapped placing his hands over hers to keep her in place, before he realised that he had no right or reason to do that. “Nothing is going to get resolved by your storming out”.

She had to concede this point and remained seated.

Once he realised that she wasn’t about to flee, Lex rested his elbows on the and let out a sigh. Finally he admitted, “I could come up with a reason. A lot of reasons, actually. I could flatter you and make you believe that you were the only person in the world who could do this job”.

She gave him a look which clearly stated that she wasn’t that gullible.

“Believe me, I could”. He had a gift, he could turn it on and off and worked on everyone. “But the answer is that I just don’t know. I did put that project on hold because I couldn’t think of a single person trust worthy and skilled enough to do the job. Actually, I couldn’t even find someone trusted enough to look for someone to do the job. Then I came across you”.

“And immediately thought, why don’t I give her a swanky job?” She asked with a derisive snort.

“Pretty much”.

There is was. Calm. Cold. Matter of fact. He had done it, just because he had done it.

“I don’t mean that from a place of pity. I met you, I have known you before, I thought that it was strange that you were without a job so I researched you. You know how I am with mysteries. You are the same way”.

She couldn't deny it.

“I was impressed. To be perfectly candid, had I not known you I still probably wouldn’t give you the job that I did, although I would have always found place for you in the company”. He didn’t know what he was saying, or why exactly. None of this really made sense. “You’re good at what you do”.

“If I hadn’t been, you wouldn’t have employed me?” She checked.

He knew what she wanted to hear. That if she had been useless he wouldn’t have found a use for her. It would have been easy, but for some reason, he just couldn't. “No, I would still have found a job for you”, he admitted, “it would have just been one where you wouldn’t have been able to cause any trouble”.

“Why?”

“Because, it would be stupid to put someone incompetent anywhere else”.

“I mean”, she stooped to explaining, “why would you go out of your way to help me?”

“For God’s sake Chloe”, he groaned, this woman was far more trouble than she was worth. “I don’t know. Maybe because I am not a completely heartless bastard who enjoys watching people suffer? Because I have the power to help and to take this enormous burden off the shoulders of someone I knew so I did. Is it really so impossible that I just wanted to do it?”

Chloe couldn’t say anything to that.

Lex misconstrued her silence and felt compelled to continue, “I know that we aren’t friends, I didn’t think about it that much I just did what seemed natural. And”, a note of accusation crept into his tone, “you invited me up for dinner, you acted as if you liked me, were you being deceitful?”

“No, of course not”, she looked horrified. “How can you say such a thing?”

“How can I say such a thing? Isn’t that what you just said?” He demanded.

“No, well I supposed, but it’s completely different!”

“That’s right”, he snapped, “I was born into privilege so you can say anything you want, do anything you want to me, treat me like shit, doubt my motives but God forbid anyone suggest that you might have an ulterior motive. You are hardly perfect”.

“I never said that I was perfect”, she argued but he continued, steam rolling over her like a train, “You spied on Clark just as much as a I did. You kept just as many secrets as I did. You couldn’t stand Lana for years yet all is forgiven when it comes to saint Chloe but no, I must be bad because I tried to run a business and investigated into a friend who I knew was lying to me”.

She knew that there was truth behind his words but she would be damned if she would be spoken to like that, “I earned his trust back”.

“You can’t earn trust back. Once you have broken it, it is gone. You got given it back simply because you are cute and blonde and are poor”, he sneered.

“I am not poor!” She jumped to her feet. She wasn’t naturally a blonde either, but that was beside the point.

“Sure you are”, he wasn’t going to be polite about her and her father’s financial situation after she had treated him and his motives with so little respect.

“Fine”, she crossed her arms, “you have all of the money I get along better with people. Are you saying that you don’t miss being friends with Clark?”

“No, I’m not saying that”, he said slowly.

“And are you saying that you don’t want them back in your life?” She demanded.

“No, I’m not saying that either”, he said through gritted teeth. Barely keeping his temper in check.

“And there is no possible way that by employing me you are getting closer to them?” She challenged.

“Fuck you”. He got to his feet and made to storm out.

“Lex”, she called out, and although seething he turned around, “The other night. Did you have something to pick up from Lana?”

He strode back over to her, grabbed the packet of chocolate, shoved it into her hand and answered, “Have a good night Chloe. The chauffeur will take you wherever you need to go”.

A/N: Don't hate me. :( So, who was in the right? Who was in the wrong?

I am on Lex's side. He can never win.

I am still looking for work. :(

Where did my two new posts go? Is this one showing up?

As apparently it is posting now:

I am on Lex's side too - poor little guy. I'm sorry to hear that, what is it that you do? *huggles* Anything that I can do to cheer you up?

Chapter Eight

“Anything you want to talk about?”

Chloe blinked, her reverie interrupted. She glanced up from her place on the couch to see her room mate looking expectantly at her. She couldn’t blame her, she supposed that she hadn’t been very good company that evening, too preoccupied with her own thoughts to really dedicate herself to the girl’s night in, they were meant to be enjoying.

“Chloe, is there anything that you want to talk to me?” Lana repeated as she sank down onto the settee.

“No, I’m fine”, Chloe said, keeping her eyes trained on the TV in front of them. She hadn’t realised that they had been watching a fashion show. There really was some ugly junk on the market this session. A lot of emaciated girls too.

“Okay”, Lana returned her attention to the screen, bringing a handful of pop corn to her mouth before putting it back. “I need to diet”.

Chloe gave her an odd look and grabbed her own handful of pop corn and scoffed it, allowing the crunching sound in her ears to drown out the inane chatter of the host. She really couldn’t have cared less about who the twiglet was dating.

Lana tried to focus on the program but the smell of the popcorn as distracting, as was Chloe’s refusal to talk. She attempted to remind quiet, and managed it, for about three minutes. “Are you sure?”

“Yes”, always the polite girl, she added a “thank-you”.

“Okay”, Lana drew the word out, about to inquire again when a designer she adored started her show. Silence reigned, for a little while.

As designer took her final bow and left the catwalk for someone else to take centre stage, Lana spoke, “I would hate to think that something that I had said last night might have caused you problems”.

“No, because telling me that Lex is in love/obsessed with you and is only using me to get to you couldn’t possibly have caused me any problems”, Chloe thought, but she only said, “It’s fine, don’t worry about it”.

“Really?” Lana didn’t look entirely convinced.

“Yeah, except I think that I might be unemployed”, she finally said the words which she had been dreading since her fight with Lex. The words which made her stomach feel like it was being ripped in two. She tried to shove some more popcorn into it.

“Oh God Chloe, no”, Lana exclaimed in horror, “I’m so sorry. He can’t fire you for this. He can’t. You must have a contract, you must ...”

Chloe shook her head, “No, I mean, yes”.

Lana stared at her quizzically.

“Yes, we do have a contract. Yes, I could fight it, but I won’t. If he wants me gone then that’s that”, she said feeling sorry for herself and Lex.

“I could talk to him, he would do anything for me”, Lana started, already on her feet and marching towards the apartment’s phone, Chloe hot on her heels protesting, only to both come to a halt as the phone started to ring. They looked at each other.

“It couldn’t be”.

“It is Smallville”.

They both leant forwards cautiously, as if the receiver were about to jump up and attack them both.

“That’s Clark’s number”, Lana recognised it instantly.

Chloe had too, but she couldn’t resist teasing her, “Ooh, recognise it on sight do you”, she hip bumped her friend.

“He has had the same number forever”.

“A likely excuse”, Chloe said in a sing song voice before taking a few steps back, “I think that you should probably be the one to answer it”. With that Chloe made her way back over to the couch so that she wasn’t eavesdropping on Lana’s presumably private conversation with her boyfriend. Well, Chloe wasn’t actually sure that boyfriend was the correct word, she had never got a definitive answer to that question but with Lana and Clark were clearly met for each other. They had both spent years stringing around and pining over each other. It was about time they got together. She had happy for them. Kind of.

Deciding that there was no reason to keep watching this dross if Lana weren’t around to appreciate it, she flipped channels until she found an old British comedy and tried not to think about Lex. He would have made it even funnier, making dry sarcastic comments.

“I am not sure that you were fired”.

“Huh?” Chloe asked intelligently, she hadn’t even heard Lana come back.

“That was Clark”, Lana reminded her, “apparently Lex paid him a little visit this evening”.

“What?!?”

~*~

“So, I hear that you have been combating Luthors?” Chloe had been contemplating the familiar plaid clad back for several minutes, wondering how to alert him to her presence. She had opted for the subtle approach.

“Chloe”, Clark whirled around from where he had been organising his family’s stall. He smiled a little bashfully, surprised that he hadn’t realised that she had been standing behind him. “Hi”.

“Hi”, she couldn't help but smile at him as she walked to his side and helped him arrange the produce, he was good at the heavy lifting but didn’t have much of an eye for decoration.

“Thanks”, he smiled and took the opportunity to go and get another box of items from the truck. He placed the two final boxes on the table in the space Chloe had made for them. “So, I take it that Lana told you about the phone call”.

“Yup”, she nodded. “Do you plan on sharing any detail of that with me?” She did her best to sound casual, she wasn’t sure that she pulled it off. Apparently not, judging by the reassuring smile Clark gave her; he looked about two seconds away from ruffling her hair.

“It wasn’t that bad. See”, he held his arms out, “no bruises or anything. Come here”, he pulled her into a bear hug. “So how are you enjoying your first Saturday since your return to Smallville? Not to mention your first Corn Festival, in how many years?”

“It’s lovely”, she assured him, “great weather, great food, great people. Now, stop trying to change the subject. What happened?”

“Last night?” He checked as he emptied the boxes.

“No, last week, of course last night. Come on Clark, Lex came to your farm after how many years?” Chloe demanded as she took items from her friend’s hands and placed them strategically.

“Four”.

“Right, after four years he shows up”, she stressed her new piece of information. “And it has something to do with me, but, in spite of that fact, you call Lana and then take your phone off the hook. If I had a mode of transport I would have been over there last night beating the information out of you”.

“How kind”, he smiled down at her. It always amused him when she threatened to kick his ass, she was just so little. He could carry her around under one arm and not notice the weight.

“Come on Clark, tell me”, she was coming close to stamping her foot.

“I’m sorry that I made you worry Chlo”, he stroked one hand down her arm, “I didn’t mean to. I wasn’t aware that the phone was off the hook and Lana said she would deal with it. She’s better than me with emotions and stuff than I am”.

“You aren’t bad with those things, you are just annoying when you won’t give me a straight answer. What did Luthor want and say?” She didn’t have time for his self pity right then, she had a stroppy billionaire to deal with.

“Right”, Clark gave her his full attention, “basically he came over”.

“Yes, thank-you, we have established that part”, she snapped. “Sorry, that isn’t helping you get everything out”.

“He and Dad had words then he came straight up to me, told me that he thought that I was a hypocrite and a bigot who spent his entire time preaching about honesty, not judging by first impressions and friendship who then turned around and did all of those things. And that my father is even worse. But that he likes Mom”, Clark looked equal parts angry and bewildered as he recounted the events of the previous evening.

Chloe had to try not to laugh at that.

“And that he didn’t trust me as far as he could throw me”.

She had to really work hard at controlling her mirth now. She brought her hand up to cover her mouth, as if she were deeply shocked, hoping that it covered her smile as she asked seriously: “That far?” Lex was in pretty great shape, but Clark was huge.

“Funny Chloe”. Apparently he hadn’t worked and Clark wasn’t amused.

“Sorry, what else?”

“Basically that you had a great importunity working for him and that he didn’t want me mucking it up”, from the expression on his face, Chloe was guessing that Lex hadn’t actually said ‘mucking’ it up. “So I could go to the mansion and pick you up nothing was to impede our relationship, but I wasn’t to interfere with your job or”, he paused, “muck you around”.

Chloe’s eyebrows disappeared into her hair. “What the fuck ... I’m sorry Clark, what the muck does Lex Luthor think that he is doing going around and -”

“Well, I was walking around the yearly corn fair in an attempt to make myself seem like a normal human being who was interested in the good of the town where I live ... Most of the time”, a cool, cultured voice wafted over to them on the gentle breeze. “My publicist seems to think that I am not exerting myself enough on that front”, he add mildly.

Chloe whirled around, guilt already gnawing at the pit of her stomach. Her eyes fell on her possible boss and she noted that as always he was impeccably well dressed with a face as handsome as it was unreadable. She kind of wanted to give him a hug. Or smack him. She wasn’t entirely sure.

“Hello Lex, we were just talking about you”, she said. There was hardly any point in trying to lie about it at this point.

“So I heard”, he said dryly.

Clark came up behind Chloe and placed his hand on her shoulder protectively. She noticed the slight twitch in the corner of Lex’s eye, supreme irritation. She couldn't blame him, she didn’t require protection from him, she never had. She was half tempted to smack Clark’s hand away but she didn’t want to hurt his feelings either, she couldn’t help but wonder if men were worth the trouble.

“Before that we were discussing how nice the weather was and celebrating my first Smallville Saturday”, she said, not for any reason than that she suffered from verbal diarrhoea when nervous.

“Something to celebrated indeed”, Lex commented in his off handed, dry way.

Chloe nodded, wishing that she knew what to say.

“So, does it meet your required standards?”

“Very good so far”. Chloe stood there, ridiculously still with Clark’s large hand on her shoulder, feeling so incredibly hot that she thought she might be coming down with a case of sun stroke although the weather man had said that it would be a very mild day.

Lex appeared to be waiting for her to say something else but after several minutes of silence which seemed to stretch on interminably, he gave her a nod and told her, “Well, I’ll see you on Monday morning”, as he turned to leave.

“Monday morning?”

“Yes”, he paused and turned back to her, “Monday morning. In case you have forgotten, you work for me. Nine to five, Monday to Friday. Unless you are ill? Or planning to become so over the course of the next 42 hours?”

“You mean, I’m not fired?” The words came tumbling out of her before she could think of an elegant way of phrasing the question.

He stared at her, a flicker of incomprehension passing over his gaze before it settled into one of disappointment and cold hard fury. “Of course not”, he said, the corner of his lips turning up in a completely mirthless expression, “How would that help me get back into Clark’s good graces?”

Chloe was relieved, she still had her job, but furious with herself for being such a wimp and not asking him directly to start with and more bothered than she liked to admit by the idea of his being hurt. In short, Chloe felt like crap as she watched him leave and nothing Clark or the Smallville population could do made her feel any better. That was how she ended up back at the mansion later that afternoon, working and looking over at door every couple of minutes.

Finally she decided that she had had enough and stormed out of the room and around the ground floor before giving up and heading to the butler’s pantry, Baxter emerging just as he was needed.

“Hello Baxter”.

“Miss Sullivan”.

“Where is his royal sulkiness?”

“Master Lex is in the gym”, he said, with an emotionless mask which would have made any Luthor envious.

“Right, any chance that you could show me where that is?” As much as she would love to wander out the castle for hours on end unchaperoned, now did not seem the time for that.

“Of course Miss”, he inclined his head, “Right this way”.

Chloe followed the elderly butler through the winding halls of the Luthor castle into a part she had never even realised existed before, trying to remember the path that they had taken until he announced, “Right through here Miss”, opening the door ahead of her. She thanked him and slowly entered the room, looking back over her shoulder to say something else only to find that he was gone. “Baxter the ghost butler”, she thought to herself.

She scanned the room, it was a well appointed gym but saw no one although she could hear the heavy breathing and the unmistakable sound of heavy punches.

“Guess it was too much to hope that he might be in a better mood”, Chloe thought to herself as moved further into the room and noticed that there was another area just off the side, she walked to the edge of the corner and called out, “Knock knock”.

“Chloe?” He span around with the reflexes of a fighter.

“Yes”, she swallowed a little nervously, the impropriety of wandering around his house without invitation suddenly dawning upon her, “may I come in”.

“Sure”.

She entered, realising that the space was even bigger than she had realised and Lex was standing right bang smack in the middle of it, next to a punching bag, unstrapping his boxing gloves and tossing them to the side before grabbing a water bottle and draining half its contents in one thirty gulp.

Chloe swallowed. She had never seen him in sport’s clothes before, which was a a shame. His soft grey tank top damp with sweat clung to his muscles which bulged from exercise and she found that her eyes kept being drawn back to his arms, which were extremely impressive. It took a couple of seconds for her gaze to even return to his face, which didn’t make the situation any easier. His eyes were slightly savage from and rather than being afraid, she found herself being even more drawn to him. He was as sexy as Hell.

“Are you all right?” He finally asked, his voice a little less controlled than normal.

“Yeah, I was just coming in to do some work and ...” She started to explain, but it sounded lame even to her own ears. “Yeah, okay, that’s not the truth. Well, okay, it is. I mean I did come in to do some work but that was just an excuse”.

“What do you want Chloe?”

“Before I answer that, I need to know ...”

He raised an eyebrow.

“The punching bag, was that meant to be me or Clark?”

“You know that I would never hit a girl Chloe. Not even in my head”, he wiped his face with another towel and Chloe wasn’t sure if he was just feeling sweaty or trying to hide away from her. Clearly her attempt at lightening the mood had not been unsuccessful.

“I know”, she nodded. “I just wanted to say that I am sorry”.

“For what?”

God, he wasn’t going to make this easier on her, was he? Well, she supposed, there really was no reason why he should. “Most of yesterday and this morning”, she stated simply, “I shouldn’t have asked about your motives or anything else or doubted that you would muck about with my employment just because you were angry”.

“No, you shouldn’t have”, he said with a dead pan expression.

“Right”, she clapped her hands together, “well, I am just going to go and do some work then”.

“Fine”, he nodded, “that’s fine”.

“Okay. Right. Good”. She turned around to leave, thinking “There, that wasn’t too bad. All sorted out, I should just remember to keep my mouth shut from now on”. While she thought that, the rest of her body revolted. She span back around, Lex was now lying down bench pressing and watching her leave.

“Actually Lex, it is not fine”. The last word was pronounced with a strange emphasis which came out sounding far more juvenile than she would have liked, or had indeed intended.

“It isn’t?” He continued to bench press.

“No, and could you please stop doing that and actually pay attention to me?”

He chose to oblige her, replacing the weight slowly and sitting back up.

“This is not fine! You know this is why you don’t have any friends”.

“Care to elaborate?”

“With pleasure. You are a snob. You are an elitist. And sometimes you are not very nice. I know that I was wrong, I admitted it and said that I was sorry but you instead of accepting the apology and trying to get past it would rather sit in your mansion, licking your wounds, feeling sorry for yourself pushing everyone away so you will always be all alone”, her jaw trembled as she spoke.

“Is that everything?” He inquired mildly.

“No, go take a shower you stink”, with that she turned on her heel and left.

“Why did I hire her?” Lex muttered to himself.

“My tact, people skill and excellent hearing!”

Author's question: Why do you think that he did hire her?

great update.loved the comment your royal sulkiness.i also loved chloe answer to lex question about why he hired her.i don't believe those oare the reasons that he hired her but loved her answer.

Loving this soap opera. This is great and I know I had been busy with work, but getting the chance to get caught up with this story is worth it.

Trckyrcky: Yay! :D Thanks for still reading and I hope that work is going well.

Cbrunberg: Yeah, Chloe's been a little bit snarky. He he. Thanks for reading and reviewing. :D

Chapter Nine

Lex stood outside Chloe’s office, newly showered, smelling fresh, dressed normally (for him) and with the chocolate bar he had given Chloe the night before, and which had been returned to him via Baxter, wondering what on earth he wad doing there. He didn’t need to apologise to her, he didn’t need her, he should probably have fired her and yet there he was, chocolate bar in hand.

He knocked and smirked as he heard her jump.

“Are you okay?” He called.

“Yes”, her voice came though the heavy door, which he took to mean that he could enter.

“Chloe, you know I have got more security recently you don’t have to have a heart attack every time you hear a noise”, he teased her.

“Well, this is Smallville”, she reminded him, as she began to gather up the documents which, once again, she had thrown up in the air when startled.

“Good point”, he conceded as he got down to help her again. “Come on”, he helped out and pulled her up to her feet. “You know, you really don’t need to work on Saturdays”.

“I know, I just get interested in things and ...”

“Nothing else to do?” He knew that feeling all too well.

“Yeah”, she acknowledged, “and I was feeling guilty”.

“There’s no need”, he promised her, as he ushered her out of the room, “come on. Why aren’t you still at the fête? Quality Chloe/Clark bonding time. I know how much you were looking forward to that”.

She shot him a withering look. She had never told him anything of the sort.

“Come on”, he nudged her, “you can tell me. Or I can go and embarrass you in front of Clark again”, he offered.

She smacked him on the arm lightly, “Lana came”.

“Ah”.

“It was nice”, she tried to convince them both, “everyone together having fun”.

He snorted, “They walked off and ignored you?”

“No”, Clark was far too much of a gentleman to do that, however much she got the feeling that he might have liked to, “we went around as a trio happily, then it got uncomfortable, then they argued then ... Well, I don’t know what happened after that because that is when I left”.

“Makes sense”. He wasn’t perturbed, he knew that she hadn’t apologised just out of boredom, but he still couldn't resist teasing her. “So, basically you came because no one else will watch Whose Line with you?”

“Yeah, pretty much”, she shot him a smile, “plus you have the good chocolate”. She had noticed in his hand as he had been helping her with the papers.

“So you have been converted?” He smiled at her as he handed it over.

“No”, she tore it open and snapped off two pieces, gave one to him and popped the other in her mouth. She moaned. She couldn’t help it. “I’m just a chocoholic”.

“Please, you have been converted. He grinned as he ate his own piece.

“How did you know that no one else likes Whose Line?” She wondered as he allowed Lex to lead her along, having no idea where they were going.

“Just guessing”. It hardly seemed like the kind of thing that they average Smallville inhabitant would enjoy. “Come on”, he placed his hand on her back, “I got them on DVD”.

“Lex, I think that this could be the start beautiful friendship”, she quipped.

He smiled. It seemed to be happening a lot when she was around.

~*~

“God you know that I am blaming you if I get so fat that I can’t fit through the door any more”, Chloe groaned accusingly at her supplier.

“Fine, I’ll just take it away”, Lex tried to remove the chocolate bar from her grip but received a smack for his trouble.

“No”, she pouted.

“And yet you blame me”, he shook his head. They were lying on their stomachs, on the floor of his living room watching Whose Line Is It Anyway?, as Chloe had insisted that that was the only correct way of doing it.

“Yep!” She nodded her head and popped another piece of chocolate in.

“That’s not fair”, he complained, not caring that he sounded childish.

“Neither is the fact that you, Clark and Lana can eat whatever you want like when I look anything more than a lettuce leaf and I get a fat ass”, she groused but did put down the chocolate, she had had enough for now.

“I thought you had lost weight”, Lex scowled as he looked back over his shoulder at her rear end. He hadn’t really paid that much attention to her in years gone by (she had been in High School, after all) but he was fairly certain that there had used to be a bit more in that area.

“I have, that is what stress and instant noodles for a month will do to you”, it was the only good part of the stress which she had been enduringly lately; it had done wonders for her figure.

His eyes snapped to her face.

“Oh, don’t over react”, she rolled her eyes at him and his current obsession with feeding her.

“Hmmmm”.

“Seriously Lex”, she sighed, getting that it really concerned him, “it’s fine. Try some one day, you might like them”. The image of Lex sitting on a little futon couch in her former tiny excuse for an apartment made her smile, it was too ridiculous.

“Fuck no”, he said decidedly.

“Language”, she tisked.

“Disgusting pots of chemicals”, he pointedly ignored the rebuke.

“Touché”, she couldn't really argue with that. They hadn’t been good.

“You could always eat chocolate all day and just marry Pete?” Lex said after a moment and received an odd look for his troubles. She gave him an odd look. “Oh come on, he spent half of high school staring at your ass”.

“Only half?” Pete had enjoyed examining feminine curves, he was the only person she knew who could tell identical twins apart from behind. The female ones at least.

“The other half was spent staring at your chest”, Lex elaborated. He had always felt that it was rather vulgar and had he been the older brother of one of the girls involved, he would have seen to it that the young Pete Ross put an end to such behaviour very quickly.

“You are kidding right?” It had taken her some time but she had eventually become aware that her friend had a slight crush on her but she hadn’t thought that anyone else had been aware of it or that he had checked her out more than any other girl in his immediate vicinity.

“No, his eyes almost popped out of his head like a cartoon character several times”. Seeing that she was staring at him disbelievingly, he thought of an explanation and suggested, “You were probably too busy looking for clues to notice”.

“Possibly”, she conceded, wondering how she had missed something which was right under her nose. “Oh, I love this part! Ho down!”

~*~

“Okay seriously, salad?”

“Yup, you didn’t think that I was going to just keep feeing you junk did you? You forget, you have a company dental”, he had seen to it that she got all of the benefits to which she was entitled.

“So this is just your way of saving money on my dentist’s bills?” Chloe checked.

“Absolutely”, he said as he pulled her chair out for her as he always did.

“Thank-you”, she sat down in front of a healthy grilled turkey breast, whole wheat spelt pasta salad and waited for him to settle down as well. It had become there little ritual and she liked it. Every morning she would go to work at the castle but at five o’clock Lex would come down to her office and insist that she stopped. Then, they would spend the evening together until it was time for her to go home. She hadn’t saved up enough for a new car yet but Lex maintained that he enjoyed driving her home at the end of every evening. She wasn’t sure if he was just being polite but then she decided that if he didn’t want to do it then he needn’t have offered/insisted and could have had one of his chauffeurs drive her, like they did in the morning. Yes, Chloe Sullivan was very happy with her life at that moment. She was even happy with her salad which they finished quickly and returned to the den. Another custom.

“You know, you really should think about my offer”, he said, as he had ever night for the last three weeks - a couple of nights after they had reconciled.

“That’s what you always say”, she informed him as she bashed her bean bag into the right shape for her to lie on.

“Well, maybe I’ll stop once you give it some consideration”, he suggested, but only if it resulted in the answer he wanted to hear. He descended onto his own beanbag without any apparent difficulty.

She rolled onto her back, so that she could see him better, “I have given it concentration Lex”.

“And?”

“It would be convenient. It would be pleasant. It would mean that I didn’t get the fifth degree from Lana every day. I wouldn’t have the problem of not being able to get place as I spend most of my time here anyway”, she started her list.

But?” He knew that there was a but coming. He could sense it.

“However”.

“Smart arse”.

She stuck her tongue out at him before continuing, “However, I can’t rely on you that much”.

“It isn’t relying on me”, he protested, “it’s ...”

“And what happens when you piss me off?” That was another point which had to be considered.

“You slam the door in my face and bitch and moan about me”, he shrugged.

She scowled

“Just like you do now”, he tweaked her nose.

“I can’t in a house that you own”, although she wasn’t entirely sure that that was an accurate description of what she had done to start with.

“Sure you can”, he would have been the first to admit that he wasn’t an expert when it came to relationships but he had no idea how Chloe ever intended to have a long term one, let along get married if she apparently thought that all ties were broken the second that someone got mad. It didn’t matter if the house technically belonged to someone else, you were still entitled to your feelings and the person was hardly going to walk out just because of a door in the face. Feelings couldn’t just evaporate.

Chloe didn’t look convinced.

“Besides, I own the Talon too”, he had only meant it as a joke but he could tell by her expression that it was something that genuinely hadn’t occurred to Chloe before and now bothered her.

“Oh”, she paled. Great. How had that escaped her thoughts when she had been storming away from him because he had been teasing her too much?

“Look Chloe, come over here”, he pulled her over so that they were both lying on their sides and he could run his hand along her arm, “I know that you detest anything you see as charity and I respect that but it is practical, it isn’t going to cost me anything as the guest house is already always fully staffed but never occupied, and it will give you your own space”.

“Lex, it’s just ... I can’t”. It was a tempting offer but what happened when they fell out? What happened when she got used to living there and then had to leave? What happened when he didn’t have time for her and she was stranded out there in the middle of nowhere?

“We could have a contract”, he suggested, “you like contracts”.

“I do but ...”

“And I promise not to burst in on your when you are changing”, he stated, completely deadpan.

“Lex, you know that I don’t think that”.

“I think that maybe you do”, he prodded her, knowing now which buttons to push to get a rise out of her.

“I don’t”, she protested.

“I think that your ego thinks that this is all just part of my master plan to get you into my evil lair and then do unspeakable things to your little virgin body”, he taunted her.

“Please, I do not think that”, she blushed even as she uttered those words.

“Me thinks the lady doth protest to much”, he said, knowing how much she detested that one phrase.

“You think that you can trick me that way?”

“Probably not but it is worth a try”, he smiled at her.

“Fine, but I swear we are getting a contract and I don’t want to hear any grumbling from you”, she poked him in the chest.

“You won’t”. His grin threatened to break his face.

“Whatever”, she had no idea how he always managed to bring her around to his way of thinking, but saw how happy it made him. She was pathetic and couldn t bare to upset him, or let him know that she knew that he was happy about having some company. Poor baby. She was going to talk to Clark about making friends with him again, and by talk she meant threaten him into it.

She turned back over onto her stomach and pressed play as she began to plot ways that she could threaten Clark but got distracted.

“Lex?”

“Chloe?”

“What makes you think that I’m still a virgin?”

“Well, you are, aren’t you?” He didn’t get what the big deal was. He thought that it was nice. She should be a virgin until she found the right guy who would treat her like gold dust.

“No”, she said, sitting up so that she could look now at him as he rolled over.

He frowned. He had thought that she was. She had said that she had had no time for a boyfriend at college and he knew that she hadn’t had a boyfriend in High School.

“Do you think that”, she seemed to be considering how best to phrase her question, “do you think that everyone thinks that I am? I mean, is this something that I am giving off?”

“No”, he shook his head as he sat up, “I just hadn’t heard of any serious relationships. I don’t know, I just thought that you were a virgin”. He felt oddly insulted and possessive that she wasn’t.

“Hmmmm”, she pursed her lips. He did that too. He wasn’t sure if he had got it from her or the other way around.

“I don’t think that Clark would judge you either way”, he took a shot in the dark.

“I wasn’t thinking about Clark, necessarily”, she informed him somewhat coolly, “But men in general are just weird, I mean, if they don’t think that they will get any ...”

“Chloe, you need to get over him”, he came right to the point.

“Sure, right”, she was angry with him for even bringing up the name of her teenaged crush, “I’ll get right on that. Right after you get over Lana”.

“I do not have a crush on Lana Lang”, he protested.

“Sure you don’t”, she rolled her eyes, “don’t tell me that you have never dreamed of having her virginal innocence wrapped around you”.

He chocked on air.

“See, I knew it”, all the men lusted after the paragon that was Lana.

“Where as you I suppose are so experienced”, he pulled the line of enquiry which did not directly involve him and in which he was most interested.

“No”, she agreed, “but I have a great deal of natural talent not to mention stamina”.

Lex choked again.

Chloe patted him on the back, only a little harder than was strictly necessary.

“So who was he?”

“Who?” She wondered as she rubbed his back a little, feeling sorry for him.

“The guy”, he said with exasperation, removing her hand from his back. He wasn’t a baby, he didn’t need his back rubbed. “There was only one guy, right?”

“Oh”, Chloe cottoned on and was more than a little annoyed as his presumption. That was her business but seeing as she didn’t think that Lex would let it drop at that, she decided to tease him, “Who says that it was a guy?”

“Chloe”.

“Oh come on Lex, can’t you imagine me wrapped in the arms of a woman”, she continued to describe the scene, “you never know, Lana and I could have been extremely close as room mates”.

Oh God. He swallowed.

“See, you can imagine it, in fact, you are imagining it”, she pointed to his face.

“Don’t do that to me”, he grabbed her finger.

She giggled.

“Oh, you think that it is funny?”

She nodded as she doubled up with mirth, his stern voice was making it so much worse. She began rolling around on her back, she was laughing so hard. Men were so easy, even billionaires.

“Chloe”, he used the warning tone which normally made her knees go just a little weak - not that it mattered as they were up around her breasts as she was giggling so much. “Right! Fine, I’ll show you funny it is”, he launched a tickle attack on her.

“No, Lex, that’s not fair”,she protested as she tried to retaliate but she was laughing to hard and fingers barely made an impact against the soft fabric of his jumper and hard muscles. Or maybe she wasn’t making any difference at all, he could just be smiling because she was making such a cake of herself.

“On the contrary, I think that it is hilarious”, he got out in between her protests. He finally grabbed both of her wrists and pinned them above her head. He straddled her hips and lowered his face so that it was only a few inches abover hers. He was grinning like a lunatic. “So, what do you have to say for yourself now?”

Did he really think that she would give in that easily? “It was still funny”, she declared with feeling.

“Really?” His hand trailed along her tummy, tickling slightly. A threat of what was to come.

“Okay, okay, it’s not funny!” Honestly, he wasn’t playing fair.

“No, it wasn’t”, he agreed letting her up and settling back onto the carpet. It was odd to be down there, but it was actually quite nice. They had missed most of the last episode so he skipped back to the beginning but barely got a couple of minutes in before he had to know, “So who was it?”

“Drew Carry”.

“No, the guy you were with, not the host of the TV show”, he huffed.

“God Lex, let it go”.

“I thought that friends were supposed to share”, he had no idea why it bothered him so much.

“Fine, you first”, she offered.

“You have to be kidding”.

“No”, she heaved herself up so that she was sitting up cross legged and staring down at him once more, “See, asking about someone’s first time is rude”.

First time? That meant there had only been one time, well that was a relief. He didn't like the idea of someone having taken advantage of her. She had had a hard life, she didn’t need that.

“Fine”.

Chloe nodded thinking that she had won.

“I was a weird looking fourteen year old”, he began his narrative.

Her head snapped around to stare at him, she couldn't believe that he was actually going to share this much. She paused the TV. “What, I’m nosey! You should know that by now!”

He smiled but sat up obligingly. “I was a weird looking fourteen year old who had never so much as held a girl’s hand before, don’t make that awww face”.

“Sorry”, she apologised.

“And one day when I came back home from school my Dad threw a party for something or other and I was hiding in the closet as normal and this gorgeous woman came in. I mean, really stunning like something off the pages of a Victoria’s secret catalogue”, he sounded slightly wistful at the memory. She really had been hot.

“Are you sure that she wasn’t?” She wouldn’t have put it past Lionel to have an entourage of busty models ready to satisfy his every whim.

“No, trust me, at that age I knew them all”.

She rolled her eyes, “Boys”. Apparently they were all the same.

“Oh please, like you weren’t sighing over Angel”. Every girl he had known had suddenly fallen for the bloody vampire.

“Spike actually, but I take your point”.

“Spike?”

“And Riley”.

He scowled.

“Possibly in some sort of combo”, she said, just about keeping a straight face.

“You just like messing with me, don’t you?” He accused her, considering tickling her again, just to get his own back.

“Yep”, she didn’t bother to hide her grin, “now get on with the story”.

He raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t mean details”, she blushed, “just, you know, what happened”.

“She sat down next to me and was very pleasant. She asked me what was wrong, casually placed her hadn on my knee and the started to move it higher”, he repeated the move on Chloe’s leg.

“That was all of the seduction that you took?” It was nice but she would have thought that he would have taken a little more than that.

“I was a bald, perpetually horny lonely teenaged boy cooped up in an all boys school. She could have had me with a lot less. Plus she was hot”, he stated frankly.

“Yeah, you mentioned that before”, Chloe shook her head. “Did you two start going out?”

“No, mid fuck the door opened”, he paused to accommodate her gasp, “and there was one of my Dad’s business rivals, standing there just looking at us”.

“You poor thing”, she stroked his arms, “You must have been so humiliated”.

“I was”, he admitted, staring down at her hand which she quickly withdrew, “I thought that my Dad was going to kill me to boot. After the party I went up to his office to see him, I was so scared I thought that my knees were actually going to start knocking together, and found that she was already sitting in there with him”.

“Was he angry?” Chloe presumed that he must have been if he had called the girl in to see him as well.

“No, he was paying her”, Lex revealed as if, in hindsight, it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Everyone knew that I was a weakling and there were rumours about my sexuality - apparently - so dear old Dad had set it up to make me and him look good”.

“What?!?” Chloe exploded, “How dare he do that to you. That is just so terrible, disgusting”, she looked over at Lex. She wanted to hold him but didn’t think that he would appreciate it, “What did you do?”

“Got embarrassed, ran out of the room thought my life was over and then another girl came on to me the next day - having heard about my reputation - and I thought that I would learn to live with it”, and so playboy had been born.

“Slut!”

Lex stared at her strangely, “She was quite nice actually”.

Chloe didn’t look as if she believed him. Nasty piece of work setting Lex up like that, couldn’t she see that he had been a little lost boy who had needed love and understanding not a quick roll in the hay - or on the floor of a cloak room as the case may be.

“Okay, come on now and stop trying to draw me into an argument about nothing and tell me yours”. When she wasn’t immediately forthcoming, he complained, “Fair is fair. I will tickle it out of you”.

“Fine”, she held her hands up.

“At the end of my freshman year, I got an internship at the Daily Planet”. High school, not college then. He was surprised. “There was a guy there and we slept together”, she shrugged.

“Another intern?”

“No”, she shook her head with a laugh, “he was a junior reporter. He had gradated from MetU the year before and got a job at the Daily Planet right off the bat - although he was in the bullpen for the first ten months or so. The day that I started he got promoted and we had desks near each other, he kept teasing me about my rapid climb to the top, I teased him back, then we flirted then he asked me out. We had a nice time”, she shrugged again, “things just sort of happened”.

Lex frowned, he always distrusted it when Chloe shrugged. It just didn’t seem natural on her, like she was playing the part of the cool girl who was just so over anything and everything when in fact she was hurt. “I thought that girls generally wanted something a big more special. The whole prom night thing”.

“Some girls”, she shrugged.

That was the third time. Lex couldn’t believe her. “You didn’t have any Clark based fantasies? Prom night? Flowers? The whole nine yards?”

“Oh of course, I also had some less wholesome fantasies as well but”, she shrugged. This was getting ridiculous, it was as if she had some sort of twitch, “I don’t know. I didn’t feel good. I had only had one date and the guy had tried to kill me, I don’t even count the night with Clark as a date as he left halfway through. So I wasn’t happy”, she summed up, this time, thankfully, without raising her shoulders to her ears. “I was trying to convince myself that I was so over it, that I didn’t care about anything in Smallville as Metropolis was better. Then this older, handsome, talented, worldly ...”

Lex snorted

“Well, semi-worldly”, she corrected herself, “man started to pay attention to me. I was flattered and I liked him. It was nice, we went out a few times, all very romantic, then we had sex in his apartment. I don’t regret it, it was nice, so was he but ...” She finally allowed her eyes to settle on his face and found him staring at her, genuinely interested.

“I didn’t want the whole Prom Night fantasy, honestly, I didn’t. But, I would have liked a little more than that. More than just a physical thing.” She shrugged, and Lex felt the urge to reach out and pull her shoulders back down until she continued, “Pretty pathetic reason to lose your virginity”. Okay, so now he wanted to reach out and hug her until he squeezed out every bad memory.

“Not pathetic, just not ideal”, he assured her as he reached out and rubbed her back.

“Argh, how did we get on this topic?” She shook her head, “Back to Whose Line!”

“Yeah, after all this girl talk I feel like I should be wearing a towel with curlers in my hair”.

Really interesting fic
I'm confused about why she lied about the boy and can't wait for more lol

can't wait to see what happens next.

A/N: Thanks to the reviewrs as always. I wish I could answer the question but you will find out eventually. :)

Chapter Ten

“Come on Lex, pump those thighs”, Chloe called back over her shoulder at the billionaire who was dawdling behind. “Don’t you know that the stairs do wonders for your butt?”

“My butt is just fine thank-you”, Lex informed her as he reached the top of the Talon’s winding staircase.

“My what do you know, you’re right. Although I think that it could be a little better”, Chloe said, as she walked around him to check.

“You can only imagine how hurt I am, not to make the Chloe Sullivan best ass list”, Lex replied in a sardonic tone.

“Well, it isn’t really a list”, she smiled at him, “just a vague grouping”.

“Pervert”, he tossed at her.

“Please, like you don’t know who the hottest girls in Smallville are”, she rolled her eyes. Everyone had some sort of list.

“Women Chloe, please”, he tisked.

“Fine, women”, she deigned to say.

“Have you noticed that even though you are the one who is moving, I’m the one carrying all of the boxes?” He wondered as he rested the box on the banister as she started hunting around in her bag for the keys.

“Yes, I had actually. I came to my attention when you took them off me”, she remained him.

“I was raised to be a gentleman”, he shrugged.

She look up from her rifling to raise an eyebrow at him.

“Hey, my nanny was nice”, he looked mildly offended, which was how she knew that he wasn’t really. When he was actually hurt the shutters came down over his eyes.

“Yeah, right sorry”, she always forgot that there were other people in his life, other than his absentee father, or at least, that there had been once.

“Don’t worry about it”, he gave her a wink. “Although why you wouldn't let me hire movers I will never know”.

“That’s just not the way I do things!” She went back to hunting around in her bag. If she didn’t find them soon she was going to have to upend her bag and go through the contents on the floor.

“Masochist?” He teased.

She was just paying enough attention to hmm thoughtfully as she decided that there had been some sort of warp hole in the bottom of her bag.

“Chloe”, he protested.

“No, of course not”, she rolled her eyes, “God, make everything sexual why don’t you? Ah ha!” Finally she had discovered her key chain.

“Have you ever considered cleaning that thing out?” He asked as he lifted the box once more and Chloe straightened up to open the door for him.

“Sure, every damned day”.

“Ever done it?”

“Um ... yeah, about six months ago”, she said, thinking back, “horrifying experience”.

“The woman who I have seen take on ruffians with no thought to her own safety describes the contents of her handbag as being horrifying?” He raised an eyebrow at her as he entered the Talon apartment.

“Oh”, she followed him in, closing the door behind them, “You have no idea how bad it was. It made that mess of your documents look like a walk in the park”.

“Not too bad is it? He suddenly snapped out of the playful teasing tone he had been using only moments before.

“No”, he walked over and placed her hand on his bicep, making sure that he was looking straight at her as she grinned at him. “I love it. It’s not too hard, just right. You know that I adore sleuthing”.

“Incorrigible”, he mocked her.Relieved to hear that she wasn’t being worked too hard. He had feared that she might over exert herself so desperate was she to make a good impression now that she finally had a way to claw herself out of her hole.

“You know it. You love it. Now stop proving how strong and manly you are and put the box down”, she gestured to the nearest available surface which just happened to be the kitchen counter top.

“Strong and manly? I didn’t know that you had noticed”, he teased, which earned him another roll of the eyes.

“You know, if you’re not careful then your face will stick that way”.

She stuck her tongue out at him, before opening the box and began to unpack it.

“Don’t”, he warned.

“Don’t what?” Chloe shot him an innocent look, while trying not to giggle as her fingers came into contact with something distinctly pink.

“I didn’t know that they weren’t yours”, he defended himself.

“I know that you didn’t and I wouldn’t say anything. It was very nice of you to come and help me pack and everything”, she patted him.

“Luthors are never sweet”, he would ignore the pat.

“Fine, cute”, she relented with a grin.

“That is no better”, he groused.

“Adorable?” Her grin widened.

“Fine, I’ll be sweet”. It was the best of a bad bunch and he feared what she might come up with next.

She squeezed his cheek gently in the ‘aren’t you cute way’ old women did to babies.

He swatted her bottom

“Hey, I need that for sitting on”, she protested.

“Then behave yourself”, he advised.

“You really think that this could have been mine?” She held up something that was both pink and extremely fluffy.

“After the fifth hour of packing up your crap I wasn’t thinking clearly. How did you acquire so much?”

“Clutter is like trebles”, she shrugged.

He nodded and smiled, they had already established that she was a Trekie. He liked that.

“I really do appreciate it”, she was probably repeating herself she knew but there were enough people in Lex’s life leeching from him, he didn’t need another one.

“You aren’t going to get all sentimental and mushy on me, are you?” He demanded, trying to cover his own ‘mushy’ reaction.

“Of course not, that would destroy our budding friendship. Now buck up sailor”, she punched him on the arm.

“Much better”.

They unpacked the box quickly, trying to remember where everything had gone. It was fortunate that Chloe had been involved in every stage of the unpacking process and had noticed that those things didn’t belong to her before Lana started asking questions.

“Looks like we got everything”, Chloe smiled over at her helper after taking one last look around the apartment.

“Thank God for that, only five trips”, he folded the box and tucked it under his arm. Next time they were definitely hiring movers.

“Yup”, she nodded happily, placing her copy of the apartment’s key on the kitchen counter top. “I am officially moved out, now we just have a couple of more hours of reordering to do”.

“Seriously, you came with three suitcases, I know that you haven’t brought anything ... How did it happen?” Lex shook his head as they headed for the door.

“Other than the Clark furniture? I don’t know, must be the meteor rocks”.

“That’s your excuse for everything”, he grumbled. He was a scientist at heart - a mad one as Chloe liked to tease him - he wanted to know exactly how it had happened, not just that it had happened.

She rolled her eyes, “You spent rather a lot of money on my meteor rock theory”.

“I have squandered more than that on a weekend in Hong Kong”, he shrugged it off.

“Good weekend?”

“Not bad”, nothing he had done back then seemed that great now. He had been very bored. And very lonely.

“Besides, it was an extremely good investment”, he defended.

They headed to the door, Chloe about to open it when he stopped her.

“What’s wrong?” She wondered.

“I haven’t forced you into this, have I?”

“What?”

“Moving, if you don’t want to leave Lana ...”

“Lex”, she placed her hand on his shoulder, “one: you are not getting rid of me that easily. Two: you are not scary enough to intimidate me”.

Lex’s face took on that stony expression it always did where emotions were involved but she saw the smile in his eyes. He couldn’t hide from her.

The smile was still there five hours later even though they were both lying on Chloe’s new living room’s floor complaining that they were going to die and that next time she wasn’t going to object to him getting her movers. He wasn’t sure if the smile was ever going to disappear.

~*~

“I don’t know Chloe”

“Did I stutter?”

Clark blinked down at his small blonde friend. They were standing in the middle of the Kent farmhouse’s living room, Martha was in the kitchen pretending that she wasn’t listening in and that she wasn’t trying not to laugh into the pie that she was preparing.

“No, Chloe, you didn’t stutter”, he had super hearing, it wouldn't have mattered if she had.

“Then what’s the problem?”

“I don’t know Chloe”, he ran a hand through his hair, “I’m just not sure if I can give my support to you moving in with Lex”

“First of all”, she held up on finger in front of his face, just in case he hadn’t got the idea, “I didn’t ask for your consent, I asked if you were coming to my party. And second of all”, she lifted another finger, “I am not ‘moving it with Lex’ that makes it sound like we are f-” the sound of a knife going through a particularly crisp apple reminded Chloe of Mrs Kent’s presence, “far more close than we actually are. I am living in the guest house”.

“I don’t see the difference”, Clark grumbled.

“In that case we need to have a talk about you marrying Lois”.

“What?”

“Well, she did live under the same roof didn’t she?”

“Yes, but ...” It hadn’t been like that. Chloe couldn’t seriously think that something like that had ever crossed his mind where Lois was concerned. Well, there was that one time when he had seen her wearing his shirt and that other time with towel where the barn had mysteriously caught on fire but those didn’t mean anything. It was just a natural biological reaction.

“And you too did spend a lot of time together”, Chloe continued, enjoying herself.

“We lived in the same house”, he protested, “in was unavoidable”.

“Me thinks that Smallville doth protest too much”, she was almost giggling with delight. It felt like ages since she had been able to wind someone up like this, Lex gave just as good as he got so she never truly got the upper hand. This was easy.

Clark stared in exasperation from his friend to the kitchen - where his mother was laughing - and back to the diminutive blonde. “Chlo, I’m just trying to look out for you”

“I realise that, but I am an adult Clark. I can decide who I do and do not want in my life and ...”

“But it’s Lex”, he protested.

“Yes, it’s Lex. So what?” She was beginning to get really irritated with her friend. She had known that he wouldn’t take this well, but he hadn’t thought that he would be this bad. She was really quite disappointed with Clark and it always hurt her far more deeply than it should when he let her down.

“So what? So what?” He repeated.

“Yes, so what?” She placed her hands on her hips, determined to have this out once and for all, “What according to you has he actually done?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean what I asked. What according to you has he actually done?”

Clark continued to stare blankly at her.

“Okay, I’ll start for you”, she said with a sigh. Had she known that this conversation was going to go on for so long, she would have accepted the glass of water Mrs Kent had offered her when she had first come in. She wondered if it was too late to have it now. “One: he is a Luthor. Hardly his fault. Two: his Dad is evil. Again, hardly something he can be blamed for”, she shot Clark a meaningful look as she was well aware that that was what his father had always done. “Three: he drove too fast over that bridge. Okay, I can’t defend that and I have spoken to him about driving more carefully”.

That conversation had basically consisted of her threatening him with bodily harm if he ever did it again after he had narrowly avoided having an accident the week before. She wasn’t putting in all of this time and effort into making him the perfect friend just to have him kill himself or worse, she knew, injuring someone else and having to live with the guilt.

“He investigated it and then lied about it”, Clark put in, glad to have thought of something she couldn’t defend without having to go into the nitty gritty of what had happened with him and Lana.

“Oh wooped doo”.

“He could have blown my cover”.

“He didn’t know that you had a cover”, she forbore to add ‘you idiot’ for Mrs Kent’s sake, not her son’s. “Do you blame me for the times that you saved me when it could have blown your cover in High School?”

“Of course not, you didn’t mean any harm”.

“Then why can’t you extend the same logic to Lex?”

“Chloe”, he sighed, “it’s just different. You wouldn’t understand”.

“Really? It’s different? No shit Sherlock. Sorry Mrs Kent”.

“That’s okay dear”.

“Thank-you”.

Clark rolled his eyes at the exchange.

“Every situation is going to be different Clark, that doesn’t mean that the same sort of thought processes don’t apply. As for not understanding, in case it escaped your attention I have a higher IQ than you did, I got better test results, I was the head of the newspaper when you were just a journalist, and I went to a f- fiddling Ivy League University. Try me!” She challenged.

He reached out and placed his hands on her shoulders, trying to sooth her. At any other time it might have worked but she was too riled up. He stroked his hands down her arms, “I’m sorry Chloe, you know that I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant, you don’t know what it is like to fear for your life, your family, your friends constantly. What he did, even if unintentionally, could have hurt a lot of people and after I asked him, in the name of our friendship, to stop and he promised to do so ... He continued”.

Chloe nodded. He shouldn’t have lied like that, but she still couldn’t help but feel sad for Lex. She knew that he had been so unhappy for most of his life and it was only natural that certain things would start to obsess him when he went home to the castle with no one to talk to for hours on end. She wanted to hug him. In fact, she would later although he would probably think it a bit strange when she just walked up to him and embraced him for no reason - as far as he knew at least. Still, he was getting used to her doing strange things to him.

“He experimented with meteor rocks”, Clark continued, thinking that he was about to win this argument. A first with Chloe.

“Yeah, he did that too”, she admitted, “but you weren’t honest about it. He didn’t know that they could hurt you”.

“So, it was my fault?”

“Partially, yes”. Clark opened his mouth to complain but she cut him off. “I’m not saying that he hasn’t made mistakes. Of course he has, we all have. But he saved your family home, he has saved us all so many times, he has done so much for your friendship and basically got bugger all for it”. There she had said it, “He had always been there for you”.

“You don’t get it”, he tried again.

“And”, she ignored that comment, “All of this happened ages ago and you forgave him. So, what is the real problem?”

Clark sighed and shook his head, “I just don’t trust him”.

“Why not?” She exploded, she had had enough of this. “I don’t want to hear ‘I don’t know’”, she did a not entirely complimentary impression of him. “It’s because of Lana, isn’t it? Something happened there?”

In true Clark Kent style he said nothing but looked uncomfortable.

“You know what Clark that’s just fine. I am having a house warming party starting at 1 o’clock. You may come if you want to but only if you man up and come with the right attitude. Otherwise”, she sighed, “I guess that I will just see you around”.

“What, you’re kidding right? You would really chose him over me?”

“I’m not choosing anyone over anyone else but I’m not going to turn my back on one friend just to satisfy a different one”, she shook her head sadly, “Goodbye Clark”.

She walked out of the room, waving a hand at Mrs Kent as she went. She strode over to the car that she had borrowed, allowing the chauffeur to have the day off. Her car would be arriving the following week so soon she would not have to rely on Lex for that. She had saved up a bit and Lex’s mechanic had been looking around for good quality second hand cars for her. She was going to have a little red Volvo, she was looking forwards to that level of independence.

She was just about to get into the Lexus - the least expensive of Lex’s cars, she sometimes wondered if he had just got it because of the name -, when she heard her name being called. She turned around to see Clark walking out of the house.“Do you need a hand setting up?”

She grinned. “Not really, but I’ll accept anyway”.

He nodded with a smile and walked over to his car to follow her back to her new home.

~*~

“Nice place”, Clark commented as they entered the guest house, it was one of the few parts of the Luthor property he hadn’t explored before.

“Yeah, but you know less ‘off with their heads’ than the castle”, she hadn’t admitted to anyone that she had never really felt at home in the castle.

Clark just smiled.

“So, are you really uncomfortable?” She asked, coming right to the point.

“I’ll get over it”, he shrugged, “you’re right, it isn’t as if he has killed anyone and well, you chose to trust me even when you knew that I was lying to you, I can take a leap of faith based on your word”.

“Good”, she beamed and ran back a couple of steps to hug him. It felt like a hug moment.

He wrapped his arms around her and she sank into him. She didn’t know how he managed it - maybe it was the whole alien thing - but the second that she was in his arms she instantly felt safe and warm and protected. It was like an invisible cocoon of loveliness had been constructed around her. Even after all this time, he was always there when she truly needed him. For several minutes they just stood there in the hallway of the house, the front door still open, embracing each other. It felt wonderful.

She could have stayed like that forever, had there not been a meaning full cough at that precise moment. Hazily Chloe lifted her head from Clark’s warm strong chest and looked over to see Lex Luthor standing in the still open doorway.“I hope that I’m not interrupting anything”.

Chloe blushed as she pulled away, finding it hard to make eye contact with the brooding billionaire in her doorway.

“I was just congratulating Chloe on her new accommodation”, Clark said, not exactly coolly but not with any great deal of warmth.

“So I see”, Lex observed, as he continued to stand there.

“Oh, sorry”, Chloe muttered, not entirely sure why she was apologising when she hadn’t actually being doing anything wrong, she just felt awkward hugging Clark like that in front of Lex. Finally looked up, knowing that her cheeks were probably deepening in shade with every passing second, to see him still politely waiting in the entrance. “Come in Lex”.

With no change in facial expression he entered the house and pointed at the door, “Should I?”

“Please”, she said and gave a smile of thanks as he closed it after himself.

Clark looked between the two of them in confusion. Lex had to ask before he entered his own guest house?

All three of them stood there, awkwardly, looking from one to the other. Never one for uncomfortable silences Chloe announced, “This is really awkward, isn’t it?”

“I have no reason to feel out of place”, Lex said, looking straight at Clark.

“Neither do I”, Clark replied.

Lex raised an eyebrow at that.

“Chloe invited me to her party, I’m here to help setting up”, there that should put Lex in his place, he wasn’t going to dictate to Chloe.

“I’m here for the same reason”.

“Would you two like to be left alone to work this out?” Chloe inquired.

Both men looked suitably abashed.

“Good, if you do feel the need to have a tinkling contest at least do it outside”, she said with a clap of the hands.

Lex smirked at that, “But not near the roses I presume”

“I should think not”, she continued but then realising that they were leaving Clark out, she added, “there is this really beautiful rose garden outside”.

“I’d gathered as much”, he said stiffly.

“Fine”, she answered, obviously a little miffed, “I was just trying to include you”.

“I appreciate that”, he reached out to caress her arm in apology and Chloe felt her irritation beginning to melt away until she realised that now she was leaving Lex out. Having two male friends was hard work.

“Want to see who can blow up the most balloons?” Clark stared at her in confusion while Lex smirked and inquired, “You thought that we could do less damage with balloons?”

“I’m not letting either of you near the piñata”. At least not until they had calmed down a bit. They would smash the poor little thing to smithereens.

“You have a piñata?” Clark asked.

“Yeah, it is a party after all”.

~*~

“I don’t know why you are the one in a bad mood”.

“No, I’m sure that you don’t. Although I never said that I was in a bad mood”, Lex replied as he continued to affix the multicoloured balloons around the room. It was the first time that Chloe had left them alone so far - she had received a phone call she couldn’t ignore and had warned them both to get along or else.

“You are the one who came to my house and essentially threatened me”, Clark shot back.

“Believe me Clark, when I want to threaten you, you will know about it”, Lex tied another bunch of balloons together.

Clark swallowed. What would he do? “I don’t want to see Chloe get hurt”.

Lex turned and placed the decorations on the floor. “I could say the same thing”.

Clark scowled, “I would never hurt her”.

“Correct me if I am wrong”, he said purely for rhetorical purposes; he was never wrong, “but she has never ended up in tears over me. I never invited her to a dance and then left her humiliated in front of everyone running out of said dance without so much as telling her why or that I was going. I didn’t go to her only when I needed something and then ignore her. I didn’t betray her with her room mate of all things. I have never treated her with anything but respect”.

Clark’s jaw clenched. None of that was true, there had been circumstances that Lex didn’t understand. Chloe knew what had happened. She had never cried. He had never treated her like that. He knew that Lex was wrong and yet head himself asking, “How did you know?” He had to be making this up. But, there was just enough information there to make him believe that Lex did know something. “Chloe talked to you? About the dance?” He couldn't believe that, and yet, what other explanation was there?

“Of course not, she is far too proud for that but she didn’t have to”.

Clark looked confused, it was fast becoming his habitual expression.

“Everyone knew. The whole of Smallville”.

“No, no one cares about freshman”, Clark protested. That couldn’t be true.

“Believe me, a girl going around looking for her date gets out and I promise you that it was absolutely the main thing on Gabe’s mind for weeks afterwards. Months in fact”, Lex informed him blandly. He remembered one particular day when he had been trying to convince him that shoving Clark head first down the manure compactor wasn’t the best idea he had ever had. It would have put the plant back weeks.

Clark blinked.

“The day after the hurricane Gabe came in a nervous wreck, it wasn’t bad enough that he had been afraid for his daughter all night long and unable to get to her when she came home she was in floods of tears for no apparent reason. When he came into work he heard people talking about that girl who had been stood up. You know Clark, when most people take a girl out the stay for the entire date and take her home as well”, he informed him.

Clark swallowed, there had been a reason. “Your track record isn’t exactly stellar”.

“Touché, but I’m not dating Chloe. She doesn’t like me that way. I don’t have the power to hurt her and even if I did, I wouldn’t. I appreciate her. You should either do the same or fuck off”, there, that was far more touchy feely than he ever cared to be but it was worth it if it prevented Chloe from further heartbreak.

“I’m not going anywhere and I’m not going to hurt her”, Clark puffed out his chest.

“Then we understand each other”, Lex fixed him with a steely gaze, unimpressed by the young man’s few extra inches.

“Boys if you have left a puddle on my carpet you are both in trouble”, Chloe warned as she walked in the room.

Clark smiled over at her and walked up to give her another hug, it seemed odd seeing at there was no reason for it but she wasn’t going to complain. “We were just talking about you”, he knew that she wouldn’t believe him if he told her that they had been discussing the football scores or something like that.

“And?” She wondered, not sure if she should be flattered or annoyed.

“And as long as he doesn’t hurt you I won’t have to break his legs”, Clark smiled cheerfully.

“And as long as he doesn’t hurt you I won’t have to destroy his entire family”, Lex said, in a perfect imitation of Clark. They both stared at him. “What? He threatened me first”. He knew that he probably sounded like a two year old but it really wasn’t fair the way that people always turned on him.

“Yes, but Clark is a big softie. You know he could never do it”, Chloe explained.

“Making threats you aren’t prepared to carry out it just stupid”, Lex shrugged and scowled.

“I know”, she released herself from Clark’s arms. “So”, she looked around, “we just need to put a few more balloons up and we will be done”.

“You aren’t serving food?” Clark wondered.

“Of course, but I brought sandwiches etc from the market this morning”, Chloe explained, “they are all ready-made in the fridge in the kitchen”.

“Right, so what are we going to do until then?” It was almost two hours until the rest of the guests were due to arrive.

“Get in the party mood by playing a game?” Chloe asked hopefully. She had always loved games.

“For Pete’s sake not truth or dare”, Lex groaned.

“I second that”, Clark said quickly. Well, that was a start. At least they were getting along a little bit.

“Spoil sports”, she groused, “but I was thinking of the old school kind. We found loads in the cupboard yesterday, didn’t we Lex?”

“We did”, he confirmed.

Chloe went over to the games cupboard. “Okay, let’s see what we have. Boggle?” She looked over at them. No they were far too competitive for that. “Twister brings back bad memories”, she discounted that one, not realising that she had spoken out-loud.

“What happened?”

“My Dad came home just as Pete, Clark and I were halfway through a game”, Chloe explained as Clark blushed. “Apparently my Dad has a dirty mind and the phrase, ‘A little more to the left Pete’, then him saying, ‘see this isn’t so hard, is it?’ etc didn’t go down well”.

“But surely he had seen that you were only playing a game”, Lex thought aloud.

“Of course, but Pete never felt welcome again”, she found it funny now, but hadn’t at the time.

Lex smiled.

Clark felt bad for his old friend. Gabe had looked about ready to murder the teenaged boy.

“Okay, Twister is out. We wouldn’t like to bring back bad memories for Chloe”, Lex snickered.

“Snakes and Ladders?” Was the next box in the stack but Lex declined that on the basis that it required “no ability”. “I suppose that you would prefer Monopoly then?”

“No, again, no ability”, Lex complained.

“Unless you cheat”, Clark put in, shooting Chloe a conspiratorial look. She was the master of that game as he had found out to his cost.

Chloe cast her eyes over the rest of the games, aware again that they were excluding Lex, “What did you play as a boy?”

Play? Play? Play? He hadn’t really played much, “I had Meccano and Lego”, his eyes lit up. He loved building stuff, “Historical castles and science kits”, he had pretended to be a mad scientist.

“Boring”, Chloe complained. “Can you come up with anything Clark?”

He shrugged, “I was mostly playing outside or doing chores”.

She huffed.

“What were you doing other than causing problems and getting into scrapes reporting?” Lex challenged.

“Lots”, she shrugged, “I played loads of games with Dad”.

“Yes, we have all heard of the destroyed frustration set”, he teased.

“It was just so”, she gesticulated, “frustrating”.

“Based on the name, I am guessing that that was the point”, he suggested gently.

“Meh. That was a one time occurrence”. Who hadn’t destroyed a frustration set at one point during their childhood? Clark had destroyed an entire barn, although that had been accidental. He had only been trying to close the door.

“Of course it was a one time event. Who in their right minds would let you near a frustration game again after that? It wasn’t the only time you broke a game though”, he pointed out.

“What do you know Luthor?” She demanded, hands on hips.

“Among other things that you trying to give equal amounts to the hungry hippos and then started feeding them grapes thereby breaking the game because you were afraid that they might still be hungry”. He had found that rather sweet.

“Well, hunger is a serious problem”, she defended herself.

“True, but I also heard about you hustling people at connect four”, Lex grinned at her.

“They were being condescending, thinking that they could beat me at that game”, she rolled her eyes, she ruled that game and as it happened they did have a set but that wouldn’t work with three people.

“Then they certainly deserved it. What about the people your Dad worked with who you hustled at cards?” Lex continued to tease her.

“They deserved it too”, honestly couldn't anything that happened at the company picnic stay a secret? What was happening to the world?

“I’m sure that they did”, Lex said in a conciliating tone. He was just playing with her.

“Yes!” She exclaimed, no longer paying any attention to either of the men in the room.

“What is it?” Lex reached her elbow to see what it was that she had discovered.

“My favourite, this is what we are playing”. She didn’t care what anyone else wanted, she had decided.

“What is it?” He wondered.

“Cluedo!”

The boys traded looks, “I guess that we should have seen that one coming”.

~*~

“It says from ages 8 and up!”

“You are over 8 Lex”, Chloe informed him, “I know that baby head is confusing but honestly you are”.

“Baby head?”

“Yeah, you know, the whole no hair thing. Makes you look like a baby in the right light”, she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world as she made her way into the centre of the room and started to set the game up.

Before Lex could protest this Chloe started pulling things out of the box, “And our victim Dr Boddy”.

“Isn’t it supposed to be Dr Black?” Lex wondered, he had heard of the game rather than played it but his freakishly good memory seemed to recall Black.

“Oh this must be the English version”, Chloe shrugged it off, “fancy”.

“Only the best here”, he sat down beside her and started taking things out of the box. Clark did the same.

“Yep, since I’ve been here”.

“That’s what I like about you Sullivan, your modesty”, he nudged her to let her know that he was only joking.

“I am modest, I’m just that awesome”,

“That’s what I said, do these things work?” He reached out and gently tugged her ear.

“What?”

“I said ...” He cut himself off.

“I can’t believe that you fell for that”, Chloe teased him.

“Almost fell for that”, he corrected her, “And me neither”.

“We’ve all been there”, Clark assured him. “So, are you going to explain the rules Chloe?”

She started to read from the box.

“No, I meant the actual rules”.

Lex raised an eyebrow at him.

“Clearly you have never played this with her before”.

“No, I haven’t had that honour”.

“Right, well make sure that when you get given the paper you use it, you take proper notes which are in order, written clearly etc”, he started.

“Doesn’t that give me us an advantage of winning the game?” Lex couldn’t understand why she would insist on other people giving themselves an advantage, surely she would benefit if they were being stupid.

“Yes, but Chloe won’t put up with a messy list”, Clark shot his former sidekick a warm smile.

“Are you even supposed to be looking at other people’s lists Chloe?” Lex inquired, noticing that she wasn’t denying it.

“How could I not, you didn’t see their lists they were terrible”, she complained. They had been utterly dreadful.

“Also watch out for the mind games”, Clark warned him.

Chloe schooled her features into a suitable innocent expression. Unfortunately both men knew her far too well to fall for it.

“Ah, I see what you mean about the mind games”, Lex smirked, “I’m not believing that face”.

“Me neither”, Clark joined in, “did ever hear of the story of the seaweed and cotton candy?”

“No”, Lex stared at him in fascination as Clark digressed into the tale.

“That is hilarious”, Lex guffawed.

“Oh, what about the time that she blackmailed the mayor?” Clark was on a roll now.

“What!” Lex wasn’t surprised that it had happened, just that he hadn’t heard about it until now. That sounded like a great Chloe adventure.

“Are we going to play the game or are you two going to gang up on me and tell embarrassing stories?” Chloe demanded.

They looked at each other. They weren’t best friends. They never would be. Too much had happened but at least they both trusted that the other wouldn’t intentionally hurt Chloe and that was a start.

“What do you think Clark?” Lex inquired in a friendly manner.

“Well, I do have an awful lot of stories about Chloe. Did you hear the one where she got possessed by a witch?”

“Vaguely”, Lex had sort of been friends with Clark at the time and had been privy to some of the details.

“Know about the birthmark?”

“What birthmark?” His ears pricked up, he hadn’t noticed any birthmarks.

“Right, that’s it you’re going down Kent” She pounced on him, wresting him to the ground, which he let her do. He could have lifted her with one pinkie with energy to spare.

Lex laughed but did lean over to pull her off - just in case it had an effect on Clark, it would have had one on him. He was just standing over her when the door opened.

“Fun, where do I sign up?”


A/N: So, what do you think?

lol
really great
I'm loving their friendship

Looking forward to what happens next.

A/N: Love you both. Here is more Chlex friendship!

Chapter Eleven

“Lois”, Chloe squealed as Lex lifted her up to see her cousin standing there.

“Hey baby”, Lois ran over and hugged her younger cousin, “It has been ages since I last saw you”.

“I know, it must have been last Christmas”, Chloe thought back. Wow, she really sucked lately. She had lost contact with everyone.

“You didn’t even tell me that you were coming back!” Lois complained.

“I know, I know, I didn’t tell anyone”. As loud as Lois was she knew that her cousin would be genuinely hurt if she thought that Chloe had confided in people other than her.

“Why the hell not? Something’s wrong isn’t it? I just got back off assignment and got an email from you asking if I wanted to come to your house warming and then you gave me this address, I thought that it was a joke!”

“It’s no joke”, Lex assured her coming up behind Chloe. He felt protective, he didn’t know why. He didn’t know much about Lois but he knew that she had had more success than she probably deserved while Chloe had struggled terribly. The disparity between their situations and just how close Chloe had come to complete and utter ruin were probably not things that she wanted brought up right then.

“So, what did you find out on him that you can blackmail him?” Lois asked conversationally.

Chloe laughed, “Nothing. Well, nothing that I have used yet”. Lex made a face but knew that she was only joking. “Lex offered me a job and it makes more sense for me to live here”, she shrugged the entire matter off.

“Oh, that’s so sweet”, Lois patted the shorter girl on the shoulder, “And later, you’re telling me the truth”.

“Always the reporter”.

“You have only yourself to blame”.

“So, what are we playing?” Lois demanded as she walked over to the board game, she was early and she didn’t care.

“Cluedo”.

She stared at the two men. “You got yourself into a game of Clue with the Chloster?”

“I thought that she was the Chloinator”, Clark looked confused.

“That’s when she’s in a bad mood, not a competitive one”, Lois said.

Lex laughed, Chloinator was a great name for her on a rampage. He might have to use that at some point.

“Don’t even think about it”, she warned him. She knew him far too well.

“Can you even play with three players?” Clark wondered, looking at the rules on the back of the box.

“Please, rules are for losers”.

“Whimps!”

“Wusses!”

The Sullivan girls chorused.

“In short, you Smallville”, Lois patted Clark on the shoulder.

Clark and Lex traded significant looks. They would have to team up if they were going to have any chance - they still had an hour until the party. They set out the pieces and got the note books and pens, the girls obviously having teamed up.

“I suspect Colonel Mustard”, Chloe announced.

“Nah, Mrs Peacock”, Lois decided.

“Aren’t we supposed to play the game first?” Lex wondered.

“Please, that way is for amateurs!”

Lex shook his head and sat back to enjoy the game. He had a feeling that he would never learn anything about the real rules but it might well be the funniest thing he had seen since Whose Line. Some time later, suitably amused, he announced, “I suggest Miss Scarlett!”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I can’t believe that you just did that”, Clark shook his head.

“What?” Lex couldn’t understand why he was being looked at as if he had kicked a puppy.

“You suggested Miss Scarlett”, Clark couldn’t believe it.

“Miss Scarlett is our girl”, Lois said.

“Spent a lot of time in the hoods of Metropolis?”

“Oh yeah, I’m down”, she created a fake gang sign.

“The evidence would seem to suggest that it was Miss Scarlett”, he looked down at his notes. They were clear and organised but, he reminded himself, he would have done that even if Chloe hadn’t made a rule about note-taking etiquette.

“Come on Lex, she’s: a femme fatale, 20-30s, blonde, smart, cunning, and brilliant. Of course we love her!”

“Yeah, only thing that would make her better would be being a brunette”, Lois added.

“No, blonde!”

“Let’s take a vote shall we”, Lois looked smug.

“That’s not fair, you know that the boys ...

“The boys?” Lex raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, you’re not girls”, Chloe said as if it were obviously before continuing with her original idea, “are both brunette fanciers”.

They both looked offended although she had no idea why. It was true.

“Oh please, you”, she pointed at Clark, “Lana Lang lust much?”

He blushed and could hardly refute the accusation such as it was.

“And you”, she turned her attention to Lex, “well, let’s not get started on your romantic history”.

Clark suddenly stopped looking like a pinkening haddock and his gaze (along with Lois’) snapped to Lex’s face. They were both suddenly afraid that Chloe might be able to find herself without a roof over her head.

Lex’s face held an odd expression for a few seconds, as if he were trying to make up his mind how he should respond to such an accusation but then he leant back against the sofa and said, “There must have been a blonde in there somewhere, a couple of red heads defiantly”.

Chloe shook her head and he couldn’t help but wonder how she knew that. True, she had done that research on him to Clark solve the mystery of his lover when she had still been in High School but that had been years ago. He was willing to bet that she hadn’t given him a second thought until a few weeks ago. So, how did she know?

“Sometimes cuffs and collar don’t match”, he shrugged.

“Chloe knows all about that”, Lois nudged her, relieved to see that Lex see wasn’t overreacting.

“There is no evidence of that”, Chloe shot back before she could think better of it.

Lex’s eyebrow raised. Not a bad image.

Chloe blushed, she hadn’t meant toa dmit that. She had never been so glad to see Lana and a couple of her other friends coming in

“Hi”, she bounced up to great them before asking, “wait, how are you getting in? Lois?”

“Rang the door bell”.

“I didn’t hear it”, she looked at Lex for clarification.

“It doesn’t make a sound, it sends a message to the beepers of members of staff”, he explained.

“Oh”, she would have to change that, she didn’t want people opening the door for her. That seemed like an absurd amount of laziness.

“We can change it if you want”, he said with a smile.

“That’s good”, she returned the smile, “so everyone thanks for coming to help me celebrate my new job and accommodation. Let me introduce everyone. Everyone this is: my cousin Lois, Clark, Lex, Lana, Kelly and Sophie”. He last two random girls from High School she had somehow stayed in touch with. They were nice. Although all of the new comers seemed nervous around Lex. She was a bit pissed about that. He was doing his best to be kind and suave and charming and they were being all dear in a headlights-y. They could at least try a bit harder. Thankfully Clark and Lois were helping but she had expected more from Lana.

Lex had obviously picked up on it too - when they went to get the food from the kitchen - he suggested that it might time for him to get going but she wasn’t going to allow that. “Okay Lex, if we are going to be friends you are going to have to get one thing through your head”.

“And what might that be?”

“That you have to stop being such a fraidy cat wimp!”

“Did you just call me a fraidy cat wimp?” He couldn’t believe that.

“Yup. Just because things get a little tough you don’t get to just bail on me”, she informed him as she removed the cellophane from over the sandwiches.

He shook his head at her, “Manipulation. Nice”.

“It’s how I roll”, she smiled, causing him to snicker. Only he would get that reference.

“So, come on”, she said, picking one of the huge platters of sandwiches back up.

“I still can’t believe that you got sandwiches for a party”, he shook his head,

“What else do you eat at parties?”

“How many parties have you been to?”

“As a kid? Loads. In High School? Two. University: One”, she trailed off. “I went to quite a few clubs though”.

“Well, that explains it. Let me educate you from my vast experience of parties”

“You were more of a loser in High School than I was”, she snorted.

“Loser?”

“What? Not the PC term?”

“No”.

“What about outcast?”

“Better, but”, he moved so that he was only a few inches away from her, staring down into her lively green eyes, “I prefer discerning”.

“Fine”, she rolled her eyes dramatically, “discerning”.

“Much better”, he took the platter from her, “Now Miss Sullivan, if our friendship is going to survive you are going to have to learn one thing”.

“What might that be Mr Luthor?” She raised her an eyebrow in what she clearly felt was a very Lex-ish expression. He placed the platter on the side so that both of his hands were free and stepped into her personal space. Chloe looked up and him in interest.

He smirked and leaned in even closer, so that his hot break caressed her ear as he whispered, “I’m not a man to be trifled with”.

Chloe felt a tremor go across her skin and controlled the urge to shiver, “Why, afraid of making a custard of yourself?”

Lex pulled back as he laughed and shook his head, “Okay, enough British comedies for you”, he teased before attacking her tummy viciously.

“Lex no”, she pleaded, trying to get him back or at least get away but he was too strong. His strong arms were wrapped around her waist tickling mercilessly.

“Lex yes”, he retorted. Not his most intelligent reply ever but he was rather distracted as she squirmed in his arms giggling for all she was worth, he changed his hold pulling her back against his body so that the soft curve of her ass was pressing against him and he could use one arm to control her upper limbs.

“Lex this isn’t fair”, she complained, laughing so hard that tears were running down her flushed cheeks.

“Oh, but I think that it is”. She was surrounded by him, his hard lean body pressing into her back, his arm around her, his tortuous hand trailing over her stomach, his mouth pressing against her ear. His scent and breath wrapped around her as he growled, “This is completely fair”.

“You have to at least give me the chance to defend myself”, she complained.

“Why?”

“Because ... Because you do!”

“Not a particularly convincing argument Miss Sullivan”.

“Well, my brain doesn’t work too well when you are”, she broke off with a squeal.

“When I am doing what?” He teased, allowing his fingers to trail just inside of the waist band of her jeans where she was particularly sensitive.

“Lex”, she shrieked, her legs giving out underneath her.

Lex’s arm tightened even more around her and hoisted her up, jostling her against him until he could place her on the side, narrowly missing the sandwiches.

“You big meanie”, she pushed him.

“Are you all right?” He grasped her wrists to halt her retaliation.

She smiled and nodded, he was relieved but he scowled. “I did warn you”.

“Yes you did”, their heads moved closer together.

“Hey are you guys all right, we thought that we heard ... Oh”.

They turned to see Lana walking into the kitchen, followed by Lois. “Oh, we’re sorry to interrupt. We’ll just get these out of the way”, she hurried forwards to grab a tray of sandwiches. “Come on Lana, help out”.

This spurred Lana into action, although she kept her eyes averted from the couple the whole time, her cheek beet red.

“Seriously Chlo”, Lois called over her shoulder as she was about to exit the room, “kudos on the impromptu love making in the kitchen but near the food? That is so unsanitary. Oh, and don’t worry about the noise, we will play some White Snake really loud”.

“Lois, we aren’t”, Chloe called back after her and trying to jump up but was still being anchored down by Lex, his fingers just inside her trousers. Yeah, okay, so this was going to be difficult to explain.

A/N: How do you explain something like that?

great chapter can't wait to see what happens/good banter between lex and chloe

More please

Wow, finally got another chance to catch up with the story. Love the flashback story and can't wait for more and the happily ever after.

A/N: Thank-you, thank-you and thank-you!!! :D :D :D

Chapter Twelve

“Oh God, oh God, what are we going to do?” Chloe began to panic and try to get off the kitchen counter.

Lex grasped hold of her hips, stilling her. “First of all stop doing that”, his voice was tight.

“What? Lex we have to do something, we ...” She looked down. “Oh”, she was grinding the seam of her jeans until him, she hadn’t realised that. “Sorry”, she scooted back a bit.

“That’s all right”, he assured her, moving away from the counter top and releasing her, only to hold out his hand to her to help her get down.

“Thanks”, she muttered trying not to look at his face, or anything lower down for obvious reasons but her eyes strayed back. He was a little firmer than normal. She swallowed.

“Chloe”, Lex said her name, knowing full well exactly where her eyes were. It was a natural human curiosity. “Calm down”. His quite authority worked.

“But”, she stared up into his face without thinking this time and saw the amusement in his face. She tried to lower her face again but Lex placed a finger under her chin, keeping it up.

“But nothing. Look at me and listen”. Had anyone else in the world said that to her she would have refused, just on principle but the warmth in his tone had a calming effect on her. “We don’t have to tell anyone anything. We weren’t doing anything wrong, certainly not what they think, but even if we had been so what?” He stroked his thumb along her cheek. “You Chloe Anne Sullivan do not need to explain your actions to anyone ... Except the police, knowing you, and then only in the presence of a lawyer”.

“I haven’t done anything illegal for ages”, she complained.

“Only because you have been working for me, you haven’t had time”, he pointed out.

“Still”, she shrugged.

He smiled down at her, he knew what she was up to. “Now, don’t change the subject. Are we on the same page?”

“Yeah, we are on the same page”.

“Good”, he leant down, going to kiss her on the cheek but stopping at the last moment when he remembered that that was an odd thing to do. He ruffled her hair instead, causing her to dodge out of his reach and complain that he had messed her hair up.

“Now they definitely will think that we did it”, she huffed.

He shook his head with a smile, “I thought I told you that you don’t have to explain”.

“I know, I don’t and I’m not going to. That doesn’t mean that I want people thinking that we were screwing on the kitchen counter-top”.

“Why not?” he didn’t particularly want anyone thinking that either, he wasn’t going to go out of his way to give them that impression but it didn’t particularly bother him if people chose to believe that.

“1. It is unhygienic. 2. I’m not that kind of girl. 3. I don’t want other people thinking that I’m taken”.

“1. We have anti bac. 2. I’m not so sure about that”, he shot her a teasing look and she scowled at him. “And 3. Don’t you know that other men are more likely to pay attention when there is someone else in the picture?” He didn’t bother mentioning that she still didn’t have a shot with Clark and that she should just move on.

“You aren’t being serious? I always thought that that was one of those urban myths”. Men couldn’t be that easy.

Lex let out a huff of laughter. “No, the more unattainable the better. I mean, a stuck up girl who doesn’t know that you exist, spends her time hanging out in grave yards instead of around the living and has a boyfriend who will crucify you for going near her ... That’s about the level of unattainability that drives a man wild”. He thought about it, “Oh, and mysterious. Mysterious is good too”.

“But then how to you send the earrings the following morning if you don’t even know her name or address?”

“Simple, you hit speed dial before you hit the mattress and then you sneak out before she is awake. Quiet often you meet the delivery guy on the way out, chat with him, tip him and then go and shower”.

“You have to be kidding me?”

“Hey, I never said that it was a good way to start a healthy relationship. I just said that it was what guys did”.

“I think that I am considering becoming a lesbian”, she rolled her eyes.

“Yeah”, he shook his head, “you really don’t know anything about guys if you think that that would be a turn off”.

“Okay, I’m done with you now”, Chloe threw up her hand and walked off back to the living room, completely having forgotten her concern about people thinking that she and Lex were mating on the work surfaces.

“Thanks for letting me know”, Lex responded good naturedly knowing that she didn t mean it. For the first time he knew that him saying or doing something stupid wasn't going to end this friendship. If he did something really bad it would probably get him screamed at and he would lose all his film choosing privileges, but she would not abandon him.

Lex’s long legs easily caught up with Chloe was the headed towards the sounds of White Snake.

“Lo, you seriously need to branch out in your musical tastes”, Chloe announced as she strode into the room.

“What? When you have found perfection, you should stick with it”, Lois replied, although she did deign to lower the volume. “You two weren’t gone for very long, your reputation undeserved huh Luthor?”

Luthor didn’t bother to answer that, going instead to sit next to Chloe. Chloe’s other friends were sitting on the other couch looking nervous and Clark and Lana were seated either side of Lois, trading hurt belligerent looks. Apparently they had missed something. No one had touched the sandwiches.

Lex leant over to whisper in Chloe’s ear, “As I know that you don’t have much experience of parties I thought that I would share a little tit bit with you: this wasn’t isn’t much of a success so far”.

~*~

“Wow, you two sure know how to throw a soiree”, Lois said as the last of the other guests left, the girls looking a little less nervous and Clark and Lana still looking as if they might throttle each other at any second.

“I can’t believe that the boggle didn’t work”, Chloe huffed.

“Some people are just beyond help”, Lex wrapped an arm comfortingly around Chloe’s shoulders. Those bastards, ruining the party she had been so looking forward to. Was it really so hard for Clark and Lana to get along for a couple of hours for the their friend’s sake? He had been half tempted to take both of them aside and tell them to either cheer up or fuck off because he wasn’t having Chloe upset because of their childish behaviour.

“What happened?” Chloe wondered, “Last I knew they weren’t getting along with Lex but were fine with each other?” She turned to the man in question, before pointing out, “Which you never explained to me”.

“And I probably won’t”, he replied amicably.

“Oh, don’t worry I’ll tell you”, Lois said pulling Chloe back over to the sofa so that they could gossip.

“I’m not sure that it is really our business”, Lex tried to but in.

“Oh please, I heard all about your fascination with wrecked cars Luthor, don’t bother pretending to be all moral and superior now. It is far too late!” Lois brushed him off.

He gritted his teeth.

Chloe appeared not to notice this and to transfer all of her attention to Lois.

“Right, I’ll be in my study if you should need me”, Lex turned and left the house without a backwards glance. He hated Lois. He was supposed to have Chloe all to himself now that she had moved into the guest house, this party should have been a celebration of that fact but now her cousin was going to stay the night apparently. He had spent hardly any one-on-one time with Chloe that Saturday and now that horrible brunette was going to try to turn her against him.

~*~

“Hey Mr Grouchy Pants”, Chloe called as she knocked lightly on Lex’s office door. She had had the butler let her in.

“I prefer Mr Grouchy Trousers”, he swung around in his chair to face her. Not surprised to see her there or that she thought that he was sulking. He wasn’t of course, but he knew that arguing the point wouldn’t convince her.

“Right Mr Grouchy Trousers”, she came in without waiting to be invited, “are you okay?”

“Sure”, he gave her a small smile, “just finishing up some work”.

“So”, she strolled over and positioned hereof on his desk so that she could look at him. “Are you okay?”

“Yes Chloe, I have been fine by myself for many years now. I dress and feed myself and everything”, he said, a little coolly.

“I know”, she looked a little uncomfortable and he felt like the world’s biggest jackass for not tempering his sarcasm. He was about to say something when she continued, “But I just thought that maybe you felt like you weren’t welcome and I didn’t want that”.

He hated that he was becoming so needy, hated that she could see it, hated that he wasn’t able to hide from her better. A tiny part of his hated her in that second but the rest of him - the vast, vast majority - was slightly choked up; he wasn’t accustomed to people considering his feelings. He took her hand and gave it a squeeze,
“I’m a big boy Chloe”.

“Yeah, I know. But still”, she shrugged, mainly to keep herself from hugging him. She didn’t want to have him pushing her back.

“But still”, he smiled. “Honestly, don’t worry about it. I’m fine, I promise. Did you have a nice time with Lois?” He sounded more like himself now, she was relieved to hear.

“Sure”, she grinned, “lots of gossiping. It appears that Clark and Lana have been having some problems though”, her smile faltered a little.

“Yeah, I gathered that. I’m perceptive like that”, he smirked.

“”You should have told me”, she turned serious once more.

“Told you what?” His brow furrowed in confusion.

“That”, she paused for a second.

“That what?”

She continued to be hesitant.

“Come on Chloe, it isn’t like you to be so silent. If you don’t say something soon I’m going to have to take you to the doctors”, he teased.

She didn’t look convinced, nor did she smile.

“Chloe, seriously, just come out with it”.

“You didn’t tell me that you were deeply in love with Lana”, there is was out. All in one breath.

He stared at her in what appeared to be genuine shock.

“I mean, had I known, I would have been more understanding. I wouldn’t have made you hang out at the Talon for a start”, she could only imagine how painful that must have been for him, “and I wouldn’t ...”

“I’m not”, he broke in.

She blinked.

“Chloe, I’m not in love with Lana. I promise”, he said steadily.

“But Lois told me”, she protested.

“Lois told you that I was in love?”

“Well no”, she thought over exactly what her cousin had said, “but that you two had dated. Lana and You, I mean, not you and Lois, that would be weird!”

“You said it!” Lex and Lois? Never going to happen in a million years, he almost shuddered at the thought. “We did date but that isn’t exactly an undying declaration of love”.

She stroked his cheek, trying to study his expression. He looked sincere, but then again, with Lex, that didn’t prove anything. He cloud always lie well.

He took her hand in his. “When they went off to college Clark and Lana decided that they just couldn't make it work. Lana and I developed something of a friendship, it didn’t really go anywhere. She went off abroad for a little while after her first year in college but then decided that she couldn’t hack it and came back here. Last year we flirted a bit, that was all it was. There is no reason for you to feel uncomfortable”.

“I don’t want you to be heartbroken”, Chloe whispered.

“I’m not”.

“Then why did Lana get angry only after she had seen the two of us together?” There was something that he wasn’t telling her.

“I haven’t the faintest idea, but quite frankly it’s not my main priority at the moment. So, where is Lois?” Not that Lois was his main priority at that moment either.

“Asleep”.

“Asleep? That raging party wore her out?” He asked in disbelief.

“No, but being out of town for three weeks and trying to get back without sleep did”, Chloe explained.

“So, it is just us for the rest of the night?”

“Yup!”

“I’m not watching Say Yes to the Dress again!”

~*~

When he finally walked Chloe back to her house that night she was all smiles and threw her arms around him in a spontaneous hug of pure affection. Lex returned the embrace a little awkwardly using only one arm, but Chloe didn’t mind. She knew that for him this was progress. If she kept this up she would have been nicely broken in in no time.

“Good night Chloe”, he ruffled her hair.

“Good night Lex”, she replied, giving his bald head an affectionate pat.

He shook his head with a rueful smile as she went in and he checked that the door was closed behind her before turning back to the castle. Once inside he took out his phone and called the familiar number, “Lana, we need to talk”.


A/N: So, what did you think? What do you think that is up with the Clark/Lex/Lana thingie?

No no no, why is Lex calling Lana? Bad Lex!

not good that lex is calling lana

A/N: Yup, bad Lex! Let's see if you will forgive him.

Chapter Thirteen

“Do do do do do”, Chloe sang to herself as she bounced down the steps of the guest house the following morning, smiling as she felt the bright sunshine bearing down on her. It was good to be back in Kansas. She made her way over to her new car which had been dropped off only a few hours ago and gave the red machine a little pat. It has such a cute little front, it looked like it was actually smiling at her.

Boop. Boop. She pressed her new key fob and grinned back at her car as the door popped open. That was much easier than with her last one. No need to brace one foot against the side or anything.

“You’re happy then, I take it”, Lex strode up to her.

Chloe jumped.

“Honestly Chloe, you need to go and get a massage or something. Learn to relax a little. You seem to jump out of your skin every time that I enter a room”, he teased her.

“We are outside Lex”, she pointed out.

“Still, you need to relax a little more”, he commented as she placed a hand on her back, standing next to her to examine her car. “Small”, he gave his verdict.

“Compact”, she corrected him, “and don’t act as if you haven’t already gone over every single inch of this with your mechanic as soon as it arrived”.

“Before it arrived actually, around the corner. Otherwise you might have seen it and wanted it regardless of the safety”, he explained.

“I’m not sure whether I should be touched her angry”, she muttered.

“Touched would certainly suit me better”, he informed her with a smile.

“I’m sure that it would”, Chloe skipped around her new car. It really was just too cute. “What are you doing around at this time on a Sunday morning anyway? You should be asleep”.

“I should?”

“Yes, you don’t get anywhere near enough rest”, she rebuked him, as she often did.

“I have to go into town for a bit, I need to pick up something from the Talon”, he said, without faltering.

“I can get if for you if you want”, she offered, “I need to go to the supermarket”.

“No, thank-you, I think that it would be better if I picked it up myself”, he said and she let it drop, although he could tell that she didn’t want to.

“As you wish”, she shrugged.

“Do you want to at least be a good citizen and safe gas?” Lex asked, so that it didn’t sound as if he were rebuffing her.

“Sure, climb in”, she beamed at him.

He beat her to the door of her car. “I meant in one of mine”.

“You must be kidding, I want to play with my new toy”, she dismissed that idea.

“That fills me with confidence”.

“Out of the two of us, who is the more reliable driver?” She demanded, hands on her hips.

“Probably you”, there were professional race car drivers who didn’t reach the speeds he did. Although he had been trying to be good recently. He could afford any ticket they gave him but if it got back to Chloe that he had been speeding - and it would -, he would never hear the end of it.

“Good, so get in and let’s go”.

Lex opened her door for her as he always did and closed it after her before getting in and trying to move his chair back. “How far back will this go?”

“It looks like you’ve got it all of the way back”, she checked, his knees were already quite high. “Can you manage this?”

“Manage this? Sitting?” What kind of wimp did she take him for?

“Sitting without getting a bad back or something?” She elaborated.

“Oh, yeah, don’t worry I’m not going to get a sore back?”

“You aren’t just doing this because you know that I want to drive my car?” She double checked.

“No, I’m not that kind”.

“You promise?” She tripled checked. She didn’t want him ending up with a damaged spine just to do what he thought would make her happy.

He laughed, “Let’s just get doing”.

She saluted and they were off, “I love this car!” She squealed with delight.

“So I had noticed”, he shook his head with a smile. He was glad that his mechanic had found the right one for her; he knew that she had never felt comfortable behind the wheel of one of his sports cars or being chauffeured around.

As they chatted about this and that he turned his head to stare at her. She really was adorable. It was a wonder that he had never noticed it when they had both been younger. So full of life and joy. His life was finally starting to go right and he had Chloe to thank for it.

~*~

Chloe bounced up the stairs of The Talon towards Lana’s apartment where she knew that Lex was and knocked on the door. She had been pottering around a few of the local shops before heading off to the supermarket and wanted to see if Lex wanted anything.

She waited and nothing. She knocked again and this time heard something which was muffed by the thick door. She reached out and tried the door handle and it gave. Cautiously she entered the room; you could never be too safe in Smallville.

She could only see Lex’s back - although she could hear his voice clearly - until he turned to her, revealing Lana.

“This better be the last I hear of it”, his words died on his lips as he heard the door opening and turned to see Chloe standing there.

“Sorry, I knocked and thought that someone said come in, I probably misheard”, she said, feeling like a cretin.

“Don’t worry about it”, Lana said dashing over to her friend as if she were her salvation.

Chloe embraced her friend before turning her attention to her best friend, he was staring at them, but she wasn’t sure which one. “I really am sorry for just barging in on you, I didn’t mean to, do you need a bit more time?”

“No”, Lana answered quickly, her face a mask of apprehension, “we’re done”.

“Okay”, Chloe said slowly, looking between the two of them. Something was definitely going on. “Anyway, I was just coming to ask if you wanted anything. I was about to go to the supermarket”.

Did he want something from the supermarket? He had never stepped foot in one in his life. That was what servants were for. He was about to offer to have someone go shopping for her, but stopped when he realised that that probably wasn’t going to do down well.

“Actually, I’ll come with you. I might see something I fancy”, he said, as much to his own surprise as to the girls’.

“Sure, great”, Chloe smiled, realising that he had shocked himself, “but don’t let me rush you”.

“No, as Lana said, we are done here”, he smiled back, a little strangely.

“Okay, cool”, Chloe hugged Lana again as she said her goodbyes and accompanied Lex downstairs to The Talon proper which was strangely busy considering the time of Sunday morning. But then again she was about to go grocery shopping on the Lord’s day. Once they were back in the car and heading towards what passed for a supermarket in Smallville, she asked, “Are you all right?”

“Any particular reason why I shouldn't be?” He inquired, not quite able to get used to being in the front of the car but not in the driver’s seat.

That wasn’t exactly an answer. “I wasn’t trying to listen in on your conversation but I heard a bit and you sounded, well, put out”.

“I was”, he admitted.

“Well then, are you okay?”

“Chloe I’ve lived many years in the world without you fussing over me. I won’t suddenly shrivel up and die if you aren’t ...” He stopped himself just in time, a fraction of a second before he destroyed everything.

Chloe blinked rapidly, gripped the steering wheel more tightly and attempted to swallow around the large ball in her throat.

He had existed for many years without anyone caring about him, never mind fussing over him. While he could do without the fussing, he liked the friendship. As they reached the supermarket and Chloe turned off the engine he reached out to take hold of her hand before she could escape from the vehicle.

“And I think that we have discovered why no one has ever wanted to fuss over me before. I’m sorry”, he squeezed her hand. This was hard. “When I snap. I don’t mean it”. The words were wrenched from him. Slowly and painfully.

“Well”, she huffed, “as if I didn’t know that”.

He smiled, she was letting him off the hook. She was far kinder than he deserved. He would try to pay her back for such indulgence.

Lex was a man of his word - even if he had only thought that pledge - but half an hour later he was strongly considering dragging Chloe out of the supermarket.

“Come on Chloe”, he sounded a little stroppy, “we have been here forever”.

Chloe looked down and checked her watch, “We have only been here for a little while, half an hour max”.

“I mean in this particular aisle”, he complained, and he was certain that it had been far more than thirty minutes. His feet felt like they were about to fall off.

“But I can’t make up my mind, there are so many options”, her eyes went from one breakfast cereal to the next and then back again. There were just so many possible choices. And they were all so colourful. GM. Non-GM. Fortified. Fortified. Fortified with reduced iron. Reinforced. She blinked. That last one must have been a typo.

“You don’t need anything at all”, Lex huffed as he selected a healthy muesli for her and tossed it in the cart without her noticing.

She gaped at him. “Of course I do”, she selected several multicoloured wheat based ones.

“Chloe, you don’t need sugared cereal”, he took the offending articles out of the trolley and placed it on the side, and while he was on it he removed another offending article he had noticed her slipping in earlier. “You don’t need chicken burgers either. Do you know how that stuff is made?”

“Yes, I did an article on it in High School, saw the pictures and everything. While I was shocked to see scraps of sluiced meat turned into something which strongly resembled strawberry ice-cream, in the long run, that doesn’t make it any less delicious”.

“Yeah, well, it’s going back”, he removed the item and placed it on a shelf, not caring that they were no longer anywhere near the frozen foods section.

“Hey, you can’t mess with my cart”, she protested.

“Looks like I just did”.

She narrowed her eyes at him, grasped the nearest box of sugared crap and threw it in the cart.

“Chloe”, he took it back out and replaced it neatly. “I am not going to keep playing this game with you”

That was blatantly unfair, she wasn’t playing a game. He was the one who was interfering with her shopping, he had been fine in the fruit and veggie aisle but now he was being a pain and she wasn’t going to put up with it. “I’m not playing a game, I’m trying to buy food. Do you want me to starve?” She threw another packet of something, God only knew what, in.

He took it out again, “No, you know that I don’t want you to starve, we’ve got plenty of healthy stuff. We can get you some healthy cereal and go to the butchers area and the bakery”.

“Just I want this one”, she reached out and grabbed a box, it didn’t matter which one. It was a matter of principle.

“God you’re acting like a two year old!”

“No, I’m not I’m acting like a grown woman who wants her cereal and not to be treated like a recalcitrant child”, she came close to stamping her foot. Instead she went to drop the package in the trolley but found that her slim wrist was caught in his large, strong hand.

“Don’t push me Chloe”. His voice was low, controlled, crackling with barely leashed power. It was the wrong choice of words.

“What are you going to do about it?” Chloe challenged without thinking, she wouldn’t be talked to like that.

Another wrong choice of words.

He pulled her to him, crushing the box of cereal between them, “Do you really want to find out?”

She stared up at him. She was so close to him that she could make out his pale eyelashes and the flecks of gold around his iris. His other arm had wrapped her waist like steel. She swallowed. She opened her mouth to deliver a Chloe retort, torn between being stubborn, curiosity and a tiny amount of trepidation.

Her lips quivered and his stare bore into her.

“I ... I ....”

“You what Chloe?” His voice was deep and warm.

“I like coco puffs”. She couldn’t believe that she had wimped out. She tried to convince herself that it was just because they were in the middle of a crowded supermarket.

“Your blood work clearly said no additives and colourings”, he replied placidly as he released her and took a step back, plucking the crushed box from her hand and replacing it.

“My what?”

“Luthor Corp blood work, your medical file. Did you not read it?”

She shook her head and he baulked.

“I read the first page, it said that there was nothing to worry about and I feel fine. If they had discovered a cancer or something then it would have mentioned it straight away”, she shrugged. “I filed it away. It is perfectly safe”.

He pursed his lips tightly, as if afraid that opening them even slightly would let something out. Something that he couldn't take back. After a few moments, when he appeared to have himself under control, he summed up, “You are lightly anaemia and allergic to preservatives, additives, e-numbers and colours”. She might not take her health seriously but he had read her file cover to cover. Then he had rang up the doctor personally.

“Well, I didn’t know that”, she felt a little foolish. “These have those things in them?” She hadn’t looked at the back of the packets, she had just been going for the nicest looking boxes. It had felt so good to be able to go around a store and have anything that she wanted, knowing that she didn’t even have to look at the prices. After four long years she was finally solvent again.

“Yes, they do”, his assistant had emailed him a list of all foods not containing anything she was allergic to and he had passed it along to his chef. The list had been surprisingly small.

“What about your expensive chocolate?”

“No”, he smiled, “that’s fine”.

“Thank God for that”, she couldn’t live without chocolate.

“You seriously didn’t read the fact sheet?”It was a good job that she had him to take care of her now.

“No, I can’t believe that you did”, she said defensively. Actually, thinking about it, she did; it was in his nature. Obsessive freak!

He just shrugged.

“Fine”, she sighed, “I will go into the boring healthy section however I will need you to apologise for your high handed manner and say that I can have it if I want because it is my choice”.

He smiled. “You really think that I’m going to go back on myself?”

She crossed her arms across her chest.

“Fine”.

“Fine?”

“That’s as much as you are getting out of me”, he said, taking the cart and heading towards the healthy section.

~*~

“Still not going to tell me what was wrong?” Chloe wondered, once they were seated back in her car. She knew that she was pushing and that she shouldn’t, but she couldn't help her nature. Well, technically she might be able to but she wasn’t having much success.

He sighed, “You don’t give up, do you?”

“You owe me!”

He raised an eyebrow.

“You wouldn’t let me buy half of the stuff that I wanted”, she reminded him.

“Fine, I was just a little annoyed. Next week, tomorrow, in fact, for a series of meetings in Metropolis”.

“Oh”, she was going to miss him.

“And Penelope called to say that she can’t be my arm candy”, he continued slowly.

“Oh”.

“Yes, oh”.

“But you have a lot of arm candy option, right?”

“Yes”, he agreed. Hundreds of options, in fact, but that wasn’t the point.

“Arrogant jerk”, she said, giving him a little nudge just to make sure he knew that she was teasing.

“Hey, it’s just a fact. When you have several billion in the bank; women are all over you”, he replied.

“Yeah, because the face and body have nothing to do with it”, she rolled her eyes. He could be poor and badly dressed and women would still be falling all over him.

“My my Chloe, I didn’t know that you had noticed”, he nudged her back.

“Yeah”, who hadn’t? She wasn’t attracted to him or in love with him or anything, but even she had to admit that he was sinfully handsome. “Shame about your personality”, she glanced out of the corner of her eye, she always liked to see his reaction to everything that she said and did. His face was addictive.

“You know I could find someone else to play with”, he threatened without malice.

“Sure you could!” She didn’t believe that, no one else was as fun as she was. “Anyway, you were saying ...”

“I was saying ...” He couldn't remember.

“Something about being replete with arm candy”, Chloe prompted.

“Oh, yes. Replete with arm candy”, he remembered. “I am, but none of them are right”.

“Well, I know that you will find this hard to believe but you don’t actually have to marry them”.

“I’m not Ross Chloe, I’ve only been married twice”, her influence on him had opened many more pop culture references to him.

“Yeah, but twice before thirty is a lot”, she pointed out.

“Do you enjoy sitting?”

“Yes, thank-you. I do”, she smiled cheerfully. “Anyway, you don’t have to marry them, do you? They will do for an ... evening”.

He shot her a look. He knew full well what she wanted to say and it wasn’t evening. “Yes, they would do for an ... evening but not for everything else. There are going to be dinners all week long, afternoon tea somewhere”, just thinking about it made his head hurt.

“They aren’t up to that?” That sounded pretty easy to her.

“A. They aren’t up to it. B. I’m not up to spending that much time with them”. He had told her the story about the girl who came to ask after him and when his secretary told her that he was ‘in conference’, she asked where ‘conference’ was.

“That’s a shame. Need to find yourself a nice prostitute”, she suggested reasonably.

“I beg your pardon”, his gaped at her.

“You know, like on Pretty Woman. A beck and call girl for the week”.

“Oh”, he smiled. “I don’t think that that would work.”

“Not a fan of prostitutes?”

“Absolutely not”, he declared adamantly. He hadn’t always treated women well - anyone like him came near Chloe they were going to die, painfully -, but he would never have gone to a prostitute. Taking a women he wasn’t sure was even truly giving herself to him willingly not only didn’t appeal to him, it disgusted him.

“So if I ever wanted to get back into journalism with an exposé on prostitution, you aren’t my in?”

“No, wait, you don’t want to get back into journalism, do you?” He thought that she had given that up ages ago

“No, it was just a joke”, she noticed that his expression didn’t alter one jot, “Don’t look like that! You aren’t keeping me from my true calling or anything. I did have an idea for an article like that once but I’m not going to do it, my future does not lie in journalism”.

“Good” He spoke with a little too much decision.

“You don’t want me to be a great journalist?” That was what had first impressed him about her, that was how they had met.

“No, too dangerous, too much stress, and not enough money in it”, he summed it up.

She smiled and shook her head. “Always looking out for me, huh Lex?”

“Always”, there was no point in denying it.

“So, what are you going to do?”

“Continue to make sure you get jobs which don’t involve journalism”.

“I meant”, she clarified, “about your lack of appropriate date”.

“Oh, well, that is what I’m trying to work out”

“Come on, Lex, it is time to strategize”.

“Strategize”, he repeated.

“Yup, it will help. So, you need one girl for a week?”

“Yes, I need one woman”, he stressed the word, he most certainly didn’t want a girl, “for a week”.

“Okay, category one: physical. You need her to be beautiful, tall, willowy, brunette, with abnormally large breasts considering the dearth of body fat. Category two: mental. So that’s smart, well educated, able to walk and talk at the same”.

“Preferably”, although if she couldn't think of anything intelligent to say then maybe silence would be preferable.

“Category three: breeding”.

Lex raised an eyebrow.

Chloe rolled her eyes, “Get your mind out of the gutter, Luthor. Breeding: someone from a well known family, who’s rich with lots of connections. Category four: bedroom activities”.

“None necessary”, he assured her.

He shot her a look.

“I told you I need someone who”, he broke off, “do you want me to use your categories?”

She nodded.

“As you wish, milady”, he reached out to run his hand down her arm, “Category one: physical. Exceptionally beautiful yes, but I don’t have any other specific requirements”, he was partial to brunettes but not to that extent, “Although boobs would be nice; I am going to have to look at her after all. Category two: mental. Probably the most important. She needs to extremely smart, well educated (Ivy League)”, his glance slanted over to meet hers and she did a minor double take, “preferably with some knowledge of business, politics and Metropolis. And the final category: breeding. Yes, that is important. Not the money side, but no vulgarity”.

“Interesting”, she pretended to be considering the matter, “I think that Lois might be free”.

“Funny”.

“Lana?”

“Are you really going to make my come out and ask?”

“Ask what Lex?” She turned wide innocent eyes on him.

“Chloe, will you spend the next week with me in Metropolis?”



A/N: Yeah, that went completely off plan, I knew I should have let them go shopping in the middle there but Chloe was out of food.

Great update.

loved that lex asked her to spend the week with him but cant what to see what chloe answer

A/N: Thank-you both! :D

Chapter Fourteen

Chloe gasped, her eyes widening almost comically in delight.

“So”, Lex asked, an arrogant smirk on his lips, “are you impressed?”

With affected nonchalance Chloe shrugged, “I’ve seen bigger”.

Lex stared at her in disbelief and Chloe tried to keep a straight face but a muscle in her cheek began to twitch. His keen eyes spotted the small movement and his eyes narrowed. “You have have you?”

“Um”, she murmured through lips clamped firmly shut.

“Mmmm”, Lex replied in kind, able to detect that she was a hair’s breadth away from breaking into giggles. He took a step towards her and held her gaze as he asked, “How much bigger?”

She shrugged, her lips almost fused together.

“Chloe”.

“A couple of square metres or so”, she relented, her face breaking into a grin as she admitted, “in a magazine. This is definitely the biggest hotel suite I have ever stayed in”.

“Good”, he didn’t like to come second in anything.

“You know, size isn’t everything Luthor”, she gave him an exasperated look.

“That’s what you say now”, he smirked.

Chloe just rolled her eyes at him before examining the suite in greater detail. It really was gorgeous, although she had never expected anything less from anything that Lex had chosen. They were in the centre of the old part of town, equidistant from everything they would be attending in the coming days, in what she knew had been one of the original buildings built in Metropolis and had originally been a library. The conversion had been done sympathetically and whispers of history and its former purpose were plentiful. There were stained glass windows, rows upon rows of historical volumes but with every modern luxury. Chloe loved it!

Lex studied her expression, he had thought that she would like it and was gratified to see that he had been correct. And not just because he always liked to be in the right. “I told them to put your luggage in this room”, he said leading her to the master bedroom, “it has the best view of the city and the park”.

“Its divine”, she gurgled with delight as he showed her.

“I’m glad that you approve”, he started slowly, “I thought that this would be more comfortable than my apartment”.

Chloe just nodded, not really sure how to respond to that. Or even if it actually required a response. She had never really given any thought to where they were going to stay when they got to the city, Lex had told her that he would take care of everything on that end of things.

Lex walked over to the large window to stare out at the view, it really was rather impressive. It wasn’t better than the one from his apartment, it was more traditional but not as vast. His apartment sat on the top of the LuthorCorp building, the tallest skyscraper in all of Metropolis, you could see for miles but couldn’t make out any of the buildings or landmarks the way that you could here. That wasn’t why he hadn't wanted her there though.

The LuthorCorp apartment which Lex used as his own when he was in the city wasn’t right for Chloe. It had been built where it had because that way it was only a four second commute away from the office. He didn’t want that for their week together, he wanted her to be able to enjoy herself away from work as well. He just hoped that she didn’t feel as if she weren’t welcome in his penthouse.

Chloe just nodded. “You don’t have to explain anything to me Lex”.

He looked over at her.

“I don’t know what you were feeling guilty about, but you were explaining yourself. You don’t have to, you know”.

He wasn’t sure whether to be incredibly angry, deny it, or laugh. Years spent under his father’s tutelage and Chloe could still see hints of what he was thinking.

“Don’t get all quiet and offended”, she told him, “I can’t bare sulking”. Scratch that, she could see right through him. Although, of course, he wasn’t sulking.

“I didn’t want you to be insulted because I didn’t take you to my apartment”, he finally got out.

“See, wasn’t that easy? Don’t you feel better now?”

“Don’t push it Chloe”.

She smiled at him. He had never known anyone who smiled as much as she did. “Don’t worry Lex, I know that Alexander Joseph Luthor never takes girls back to his apartment”.

He narrowed his eyes at her and yet she just continued to smile.

He shook his head, “I warned you not to push it Chloe”.

“What are you going to do Luthor?”

“You no longer get the master bedroom”, he declared.

“Ha, you’d never do it”, she flopped back on the bed.

Lex scooped her up and slung her over his shoulder and carried her out of the master bed room into the smaller, second, but still delicious bedroom and tossed her down on the bed. She smirked as she bounced.

“Hey, I’m not a sack of potatoes”, she complained, even as she giggled.

“You think that being punished is funny?”

She nodded.

“Right, you asked for it”, he leaped onto the bed tickling her ruthlessly. It was absurd, he had never done something as immature as tickle someone in his entire pre-Chloe life and yet he couldn't seem to keep his hands of Chloe.

She rolled around as she always did, trying to get away from him or tickle him back but unable to do anything to make an impact on him. Or so she thought. Her adorable protests made in between unabashed gasps of laughter pricked his heart.

“So”, he asked, finally giving into her pleas and stopping, pulling her close to him and wrapping his arms around her, running the palms of his hands over where he had tickled to rid her skin of the sensation, “are you going to stop teasing me?”

“Probably not”.

“Well, at least you are honest. So, I suppose that you can have the big bedroom”, he decided charitably.

“Don’t be silly Lex, I don’t care which room I have”, she patted him fondly.

“You are having the big room”.

“Lex -”

“Stop arguing or I’ll tickle you again”, he threatened from where he lay next to her.

“You evil man you”, she poked him with her foot.

“That’s what it says on my business cards”.

~*~

“Yes Daddy, I’m fine. Yes, the hotel is lovely. What? Yes Daddy, Lex is behaving himself”, she rolled her eyes. Only her father could think that this was all some elaborate scheme to seduce his daughter.

“No, of course I’m not rolling my eyes”, she surveyed her phone to see if there was a camera embedded in there or something but found nothing out of the ordinary.

“I ... Sorry, Dad, Lex is knocking at the door. I’ll call you again tomorrow, I’m fine, I’m happy, I’ve eaten”, she started to make her way to the door, “yes, I know that Metropolis isn’t Smallville, no I won’t go outside late at night by myself”, as if Lex would ever allow that, she opened the door to Lex just as her father’s final check came through. She answered without thinking, “Yes, of course I always put paper down first if I use a pubic restroom”.

“Good to know”, Lex said dryly.

She looked up into Lex’s smirking face.

“Dad, I’ve got to go now, love you. Bye”, Chloe said, giving Lex’s arm a warning poke. She wasn't going to be teased for taking proper precautions when relieving herself. You never knew who had been in there before you.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your conversation with Gabe”, he apologised as he walked into her room.

“Don’t worry, you didn’t”, she smiled.

“I just came to give you your itinerary for the week. There was no need for you to get off the phone”, he said, even as he sat on her bed, “I just wanted you to know that you didn’t have anything to do tonight or anything early tomorrow morning so you could go out with your friends tonight if you wanted”.

“Oh okay, cool”, she beamed at that. She had been assuming that she would be spending the night in with Lex as usual but now that he was in the city maybe he wanted to meet up with his old crowd. She wasn't offended. Maybe it would do them good to have a night away from each other. “I’ll call some people up”.

“Right”, he didn’t stand up or make any other move to leave. “Do you want me to get you tickets to anything?”

She looked at him curiously.

“For you and your friends. For tonight, so that you have something to offer them?”

“Something to offer them”, she repeated, “you mean other than my sparkling wit and personality?”

He shook his head, “Something to do, I mean”.

“Nah, don’t worry about it. I’ll just call and we’ll hang out or something”. She sat down next to him, as she searched through her phone considering who to call. “So, what are you up to tonight?”

“Nothing in particular”, he started, before realising that that sounded like he was angling for an invitation, “just dinner I think. Maybe some drinks afterwards, who knows?”

“Who knows”, Chloe wiggled her eyebrows at him.

“Not like that”, he informed her, although he didn’t know why; there was nothing wrong with that.

“So, we don’t need to work out some system with coat hangers on the door or anything?” She teased.

“Not on my account”, he gave her an arched look.

“Not on my account either”, she said, “well, probably not”.

He hoped she was teasing him. He thought that she probably was. She usually was.

“Besides, I suppose that you have to keep yourself pure and chaste for Lana”.

Yes, she was definitely teasing him.

“Lana is in love with Clark”, he said, more to remind Chloe not to start getting her hopes up again about the flannel coated farm boy.

“Very true”, privately she thought that if Lex were to turn on the charm he would probably change Lana’s mind but she didn’t say as much. She didn’t know why. It was just, Lex deserved so much better than someone who needed to be cajoled into loving him. He should have someone who wanted him desperately.

“What?”

She looked up.

“I know when something is eating you”, he reminded her.

She shook her head with a bemused smile. “Nothing. I was just thinking”.

“Thinking ...?”

“Thinking that it is lunchtime. Come on Luthor, get the lead out”, she bounced up before he could prod her more on the issue.

“Do you want to get room service, go down to the restaurant, or go out?” He listed their options.

“Out, there is this amazing café around the corner. You’ll love it”.

“Good to know”, he apparently didn’t have a choice in the matter, as was so often the case with Chloe.

“Come on, I’m sending you out tonight a few pounds heavier”, she patted his flat stomach, “It’ll give you a bit of a challenge”.

~*~

“Chloe Sullivan’s Guide to Metropolis, first stop the Princess Café”, Chloe sang as she bounded along the road ahead of Lex who continued to swagger, expensive sunglasses in place.

“You have to be kidding me.”

“Nope!”

“Chloe, it is pink”, he pulled his glasses down his patrician nose in a way that made him look like a model on a cover of glossy magazine.

“Really? That had completely escaped my notice”, she replied sarcastically.

“Chloe I am not going into a building painted that revolting shade of pink, and certainly not one called the Princess Café”, he said equal parts disgust and finality.

“Why not?”

“Because it is pink and called princess”, he was surprised that he had to spell it out for her. He was a boy. Boy’s didn’t do pink!

“And?”

“And I’m a man Chloe”, he expostulated.

“So be a big boy and come along”, she coaxed, “I’ll buy you are a really big cake”.

“No”. That simply wasn’t happening.

“A cookie?”

“No”, he repeated the negative syllable.

“Apple pie?”

“Chloe, no”, his tone was stern and rang with authority. The same authority which had lead him to his place as a captain of industry, the same authority with which he had battled his father, the same authority which made everyone do as he bad. In short, it was no match for Chloe.

She made her green eyes wide and innocent.

“Chloe, I said no, I have a reputation to maintain”, he said, sensing her protest coming.

“But it is my favourite, we always come here”, her eyes turned beseeching.

“You know one day that look is going to stop working”, he said with a huff.

“Sure it will”, she linked her arm through his and bounced through the door. Lex slipped his glasses back into place.

He wanted to go and sit in a dark corner, not that there were really any, but Chloe dragged him to a sit near the counter so that she could look around and see everything. He reclined in his seat, looking cool and aloof, not bothering to remove his shades. They might protect his eyes, he mused.

“Come on Lex, you don’t need those”, Chloe apparently didn’t agree.

“Yes I do, I need to protect my retinas”.

Chloe rolled her eyes and reached out to take them off but Lex parried her hand.

“You are being overly dramatic”.

“I ...”

“Chloe!”

They both turned to see a woman around Mrs Kent’s age with dark hair just beginning to be threaded with silver. Lex just caught a flash of Chloe’s delighted smile before her face was pressed into her shoulder as she attempted to hug her to death.

“Oh my little Chloe Pop, I’ve missed you so much. Gabe told me that you were back but I didn’t think that it could be true as I hadn’t seen you. Oh, you’ve just got so skinny. Don’t worry, I’ll feed you up”.

Lex removed his glasses, it was rude to wear them inside and he wasn’t going to be rude in this case. The woman who he took to be the patron of the Princes Café - he shuddered, he couldn't get over that name or walls’ distinctive hue - appeared to be very important to Chloe and that fact made her more important than his eyesight.

“Who is your young gentleman friend?” She wasted no time in asking.

“That’s no gentleman, that’s just Lex”, Chloe shrugged off the question as Lex stood to shake the woman’s hand thinking it odd that she didn’t know who he was. Without wishing to be conceited, he figured that it was more like that she was just trying to make a point than that she genuinely had no idea who he was.

He had barely got through making his introductions when the strange woman shouted for someone called “Fred”. Apparently Fred was the middle aged, portly cook who Lex guessed was also the lady in question’s husband. He too had enormous hugs for Chloe but was less impressed with her bald companion. Lex found himself being looked up and down before being informed that no one would bother to look for the corpse if they bribed them with cake.

“We’re getting cake?” Chloe broke in hopefully, trying to divert the attention from their death threats towards her new bestie.

“Not until after mains. Weren’t you taught anything? Honestly”, Lex was tisked before the elderly couple retreated.

Chloe gave him a smug look.

“I don’t know how I got into trouble”, he shook his head as he sat back down.

“Well, obviously I can’t”, she smiled angelically at him.

He rolled his eyes, “Is there anyone you haven’t got wrapped around your little finger?”

“You?”

He snorted and opened his mouth but shut it again when their lunches were brought to them, accompanied by smatterings of hugs and kisses for Chloe. Lex had no idea how that had happened when he hadn’t even been aware that he had ordered but he didn’t question it as Chloe looked happy enough and apparently hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary.

“So, how do you know them?” He asked once they had left.

“It is a Princess Café”, Chloe answered as if that should solve any confusion he had.

“You don’t like pink”. He had checked, he couldn’t be around yet another pink obsessed female.

“No”, she conceded, “but I did like princesses and more to the point my Dad wanted to give me all of the stuff that little girls always wanted”.

“Ah”, he pronounced the syllable with a soft smiled.

“We came here sometimes when I was little, because we lived nearby”, she continued to explain.

He raised his eye, he hadn’t known that, but didn’t interrupt her.

“But we really got into the habit the day after my Mom left, I came down to find my Dad trying to make waffles. It didn’t work. So he brought me here to eat. They really helped us out, just one look and they knew what had happened. They taught Dad to cook and helped with baby sitting sometimes plus they were a shoulder to lean on. They were really great”.

“Ah”, his vocabulary was becoming increasingly limited. He was glad that they had had someone, he had never thought about it before. He knew that Gabe was divorced and when he had seen Chloe in town with a woman once when he had been with Clark he had asked if that was her mom only to be told that it couldn’t be and never to bring it up. He hadn’t pressed the subject with either Clark or Chloe but had still assumed that she must have some contact with her mother. The thought that a mother could live and not do everything in her power to see her child was unfathomable to him.

Maybe the pink wasn’t so bad. Yes, it was. But he would put up with it if these people had been so kind to Chloe and her father.

~*~

“Feeling okay?” Chloe inquired politely.

“Yes”.

“Full?”

“Yes”.

“Uncomfortable due to the whole hugging incident?” Chloe delved a little deeper

His lips were clamped shut. He really hadn’t seen that one coming. He was Lex Luthor. People didn’t just come up and hug him just because he was sitting near someone they cared for.

“You shouldn’t have made such a good impression then, should you?” She teased.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder casually giving her a squeeze, “I wasn’t aware that I had”.

“Please, I saw you take your glasses off Mr Aloof, you wanted to make a good impression, admit it, admit it”, she poked his still firm, but now full, stomach.

“I admit no such thing, but I would like to see the next stop on tour”, he grasped her finger.

“Right, we can go to the park and then wave to my old apartment and that will be it for today”, she smiled.

“Why not?”

“That’s the spirit”, she lead them over the road.

“I thought that Metropolis Park and Nature reserve was in the other direction”, he pointed vaguely. It wasn’t somewhere that he had been taken often as a kid but he was still fairly certain that it was in the centre of the city.

“Oh it is, but that is a big trip”, she said knowledgeably.

“A big trip?”

“Yeah, Dad had to pick me up if we were going to go to the big park”, it was over a mile away. “This was our everyday park”.

“Your everyday park, how fancy”, he sounded a little sarcastic.

She stuck her tongue out but still conceded to take him to the park only a few streets away, “This is it”.

Lex looked around, in a little amusement. It was nice, but very very small. It looked less like a park and more like someone had stuck together what should have been several people’s back gardens in suburbia and stuck some swings and a few slides on it.

“That is my swing”, Chloe pointed to a bright red one.

“Your swing?”

She nodded, a boy had challenged her for possession of it once, once being the operative word. “So you will have to chose your own one”, she announced as she took off running for it and jumped onto it before Lex could decide that he wanted the red one. She didn’t remember it digging into her hips so much before. She wriggled around but was unable to get comfortable. Lex did not even make the attempt, he leant against the rail supporting the swings, his ankles and arms crossed, a look of indulgent amusement on his face.

“I don’t think that those are made for ...”

“For?”

“Adults”.

“You were going to say people with fat asses weren’t you?”

“Have you ever heard me be so rude?”

“No”, she admitted.

“I was going to say with such” ‘mature frames’, but that sounded rude too, “voluptuous assets”.

Chloe burst into peels of laughter.

Lex just shook his head and moved behind her to push the swing for her, he didn’t think that it was going to allow her enough movement to pump her her legs.

~*~

“Why did you let me do that?”

“Why did I let you?” He expostulated, “A) If I had ever tried to stop you doing something I would get an ear full”.

“True!”

“And B) I did suggest that it might be time to get off the swings several times, you were the one who insisted on staying on it”.

“Also true”, she said as he rubbed her hips as the walked along. It had really dug in. “But I’m still blaming you” , she told him.

“Well, it couldn’t have been your fault”, he was getting used to that idea.

“Of course not, besides you haven’t had time for your morning workout, I had to ensure that you didn’t lose your arm muscles”, she pointed out.

He smiled at her. “So, where are we off to next?”

“Walk passed our old apartment and then ... Where-ever you want. What time do you have to start getting ready?”

“Wait”, he interrupted, “you don’t want to go inside?”

“We don’t still own it, we can’t just go in”, she explained.

“Would you like to?”

“We can’t”.

“That wasn’t what I asked Chloe. Would you like to?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s go.”

“Do you have time?”

He glanced at his watch. No. “Sure, let’s go”.

Really great
I loved that he invited her and I'm loving their time together :)

Really curious about the whole talking with Blana when Chloe arrived

A/N: Thanks Malu! :D


Chapter Fifteen

“I remember it being bigger”.

“You were smaller”.

“No”, Chloe said considering the matter, “I’m fairly certain that it has shrunk”. She looked around the two bedroom apartment which had once belonged to her and her father.

“I know better than to argue with you”, Lex smiled and reached out place his hand on her shoulder and give it a bit of a squeeze and a rub.

“I should think so by now”, she examined the windows. They had definitely been bigger, more imposing, and not tacky PVC.

Lex shook his head, wondering how was it possible that someone now spoke to him like that? He was a scary man damn it! If he chose to take offence at her tone he could, he could, he could sit in the arm chair rather than on the sofa with her at night.

“This was my room”, she moseyed into the smaller of the bedrooms located off the living room. It was a small single to her, a tiny closet to Lex but it had a nice view of the park which she showed him.

“Not bad”, he confirmed, his hand still on her shoulder. He couldn't really imagine her in this plain white room he supposed that she could have painted it, “What colour was it?”

“What week?”

He stared at her.

“Well, okay, maybe we didn’t repaint on a weekly basis but we did repaint pretty frequently. A different colour for each wall, normally something nice and bright”, she grinned at the memory, her friends had all been so jealous; their parents would allow them to have a red wall.

“That sounds about right”, he looked around, still not entirely sure how Chloe would actually have fit in there. “Were you happy here?

“Very”. She smiled.

“Did you always live here?” He wondered, it seemed more like an apartment for a young couple rather than a family.

“I was born here and yes, we lived her for five years until a year after Mom left”, Chloe answered without thinking.

“Then what?” He persisted.

She shrugged.

“Chloe?”

“We had to sell”, she admitted.

Seeing that he was going to ask a follow up question. “Dad had really stretched himself to buy here because he knew that it was an up and coming area, it was only an apartment but it was going to be worth a house in a few years”, her expression froze for a second becoming almost ugly with angry. “Just before we could capitalise on that she not only left she decided that she wanted half of his assets even thought she never did a lick of work for them. We had to sell. Re-mortgaging at that point wasn’t possible”.

Lex’s lips pursed together, as a wave of anger washed over him. He controlled it only because he wanted to know more about what had happened to her after that, “You moved to Smallville?”

“Not for about eight years”, she sighed, “About five miles out there is a little suburb, Dad brought a house there. It was fine but it wasn’t in the heart of the Metropolis like this one. It wasn’t the one he had put years of his life into it”.

He nodded. He knew that he should let the subject drop but she had never spoken about these things before and he wanted to know. An obsessive thirst for knowledge had always been one of his major character flaws. “Do you ever see her?”

Chloe’s neck snapped around to stare at him.

“I was just wondering. I mean, I have never see her, not even a photo and you never speak about her”, it was only natural that such a lack of information would peek his interest.

She just continued to look at him.

“I saw you once, in Smallville, years ago, walking with a woman and assumed that it was your mom but Clark told me that it couldn’t have been”, he continued, feeling as if he had done something wrong even though he hadn’t, as far as he knew.

“What else did he tell you?” She demanded.

“Nothing”. He hoped for Clark’s sake that she believed him. Flannel boy’s charms may be about to suffer a considerable reverse.

“Lex”.

“He told me not to mention it, ever”, he said honestly. “It’s not a big deal Chloe”, he moved to her as if to embrace her but she would not allow it. He replaced his hands on her shoulders and massaged them lightly.

She nodded slowly, her body so rigid with repressed feelings that this seemed like a hugely difficult task.

“It’s the truth Chloe, you know that. Clark can be an idiot but he wouldn’t tell me something you didn’t want me to know you”, he moved one of his hands to the back of her neck, “I didn’t mean to upset you”.

“You didn’t”, she said in a such a tight voice that he was convinced that that couldn’t be true.

“Chloe, I’m ...” He tried to pull her into his arms.

She shook her head and made to step away from him.

He felt like he had been kicked.

“Oh, don’t look like that”, she permitted him to wrap his arms around him realising that he needed it, “I’m not mad. I don’t want you to feel like there is anything that you can’t talk to me about, this ... It just isn’t one of my favourite subjects”.

His arms squeezed her as his fingers did their best to rub the tension and upset from her body.

“My father was hurt”, she said out of nowhere after several minutes.

He nodded, “You too”.

“No”, she shook her head. “I really wasn’t”.

“You must have been”, he protested.

“No, honestly I wasn’t. I know that everyone always thinks that I must have been. That I must be repressing but I barely knew the woman. She was in the house (or apartment as the case might be) but we didn’t speak, didn’t love each other ... It was a relief to me once she was gone”.

In spite of her words he could feel the pain rippling off her and held her more tightly.

“Honestly, none of it bothered me until she came back and started to hurt my Dad. Until she”, she squeezed him tightly and hid her face in his chest. “She is a bad, wicked creature”, her voice wavered as she remembered the years of agony they had gone through because of her selfishness.

“It’s all right, it’s all over now”, he cradled her head against his shoulder. No one would ever hurt Chloe again. No one.

~*~

The feel of Chloe in his arms didn’t lessen with time. The story that she had told him about her mother and what his detectives had dug up since then had plagued on his mind all day long. That unnatural creature made Lionel seem loving and warm. Not words he normally associated with his father.

“It’s Egyptian”.

Lex’s head jerked up.

“My necklace, it is Egyptian. That is what has so captured your interest, right? Unless it was something else”. His date’s ample cleavage was only centimetres from the pendent Lex’s eyes had been unknowingly fixed on while he mused.

“It was the necklace”, he assured her, taking a large sip of his drink.

“Right”, she didn’t know how to take that. She twirled a long strand of mahogany hair around a taper finger in a manner which was supposed to be seductive, “So, how long are you in Metropolis for?”

“A week”.

“That’s nice”, she continued to try to make conversation.

“Yes”.

“Got any particular plans?” She pressed.

“Yes”.

“Care to elaborate?”

“No”.

It was a very one sided conversation. To be fair, most of the ones he had with his dates were but normally he did a slightly better job of dissembling and didn’t mind their inane prattle. Tonight, her tendency to witter on was bothering him more than he had expected. She hadn’t done anything that he now considered normal: she hadn’t invaded his personal space in that nice snuggly way; she hadn’t worried that he wasn’t getting enough vitamin C
She hadn’t made him watch some ridiculous TV show; and she was wearing actual perfume rather than fruit scented body spritz. Chloe had spoiled him for all other women and she wasn't even his girlfriend.

He took another swig, not much caring what it was that he was imbibing. Sometimes it was enough that it was alcohol.

“Sometimes conversation is overrated”, the brunette suggested in a husky voice, leaning over and placing her hand on his, her foot slipping out of its stiletto and finding its way into his lap.

He removed it without ceremony, “

“Have I done something wrong?” She finally asked.

He looked up at her, surprised by just how little he was capable of caring about another human being.

Chloe would be furious with him.

“No, of course not. We had a nice dinner, didn’t we?” He couldn’t remember but he seemed to think that they had. “I just have a bit of a headache and a very early morning”.

“Oh, okay”, her disappointment didn’t bother him as much as the thought of Chloe’s potential censor.

“Tell you what, I’d like to take a walk back to my apartment to clear my head a bit. Why don’t you take the limo, call a girlfriend and have a nice night out? No need for everyone to have a be as boring as I am”, he offered.

“You’re kind”, she cooed.

“No, I’m extremely selfish. Also quite terribly arrogant”, he said honestly.

“I don’t think so”. She was too kind for Metropolis.

“You don’t know me very well”, Chloe would have told him that he was arrogant to his face. Plus to cut it out. He smiled.

His date smiled back, “She’s lucky”.

He stared at her in confusion. He was about to correct her when he realised that he was blowing her off. It might be easier to accept that she wasn’t going to become the wife of a billionaire (or at least not of this particular billionaire) if she thought that it was because he was in love with someone else.

“Good night”, he said, as he stood up to help her up, pay the bill and show her to the limo. He couldn’t wait to get back to the hotel. He couldn’t couldn’t wait to see Chloe again.

~*~

“You are being ridiculous”, Lex chided himself, “she is not going to be in. You are going back to an empty suite”.

Still instead of going out to a bar, instead of finding that woman again ... Really must find out her name in that case. He was going up to mope around an empty room. No, not mope. Work. Possibly sleep. But not mope.

“God you’re pathetic!” He told himself as he opened the door and heard a laugh he honestly hadn’t expected to. A smile broke out across his face and he strode into the living room to see a collection of people sitting there, with Chloe in the centre, reclining on the sofa with her legs draped over a very handsome man. His smile disappeared. His guts tightened.

“Lex”, she greeted him merrily.

“You didn’t go out?” He asked in surprise. She had bloody well better not have gone out in that tiny little tank top and short shorts that she thought of as pyjamas.

“We did. I was all excited about going out and the second that we walked out of the hotel someone drove through the largest puddle you have ever seen -and no, I didn’t get the licence plate number - soaking me from head to toe. I came back in to get showered and changed and by then we had missed our reservation and didn’t want to go out any more. It is nice and warm in here so this is where we are going to hang out, if that’s okay?”

“Of course. I already told you to make yourself at home the best you can and order whatever you like - that goes for your friend as well”, he hadn’t meant to make her feel unwelcome or uncomfortable by coming back early. “But you should know that you can get reservations anywhere you like at any time you like, just mention my name”.

“I’ll have to remember that. Do you want to join us?” She wiggled her feet.

“No thanks, I’ve got some work to do”, he declined the offer.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes thank-you Chloe, have a nice evening. Order anything that you want from room service”, he repeated his wish that she not go hungry.

“Cool”, Chloe got up to give him a hug before going back to her friends, one of whom placed his hand casually on her leg.

Lex went back into his room to do some work, there was always something that he could do even when he didn’t actually need to. He turned on his laptop and sank down into a chair before it, able to hear the sound of frivolity coming from the living room. He was pathetic. He had spent his life alone and now he couldn’t spend the evening alone happily. Yep, he was definitely pathetic.

He considered getting a drink. No Chloe would kill him.

He has to get a friendless, a nice one. Lana came to mind. She would be ideal if it weren’t for Clark.

There was a knock at the door.

He perked up.

“Come and play, they are beating me in Pictionary!”

This is such an upliftinging yet heart wrenching rendition of a developing chlex relationship. I cannot wait for their obvious feelings to be recognized between them. However the beginning of the story also has me tied in knots as to how this will truly play out. Praying it has a happy ending. Please continue soon!!!

Thank-you so much for taking the time to read and reply, I hope that you will continue reading and won't be dissapointed. :)

Chapter Sixteen

“Come on, stop being a tease.”

“Stop pressuring me!”

“Well I wouldn’t have to if you stopped being such a tease.”

“Young man”, an elderly woman who had been listening into their conversation with increasing pursed lips broke in, “I think that you-”

“It’s all right, he’s just being silly”, Chloe’s head popped out from between the two dark green curtains which separated her cubicle from the rest of the dressing room.

“I’m not being silly, just come out and”, Lex broke off as he turned and saw her head hovering there, detached from the rest of her body and resisting the urge to chuckle. She grabbed his collar and dragged him inside before he could pass comment.

Lex found himself inside the large dressing room stall before he knew what was happening. He had been standing outside for over half an hour and his feet were killing him; someone else was already on the boyfriend bench. Not that he was her boyfriend but if he had to follow her around while she shopped he wanted to sit down. He had used his most ferocious glare on the man, but apparently a sleeping husband was impervious to it. He eyed the new sofa eagerly and deposited himself on it, shifting several thousand dollars worth of expensive fabrics to the side.

“Men, always thinking about their creature comforts”, she sighed.

“My feet hurt, I’ve been waiting for ages”, he complained before he finally fixed his eyes on her properly.

“You look shocked”, she observed.

“I am. I mean, I’m not. Wow”, he was not normally so inarticulate, in fact, he couldn’t recall the last time a woman’s appearance had left him speechless. It had probably been the centrefold of the playboy he had found when he was thirteen. She had been pretty impressive but he thought that Chloe could probably hold a candle to her, or at least she could in that dress. The dark crimson velvet revealed a lot of cleavage, clenched tightly around her stomach and then flowed down to the ground. A tantalising glimpse of leg from ankle to thigh completed the picture. She was a goddess.

“My confidence does not need boosting thank-you very much, Lex”, she informed him, she knew that he was just trying to make her feel better. It was sweet but she hated being patronised.

“I’m serious Chloe”, his voice was a little thing, adding authenticity to his words.

“Worth your sore feet even?” She surveyed herself in the mirrors on two sides. Her butt looked big.

“Well worth it”, he agreed. She wasn’t leaving their hotel suite like that but it was still well worth it.

“You know, you didn’t actually have to sacrifice your poor abused feet. I have been picking out my own clothes for several years now, dressing myself too”.

“I know you have and I’m very impressed, of course, but clearly I did have to come with you”, he pointed out, “I sent you out with strict instructions and you only came back with one dress”.

“Well, I don’t like spending other people’s money”, she defended herself.

“Are you sure that you are a girl? Ow!”

Chloe’s hand had smacked him on the arm as she declared: “Not all girls are like that!”

“No, just the ones I meet”.

“True”, she conceded, she was going to have to work on finding him a nice girlfriend at some point. One who wasn’t a money grubbing whore. “Now be good or your feet will get it”.

He smiled at her, “So have you tried anything else on or have you just been ogling yourself in that dress?”

“Mostly I have been waiting to see how long I could torture you for”, she continued to examine her ass.

“Really?”

She turned back to look at him, “No not really and I’m not ogling myself, I’m trying to see how this dress looks from the back”.

“Well then you need a man’s perspective, turn around and let me see”, he waited for her to do as he said before giving his verdict, “Hmm”.

“Is that a ‘good hmm’ or a ‘bad hmm’?” She craned her neck around to look at him.

‘It’s a ‘far too many men are going to be having inappropriate thoughts about bending you over and fucking you hmm’”, he elaborated.

“What’s inappropriate about that?” She tried to sound casual even as her cheeks flushed.

“It would make a terrible mess of the hors d'oeuvres”, he replied dryly. Reminding her, and more importantly himself, what it was that they were going to do and why they were getting her fancy dresses in the first place.

“True, and I do like fancy snack food”.

“You do”, he agreed. “So, did you try on anything else?”

“Oh yeah, I’ve tried on everything so far”, she made a general sweeping gesture to include all of the garments in the small room.

“And?”

“And”, she shrugged, “I don’t know”.

“Okay, we’ll just get this one and get going to the next shop then”, he offered, he wouldn’t try to force her to wear something she did not care for.

“Lex, I ...”

“Chloe, if they didn’t have price tags on would it have made a difference?”

She looked at him, a little guiltily.

“Chloe”, he stood up and cupped her face, “look at me. I know that you don’t like this. I know that spending money goes against the grain with you, but I am not doing this as your friend, I am not doing this to spoil you, I am doing it for the same reason that my secretary has a clothing allowance. I couldn’t care less if you go around in shorts and a t-shirt ...”

“Unless it is chilly”, he was always a stickler for her bundling up warm.

“Unless it is chilly”, he agreed, “but just with once, just for this week when you are being arm candy, let me dress you”.

“Fine.”

“Fine?” There seemed to be something that she wasn’t saying.

“Fine, but I can’t believe that I am saying this”, she sighed, “But you are going to dress me then”.

His eyebrows quirked up.

“Not physically, but you chose what you want then. You are paying for it, it is for your image, you chose”.

“Deal”, he stuck out his hand.

“Deal”, she agreed as she shook it firmly.

~*~

“Lex it is fine really”, Chloe assured him, placing her hand on his shoulder only to have it shrugged off again. “This sort of stuff happens all of the time to girls like me, it isn’t ...”

“Girls like you?” He repeated in a low and dangerous tone.

“Yes, you know middle height, middle weight, middle income”.

Lex grit his teeth.

“There is no reason to make a big deal out of this. You were outside taking a call, they didn’t see you. If they had they would never have done something like that it was directed at me not you”.

“I know that it was directed at you, what the fuck do you think that I’m so angry about?” They could look at him however they wanted, he didn’t give a damn, but it would be over his dead body that anyone ever treated Chloe like that again and lived a full and happy life.

“Sir, Mr Luthor, I’m so terribly sorry”, the manager came scurrying over, “is there some problem?”

“Some problem? Yes, I would say that there is some problem”, he mimicked the elder man’s affected tone for the last two words, “that bitch you call a sales assistant was rude to Chloe.”

He looked from the assistant to the woman he presumed was Chloe, she probably had been rude, but he feigned shock anyway. Then revulsion and commenced grovelling. Of course the woman would be fired without a reference. Of course he had no idea how such a thing could ever had happened etc etc. Lex was not appeased and told them to cancel his account before storming out with Chloe strangling along behind him. She had taken a moment to stick her tongue out at the former sale’s assistant.

Lex sat in the back of the limo fuming, almost silently.

Chloe reached over to place her hand on top of his, but he shrugged off the kindly gesture. Chloe pursed her lips, she should let him have his time and space. Should, but probably wouldn’t.

“You know a teacher when I was in the fourth grade was really mean to me”.

His head snapped to the side.

“She wouldn’t let me have the chocolate biscuit I had taken along side my carrot sticks for a snack. She said that it was junk food. We could go and threaten her if it would make you feel better”.

Her offer did nothing to soften his face.

“I’m sorry that I implied that you were looking out for yourself rather than me, I didn’t mean it the way that it sounded I just meant that regular mortals have to put up with stuff like that all the time”, she tried to explain.

“You’re not regular”, he pointed out.

“Well no, but sometimes my obvious greatness intimidates people”, she tried to joke him out of his mood.

He shot her a look.

“Or at least that is what I tell myself”.

He smiled, a tiny bit.

“You can’t change the entire world just for me, I know that you would like to be able to but you can’t.”

“Then what can I do?”

“Give me a hug before we have to go into another store?” She offered.

Lex pulled Chloe into his arms and held her tightly, ashamed at himself for having no hugged her sooner. Her soft, warm weight nestled against his body perfectly and he inhaled her fragrance. Some fruity body spritz scent underpinned with wholesome Dove soap. It was pure Chloe.

“We will have the designers come to us at the hotel”, it wasn’t a secret where it was staying and he wasn’t exposing Chloe to that again.

She gasped, “I get it now, this isn’t about what she said to me, she doesn’t really think that I am too ugly and fat to wear their clothes, you set it all up so that you could sit down, didn’t you?” She accused.

“She called you ugly and fat?” Lex demanded, his arms tightening around her possessively.

“What did you think that she called me?” She wondered.

“Nothing, but the look that she gave you wasn’t that pleasant”. He had seen it, and hadn’t liked it. “Turn this car around, we are going back to he shop”, he called to the driver.

“Lex, really there is no need”, Chloe attempted to reason with him but the car was already turning.

~*~

“Come along drama queen”, Chloe called to Lex as they finally got back to the hotel suit, her weary trudge coming to an abrupt halt. “What’s all this?”

“Oh, I thought that it would save time if instead of going through the whole you trying on and then deciding that you won’t buy anything because it is all too expensive. My secretary called every upper scale clothing provider in the city and brought everything that was in your size,” he explained.

Chloe gaped at him, “You are kidding, right?”

“Nope”, he collapsed onto the couch. “So, how about a fashion show to decide what you are going to wear tonight?”

Chloe looked out at the sea of bags in front of her, every single available surface was covered with them, Lex was even sitting on them.

“I don’t think that we have that much time!”

Love this story. Just got an opportunity to catch up and I want more.

A/N: Thanks trcky.

Chapter Seventeen

Chloe manoeuvred around the huge pile of bags she still had yet to unpack, dressed for the first time that week more casually in a pair of faded jeans and a hoodie and cap which both proclaimed her to be a fan of the Metropolis Sharks.

“Didn’t find the designer jeans yet I take it?” Lex asked from where he stood in the doorway.

“You brought me designer jeans too?” Chloe asked incredulously, “seriously Lex, at least 90% of this has to go back tomorrow”.

“No”.

“Yes”.

“No”.

“Yes!”

“Chloe”, he started in a warning tone, “don’t make me put my foot down”.

“You? Put your foot down?” Chloe irrupted into peals of laughter, the image of Lex even trying to firm too preposterous to even fully envision.

“It’s not that funny”, he protested.

“Yes, it is”, Chloe couldn’t control herself, she held onto her sides and flopped back onto her bed.

“I have put my foot down lots of times”, he sat next to her, observing the quivering, tittering mass.

“Oh yeah, when?” She challenged.

“Well”, he considered the matter, “I can’t think of any times with you recently but I must have done at some point”.

“You keep telling yourself that”, she reached out to pat his arm affectionately.

“Yes, well you should just know that it is there, big and can be put down at any time”, Lex announced as he lay back down next to her, linking his fingers behind his head as he did so. He also raised one foot and gave it a wiggle just to prove his point.

“Very impressive”, it was a surprisingly elegant foot considering its size. “I know, you are big and powerful and very scary”, Chloe assured him, patting his chest before laying her head on it and wrapping her arms loosely around his lean middle. “Is that what you’re wearing?”

“No, it is a hologram”.

“I mean”, she poked him, “to the game? Are you wearing that or are you going to change before we get going?”

“I was planning on wearing this”, he answered. “Why?”

“Because I think that we need to go shopping for you soon if that is the most casual attire that you have”, she stroked her hand over the soft fabric of his suit jacket. It was very Lex like, but it couldn’t be as comfortable for him as a nice sweater.

“It doesn’t have a tie”, he pointed out.

“No, no it doesn’t”, she rubbed her cheek against him in a comfortable, snuggly way.

“And it’s a sports jacket and trousers”, that wasn’t formal.

“It’s okay, I will introduce you to sweaters and this magical thing called denim”, she said in a consoling manner.

“Fine”, he sighed, there was no point in arguing with Chloe, “but I draw the line at flannel”.

“Ah, you know how I feel about men in flannel. What about Timberlands?”

“No”, he wasn’t even sure what those were, but the answer was no if they were in any way associated with flannel.

“Tractor accessories?”

“No.”

She giggled.

“What about a nice woolly hat to keep your head warm?” She reached up to stroke a hand over his head.

“It would probably look a bit weird with a suit”, he took her hand and replaced it on his chest. He didn’t mind her touching him but it felt odd in that situation, with them there, lying on a hotel bed.

“I thought that you said that it was a sport’s jacket trouser combo?” Chloe demanded his attention once more.

“It is, but it would still look weird”, gone were the days when he constantly wore a hat everywhere he went just to hide his head.

“Tomorrow, jeans and woolly jumpers”, she rubbed his tummy.

“What is your obsession with rubbing my stomach?” He asked with a laugh.

“What?” She raised her head slightly, “Was I doing it again?”

“Yes”.

“Oh, well”, she shrugged, “that’s just what you do when you are cuddling with a teddy bear”.

“I am not a teddy bear”, he gave her a squeeze to cut the harshness of his words.

“Yes you are!”

“No I’m not!” How did he get into these arguments?

“Well then how do you explain the fact that we are cuddling and that your tummy keeps getting rubbed?”

“My best friend is a psychopath?” He tried.

Chloe shot bolt upright.

“Chloe, I didn’t mean, I was just joking”, he sat up immediately too, the relaxed slightly drowsy feel from a few seconds ago replaced by panic.

“I’m your best friend?”

Lex’s eyes widened slightly, “I didn’t mean it like that”.

“No, no Luthor you can’t back out of this now. Did you or did you not call me your best friend?” She demanded, she couldn’t believe that there was anything wrong with her ears.

“Well, it is a little juvenile”, he tried to avoid the conversation.

“I don’t care”, he should have known that that wouldn’t work, she was like a terrier with a bone when she got her teeth into something. “That’s what you said, isn’t it?”

He sighed, realising that there was no way out of this. “Well, aren’t you?”

“Of course I am, but I didn’t think that you would have worked it out yet”, she went back to hugging him happily. Her best friend. “When did you know?”

“Hmmm?” He wondered, his body slowly relaxing now that he thought that the conversation was over.

“When did you figure it out that I was your best friend and that you now like me more than Clark?” Chloe enquired.

“What?”

“Well, a girl likes to know these things”, she rubbed her cheek against him.

“Chloe, I haven’t the faintest idea”.

“Oh, okay”, she sounded disappointed.

“You were definitely my best friend by the time that Clark came back around”, Lex decided after a moment. He hadn’t even considered Clark’s feelings that day at the corn fair.

“Okay”, that was nice and early. It wasn’t something he had just decided.

“So ...” He prompted.

“So what?”

“Aren’t you going to tell me when you worked out that I was your best friend?” If she was going to be needy then she should at least tell him too. Rather than answering him, she paused. “Chloe?”

“I’m not sure either”.

“A vague time frame?” Scientific curiosity got the better of him, he would like to know what it had been that he had done to make her decide that she was his best friend.

“Ummm”, she couldn’t think. The truth was that of course she was his best friend, but was he hers? He was definitely one of her best friends but she had Lois, and Clark and her Dad. Besides she had always been warned against having best friends as it would always end up with someone’s feelings getting hurt.

“I’m not your best friend, am I?” He voice the concern slowly, as the realisation dawned on him.

Chloe closed her eyes as a bolt of pain flashed through her. His tone was cool and aloof but she knew that she had hurt him, knew how much that meant to him. She should never have brought it up.

He moved her gently to the side in spite of her protests and stood up, “We have to get going in half an hour but I can make your excuses if you ...”

“No Lex”, she called after him and wrapped her arms around him from behind, “don’t get mad”.

“I’m not mad”.

“Well, don’t get hurt or offended or ...”

“I am none of those things and I really don’t think that you have any right to tell me how I should or should not be feeling”, he said in a tight voice as he tried to detach her. “Chloe, let go, I don’t want to hurt you”, he told her as his fingers prised at hers.

“Not until you promise that you aren’t going to run off and lock yourself in your room and not talk to me”, she all but begged.

“Chloe, I’m hardly a child”.

“Promise”.

“I hardly think”, he tried again but was once again interrupted.

“Promise!”

“Fine”, he huffed, “I promise”.

Slowly and unwillingly she released him, there wasn't enough room between him and the door for her to squeeze into and he refused to turn around, only shrugging off her hand when she tried to turn him or at least hold onto his hand.

“Please don’t be mad”, her voice wavered.

“I have already told you that I am not mad, I just want to leave”, he strove to keep his tone calm. He tried once more to free himself of her but she wouldn’t allow. She plead with him, she could hear the pitying pain in her voice and it struck him in the heart, but not for the right reasons. “Chloe, why did you want to be my friend in the first place? Wanted something out of me or was it just pity?” The last word was barely a whisper.

“Fuck you Lex”, Chloe pulled a disgusted face. “You know damned well that I didn’t want anything from you and as for pity. The only person who pities you is you sitting there going ‘Oh I’m Lex, my Mom’s dead and my Dad doesn’t love me’”.

“Don’t you mention her”, Lex growled in warning.

“And I lost my hair and Clark isn’t my friend any more. Yes crap has happened in your life. Everyone has their problems. But you know that you are great you know that you are funny and kind and intelligent and interesting and fun to be around. You know that the only reason that I hang around with you outside of work is because I want to and if I hear any more of this crap I will be forced to kick your ass”, Chloe poured forth her wrath on him but Lex looked unimpressed.

“I’m sorry that I brought up the best friend thing. And I’m sorry that I cannot give you an assurance that you are my number one bestist best friend who I want to be my partner in all school projects from now until the end of time. I have a Dad and cousin who I love but yes, you are right up there. You count as a member of my family so whatever hang ups you have get the hell over them”.

“Are you finished?” He finally turned around.

“Yeah, pretty much?”

“I am not going to be threatened with any more bodily harm if I open my mouth?”

“That depends on what you are going to say”.

He stepped closer to her so that their bodies were touching, he placed his finger under her chin until it was raised enough for them to make eye contact and practically snarled, “However angry you are, however justified you feel, never bring up my mother to win a point or an argument again”.

Guilt crept up up through her settling in a hard ball in her throat. She blinked rapidly but couldn’t tear her gaze from Lex.

“A warning from your best friend”. He left and Chloe tried not to cry.

~*~

“Lex?”

“Chloe?”

She stared down at the blue denim of her jeans as she rubbed her sweaty palms against it, “Are you still angry with me?”

“Do I seem angry?”

For the first time since their argument she dared to look over at him. She had been ready and waiting by the limo before he had even come out of the hotel and had slipped into the car discreetly; afraid that he might leave without her. Since then she had been keeping resolutely silent and to her side of the back-seat. It was dark but she could make out his face. A stone mask. “No, but what does that prove?”

The corner of his lips quirked up, ever so slightly.

“So, are you?”

“Yes, a little”, he admitted, “but it will pass”.

“It will?”

“Yes”.

“You are sure?”

“Yes Chloe, after all who else would spend ten hours in a board room with me and actually pay attention to every single scrap of information and trip up the opposition?” He asked.

“I don’t like people trying to take advantage of you”, she said, feeling oddly as if she needed to defend herself.

“I know”, he had been impressed by her abilities, “not even the statisticians would have caught that last one”.

“I don’t think that they were trying hard enough”. She had spoken to some of Lex’s other advisors and wasn’t statisfied that they were doing their jobs of looking out for his interests well enough.

He smiled at her, reached over and squeezed her hand, “And who else would save me at the opera?”

~*~

“Oh, I’m so excited”, Chloe giggled as she entered the Metropolis opera house on the arm of the most handsome of escorts.

“Really? All of that bouncing around in the car didn’t give it away”, Lex teased her good naturedly.

“Well I’m sorry Mr Fancy Pants”, she bumped her hip into his, “but this is exciting to me”.

Lex smiled at her, a warm, genuine expression. A lot of the dull things he had been raised to do had taken on a new life over the last few days. Metropolis seemed to sparkle when Chloe smiled. The stupid things people said were suddenly forgiveable just because it meant that she could mock them. “It is exciting tonight”, he agreed.

She nodded, pleased with herself. Determined not to miss a thing, she ripped her eyes away from her dashing date to survey their surrounds with what she hoped was an air of disinterest bordering on ennui until she burst out in an excited whisper, “Oh, oh look Lex. Is that who I think it is?” She stopped herself just short of actually pointing.

“Probably”, he smirked at her exuberance, “this is opening night at the Metropolis opera”. He couldn't remember the last time he had been excited at the prospect at seeing any member of this crowd.

“I read an article about him in last weeks’”, Chloe was about to tell Lex all about it when she stopped herself and attempted another look of bored hauteur. She hoped that she didn’t look constipated.

“Last weeks’, what?” Lex asked, trying not to tease her about her latest expression.

“It doesn’t matter”, she said with a shake of her head which luckily transformed her features back to normal. She looked up at him and, upon noting his expression, continued, “Really, it doesn’t”. His expression did not change one whit and stated very clearly that she was going to tell him.

“I’ll tell you later, it’s not important now”, she removed her arm from his so that she could turn around to see more.

“If it’s interesting tell me now”, he took her by the hips to bring her back around to face him. He wanted to know what she had been about to say, she was fast making this the most interesting pre-opera time he had ever experienced. However, that wouldn’t be difficult.

“No, later”, she placed her hands on his arms without thinking about it.

He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to him as he joked, “What’s going to happen later”, and wriggled his eyebrow at her.

“I am here as your arm candy”, she raised up on her tie toes so that he could hear her as she whispered conspiratorially, “to make you look good. I will save my need to tell people off until later”.

“Chloe, you don’t have to not be yourself”, he frowned down at her.

“I’m not ‘not being myself’. I’m just behaving better so as not to make it more difficult for you”, she defended herself.

“You don’t have to behave either”, he whispered in her ear, pulling her even closer.

Chloe blinked, as she found herself smooshed against him.

“Lex Luthor, as I live and breath”, a husky female voice interrupted them.

Chloe’s head snapped to the side, shocked for a second she hadn’t realised that they had been the centre of anyone’s attention until that second. Lex clearly had though. She had to give it to Lex, he was a good actor. If he wanted to ensure that other women didn’t bother him too much, he was doing a good job making it believable. He continued to hold her close even as Chloe turned to get a better view of who had interrupted them.

She was tall, brunette (or poopie haired, as Chloe liked to this of it), and looked like she hadn’t eaten in about two years. Possibly more. Considering the amount of collagen and silicon inserted into her frontage it was a miracle that she was still standing upright. Just Lex’s type.

Or maybe not. Lex’s hand found its way to Chloe’s stomach and stroked over it gently and absent-mindedly. At least it appeared so to the casual observer but Chloe knew better. Still, she leant back against him and stared up at him fondly.

“Penelope”, he said suavely with a nod before transferring all of his attention to Chloe. “Darling, this is Penelope Daniels, you met her brother David at the meeting yesterday”.

“Oh yes”, Chloe had had fun destroying the smarmy bastard. She had known that she didn't like this girl, it was no wonder when she considered the family traits. Among her and her brother’s worse habits was the tendency to shoe horn her way into conversations which were nothing to do with her and not take subtle hints. Finally Lex just stopped responding, seemingly unable to take his eyes off Chloe, and asked, “Darling, have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?”

“Not thoroughly enough for my liking”, he had in fact mentioned it but Lex was always polite.

He raised an eyebrow.

She smiled up at him and he inclined his head as if he were about to kiss her and Chloe wondered just how far he was willing to go to get rid of this woman. She needn’t have worried, Lex was always in control. Just before his lips could reach hers, a chime sounded to indicate that it was time to make their way to their seats.

“We had better get going”, he told her, taking only a second to look up and say to Penelope, “it was nice to see you again”. Before she could reply, Lex’s hand was on Chloe’s lower back ushering out of the foyer and up the stairs. Once they were out of hearing, he hissed, “Never leave me alone with that woman”.

“I didn’t!”

“I could feel you pulling away”, he kept his hand on her back as they continued along their way.

“You’re paranoid”, she rolled her eyes.

“I’m not”, he huffed.

“No, then what are you?” She challenged.

“Cautious”, she looked unimpressed, “She is the kind of woman who goes after men with money”.

“Aren’t most, according to you?” She was going to have to do something about that perception at some point.

“Yes, but there is a difference. She wants a baby to trap someone forever”, he explained.

“Shame”, patted his chest, “but I’ll protect you”.

“Good”, he lifted her hand and kissed the back of it gently just as they reached their own private box.

Chloe blushed at the attention and felt a little odd until she realised why he had done it, there was an usher waiting to help them in. She smiled at both of them, turning to Lex once they were alone and teasing him,“Only the best, I see”.

“Of course”, he smiled back.

It really was the best. She transferred her attention back to the view from the box. She could see down over everything but no one could see in. They were cocooned in their own private world. She loved it.

“Do you like it?” He checked, sounding almost anxious.

“I love it”, she enthused, throwing her arms around his waist in a hug as she did so.

“I’m glad”, he returned the embrace, “Do you like opera in general?”

“I don’t know”, she finally released him and sat down.

“This is a rather good one”, he smiled and sat down next to her, placing his arm around the back of Chloe’s seat as the lights dimmed and the orchestra began to warm up. She didn’t know if that was standard opera protocol.

~*~

“So, did you like it?”

“It wasn’t bad”.

“Wasn’t bad?”

“No, why do you look surprised?” Chloe inquired mildly as rotated her head to observe her companion.

“Because of this”, he scooted to the edge of his seat and perched there with an expression of rapped wonderment and his hands clasped.

“I did not look like that”, Chloe elbowed him.

“You did!”

“Chloe, you didn’t even move during intermission”.

“There was an intermission?” He was making that up, wasn’t he?

“Yes sweetie, it was a quarter of an hour”, he had sat there chuckling at her.

“Well, you are supposed to be looking at the stage, not at me”, she huffed.

“I prefer looking at you”, he answered with a shrug.

“Why?” The show had been really good.

“I have never seen someone enjoying it so much before. Everyone else I know pretends but you, you really loved it did you?”

“I did”, she beamed.

“Good”, he gave her shoulders a squeeze. “Are you ready to get going then?”

“Sure, although I would like to powder my nose first”. See she was already fitting in, she hadn’t see ‘Go for a tinkle’. Her invitation to Buckingham Palace was probably in the mail already.

“Right, the ladies’ rooms are over there”, he said as he walked her out of the box.

Chloe was practically bouncing as she made her way into the room, even it was fancy all marble and gold and skipped back out in search of Lex only to find him being cornered by the horrible woman from before. Couldn’t she tell that Lex was uncomfortable? He was almost cringing, poor baby. Chloe to the rescue.

She ran her hands down her dress even though she already knew that it was wrinkle free - she had checked in the bathroom - and sauntered over to him and, not opting for the subtle approach, pinched his bum.

“Woah”, Lex jumped slightly and Chloe giggled before wrapping her arms around his middle.

“Just trying to get your attention, you have been neglecting me terribly”, she pouted.

“How terrible of me”, he slipped his hand down onto her hip, “How can I make it up to you?”

“Oh, I can think of some ways”, she raised up onto her tiptoes to whisper once more.

A few seconds later Lex made a very convincing display of dragging her out of the opera.

~*~

“Well, that last one was obviously a gold digger”, Chloe huffed.

“I know”, he gave her hand another squeeze.

“Oh, we’re here”, Chloe smiled as they pulled up to a halt.

“Are you going to be sad to go back to Smallville tomorrow?” Lex wondered, voicing something he had been considering that day pre-fight.

“No, I mean don’t get me wrong I’ve had a great week but I like Smallville”, she reached over to hug his arm, “I don’t have to share you so much there”.

Lex smiled. He liked that too.


A/N: Do you think that their friendship will survive their fight?

can't wait to see what happens next.loved end of chapter where both lex and chloe liked that the don't have to share the other so much in smallville

great chapter
these two are so much fun :)

Great chapter
They're so much fun lol

I really love this progression. Can't wait till they figure "it" out!!

A/N: Thank-you, love all three of you! :D

Chapter Eighteen

“Okay, you have to be kidding me”.

“What’s wrong?” Lex wondered looking around them.

“Lex”, she placed both of her hands on his shoulders, “at the opera, a private box is great. At a football game, it is a disgrace!”

“But it is the best”, he protested. He had no idea how he was going to top this if she didn’t like it. He supposed that he could have a large tent pitched in the middle of the field but that wouldn’t be safe.

“You are so far up in this sky box that you can barely even see the players”, she pointed out.

“Sure you can”, Lex pointed to the large screen TV. They had a great view. He absolutely wasn’t going to allow her to sit in the middle of he field in a tent. That was just absurd.

“If you have to watch a TV screen to see them then doesn’t that rather defeat the point of going to the game live?”

He looked at her in confusion. What other option was there?

“You have to actually be among the fans”, she continued.

“Among the fans”, he repeated, not quite able to process the idea or what she wanted.

“Yes, like when we went to see Clark’s games”, Chloe tried to explain the concept to him.

“But this is the best”.

“No, Lex, it isn’t”, she looked around and found a woolly hat in the Shark’s colours. “Here”, she stuffed it on his head before grabbing his hand, “come on, let’s go”.

“Chloe, what are we doing?”

“You’ll see”, when he still seemed hesitant, she added, “or you can just leave me all by myself to go out there?”

“How many times do you think that that will work before I build up some sort of tolerance?”

“Oh, I would say a good couple of dozen”, she grinned cheekily at him, causing him to roll his eyes but allow her to drag him along behind her for a few steps before catching up and throwing his arm around her shoulders. She lead him down through the stadium to the front where they joined a queue and she started to play with her shoe.

“Are you alright?” He asked in concern.

“Yeah, I’m fine, I’m just, ah ha”, she pulled out several bills.

“What’s that?”

“Money, I know that you don’t recognise anything less than a hundred but trust me, these work for normal people all of the time”, she said as she straightened up and showed him her collection of twenties.

“You don’t need money, I”, he began to reach his hand out and around and Chloe noticed the movement and realised what it implied.

“Oh for goodness’ sake Lex, do you know nothing about looking after yourself?” She glanced down just to double check and observed that there was no prominent bulge. She reached around behind him and stuffed her hand into his back pocket and felt around the firm curve but there was nothing stored in there.

“Chloe”, he almost blushed and looked around, “what are you doing?”

“I’m looking for”, she shoved her hand in his other pocket, “this”, she withdrew his wallet

“You know there are easier ways to get at my money”, he teased her.

She rolled her eyes and gave it to him, “Always keep your wallet in your front pocket when you are somewhere like this. Anyone can get it out of a back one. Well, pick pockets are very talented and might go for it in the front one too, but at least this way you will get more of a thrill if they try it”.

“I think that I am having a bad influence on you”, he shook his head. Jokes like that hadn’t used to just come out of her.

“You don’t know what I was like before, you could be a good influence”, she grinned cheekily.

“True”, he agreed. “But I tend to doubt it”. They finally made their way to the front of the queue and Chloe made her request and got “200 dollars” as a reply. “Here you go”, she handed over the money.

“Chloe, let me”, Lex tried to prevent her but without success.

“No”, she patted the back of his interfering hand, “Lex you have to learn to let other people pay for things”.

“But -”

“But nothing. Now be quite or I won’t buy you a big foam finger”, she warned.

“Chloe”, he tried again.

“No. I’m sorry but I have to put my foot down sometimes”, she announced firmly.

“Meanie”, he used one of Chloe’s favourite words against her.

“Yup”. She managed to pay for their tickets without further mishap. “Great, now, let’s get going”.

“To our seats?” Lex started looking around for a sign directing them to the stalls.

“No, to get slushies, greasy food, ice cream and foam fingers”, she corrected him.

“How are e going to eat all of that? And without a table?” Lex expostulated.

“Poor little neglected rich boy”, she patted him on the shoulder. “Come on”.

~*~

“You are amazing”, Lex said, with no small degree of amazement.

“Yes, very true. But is there anything in particular that has brought this on?” She wondered.

“Other than your ability to demolish a hot dog, French fries, chocolate bar and orange juice in under ten minutes without utensils? In a most elegant manner, I might add”, even knowing Chloe as well as he did, that had been impressive.

“That’s easy, it is normally the slurpie that slows me down a bit, but you wouldn’t let me have one”, she sounded not a little cranky.

“Did you see that machine? It was disgusting!”

“It’s ice, any germs are probably frozen to death”, she said with a shrug although the truth was that she had never given it any thought before and certainly hadn’t demanded - as Lex had - that they open up the back of the machine and let him have a look inside. Apparently it had been filled with fungus. While the thought did turn her stomach, it didn’t sit well with her that someone else making decisions for her. If she wanted to kill herself with a mouldy fungus iced drink then she would! Well, actually she wasn’t but that wasn’t because Lex had prevented her, she just hadn’t felt like it by that point.

“Sure, that’s how it works”, he rolled his eyes. “You are not swallowing mould just because you like the taste of sugar and colourings”.

“You are so bossy”, she complained.

“This from the woman who would not even let me pay my own way”. He didn’t deny that he was overbearing and authoritative, but she was just as bad. If not worse.

“Hey, I’m a modern girl. I think that when a man brings you to Metropolis for a week, pays your room and board in a fancy hotel, give you a salary, plus buys you thousands of dollars of new clothes then it is only polite that you shell out for one night”, she said.

He shook his head in amusement but had to admit that the small portion of fries he had allowed himself was quite good. Chloe apparently thought so too as she stole one of them. “Is my food to your satisfaction?”

“Yes, much better than mine”, she said as she ate her prize slowly for once.

He held out the packet to her in offer.

“No, they only taste better hen they are stolen”, Chloe imparted her worldly wisdom.

He gave another smile and shake of his head and resumed eating as he surveyed the crowd. They were in the good part of the stands, but they were nevertheless, in the stands, surrounded by people. There as a slight thrill to it though. He had to admit, just not out loud.

“How are Clark and Lana going to find us?” He asked, “I told them to meet us up in the skybox.”

“Oh, I’ll call Clark”, Chloe said, finally remembering their friends. She had brought them tickets along with ones for her and Lex, their argument over her preferred choice of drink had merely put them out of her mind for the moment.

“They might want to stay up there”, Lex pointed out.

Chloe shrugged, “then I will have two extra seats for my tiaras”.

“Friends reference?”

“Exactly”. She really was getting him nicely educated. He opened his mouth to respond only to close it as he saw Chloe grab her phone and make her call.

“What’s with the face?” He asked as she hung up.

“I’m just fortunate”.

“I meant”, he stressed with a smile, “why do you look ... strained”.

“Ah, well that would probably be because it sounded as if Lana and Clark were having a little bit of a discussion”, she said as she slipped her phone back into her pocket. One of the front ones, of course.

“About life the universe and everything?” He asked hopefully.

“Or why Clark was late to pick her up again, why he hadn’t worn something nicer to pick her up in etc”

“Ah, that kind of discussion”, Lex knew those discussions well.

“Yep”.

“Poor Lana”, he sighed. It could not be easy to have a boyfriend like Clark, someone who kept running off every two seconds. Heroes might be noble, but he believed that villains made far superior husbands.

Chloe looked at him in disbelief, “Poor Clark”.

They traded looked.

“Agree to disagree?

“Just like always”.

“Why can’t more couples do that?”

“Love and sexual tension?”

“Both good points”.

A few minutes later, barely in time for the start of the game Lex’s eagle eyes spotted a very familiar, very tall figure loping towards them, scanning the crowd around them. His keen eyes skimmed right over Lex, now that his distinctive bald head was being covered. Lex felt oddly self-consciousness; it had been years since he had worn a hat.

“Over here”, Chloe called to their friends waving them over and Lex observed that they did appear to be in the middle of a fight. Clark’s normally benign features seemed tense and Lana trailed after him her beauty in no way diminished by her apparent anger. Clark looked like something out of a catalogue: Timberlands, jeans, football jacket from college and dark curls peaking out from under a base ball cap. A clean living, well mannered country boy. Something a lot of girls still went weak in the knees over. Lana looked like she had stepped out of a catalogue too, but a completely different one.

Her petite frame was dressed from head to toe in black designer wear - although he as willing to bet that it as all knock off with equally fake jewels hanging from her ear lopes. Her face as carefully painted and her hair brushed to a high shine. She looked as out of place as he felt but there as no denying that she as gorgeous.

“I thought”, she began pointedly, “that we ere supposed to be meeting you in the skybox”.

“Change of plans”, Chloe shrugged, “Lex lost all of his money investing in hair regrowth formula on the stock market”.

Clark smiled, Lex looked amused and Lana scowled. Yes, they were definitely in the middle of a tiff.

“It is a good thing that I know when you are joking”, he teased her back.

“On the contrary I’ve been trying to get rid of you for weeks but you won’t take any of my subtle hints.” she wrapped her arm around his waist and gave him a squeeze.

“That was a hint I take it?”

“Yup”, she agreed.

“So we are watching the game from down here?” Clark tried to get them back on track.

“Yup!”

“Yes”, Lex agreed.

“What is the real reason?” Clark wondered, not that he minded being down amongst the people. He wasn’t entirely sure what he would even have done in a skybox other than sit around feeling uncomfortable and afraid at every moment that he would accidentally break something that cost more than his family’s farm.

“Chloe wanted to”, Lex said as that solved the entire question.

“And my word is law”, Chloe said happily.

“I think that it is great”, Clark smiled whilst Lana only sniffed. “And hello”, Clark put in pointedly realising that they had never actually greeted each other. He hugged Chloe and reached out to shake Lex’s hand. It as more formal than they had used to be, but it as a step in the right direction. “Thanks for inviting us”

“Thanks for coming”, Lex proved that he could be just as polite.

“Yes, thank- you for inviting us Lex”, Lana said, moving over to stand by him.

Lex and Chloe were sitting in the middle of their four seats, not for any reason in particular, Chloe had just been anxious to sit down and didn’t want to budge over one place until she had regained her energy by consuming her body weight in junk food and Lex had sat next to her. He was about to suggest that they they both moved over one when Lana sat down next to him and placed her hand on his knee.

“I really do appreciate it, we hardly get to see each other any more”. There as a gusty sigh coming from Clark’s direction as she lowered himself into the chair. Apparently they weren’t going to be sitting together.

Lex traded looks with Chloe, this could prove to be a very long night.

“Would anyone care for a French fry?” Lex inquired.

“No thank-you”, Lana answered politely, “Clark already took my out for burgers and fries before we came”.

‘Smooth’, Lex thought to himself, starting to get a much clearer idea of why she was getting mad. Clark really didn’t have any idea about how to romance a woman. They needed wine, soft music and candles not burgers and a drive through.

“I was telling him that you two had probably visited that new restaurant which opened last week”, Lana continued airily.

“What new restaurant?” Chloe wondered, having cottoned to the problem. Clark had been late - as per usual - and Lana had not only been left waiting but had also assumed that Clark had something special planned for ‘taking her to eat’ pre game, not just fast food. Really, after all of this time you would have thought that she would have known him better. It was as if she were in love with the idea of the man she could turn him into rather than the man that he actually as. It as a shame because Clark as great.

“I think that she is talking about the sushi place I told you about”, Lex reminded her. He had been quite looking forward to trying that place out.

“Ah yes, I’m sorry Lex but as much as I adore you I am not putting cold slimy raw fish in my mouth for you”, Chloe apologised. Raw sea creatures were a gastric abomination, not a delicacy.

“I would make it into an aeroplane”, he offered, only half teasing.

“Not even then”, she said, she was being completely serious in spite of the fact that she was laughing as she spoke. The image of Lex trying to make a sushi chopstick aeroplane was too funny.

“I suppose that you are right, first things first, I’ve barely got you back to eating full, balanced, nutritious meals. Sushi can wait”.

“Sushi can wait until hell freezes over and what do you mean just got me back to eating full, balanced, nutritious meals?” She demanded.

“Well, almost”, he corrected himself. This night’s dinner had definitely been a step in the wrong direction, still tomorrow was a new day.

“Of all of the unmitigated cheek!” Chloe protested, her chin jutted out and her hands firmly placed on her hips.

“What are you going to do about it?” He challenged, smirking arrogantly. He kind of wanted to see if she was going to attempt to wrestle him in public.

“Just be thankful that you are in public and you’ve got Clark here to protect you”, she scowled at him.

“Oh, I wasn’t planning on protecting him, I just wanted to see what as going to happen”, Clark rose his hands in a gesture of submission, amused by the display that his two friends were putting on. He found himself progressively less concerned for Chloe as the seconds went by, it was clear that Lex cared deeply about her and wasn’t going to do anything to hurt her. In fact, he gave the distinct impression that he would slaughter anyone who tried to hurt her.

“Maybe we should all settle down”, Lana suggested, diverting everyone’s attention before they could create a scene. “It looks like the game is about to start”.

Clark returned his attention to the pitch but Lex seemed to want to continue arguing with Chloe, and probably would have if Chloe hadn’t turned around and said with delight, “Oh, great Pom Pom Shakers I wonder which ones aren’t wearing any knickers this time!”

“Chloe”, there was a gasp of horror from the end of the row.

“What? Pete swears he saw something once!” Chloe defended herself.

“The correct term is still cheerleader not Pom Pom Shaker”, Lana corrected. It was true that she hadn’t been a cheerleader since her first year in High School but she didn’t like to hear them being disparaged.

“You should be happy she said Pom Pom Shaker, she has cleaned it up from before”, Lex finished his fries and popped it in the bag they were using for trash.

“I was using pom pom as a euphemism”, Chloe disabuse him of the belief that she had changed her opinions so drastically in such a short period of time.

“My mistake”, he grinned at her. He was never going to hear the word in the same way again.

“It is an art form”, Lana reminded them of what had taken them down the pom pom route to start with.

“Well that one is certainly ... um ... artistic”, Chloe pointed one of them out to the boys and turned her head between them to get both of their opinions. Clark stared, apparently mesmerized. “Don’t get too excited, they are obviously fake”, she hoped that she wasn’t deluding him too much.

Clark looked down in embarrassment, he hadn’t realised that he had been staring. He certainly hadn’t meant to.

“You know that I am just teasing”, Chloe gave him a quick side hug. She loved how cute he was. How many men did she knew who blushed? Other than her Dad, Clark and surprisingly Lex, none. She found it sweet.

“Obviously”, Lex agreed, wrapping his arm around Chloe’s shoulder and pulling her back into his side. Just so that Lana wouldn’t get jealous, of course. “Besides more than a handful is a waste”, he repeated an oft heard maxim.

Chloe giggled at that and checked his hands, just out of interest. She took one of his hands away from the arm rest between him and Lana and turned it over, running her fingers across it and pressing her palm against his to make a comparison. They were huge, distinctly masculine, but somehow strangely elegant. It was easy to imagine them flying across a grand piano or stroking across creamy flesh. She coughed. “It’s okay, you can probably get a pair of DDs in those”.

“Thank-you for your vote of confidence”, he laughed at her and her sudden, almost scientific, interest in his hands. The mad scientist in him liked it but tried to ignore the way that her fingers tickled him. He ran the pad of his thumb surreptitiously along her palm making her jump. He shot her a significant look.

“Is this what you two are always life?” Clark asked, after observing the tableau.

“You have known us both for years Clark”, Chloe reminded him.

“Yes, but not togeth -”, he broke off and looked down at his lap.

“What’s the matter?” Chloe asked, dropping Lex’s hand as her head went from Clark to the pitch where he had been looking.

“You were right about the lack of undergarments”, Clark was now absolutely scarlet.

“Undergarments, that’s so cute”, Chloe gave him another hug but then couldn’t resist asking, “Which one?” Deep down she was still an investigative reporter - she just used her powers differently these days.

“The one with the large ... pom poms”. Clark wasn’t actually sure that it was possible for him to get any redder.

Chloe giggled and Lex looked from one side to the other and noticed that he as surrounded by two beautiful women, one who appeared to be having the time of her life and the other who as scowling.

“You know that Chloe’s just teasing, she would never actually judge someone based on their hobby”, he leant over to Lana and tried to whisper conspiratorially, but found it impossible due to the noise. When he finally managed to communicate what he wanted, Chloe was not only interested she was leaning over - practically in his lap - and overheard.

“Not true, fox hunting and do not speak for me”, she put in and poked him in the arm for good measure.

Lex rolled his eyes and gently pushed Chloe back onto her own seat.

“It’s alright Lex”, Lana turned her large green eyes on him and placed her hand on his arm, “I know. I understand”.

“Great”, he gave her a small smile, “so, who are you cheering for? You aren’t wearing red?”

“No, I thought that I would go for something a little more mature, like you”, she ran her hand up the sleeve of his dark coat, “but deep down you know that I am a Metropolis girl”.

“Oh oh the good bit is starting”, Chloe called out, grabbing blindly for Lex’s arm and regaining his attention.

“What’s happening?” Lex wondered.

“They are bringing out the players”, Chloe said simply. Several of them were rather delicious.

“Ah”, Lex said knowingly.

“So, from one to ten, each of their ratings”, the blonde clapped ready to get on with the good part of sports.

“Well, Ford played really well last year”, Clark started to help with the categorising process.

“She means hotness rating”, Lex explained.

“Oh, then I’m not qualified”, Clark dismissed himself from the task. He would do a lot of things for Chloe, saving her life on a weekly basis during their High School years included, but he drew the line at some things. Rating men was one of them.

“Lex?” Chloe refocused her attention.

“I will ignore that remark”, Lex said, considering ruffling her hair just to punish her.

“Neither of you are any fun”, she pouted, “Lana?”

“I don’t know”, she demurred, “I prefer my men a little more intelligent. A little more sophisticated”, her hazel eyes slanted towards the bald billionaire in the seat next to her.

“Honestly, if you are all going to be this boring then I am going to need to find myself some new and better friends”, she decided.

“Good luck with that”, Lex scoffed, not believing her for a second.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Chloe demanded.

“That you are demanding”.

“True. So what?”

“Not everyone sees that as a virtue”, he said, redraping his arm around her just to check that she knew that he did.

“Some people are idiots, what can you do?” She rested her head against his shoulder. Lex just shrugged. He and Chloe continued squabbling sporadically (as they always did) but without any heat or animosity. Lana and Clark, however, seemed to be drifting further apart as the night progressed. They were barely looking at each other by the end of the first section of play.

That was when Chloe came up with a plan.

If I was with Lex he'd have the same 'dinner' lol
Love informal situations with Lex, I think if in SV he had more of them he wouldn't be such a bad person :)
Can't wait to see Chloe's plan ;)
Tks for sharing

He he I bet he would have enjoyed that.
I agree, I think that the evil could have been cuddled right out of him. I don't know why but yestarday I saw the clip where he tells Lana about his bad experiences with the press and how he found out about his mother's death and I just couldn't believe that she didn't hug him. I think that there should be a slogan like the one "have you hugged your kids today?" Have you hugged your Lex today?
You're welcome. :)

Chapter Nineteen

Lex came out of the bathroom in the skybox; there was no way that he was ever going to use the commoner’s one however much Chloe made fun of him for it later.

“I’ve got an idea”, the devil called to him as he made his way into the large rectangular room.

He turned around, unsurprised to find her reclining on one of the black leather couches, looking for all the world completely at home. She was wearing her ‘I’m a super-villain bent on world domination’ mischievous smile. This evening was going to get interesting.

“Well, I’m flattered” he allowed his eyes to rack down her body, hoping to make her squirm and blush, “but ...”

“Not that”, the faintest shade of pink suffused her cheeks, “get your mind out of the gutter Luthor”.

He smirked at her, a slow predatory expression followed by him prowling across the floor to loom over her. “But it’s so much fun”.

“Be that as it may”, she poked him with her foot, “I have come to a decision”.

“You have?”

“Yes. We should help out our friends”.

“We should?”

“Yes, can’t you see that they are in trouble?” She patted the seat next to her to indicate that he should sit down.

“And you think that a touch of Chloe meddling will fix everything?” It didn’t seem particularly likely to him, but it might be fun.

“Well, not with only a touch no, but it will help. Don’t you find that it helps you in your life?”

“Of course, but really I think that it’s best to stay out of lover’s tiffs. They always make it up, normally with angry make up sex”, he added for good measure.

“How do you know that?” She queried, hating herself for the question and not really wanting to know the answer. Neither Clark nor Lana seemed like the type for that; they were both too good and pure.

“I was talking about lovers in general, not those two specific”, actually he couldn’t imagine either of them doing something like that. Not with each other at least. He thought that Lana would take some coaxing, but she would get there in the end.

“Right!” She looked relieved, “Anyway I’m not talking about actually getting in the middle of their fight, I’m just talking about bringing them together”.

“Chloe”, he thought for how to phrase his next question, “I was under the impression that ... Don’t you like Clark?”

“Yes, but he likes Lana”, she said simply, only a slight tightness in her tone. “Don’t you like Lana?”

“Yes, but she likes Clark”, he replied in kind.

“Exactly, it is our duty to help them out”, she said nobly.

“You are the sweetest girl I know”, he said pulling her into a hug. “The most meddlesome too, but that’s neither here nor there”.

“So you’ll help?”

“Of course”. That had never been in question.

~*~

“So”, Chloe whispered on their way back before realising that with the noise around them that wasn’t going to do a blind bit of good. She tried again, shouting this time, and Lex just about heard her. “So the plan is to ostracise Lana and then make sure that she wants to talk to us”, Chloe confirmed.

“Yes”, Lex agreed, pleased to see that the brunette was still sitting by herself and that Clark had not just come back from wherever it was that he had run off to.

They waved at her and made their way down the aisle. Chloe sat where she had before placing her foam hand on what had been Lex’s seat so that Lana couldn’t simply move over one place and Lex sat in what had formally been Clark’s seat. Now when Clark did return he would have to sit by Lana and Lana, if she wanted any part of the conversation would have to lean over Clark or ask him what was going on thus breaking her cycle of ignoring him. Chloe was a genius.

Lana seemed mildly annoyed by the change in seating arrangement and Chloe couldn’t really blame her - Lex was the best person to sit next to - but Lana would have to make do with Clark. Plus this way she would stop hogging him. Chloe had spent most of the last part of the game leaning around Lex trying to hear what he was saying to Lana and she wasn’t having that again. If Lana wanted to monopolise Lex like that she would have to be his girlfriend and make him happy. Chloe’s stomach suddenly didn’t feel too good, maybe all of that food hadn’t been such a good idea.

“Here he comes”, Lex said loud enough so that only Chloe could hear after nudging her to get her attention.

Chloe looked and around just in time to see Clark speeding along to take his seat just before the game commenced once more. He looked a little shocked by the change but didn’t move to complain. Chloe retrieved her foam finger.

“Did you change seats?” She thought that she heard him asking Lana and her responding in the negative. Oh, well at least that was some break in the whole talking thing.

“I’m not so sure that this is going to work”, she said to Lex.

“Really?” He responded dryly, “whatever gave you that idea? Cheer up the cheerleaders are back”.

“Oh good”, Chloe clapped, “come on help me change the words into dirty versions of the cheers. So far all I’ve got is blow team blow!”

“How original”.

After the fun of mocking the cheerleaders was over so was much of the fun of the game. Chloe had hoped that Lana would be interested enough to lean around but she didn’t, she just sat there, pouting. Clark just sat there, watching the game oblivious to Lana or her anger. Lex and Chloe sat there trying to have a conversation but it was much too loud.

“You see, skybox does have its advantages. You could be enjoying a nice relaxing conversation, getting a massage, eating sumptuous foods, watching something other than sports”, Lex tempted her, seeing that she was getting bored and restless. They could always go upstairs.

“That does sound good. You see you have spoilt me so much lately that I am unable to be one of the commoners!” She complained.

“I believe that they prefer the term plebs”, he said, thinking that she was joking.

She elbowed him. “I’m being serious.”

“Chloe”, he turned to her with a sigh, “when was the last time that you attended a football game?”

“Ummmm ...”

“Was it in High School?” He prompted.

“Yes”, now that she thought about it, it must have been.

“And did you have”, his eyes slid in Clark’s direction, “other interests?”

“Yes”, she admitted, colouring up as she did so.

“And did you or did you not still get bored and write stories for the touch?” He hadn’t been to any of those games with Chloe but he could see her sitting there writing as clearly as if he had.

“Some of the time, but mostly I figured that as I was already bored then was the time right to do some maths homework”, she expanded.

He smiled, “Exactly, you have never liked football. Why don’t we just blow it off and go?”

“Because of them”, Chloe continued, glancing back over her shoulder just to check that they were still able to converse without being the noticed.

“Fine, why don’t we all go up to the skybox then. The next time that there is a lull”, Lex offered.

Chloe thought about it, it was a good idea. Everyone would be happier: Clark could still watch the game, Chloe and Lex could talk and Lana would ... hog Lex again.

“I’d rather stay here, if you don’t mind”, she made her eyes large and beseeching.

“Okay, whatever you want”, Lex gave in readily, wondering why she felt the need to use tricks on him. She nodded happily and her companions remained silent. That silence was to remain until the were exiting the stadium.

“So did you like the game?” Chloe inquired politely of Lana.

“Yes, it was very good”, Lana said with the air of one who had no idea who had actually won.

“Good, we should all do more things like this together”, Chloe announced cheerfully.

“That would be great, although next time maybe we could go somewhere a little less ...” Lana stretched her brain for a word which would not risk offending Chloe, “noisy?”

“What a shame, I was thinking of going to see a monster truck rally”. Her cousin Lois was always going to them and Chloe wondered what the fascination with the large vehicles was.

Lana just stared at her. Apparently she didn’t know either.

“It was a joke”, Chloe assured her before looking around and noting without any tact, “we’ve lost Clark. He was right behind us when we left, wasn’t he?”

“I’m right here”, Clark announced, from a side where she already thought that she had looked.

“Oh”, Chloe shook her head as if trying to clear it, “I must be going mad”.

“Going?” Lex re-entered the conversation and received an elbow to the ribs for his trouble. Fortunately Chloe was very gentle with him.

“I think that your brain is just fine”, Clark said kindly.

“You see, this is why you are my favourite”, Chloe said, before remembering her conversation with Lex earlier and going scarlet, “I didn’t mean ...”

“That’s okay Chloe, we know what you meant”, Lana piped up, working her way to the other side of Lex and her arm into his.

“It’s alright Chloe”, Lex mouthed, letting her know that all was now well and truly forgiven and forgotten.

“I was just saying to Chloe that all four of us need to do things together more often, I haven’t seen enough of you lately”, she stared up at him beseechingly and Chloe wouldn’t help but notice that her look was better than hers. As she always did when uncomfortable, Chloe made an inopportune joke, “Ah, so you had the fortune of missing him walking around the hotel room in the nude”.

“What?” Three pairs of eyes were suddenly fixed on her, all wearing equally horrified expressions.

“Yes, Lex is going through a nudist phase”, she said blithely.

They all exclaimed at once, but Lex was loudest: “I did no such things”.

“Me thinks the gentleman doth protest too much”, she teased. He always used the original line against her. It was about time that she got some payback.

“Right, that’s it”, Lex made a lunge at her.

“We’re in public”, she shrieked.

“I don’t care”, he pursed her but she dashed through a line of people exiting the building, Lex was not quite quick enough.

“You’re going to make a scene”, she called over to him.

“I don’t care”, he dashed around them, he was going to get his hands on that little tease if it was the last thing that he did, all thoughts of Lana temporarily erased from his mind. “Get back over here”, he growled as the crowd moved along and into a bus leaving the four of them alone.

“You must be kidding”, she darted behind Clark, amazed that Lex was acting like this out in public. A night without anyone whispering and pointing at him because of his distinctive bald head really worked wonders. She should force him to wear a had more often. She dodged around someone and dashed back to hide behind Clark who willingly shielded her.

“No I’m not”, he couldn’t believe that he was having this argument with her, “come out here and tell them that I am not going through a nudist phase”.

“But it is true!” She protested mendaciously, her head popping out comically from behind Clark only to disappear only a second later.

“No it - oh for Pete’s sake Chloe!”

“Pete would be on my side”, she called back, unimpressed.

“You’re worse than a two year old”, he complained although he was smiling as he ran around Clark only to have Chloe dart around his other side. This was getting ridiculous, this was ... Something whooshed passed Chloe’s ear causing her to release a startled yelp and suddenly the ground was thick with security.

A/N: So, what do we think?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HotCrossedBunny

He he I bet he would have enjoyed that.
I agree, I think that the evil could have been cuddled right out of him. I don't know why but yestarday I saw the clip where he tells Lana about his bad experiences with the press and how he found out about his mother's death and I just couldn't believe that she didn't hug him. I think that there should be a slogan like the one "have you hugged your kids today?" Have you hugged your Lex today?
You're welcome. :)

---

Loved the slogan, and I totally agree with what you said :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by HotCrossedBunny

If Lana wanted to monopolise Lex like that she would have to be his girlfriend and make him happy. Chloe’s stomach suddenly didn’t feel too good, maybe all of that food hadn’t been such a good idea.

---

Oh Chloe, my stomach doesn't feel good after that thought either lol

Really funny, Chloe is such a tease ;)

Chapter Twenty

“I’m fine Lex really”, Chloe tried for the umpteenth time to get through his thick skull as he dragged her back up to their hotel suite by the hand.

“You were almost killed Chloe, I don’t call that fine”, he kept a firm hold on her. Her hand felt tiny in his and in spite of her protests, she was trembling slightly.

“You are being over dramatic Lex, I wasn’t almost killed. A football came quite close to hitting me”, she tried once again to make him understand that it really hadn’t been a big deal.

“A football was hurled, I don’t give a fuck what their intention was, it came close to that back of your head. Do you know what could have happened if it had hit you?” The mere thought of it sent a cold shiver of fear down his spine.

“I would have got a bump on the head and have been fine”, she attempted to convince him. Without success.

“Hardly”, he snorted.

“Well then do tell me Oh Wise One. You are, after all, the expert in getting hit on the head around these parts”, she said before she could think better of it.

“This is not funny Chloe”, he growled.

“Actually, the way that you are acting is a little hilarious. It was a ball, Lex. Just a ball!” She didn’t understand why he was making such a big deal out of this.

Finally he turned around and stopped, causing Chloe to walk straight into him. His hands automatically reached out to steady her and hold her. “If that had hit you”, the words stuck in his throat for a second, “you could have ended up in hospital”.

“I did end up in hospital”, she reminded him.

“I meant for more than just a check up”, he replied tiredly, sure that she knew what he had meant. She rolled her eyes and Lex saw red. “Don’t roll your eyes at me. You don’t take anywhere near good enough care of yourself. You have a history of getting into trouble, over working, under eating, when you do eat you eat crap and today you decided to go into the stands. And I let you”, those last words were crackled with barely leashed fury.

“You let me?” She repeated, her own ire rising.

“Yes, I knew that it was a mistake. I had it all planned out we were going to be in the skybox, you would have been nice and safe but no you have to have your own way, don’t you? You have to have this ridiculous reverse snobbery as if money were somehow a bad thing. You don’t get a prize for suffering you know Chloe.”

“I wasn’t aware that being in the stands was suffering. If it was such torture being with me without the trappings of luxury then why did you stay? No one was forcing you You could have sidled back up to the skybox and prowled around there all by yourself for hours on end”, she retaliated.

“I stayed down there because of you and look what happened”, he was more than just irritated now. Anger oozed from him.

“What did happen?” She demanded, quickly approaching the end of her tether.

“You tried to drink mould. You sat amongst people who could have all sorts of communicable diseases. You ran around outside”, he started to list her offences.

“So did you”, she protested.

“Yes, and look what happened.”

“Nothing”, she exploded.

He shook his head.

“What is wrong with you Lex? I thought that you were having fun. For once you weren’t Lex Luthor, for once you didn’t have to think about what the press was going to say, you didn’t have to be so guarded”.

“And look what happens when I’m not”, he knew that he shouldn’t have let himself get carried away, this was all his fault.

“Some stupid teenagers came out and were tossing a ball around, it almost hit me”, she resumed the events, it really hadn’t been a big deal. Until Lex had made it into one.

“You could have been paralysed!”

“Unlikely”, she responded dryly.

“You could have been”, he swallowed, “you could have spent the rest of your life brain dead, or in a wheelchair or ...”

“Don’t do this to yourself Lex”, her voice suddenly softened as she responded to his pain. She tightened her arms around his waist, squeezing him tightly. She felt a shiver go through him, and felt that he should stroke his face or something but couldn’t bare to release him. She clung to him like she had to her Dad’s leg on the first day of school - before she had noticed something to investigate.

~*~

Lex had been on the other side of Clark when the Chloe had almost been hit. He knocked his former friend out of the way in his haste to get to Chloe, immediately covering her body with his own before he realised that it had only been a football.

“Are you alright? What’s the matter? Were you hit?”

“No, no I’m fine”, Chloe assured him, looking around to work out what was actually going on. Lex’s arms were around her, a football was sat only a few metres from her, Clark was picking himself up off the floor, Lana was standing there looking confused and men dressed in black suites were suddenly roaming the area, one of them had a young man in a choke hold.

“What on earth is he doing?” She demanded.

“There is no need to fear Miss”, one of the men said, coming up to stand next to her. She had to crane her head back to look at him, he was as big as Clark. “We have the situation under control. The suspect was apprehended”.

“He’s just a kid with a football”, Chloe said, as she saw that the other few boys were now similarly held.

“Let me handle this Chloe”, Lex said, a little roughly.

Chloe raised an eyebrow and was about to give him a mouthful when she saw him going to remove his hat. “Better not if you don’t want this to be in all of the papers”, she pointed out.

“Good point”, he noted. “You deal with them,” he told his men, “and see that Clark and Lana get home safely. Also call head to Metropolis general”.

“Why do we ...” The penny dropped, “Lex you can’t be serious. I do not need to go to hospital just because I almost, hey”.

Lex had lifted her up into his arms bridal style, “I said that we are going to the hospital”.

~*~

“Come back to me Lex”, she whispered.

He blinked, but did appear to realise that she was before him.

“Look at me”, she commanded, “I’m fine. Not a hair out of place. The only thing that is upsetting me is you. You”.

“I’ll go then”, he said stiffly, going to head into his room, but she wouldn’t let him go.Her arms remained tightly wrapped around his middle. “I mean, because I know that you are scared and unhappy”.

“I’m not scared”, he protested.

“Sure you are”, she rested her cheek against his warm chest. “Come on”, she allowed him to rub her back. “Let’s go sit down. I promise that you can make sure that I don’t fall off the sofa”.

“Don’t patronise me”, he snapped.

“I’m not, I genuinely believe that I need help staying on the sofa”, she kept one arm around his waist as they moved over to the settee. “Besides, if you annoy me I might continue to spread rumours about you going through a nudist phase”, she giggled.

He shook his head. “What ever possessed you to say that in the first place?”

“I haven’t the faintest idea”, she smiled again at the memory.

“Chloe -”

“Argh, according to you I narrowly escaped death you shouldn't use that look or tone on me. It’s not fair”, she gave a pouty look, which broke into a grin again.

“Chloe -”

“Damn you Lex Luthor”.

“Chl-”

“Fine, I’ll tell you”, she pouted for real this time.

Lex grinned, “You would make a rubbish spy”.

“I am so good I would never get caught”, she informed him.

He scoffed, “I doubt that very much, now stop trying to change the subject”.

“Fine, what was I talking about?”

He fixed her with a look, “You know very well, not stop procrastinating”.

“It just came out, I wanted to say something to break the tension and ...”

“You thought of me in the nude”, his eyebrow quirked up.

“I’m sure that many women have before”, she said dismissively.

“Dozens and dozens”, he confirmed.

“Well then, that is why I did it. A combination of diarrhoea of the mouth and”, her eyes slanted up to his face, “a dirty mind coupled with my secret desires for your body”.

He smiled, knowing her too well to take that last part seriously. He knew that she had never been attracted to him, without being arrogant he could probably say that that was the first time that that had ever happened to him.

“Your plan to get Lana and Clark talking again didn’t really work, did it?” He tried to make casual conversation.

“No, but I blame them for that”. Her plan - like all of her plans - were brilliant.

“Me too”, he nodded and stroked her hair soothingly.

“It’s just so sad”, she said a little tiredly.

“Why do you say that?”

“Because Clark has been in love with her forever. He had done everything that he possibly could to make her see that but the few times that they have been together it has imploded. This time there is nothing in there way, no boyfriends, no girlfriends, no magic, no school, no ...”

“Chemistry?”

“That’s not the point”, she poked him in the chest. Chemistry wasn’t everything.

“That is kind of the point. You can’t force two people to be together if they don’t want to be, you should know that”, his fingers tangled in her hair and gently coaxed her head back so that she was staring up at him.

“But they do want to be, that’s the point”, she tried to make him see, “And I never tried to force Clark to be with me”.

“I know that you didn’t and it is kind of the point”, he kissed her forehead. “You and Clark were good friends but you weren’t a good match”, she looked as if she might be about to respond to that but he continued, “You never would have been, so it didn’t work out. He and Lana aren’t a good match either. It is not enough for things to work on paper it has to be more than that”.

“And you are suddenly the expert on relationships?”

“I know all about screwing them up, I promise you”. He smiled, “Clark does not love Lana”.

“But ...”

“No, listen to me”, he allowed her hair to slip through his fingers and cupped her face, “Circumstances don’t matter. Strange intervening forces are unimportant. If you love someone the however stupid you feel doing it, however afraid you are that they were going to rip your heart out, you tell them.”

“But what if ....”

“You tell them”, he stated slowly and firmly. “It is as simple as that. If you really love them, if you think that you have found the one person in all of the world you want to spend the rest of your life with, for whom you would give your life, then you tell them. You hold onto them like a possessive freak and you never let them go”.

Chloe swallowed, the intensity in his eyes. The feel of his grip. This was a mere fraction of what he felt - they were just friends -; no woman would be bale to resist him if he loved them and decided to make them his. “Is that how you feel about Lana?” She asked cautiously.

He released her. “No”.

“Then why pursue her like you do?” She sat back on her knees to be on his eye line.

“Because ... Habit”, he admitted after a few seconds.

“Come on, there has to be a better reason”, she bugged him.

“Not really. When it started”, he lifted one shoulder, “I was tired of worldly women who were only using me for my money, who couldn’t be trusted. I would have sworn off them all together if it weren’t for my libido and the fact that I really want a wife and kids”.

Chloe smiled softly at him.

“Lana was, is, beautiful, she isn’t dumb, she is good at being the centre of attention, she would photograph well, she is interested in money but no more than most, and she needed my help. She looks up to me. And she reminds me of old times. It was a turn on”, he stated his reasons simply.

“So basically you are pining away over convenience and nostalgia?” She summed up.

“Not pining”, he corrected her.

“Fine, you’re not pining. But you are not living your life as fully as you could, all for what? Some memories?” That sounded insane to her.

“Memories are very powerful things, especially once that have been edited”, he sighed, realising that Chloe wasn’t going to drop this. “I remember so vividly the conversations that I had with Clark, the games of basket ball, the warm smiles over dinner”.

“Wait, when did you have dinner with the Kents?”

“Oh, I didn’t, like I said, memories are powerful things. I only played one game of basket ball with Clark and that was aborted. We didn’t spend that much time together - not as much as I would have liked at any rate - and the Kents hated me. Most of the memories I have are entirely fictitious or how I imagined things would be”.

She reached over and gave him a hug, wishing that she had invited him to dinner with her and her father.

“I hate pity”, he growled and reached for her arms to disentangle himself from them but Chloe wouldn’t be budged and he wouldn’t hurt her.

“This isn’t pity, it is a cuddle learn to tell the difference. Besides, are you really going to deny comfort to a woman who had a near death experience tonight?” She played her winning card. She wondered what he would let her get away just because she had almost been hit by a football.

“No, I guess not”, he chuckled softly and kissed the top of her blonde head as he squeezed her tightly.

“So”, she asked his chest, her words muffled but still audible, “what are we going to do about Mr and Mrs Oblivious?”

“We could leave them alone?” He suggested.

“I was being serious”.

“So was I”, feeling her pull a face against his chest, he offered, “Or we can come up with a set of zany plans to get them together which probably won’t work. But hey, if it doesn’t we can always break them up and keep the pieces for ourselves”.

Chapter Twenty-One

“Ah”, Chloe sighed in pleasure, “don’t take this the wrong way Lex because you know that I had a fantastic time in Metropolis, but it’s so good to be home!”

“No offence taken”, he assured her, privately pleased that she was thinking of his home was hers as well. Well, his guest house at any rate.

Chloe flopped down onto the settee and patted the side next to her.

“Tired?” Lex inquired as he sat down beside her.

“A little, last night was exhausting”, they hadn’t got to bed until 3 in the morning and had had to get up again at 7 for the flight back to Smallville, “and the helicopter always gives me a headache”.

“Do you want to go to bed?” Lex asked, “Or an aspirin?”

He was used to travelling helicopter, but during the first few years not only had he almost pissed himself he had suffered from headaches for hours afterwards. “I wish that you had told me that it effects you like this, we could have driven”.

“Nonsense, it would take far too long, I’m just being silly. I’ll be fine in a few minutes”, she dismissed his concerns.

“Chloe, you are really quite pale”, he studied her closely.

“I’ll be fine”.

“Why don’t you go to bed, you are obviously tired”, Lex countered.

“Because it is 9 o’clock on a Monday morning and I’ve just had a week off. I’m going to work”, honestly she couldn't nap now.

“You didn’t have a week off, you were working bloody hard and helped me a great deal”, Lex argued, “Go to bed”.

“Lex”, she started again.

“I’m not playing with you Chloe”, she looked really pale, “come on”, he reached under her legs ans around her shoulders and lifted her up easily.

“Lex”, she protested. 1. She could walk. And 2. She was not going to bed in the middle of the morning for anyone.

“Yes”, his tone brooked no disobedience, but he should have known that Chloe would try anyway.

“You can’t just keep on lugging me around!”

“I think that you will find that I can, will and that it is better not to argue with a Luthor”, he said as he walked off with her, determined on his course of action. She was going to bed.

“I will argue with a Luthor whenever I please”, she declared, even as she allowed him to carry up the stairs, simply because it wasn’t safe to argue with him there. She would kill them both if she did.

“I know sweetie”, he assured her as he carried her into her room and placed her back on the bed. He hadn’t been in her room before, it was oddly girlie considering it was his Chloe’s. She’d made a cold guest room far more homely. It even had a cuddly toy on the bed. “There, now you can tell me off as much as you like”, he offered.

“It’s not funny”, she complained.

“I know”, he smiled down at her, “do you want me to get you some aspirin or something?”

She pursed her lips together. Some aspirin sounded heavenly at that moment, but she could hardly tell him so after the fuss she had just put up about not needing him to pander to her.

“I’ll take that as a yes. It’s okay, you don’t have to ask”, he kissed her temple better. He dashed down to the kitchen and got her: some aspirin; two large glasses of water; and two bowels of the muesli - which he had brought several weeks before and he noticed that she had not opened - and returned. He paused in the open doorway for a few seconds, staring at her. She looked small and weak and pale. Her eyes were closed, part of him didn’t want to wake her and felt guilty about taking her to the hospital. She had needed rest, maybe she had picked up a bug while they were there.

“Don’t just stand there staring at me”, she said, without opening her eyes.

He smiled, “You know me too well”.

“Yep”.

He closed the door softly with his foot before he continued over to the bed where he sat down next to her, placing the tray on his lap.

Chloe looked over to him, opening her eyes seemed to be a bit of a struggle. “You want two bowels of cereal?” She asked sleepily.

“No, one of them is for you”, he used his hand to brush her hair out of her face and feel her forehead. She was a little warm.

“I don’t need cereal, just some aspirin”, she sighed, knowing that she should protest about his taking her temperature like this but not having the energy; she could feel an argument brewing between them already and hoped to avoid it.

“You need cereal if you don’t want to damage your stomach”, he said, helping her sit up and ignoring her wrinkling nose. “And don’t worry, healthy cereal won’t kill you”.

“You are really bossy, do you know that?” She complained.

“I have been informed of that fact before”, mostly by her.

“Yeah, well start to work on it”, she sat up slowly and accepted the cereal as well as the aspirin (knowing that she wouldn’t get one without the other) and took the pills. She and tried to munch some of the muesli and discovered what she had always suspected: she really didn’t like muesli.

“Come on Chloe, you can manage a bit more than that”, Lex cajoled.

“No, I can’t”, she returned the bowel to the tray with a little more force than was strictly necessary, splashing some of the milk over the side.

“Chloe, what’s wrong with you?” Lex demanded.

“Nothing”, she said with something between a huff and a sigh.

He raised an eyebrow.

“I’m a grown woman, Lex”, she said in a tone filled with exasperation. “I’ve got a headache and I’m tired but I am a grown woman and you should treat me as such”.

“I do”, he protested placing down his own bowel and giving her his undivided attention.

“No, you don’t. You don’t tell an adult what to eat. Or what to drink. Or when to rest. Or not to do their job. You don’t ... You don’t”, a wave of pain sliced through her temple and she clasped her hand to it.

“Chloe”, he moved their things to the side and helped her to lie down. Once she was reclining, Lex joined her and began to stroke her hair, their original conversation temporarily put on hold as he asked, “There, is that better?”

“A little yes”, her head was spinning, but only slightly.

“Come here”, he wrapped his arms around her and held her close until she nodded to say that she felt better, she had just moved too quickly.

“Good, now let’s get one thing straight”, he cupped her face to make sure that she was staring into his eyes. She complied although she was getting sleepier by the second. He wanted to let her sleep, but he couldn’t, this needed to be sorted out. “Stop being a little brat”.

“I’m ...”

“Yes you are”, he held onto her. “I’m not treating you like a child, I’m treating you exactly as you treat me and yes I do worry about you because I know that if I let you you would work yourself into an early grave”.

“You see this is just the point, let -”

“You use the same vocab”, he interrupted her.

Her aching brow crinkled, making it feel even worse. She wasn’t sure if she did speak to him in the same way that he spoke to her and her brain really wasn’t working that well. She opened her mouth to expression disbelief at his last statement but before she should he declared once more that she did. “Okay, let’s just say (for the sake of argument) that I do. It doesn’t come across the same and I do it about things that matter, not food”.

“Food matters”, he stated simply.

“Well yes, but you don’t eat as well”. Honestly he was acting as if she were this terrible irresponsible person while he was perfect.

“That’s different”, he said as if that solved everything.

“Why? Why is it different Lex? Give me one good reason why it’s -” She demanded, wishing that she could stand up to make her point but felt dizzy even lying down.

“Because I can’t lose you”.

She blinked. He was lying next to her, his mouth barely three inches from hers, the words - even spoken as they were in a hoarse whisper - were just about audible but she couldn’t believe it. She blinked a few more times in bewilderment.

“I didn’t mean to upset you, I never meant to snap or to raise my voice”, he continued to whisper, he didn’t want to hurt her head. “I”, his throat constricted but he forced passed it, “I have lost everyone I have ever loved or even cared about”.

She continued to stare at him. She must be getting a fever; Lex never opened up this much.

“You probably know that my mother died of this mysterious illness”, he continued. She nodded then wished that she hadn’t. Lex’s large hand moved up so that his thumb to massage her temple. “You don’t know what it was, do you?”

“Cancer?” She had done a lot of research on the Luthors and their family history and that had been one of the things that peaked her interest but even Chloe had known better than to ask.

“No, a common cold”.

“What”, Chloe asked, startled, “how is that even possible?” They were living in the 21st century - or rather, the very end of the 20th when his mother had succumbed to sickness -, people did not die of trifling little things like colds.

“She was a society wife, the life and soul of every party and ridiculously beautiful. She looked like a perfect statue”, he paused at the memory, “but it wasn’t natural. She barely ate. Sometimes because she was dieting and had self esteem issues, sometimes because she just forgot. Or she was busy taking care of everyone except herself”.

“I’m sorry”, Chloe whispered reached out for him.

“I have a younger brother too”, he continued and was unsurprised to note the shock in her eyes. Julian had been well hidden. “He was born weak and sickly and I know that my mother blamed herself; she had been depressed and hadn’t eaten much during several stages of the pregnancy”, he explained slowly. “Julian he ... He just died in his sleep one night. He was only a few weeks old”.

“Oh Lex”, she clung to him, no idea how to make this any better.

“It wasn’t her fault but she thought that it was. She thought that it was something that she had caused by not eating, by not taking her vitamins. Then, she stopped eating all together.” He swallowed. “She got a cold and just went to sleep and didn’t wake up, like Julian. I went home from school and my brother was gone, my mother was gone, my nanny was gon-”

“She died too?” Chloe exclaimed before she could process the words.

“No Lionel just sent her away”.

She blinked away tears as a painful ball formed in her throat.

“It’s alright, I’m not looking for sympathy I just want you to understand. I don’t think that you are weak, I know that you are not. But if you think for one second that I’m going to let you slip away from me ...”

“I’m not going anywhere, she promised.

That wasn’t strictly true. Very soon after this was asleep. Lex borrowed one of the laptops he kept there and worked next to her as she slept. Really she couldn’t be allowed to be by herself at a time like this.

~*~

“Are you going to humour me all day because you think that taking my to Metropolis somehow made me ill?” Chloe asked from where she still lay on her bed with Lex sitting next to her.

“Well they were very long hours and stressful meetings”, he defended himself, he wasn’t being over protective, “and I knew that I shouldn't have let you eat all of that crap”.

“Hey, you’re not the boss of -”

He raised an eyebrow.

“Well, you’re not. Your depressing life story doesn’t mean that you can’t try not to be quite so patronizing”, she said, they had already established that she didn’t want him sympathy or her clinging to him trying to hug the hurt right out of him.

He lowered his head to hers so that she could feel his hot breath against her skin, “If you want a best friend who isn’t going to hang onto you and protect you and try to keep you around for as long as humanly possible then run off and find Pete. If not shut up and behave yourself”.

He straightened up and found a pillow immediately dumped in his lap. He supposed that that was her take on a punishment. “Now now, that isn’t very nice”, he rebuked her, “you know that in the state you are in I cannot retaliate”, he moved it onto his other side.

“Well, could you at least give me that one back?”

He looked down to see that it was, in fact, the pillow that she had been using. He smiled but did as she requested, making sure that she was comfortable before starting again, “I’m not letting anything happen to you”.

“Good”, she reached out and patted him. “Can I have my laptop now, please?”

“You are not working today if you are ill”.

“Well then what am I supposed to do? I can’t just lie her like a big lump”, she complained.

“Does your head still ache?” He stroked her scalp as if that could relieve the ache.

“Yes”, she admitted grumpily.

“Then you are going to lie there like a lump”, he said decidedly going back to his work.

She lay there silently, pouting and thinking of a winning argument.

“You are really bored and are just being quiet because you don’t want to disturb me, aren’t you?” Lex sighed after a few minutes of the silent treatment.

“Yes”.

He reached over to the bedside table to draw out a pad of paper and pen, he knew that she kept there - just because he had helped her move in of course - and handed it to her.

“I don’t have any great ideas which cannot wait to be jotted down”, she admitted.

“Aw, I’m sure that you have one or two”, he coaxed.

“No”, normally she did but her head felt as if it were full of cotton wool. Well, cotton wool, porridge and pain to be more precise.

“Think of a devious plan to get Lana and Clark together, you can make mind maps, flow charts, detailed ...” He trailed off as he noted that she was already starting to scribble. Hopefully she would he happily occupied thus until she fell back to sleep again. One plan couldn’t put too much stress on her. He went back to working on his laptop, an hour later he stopped. “Alright, I have to know”.

“Know what”, she looked up from her pad which was now covered in her swirly writing.

“What you are doing?”

“Creating the plan”, she thought that he might be getting sick too. His brain didn’t seem to be working either.

“For an hour?”

“I like to be thorough”, she said with a shrug.

“Come on then, let’s see what you’ve got!” He looked at it and then the next page, and the next and the next. “God Chloe, people have gone to war with less information than this”.

“Well, I like to be prepared especially when considering the ramifications”. She knew that he was the same way.

“What?”

“That they find out”. Yep, he was definitely getting sick too.

“Doubtful, besides what are they going to do? Afraid that Clark will smack your bottom if you are naughty?” He rolled his eyes at her, “I think that he is probably used to you after this many years”.

“No of course not, Clark would never do something like that”, Chloe protested, blushing furiously.

“Probably why he can’t keep a woman”, he scoffed.

“That makes no sense”. She was going to make him take his temperature later, he was definitely coming down with something.

“That’s only because you’ve never had a decent fuck”, Lex dismissed her idea.

“Lex”, she was on the verge of delivering a stinging set down when he interrupted: “You admitted it yourself!” She bristled, “Yes, but there is no reason to rub it in when I’m feeling lousy”.

“I’m not rubbing it in, just mentioning it”, he smiled, “and you know that I am always happy to remedy that for you”, he teased.

She rolled her eyes, not taking him seriously for a second. “No thank-you, your method of love making sounds too rough for my liking”.

He smiled, “I’ve never had any complaints”

“Hmmm ...”

He paused, “Seriously though Chloe, anyone you are with should give it to anyway you want.”

“I’ll bear that in mind”. She lay and closed her eyes for a few seconds as he continued to read her pages but wanted to see his reactions. “So, what do you think?”

“Too many options, too many possibilities to fail. And I’m not sure how we are going to find a fourteen foot golf ball and make it look like a coincidence”, he started to list the difficulties with her plan.

“Well then, what do you suggest oh clever one?”

“Something simple. Something clean. Something easy.”

“Something ....”

“Something downright Lexian”, he gave an evil grin.

"“Something downright Lexian”, he gave an evil grin." - this is going to be fantastic lol
Can't wait for more

can't wait to see what happens next.

A/N: Thank-you both! :D

Chapter Twenty-Two

“Operation Fairy God Mother is a go”, Chloe’s overly cheerful voice called to her co-conspirator.

“I am not a fairy”, Lex grumbled.

“Oh for goodness sake Lex. First of all, that if the name of the operation, it is not in any way related to my impression of you. Second of all, fairies are lovely and being likened to one should be taken as a compliment by anyone of taste. And”, she stressed the word to indicate that she was not done talking and that whatever witty/sarcastic retort was on the edge of his lips was of no interest to her, “third of all, we have more important things to worry about right now than your masculinity”.

“Is that all of the all?” He inquired dryly.

She pondered the question for a moment - mostly to vex him - before answering succinctly, “Yes”.

“Thank goodness for that”, he muttered, “and I am not worried about it”, he was never worried about anything as a matter of fact; Luthor’s did not worry. “I just like it acknowledged”.

“You know what they say about men who need everyone to know that they are virile and masculine, right?” She couldn’t help but tease him.

“Chloe -”

“Oh”, she cooed in delight, “only eight-thirty and I already got a growl, I’m certainly on form today”.

“You will get a damned sight more than a growl if you don’t knock it off”, he continued in a menacing tone. Honestly, the woman was exasperating at times. Well, most of the time actually. His trademark growl made women weak in their knees, fall into his bed and behave themselves. While it had never done either of the first two to Chloe she now appeared to developing some sort of immunity to its third property. “Meteor freak”, he muttered darkly; it was the only explanation.

“Fairy”, she responded without missing a beat.

“Right, that’s it”, there was the rustle of moving clothes heard as he rose to his feet.

“Don’t you dare Lex”, Chloe barked, “you stay right where you are. You are going to ruin this plan”. Her thoughts returning to their plan she realised that she had been speaking a little too loudly in her haste to make Lex behave himself and looked around nervously. Thankfully it was just after the start of school and the business day so there weren’t that many people there and the ones who were didn’t look to be fully awake yet. They certainly weren’t paying any attention to the small blonde girl sitting by and talking to herself.

“I don’t care about the plan”, Lex retorted sounding as if he were only a hair’s breadth away from chucking it all in and coming to find Chloe, which was probably because he was.

“Well, I do”, Chloe said in the most no nonsense tone she could manage whilst whispering. She was going to have to be more careful if this plan were to go the way that she intended. She peered around her once more just to check that she hadn’t attracted any more unwanted attention and took a sip of her coffee before pulling up the menu to her face so that she could speak into the pin on her jacket’s lapel unobserved. “So sit yourself back down”, she could tell from what she could hear through her earpiece that he had been moving around, “and try to behave yourself for once”.

She was fairly sure that she heard something that sounded like a snort coming through but presumed that it was some sort of static as Lex would never do something so undignified. Thinking of her earpiece, she reached up one hand to smooth her head down once more; just to check that nothing was showing. Nothing was. She supposed that it didn’t really matter tucked away as she was in the corner of The Talon - quite deliberately so that she could see Lana when she descended but would not be observed herself - with a menu covering her face, but better safe than sorry as she always said.

Well, actually, Chloe never said that. She was more the jump in with both feet and think about the consequences later type but she was trying to get better. Her father was already constantly worried about her and now Lex was turning into a mother hen so, ....

“Chloe”.

“Huh?”

“Did something happen or did you just get lost in thought?”

She rolled her eyes, she could hear the amusement in his tone. He knew well that nothing had happened and that she was just off in her own little world again - or Chloe Land as he liked to call it. “Bugger off”, she said, unimpressed by his knowledge of her character, then considering that they were on an official mission added, “over”. It only seemed correct as they were using a form of walkie-talkie.

“Watch your tone, over”, Lex replied instantaneously, without any apparent rancour.

“Behave yourself or we will be getting back into the code names discussion”, Chloe warned.

“You forgot to say over, over”, Lex said sounding very superior.

“Over”, she rolled her eyes once more and took a sip of her coffee, “There, feel better now?”

“Fantastically elated. Every problem that I have ever had or will ever have has been magically cured”, he assured her.

“Glad to hear it”, she replied for all the world as she believed him to be completely serious, and privately pleased that he had been the one who had ended up in the middle of the cold wet field now. It served him right if he was going to be stroppy.

“If we are going to do this then we might as well do it properly, over”, he said decidedly.

“I know, and can I just say how much I love your collection or spy gadgets”, Chloe said, for once not mocking him. “Oh, here she comes. This is even more fun with you around. We should do more top secret plans once this is over”. She babbled, her excitement brimming up.

“Let’s just make sure that this one goes well first”, Lex said, touched that she would want to share one of her favourite hobbies with him. While he hoped (and predicted) that the entire plan would go off without a hitch, it did cross his mind that if they got into trouble it would be two then that would make two hobbies that he had got to be a part of with her. “And remember there is a time limit”

“I know”, Chloe sighed, some of her excitement diminishing. Lex had made himself very clear the night before.

After she had bugged him about the plan for two hours straight and he had seen just how serious she was about not only going through with it but doing in the following morning, he had finally relented but not without giving her an unwelcome lecture on her health and under the strict proviso that 1) she would be back home by 10 am for her next dose of medicine, 2) that she would not do anything too strenuous, and 3) that he would be taking the role which required the longest amount of time out of doors.

He was far too overprotective and although she now understood why and had to admit that she wasn’t feeling great - she was running off excitement and Ready Brek -, it still bugged her. Thus, it was with a certain degree of snark that she said, “Over”.

“Good, what’s happening? Over”, Lex replied as if unaware that his partner in crime was focusing on his flaws.

Chloe lowered her menu cautiously and whispered into her button, “Barbie is on the move”.

“I thought that we decided that Lana’s name was going to be Helen”, he hadn’t liked it too much as it reminded him of an ex-girlfriend he would sooner forget, but it had seemed apt given the Trojan implications.

“I changed it last night”, Chloe said as if that explained everything.

“Ah”, he had to admit that - knowing Chloe as he did - he had hardly expected her not to meddle.

“She is heading for her car, no, she had doubled back to get a muffin”, Chloe kept him up-to-date with Lana/Barbie/Helen’s movements from where she was now hiding fully behind her menu, just in case. “Now she is .... No, it’s okay, she had thought better of sitting with the hoi palloi she’s got a coffee to go”.

At this point Lex decided that - as much as he liked to be in possession of all the facts and hated to leave any detail in anyone’s hands but his - he didn’t actually need to know everything that Lana did. “Okay, just tell me when she gets out of the door so that I have a control”. He didn’t really expect the tracker he had put underneath her car to fail, but it was always wise to double check.

“Okay okay don’t get testy”, Chloe huffed.

“I do have a company to run, you know”, he pointed out.

“You are the one who insisted on being involved in this project”, she reminded him. She was more than capable of doing a little thing like bringing two of their closest friends together.

“A. Your original plan wouldn’t have worked. B.You aren’t well enough C. You always get into trouble. D. I did not insist”, Lex said in that oh so calm and rational which made her want to punch him on the nose.

“Sure you didn’t”, Chloe declared and would have said a great deal more on the matter had Lana not saved him. “Oh she is out of the door now”.

“Great, do you have a visual?” He asked her to confirm.

“Yeah, just leaning around and making it look natural”, Chloe said as the menu dropped to the floor and she bent down to retrieve it, her hair falling in front of her face to obscure her features, just in case their target looked back for some reason.

“Natural”, he asked with a huff of derision, “while you are talking to yourself? Or are you talking to a menu?”

“A little from column a, a little from column b. But people are used to me. Besides, we are in Smallville”, she pointed out.

“Touché”, he couldn’t argue with the truth of that statement. Well, being Lex he probably could have, truth notwithstanding, but he chose not to.

“Okay, she is in the car”, Chloe announced.

“Brilliant. My tracker is reporting that she is taking off too, so everything is set”, he said with satisfaction.

“Yay”, Chloe almost clapped her hands, “they have chocolate muffins”.

“You are sick”, Lex reminded her, hardly thinking that chocolate muffins were the best option for someone who had already admitted - albeit begrudgingly - to having a very slightly tummy ache. He fully expected to get an ear full for this unsolicited care but none was forthcoming. His stomach knotted. “Chloe, Chloe, come in Chloe, what is wrong?” His heart-rate quickened. He knew that he was being ridiculous; she was in no danger, she was just in The Talon and he hadn’t heard the sound of anyone attacking her and she was only slightly under the weather. It was very unlikely that she would have collapsed from that and if she had there would have been some sort of sound. There were people around her, surely he would be able to hear someone coming to her rescue. Even as he thought this he found that he was on his feet and sprinting across the field of corn back towards his car heedless of the fact that he had potentially just blown his cover. In spite of what logic told him, he couldn’t help but remember that they were in Smallville and that Lex caring about someone could be tantamount to a death sentence.

He came to a stop just metres from his car, straining to hear, he was sure that there had been a sound like a door opening or something but then it was gone. “Chloe?” He shouted, not caring if he gave away his cover, her cover, the entire damned plan.

“Nothing”, Chloe’s voice came in loud and clear, unaware that she had been dead in Lex’s mind. “I was just covering. Someone was looking at me”.

“Right”, Lex constrained himself to the syllable, hoping that she would never know what a fool he had made of himself. He stared back out across the field of corn before him. He was exactly 2.3 miles away from the Kent’s farmhouse and just on the outskirts of their land towards the west - the direction in which the town of Smallville was located - and thankfully no one else was around. With a shake of his head he made his way back through the field and lay down on the rug he had laid out in the centre of the field. It was far enough away from where he had stashed the car to be able to see the main road, but far enough away not to be observed himself.

“Hang on a second”, Chloe said, once more into her button and then there was radio silence as she scurried along a road to where she was parked - too far from The Talon to give rise to any suspicion on Lana’s part. By the time that she was safely inside her car, Lex was back to where he was supposed to be, no one but himself aware of what an idiot he was. “Okay, I’m inside the car now. It is safe to talk freely”.

“Okay”, Lex said, for once glad of all of the brutal lessons his father had talk him over the years; he was now such a master at deception that he knew that Chloe could tell nothing was amiss from his voice. “Jonathan left for Metropolis yesterday to see his bank”. That bit had been especially fun to work into the plan. After all of the years that Lex had jumped through hoop after proverbially flaming hoop to satisfy that man only to be left with nothing, Papa Kent deserved to be run ragged. “Martha is the only one left”.

“Right, and I’m going to call her now and make sure that she is out”, Chloe said, they had already decided that as they both liked Martha they wouldn’t come up with any excuse to get her out of the house that would either make her worry or make her have to get up too early.

“Okay, let’s just hope that she believes it”, Lex replied.

“She will. Martha loves kids; if I tell her that the children’s centre in Metropolis called and they are running low on people then she will be off in a few seconds”, Chloe announced confidently.

“Alright, be careful”, he grimaced, that sounded far too concerned and caring. “Over”, he added just to have something else to say that would hopefully distract Chloe.

“Yes Sir Twinkle Toes, over”, she tried out one of the other code names she had been pondering for him.

“Chloe”, he growled, only to find that her end of the line was dead. It was amazing how he could go from panicking thinking that she might be hurt to wanting to throttle her in such a short time. This thought did nothing to dissuade him from his vow to get her back later though. Determined to follow protocol, he tapped his coms unit and said, “Over”.

~*~

Lex lay stretched out on his stomach, still dressed in his trade mark business suit in the middle of a Kansas corn field. The long stalks of maize immediately around him had been patted down in a circle to allow for the large, thick corn coloured blanket which he occupied to lie flat. His weight was on his elbows, as he stared through binoculars through the undergrowth to a patch of road which was barely visible ahead. Around him lay a collection of gadgets which would have made James Bond jealous and probably cost as much as the national debt. He really should have been guarding his goods but he was far too absorbed in what he was doing, easy prey to anyone who walked up. Or so it would appear.

He had been alone in the field for over an hour but now slow furtive steps brought another figure towards him from behind. Careful not to make a sound until ...

“It’s about time that you showed up”, Lex said, without bothering to alter his position in any way.

“Grumble grumble grumble, that might end up being your code name if you aren’t careful”, Chloe said as she plopped down on her bottom beside him.

“I can take you back home right now you know”, he announced, his eyes still focused straight ahead.

“Sure you can”, she rolled her eyes and lay down on her stomach next to him before reaching out to steal his binoculars. “So, what’s happening?”

Unfazed, Lex took out his second pair and took his time adjusting them before answering, “Martha left for Metropolis along this road mere minutes before Lana came by only to find that her car mysteriously stopped working”. As juvenile as it was, he couldn't resist giving his little gadget a conspiratorial smile, as if it were somehow aware and proud of the part that it had played. “Miss Lang is now in the process of calling for assistance”.

“I can’t believe that you have such cool toys”, Chloe repeated her declaration of jealousy from the night before. She looked at the mini computer in front of her. It was tiny and yet it could not only track any car that it’s partner was placed on, it could remotely stop the vehicle from working without fear of it causing an accident. It really was something else. Having one would have made her life in High School a lot easier.

“What can I say?” Lex said with a smug shrug, “I have to have the best”.

“Always need the support?” Chloe teased, unable to resist. A friendship with Lex had revealed not only that he had a dirty sense of humour but also the ability to impart it into others.

“Chloe”, the growl had returned. It had a little more effect up close, but not enough to keep her from taunting him.

“What?” She placed her binoculars on the ground for a second and turned her head to him so that he might get the full effect of her large innocent eyes and surprised expression. An expression which quickly broke into a wickedly knowing grin, “If you do have to use toys don’t think of it as a defeat. Or as an aspersion on your manhood. Just think of it as outsourcing. Ouch”.

“You deserved it”, Lex said without remorse. He had placed his own binoculars on the rug, feeling that it was a shame to miss one of Chloe’s patented innocent expressions. They really were a sight to behold, even if completely unbelievable.

“I need that for sitting on”, she complained.

“You should have thought of that before”, he said with a shrug.

“I’m not well”, she reminded him. Honestly, he found a way of ruining everything fun that she wanted to do. She was either too ill to do it or not ill enough to merit special treatment.

“Fine, I’m sorry”, he pulled her over and kissed her slightly fringe obscured forehead. “But if this gets Clark the girl he wants, it is worth it all right ?”

“Sure”, Chloe agreed good-naturedly now that he had apologised, “Plus all of the pre-Mean Lex fun. Oh”, her attention was drawn back to the scene before them, “what’s happening?”

With a smile Lex pulled his binoculars back up to his face like Chloe had and observed Clark’s arrival. He didn’t bother to answer her question, assuming that it had not actually been directed at him as she was well aware that he had been staring at her rather than the road and as such could offer no helpful insight into the situation.

“You are a genius”, Chloe grinned with glee, “she went right to Clark, she does love him”.

“Sure”, Lex didn’t mention that she had actually called him first and he had just ignored the call. Or the fact that Lana immediately getting out of her car to go and interact with her rescuer could have had more to do with necessity that affection.

“But she looks so tense”, Chloe announced as she strained to interpret what was going on between the pair.

“Yeah, here’s audio”, Lex agreed as he pressed a button on his magical computer.

“You rigged up audio?” Chloe declared with admiration and a little too much volume. She quickly glanced back over at the road but was pleased to see that the paramours were too busy with each other to have notice. “That is so cool!” She whispered, even though there was no need to be quite that quiet.

Lex grinned at her, unsure of how she was able to make even the most ridiculous and childish of situations entertaining. He moved closer to her so that they would have as close to the same perspective as possible before deciding that lying like that put too much pressure on his lower extremities and that they could safely sit up in the corn field without risking detection.

Chloe stayed lying down but did shift her weight from elbow to elbow indicating that maintaining this position was putting some stress on her. His hand automatically went to her back, rubbing between her shoulder blades where he guessed that the tension had built up. He didn’t want to keep her out too long. If they didn’t make up soon he might forget all about the plan and just march over there and demand that they work it out.

While one hadn continued its massage the other used the binoculars to focus on the errant couple only to find that his eyes kept being drawn back to Chloe’s face and was distressed to note her growing agitation. That was it, he was beating some sense into both of them. They didn’t have to like each other but by God they wouldn’t upset Chloe again.

“Come on”, he leant down to whisper to her. Knocking their heads together still sounded like the best idea to him, but that would keep Chloe outside for too long.

Chloe turned over onto her back to stare up at him. “They aren’t together yet”

“Sweetie, they aren’t going to get together. They are arguing”, the limited audio feed they were getting wasn’t great - apparent;y he hadn’t been clear enough with Chloe on exactly how to attach it to the car -, but the words being thrown around coupled with their expressions boded exceedingly ill for their future happiness.

“That could just be sexual tension”, Chloe tried hopefully.

“No, just arguing. Clark came to save her and she picked a fight with him”, Lex summed up the situation.

“But maybe ...”

“No, Chloe, this is not going to work and I’m not leaving you outside with a chill in the air for nothing. Come on”, he could see that she was about to take umbrage at his well meaning directive, “ I’ll make you some hot chocolate”.

“Fine, but this isn’t over”. She wanted a marshmallow too!

~*~

“I can’t believe that that didn’t work”, Chloe groused, slumping down onto the sofa with her hot chocolate.

“I told you that you can’t force chemistry”, Lex joined her with his own equally steaming, but less sweet, and more highly caffeinated beverage.

“If that is your attitude I can always find another sidekick”, Chloe reminded him. His defeatist attitude was not going to help her with planning out the next phase of their attack.

“I’m your sidekick?” Lex took issue with the term used to describe him (her best friend and co-conspirator) rather than taking her, none too veiled, threats to replace him seriously.

“Would you prefer evil minion?” She offered charitably only to be met with an exceedingly dirty look. She remained unfazed and unrepentant. “Sidekick it is then”, she smiled, her mood ever so slightly lightened. “I am sorry though”.

Lex raised an eyebrow; that didn’t sound like her. If bouncing was what Tiggers did best. Teasing Lex was what Chloe’s did best. Well, that and just driving him crazy in general.

“Not about the minion crack”, she would never apologise for that. Honestly, what was the world coming to if you couldn’t refer to your minion as your minion? What did he want to be called? Was there even a P.C. Term for minion? Servile dependent? Devoted follower? Underling? Subordinate? He who does as I say ... if he knows what’s good for him? She was just about to try to think of something better when she realised that there had actually been a point before she had got distracted. She thought hard and finally picked up the thread of the conversation, “I’m sorry that your plan didn’t work out”.

“Well now let’s just put this into perspective”, Lex paused to take a sip of his drink before placing the mug down on a coaster on the coffee table. “I wasn’t actually interested in their relationship, I didn’t want to be involved, I was just trying to tweak your plan”.

“Meaning?”

“Meaning that my plan didn’t fail”, he decided.

“Please”, Chloe exclaimed, pronouncing the word as if it had two syllables and were spelled puh-lease.

“It didn't”, he argued, determined to make his point.

“So, if you don’t win then it wasn’t you plan in the first place? Is that your point?” Chloe asked, putting her own cup alongside his so that she could turn around on the settee to give him her full attention

“Quite right”, he replied loftily, “it couldn’t have been because my plans never fail”.

“Come on”, she sounded, and indeed was, incredulous.

“They don’t”, he stated simply. “If I decide that I want something then I decide what value I am willing to attach to the outcome. Once that has been decided I form a plan and I get what I want”.

“Arrogant git”, she summed up his attitude, “if it meant so little to you then you should have let me use my plan”.

“Chloe, it just wasn’t practical. You have to keep it simple. Lana is a princess and seems to enjoy being in distress .Clark likes saving people”.

In spite of her resolution to be peeved with him to teach him a lesson for his bumptiousness, Chloe could could not help but smile at his depiction of their friends.

“So the solution was obvious: cause a disaster. They could both do what they do best and it would get them talking again. Besides, there is nothing like a crisis to bring people together”. Really, it was an excellent plan. It should have worked.

“I know, sweetie”, Chloe reached out and patted his hand.

“Well”, he chuckled ruefully, “that’s a better code name than any of the other ones you came up with”.

“What was wrong with pink flamingo?” She asked as if she genuinely could not fathom why any man wouldn’t want to be likened to a pink bird with a big beak.

“Chloe -” He really needed to work on his growling ability; it seemed to be loosing efficacy with every passing hour.

“Care bear?”

“Chloe”.

“I know”, she clapped her hands, “snuggle bug”.

“Right”, he decided, “if you are well enough to tease me then you are well enough to answer for your actions”. He launched himself at her just as he heard another voice declaring thoughtfully: “I always liked the name Chloe Bear”.

A/N: Can you guess who it is?

Chapter Twenty-Three

“Chloe bear?” Lex repeated the name. He knew that he knew that name and that voice but, for a second, he couldn’t think why. Chloe apparently had no such difficulties figuring out who the speaker was.

“Daddy”, she gasped as she tried to jump up only to find herself squashed up against Lex.

“Hello sweetheart”, her father’s face leant down over them both from the back of the settee. “What are you doing down there? That isn’t how we rested and got plenty of fluids back in my day”.

“That’s what I told Lex but would he listen?” Chloe said with an expression and in a voice far too innocent to be deceptive or believable.

Her father beamed down at her, deciding that naughtiness was one of the key signs of health. At least in his daughter.

“Hello Gabe”, Lex greeted as he sat back up suavely and pulled Chloe along with him. “It’s been a long time”.

“Four and a half years, but who’s counting?” Gabe replied extending his hand to his former boss.

Lex laughed, “So what brings you back to Kansas from the sunny climes of Florida?”

“My very own ray of sunshine, otherwise known as Chloe, or this ragamuffin here”, the obviously adoring father reached down to kiss the crown of Chloe’s blond head and give her a proper hug, now that there wasn’t a billionaire lying on top of her. “I’ve been worried for the last six weeks”, he started his explanation.

Lex didn’t know why - while Gabe had always been a good plant manager and Lex had respected him, he had never been overly concerned about the inner workings of the man’s brain before - but he was glad to hear that. Six weeks was far longer than Chloe had been there with him. Her father had not picked up on any latent unhappiness or problems that she might be hiding from him.

“I was actually on the verge of going up to Boston”, Gabe continued, unaware of the billionaire’s musings, “when Chloe called to say that she had moved down here. I’m so glad to hear that she got a good job. You hear such terrible things about graduates being left unemployed for months, or being forced into jobs that are beneath them with no security, and/or getting themselves into a terrible amount of debt”, he fixed his daughter with a hard (at least for an old softie like Gabe) and searching look. “And yet she didn’t want to come down to Florida to be with her Daddy”.

“It would have been career suicide”, she reminded him, “There aren’t enough jobs there in my field”.

“True, but housing, lasagne and cuddles are all plentiful”, he smiled at her. He knew of his daughter’s need to stand on her own two feet and he respected it, but that didn’t stop him from wishing sometimes that she would be more like everyone else in the world and let him protect her. She didn’t need to carry the weight of the world of her shoulders but if she wasn’t careful then that was exactly what she would be doing for the rest of her life and eventually - however strong she was - it would crush the life right out of her.

“I’m fine here”, she assured him with a pat of the hand and a smile. If he didn’t start worrying about her less he was going to give himself a heart attack. Her father had always been the type to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, Chloe reflected, and if he didn’t let her take some of it from him then it would crush him, however strong he was.

“So I see”, Gabe looked around. “Nice place you have here”, he came and sat down next to his daughter. “I especially like the fact that you clearly have a maid”. He knew his little angel far too well to believe that she was responsible for keeping it in such good order, even if he hadn’t been let in by a member of the cleaning staff.

“That is the only way that she can keep her clothes off the floor”, Lex joked, then realised how it sounded. He opened his mouth to correct himself but then shut it again as Gabe replied - in a manner that made it clear that the idea of Chloe being anything less than a paragon of virtue had never crossed his mind -; “I certainly never managed it”.

“Hey, I’m just obeying the house rules”, Chloe defended herself.

“Which are?”

“One:” she held up her index finger and began to recite for the (one partial and one fully fledged) neat freaks in her life, “do not make your bed until after 5:00 PM. Two:” a second finger joined the first, “do not touch the dishes in the sink until it's overflowing, and three:” she waved three fingers under both of their noses, “contrary to my dad's protestations”, she took a moment to nudge her father, “your bedroom floor is definitely a closet”.

“All but the last one are absolutely true”, he conceded. He had never been very strict about housework figuring that Chloe already had enough on her plate.

“All of them are true”, she argued.

“How do you figure that?” The only one he had ever complained about was the clothes on the floor. It was a health hazard. She was barely compos mentis before her first (couple) of cups of coffee in the morning. Having to navigate her way thought a maze cum obstacle course was just asking for trouble.

“My house my rules”, Chloe revealed her winning hand.

“Ah”, he had never used that phrase himself when she had been living under the roof that technically yes he was the one paying for. He had just never thought of it as being his house. It had been their home. His and his little Chloe Bear’s. Still, he was aware that some other, far stricter, parents followed that credo. “I will endeavour to live by your rules while I am here then”, he said, magnanimously.

Chloe smiled and leant over to hug his arm, “How long are you hear for?”

“A fortnight?” He hadn’t really given the matter any thought, he had just heard that she wasn’t well over the phone and booked the next flight out unable to be persuaded by his new wife that Chloe would be just fine. “It depends how long it takes for you to get better and for us to have some quality father-daughter time”.

“A fortnight sounds good”, she agreed, that was nice and long.

“I thought so too”, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders before enquiring, “So, what is that you have actually been up to?” He looked from one face to the other. Lex’s remained calm and composed whilst Chloe’s expression turned decidedly guilty.

“We went to Metropolis last week - I think that Chloe over did it a bit.” Lex proceeded to go into detail - as much as was legally possible - about Chloe’s job and responsibilities.

Gabe looked impressed, so did Chloe. Lex was making her role sound far more important than it was.

“Very impressive but then again I always knew that she was going to set the world on fire”, Gabe said proudly. He had been maintaining that she was genius since her first kick. Well, before actually but that was his first piece of concrete evidence.

“Well, we will try to keep any pyromaniacal tendencies under wraps. For now”, Lex smiled over at him. “Actually, I should get going now that there is someone to sit with you”.

“Alright, have a good day and stop fussing over me”, Chloe dismissed him.

Lex just gave her a smile and Gabe a wave.

“Bye Snuggle Bug”, Gabe called.

Lex turned around and Chloe sniggered.

“What, wasn’t that his code name?” Gabe asked, revealing that he had a heard more of their conversation than he had previously let on.

“One of the potential ones I was trying out, yes”, Chloe grinned.

“No”, Lex said sternly.

“What code name do you want then?” Chloe asked kindly.

“Warrior Angel?” He said after pondering for a second.

“Yeah, that works”, Chloe agreed.

“Big head”, Gabe rolled his eyes.

“I’ve missed you Dad”, Chloe said, snuggling up against his arm.

“I’ve been able to bear the separation quite cheerfully”, Lex called out as he left, closing the front door behind him.

“You know that he missed me and my jokes really”, Gabe smiled, “so, how are you really doing dumpling?”

“I’m fine Daddy”.

“Really?” He tested her temperature with his hand. “You’re still rather warm”.

“You’re worse than Lex”, she lamented.

“How so?”

“He has been fussing over me like a mother hen too”. Honestly any more of this and she was going to go out of her mind.

“Good”.

~*~

Lex dithered, not sure what he was supposed to be doing at the end of his working day. Finally he grabbed something as a ‘gift’, told himself not to be such a kitten - or something to that effect - and headed over to Chloe’s.

As he walked the few hundred metres from the main house to the guest one he felt butterflies fluttering in his stomach which was ridiculous and gave him the strong desire to kill them with a bottle of scotch or just to smash his head against a brick wall. This relationship with Chloe was going to cost him his sanity at this rate. It was a good job that the maid opened the door immediately before he did something drastic.

Lex barely got through the door when his nostrils were assaulted with the gorgeous smell of Italian cooking. His stomach grumbled so loudly that he was worried that he might have woken up Chloe wherever she was napping. He tip toed through the hallway looking around for a sign of Chloe and was relieved when he saw Lex popping his head around the corner from the kitchen and beckoning him over - he would know where Chloe was.

Gabe pointed in the direction of the main living room where they had been earlier and Lex noticed the top of a blonde head poking up over the sofa and the sound of frantic typing. Apparently Gabe was nowhere near as strict as Lex but he let it go and continued in to the kitchen.

“Finally”, Gabe said in a hushed whisper until the door was closed. He made his way back into the centre of the kitchen to the island covered in pots, pans and garlic bread. “It’s about time that you showed up, only 20 minutes until dinner”. He paused, “What’s that?”

“I brought over a book that Chloe wanted”, Lex said, showing him the volume.

Gabe looked unimpressed. “You know, your name has come up a few times in conversation lately”, he said as he began to toss a salad.

“Really?” Lex inquired, trying to sound neutral.

“Really, which knowing my daughter means that you two have been spending a lot of time together. I can’t count the number of times that your name has been mentioned, a joke that you have told has been repeated, or she has had to go to dinner with you”, Gabe finished with the salad.

“She’s been here less than a month so it couldn’t be that many”, Lex calculated.

“Well, maths never was my strong point”, Gabe shrugged the matter off.

“That fills me with confidence considering the role you used to have in my company”, Lex rolled his eyes.

“The point is”, the father got a large knife out to cut a carrot and to ensure that Lex’s attention, “seeing how close you have become with my daughter, I think that the gift idea to get a dinner invitation is a bit weak”.

“I wasn’t ...”

“And if Chloe hears about it she will probably try to shove this somewhere”, he wiggled his knife towards the offending article.

“And that would bother you?” Lex asked dryly.

“Certainly”, Gabe nodded, “she is convalescing”.

Lex let out a huff of laughter. “Your concern is touching”.

“I know, I’m just too damned nice for my own good”, Lex said with a sigh, “Now, hide that book before Chloe sees it and then go and detach her from the computer”.

“I am only one man”, Lex joked but did as he was told. An odd feeling for Lex. But he didn’t want Chloe disgruntled while she was ill. The sound of Gabe’s laughter followed Lex through into the living room.

“Hey there, I see that you are in direct defiance of the doctor’s orders”, he announced his presence.

“You are not a doctor Lex”, Chloe said, looking up and smiling at him. Not seeming at all surprised at seeing him.

“It’s just an expression”, he sat down next to her and put an arm around her shoulders.

“Yes, an expression about a doctor”, Chloe rolled her eyes at him.

“I could be a doctor”, he retorted.

“No you couldn’t, you don’t even have your undergrad”, she protested.

“I was barely five credits away”, he informed her dryly.

“I know”, she smirked knowingly, “which seeing as you spent the entire time partying and drinking (from what I hear) is rather impressive”.

He gave her a look which clearly said, “I am pretty impressive”.

Chloe just rolled her eyes at him and then went back to her screen.

“What are you working on? Another attempt at world domination?” Lex asked, moving his head closer to hers to see.

“No, my actual job”, she turned the screen slightly to let him see.

“I told you that you didn’t have to do that”, he said trying to keep his voice soft and calm, trying to smother the authority which was pricking up inside him.

“I know, but it is my job and I do like doing it and I’m not really sick just a little under the weather”, she justified..

“Still, I worry about you”, he gave her squeeze.

“I know, but I worry about you worrying about me which makes you worry so ... You should stop worrying. For both our goods”, she explained, resting her head on his shoulder.

He smiled, “Worryingly, that all made sense to me”.

“I’ve been educating you”, she smirked.

“If that’s the way you chose to see it”, he looked over his shoulder, Gabe was still safely in the kitchen, “Either way, I have been sent to get you away from your laptop before dinner”.

“Did you tell him that you were only human?”

“Pretty much”.

“Did he pay any attention to that?” She asked, saving her work.

“No”.

“I didn’t think that he would”, Chloe said with a sigh as closed down and placed her beloved laptop on the coffee table. She straightened up and stretched her back resulting in a series of extremely satisfying cracks.

Before Lex could say a word, Gabe’s dulcet tones floated through the lower portion of the house (and possibly part of the upstairs as well) “Kiddie-winks, grub’s up”.

“Kiddie-winks?

“Well, what did you expect him to say? Delightful ravishing creatures and bald billionaires?”

~*~

“So”, Gabe said, stretching out his legs in front of him as he sat down with a glass of scotch in Chloe’s living room. “That was a pleasant dinner, I think that Chloe was looking a bit better. Although I don’t think that she has willing gone to bed at 8pm for years”.

“Probably not”, Lex agreed, “she is definitely more poorly than she likes to let on”.

“Yup, but that’s my little Chloe Bear”, the Bear’s father said ruminatively, “have I told you about the time that she stuck a Philadelphia sandwich up my nose?”

Lex pulled a face as if he were trying not to laugh, “No, I don’t believe that you have”.

“I wasn’t very well one day - Chloe would have been about 4 years old - and I got her lunch but couldn’t stomach anything myself. I had a nap after that with Chloe playing quietly on the rug with her toys, or so I thought. Apparently she was worried that I hadn’t had lunch so she thought that she would make me a Philadelphia sandwich - the only thing she could make - and tried to feed it to me while I was asleep without waking me up”.

“I can’t imagine that that would have gone too well”, Lex sniggered under his breath.

“Nope, half of it smeared across my face, the other half up my nose”, he grinned.

“Yep, that sounds like Chloe. Did it help to cure you?” Lex wondered.

“Oh yes, well it was either that or the cuddles”, scientists had yet to make up their minds.

Lex just smiled.

Gabe studied him for a few seconds. “Don’t think that I didn’t notice the looks. What else has been going on?”

Lex sighed and leant back in his chair.

Gabe kept his eyes fixed on his face, calmly waiting.

Lex took a swing of his scotch and then answered simply, “Clark”.

“That little punk”, Gabe snarled.

Lex almost choked as he tried to keep scotch from coming out of his nose, it wasn’t an entirely pleasant experience. No one ever disliked Clark; he was always a hero.

“Alright?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine”, Lex cleared his sinuses, “I was unaware that you didn’t like Clark”.

“Hmm, probably thought that I didn’t know about him either”, Gabe grumbled.

In truth, Gabe’s feelings about the young man had very rarely crossed his mind.

“Or that I would naturally approve of him”, the elder of the two men continued to grouse.

“Most parents do”, Lex informed him.

“Yes yes I know. He saves a couple of dozen people and suddenly a hero”, he rolled his eyes.

“That’s how it generally works, yes”.

Gabe rolled his eyes, “Sure, in between breaking little girls’ hearts”.

“Chloe was hardly a little girl and I’m surprised that she spoke to you about ...” he gestured, “that stuff”.

“Oh, she didn’t”, she would never have done something like that. “Chloe’s not the type to show when she had been hurt. But that doesn’t mean that I didn’t know. Smug little bastard with his “Good afternoon Mr Sullivan, how do you do Mr Sullivian, is Chloe in Mr Sullivan”. I wanted to bash his pretty face in. Floppy haired prick”.

Lex grinned, “I feel that I should defend him, somehow. I’m not really sure why”.

“That’s because you are overly loyal”.

“That’s a kind way of putting it”.

“Yeah well, I don’t want that crap starting up again. She is too good for him, she always was”, Gabe crossed one arm over his chest and scowled at his drink.

“You won’t get any arguments from me”, Lex assured him.

“Besides she now has a degree etc, she can’t spend her entire life on a farm mooning after him”, he groused.

“Again, no arguments from me. But what do you want me to do about it?” Chloe was hardly going to take it kindly if either he or her father started to meddle in her life.

“Damn it”, he snapped, “Lex be a man and make her forget about that berk”.

“And how exactly would I go about doing that?” He inquired, amused.

“Be all suave and sophisticated and show her bits of the world she hasn’t seen and ... You sly little bugger”, he said, with no small degree of admiration. “I take it that that trip to Metropolis had more to it than just business”.

“It was a perfectly practical business arrangement, I assure you”, Lex said.

“I’m sure that it was”, Gabe didn’t look or sound particularly convinced.

“And Chloe and I are just friends”, the billionaire stated firmly.

“I never implied anything else, but you don’t want to watch her throwing her life away on Clark, do you? Or in a mediocre job? Or here?”

“No, no and no”, Lex agreed.

“Good, now”, he fixed Lex with an even more penetrating gaze, “tell me the truth”.

“I wasn’t aware that I had been lying to you”, he raised an eyebrow, but Gabe refused to be quelled.

“She didn’t have a job when she came here, did she?”

Lex sniffed. “That is something that you should talk to her about. You have a good relationship”.

“Yes we do and as such she always wants to protect me”.

Lex sighed, “No, she didn’t have a job. Or a place to live. Or any money in her savings account. Or a working car”. There was a pause for several seconds. “It’s not something that she has to worry about any more. She does amazing work, she will never be without a well paying job again”.
.
Gabe nodded with a smile of gratitude, then added tiredly, “What am I going to do with that girl or mine?”

“Well, I’ve had a few ideas.”

Gabe raised an eyebrow at him.

can't wait to see what happens.and what ideas does lex have concerning chloe

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chloe loved her father but she had to get out of the house. Between her father’s pandering and Lex’s fussing she was going to go crazy. She bundled up in far more layers than was strictly necessary and took her cell phone - just to keep the peace - and then went out for a walk.

‘Going out for a walk’ was not a particularly common pastime in Smallville Kansas. It wasn’t like in Metropolis where there were loads of things to see on the walk or in the English countryside where the landscape varied with every passing step. The Kansas country side was yellow. Yellow. Yellow. And, you’ve guest it, yellow.

She plodded her way through four fields of corn before she finally saw some greenery, only smattered with bits of yellow.

“I suppose that if your livelihood depends on it then it is a nice sight”, she mused to herself as she made her way back towards the road. Unfortunately Chloe’s sense of direction was absolutely terrible and she though that she would probably end up lost if she just went across country.

“That’s all I need”, she thought, “having to call Dad or Lex to tell them that I am lost. Dad would run around like a headless chicken and Lex would be out in the helicopter with a GPS unit”. There was no getting around it, the two men in her life where worriers.

In spite of herself she couldn’t help but giggle at the mental image of the entire army being call out just to fund her because she had got lost in a corn field. She was going to have to do something about both of them. Maybe once her Dad saw that her life was going well then he would worry less and Lex, well, Lex needed a woman in his life to take his mind of Chloe.

She wondered who she could, “Bloody hell!” She shouted as she jumped several feet in the air at the sound of a car horn. She whirled around to see who the shockingly rude individual was only to see a very familiar red truck.

“Sorry”, Clark apologised as he left the motor running but jumped out of his vehicle with a sheepish expression. “I didn’t mean to make you jump like that”.

“God Clark, give a girl some warning in future”, her hand went to her chest but she wasn’t displeased to see him.

“Are you alright?”

“Sure, I mean, you’ve knocked about fifty years off my life but other than that ...”

“No, I meant, you are walking along the side of the road. I didn’t see a car behind me. Did something happen? I thought that you had a new company car that actually worked”.

She decided that she could forgive him. The concern coming from him was adorable not annoying as it was with some other people she could mention. “I’m fine”, she assured him with a warm smile, “I’m just”, she raised her arms out to the side to indicate that she was just outside.

“You aren’t investigating something that you shouldn't be, are you?” The look of concern did not leave his features.

“No”.

“Something that you should be investigating, according to you?” He checked.

“No”, she protested with a laugh. In some ways he was so much easier to talk to than Lex; his ‘what are you up to?’ look was would have been easy to withstand even if she had been doing something wrong.

He didn’t look entirely convinced.

“Really Clark”, she laughed, “I’m fine. I’m just out for a walk”. He was getting as bad as her Dad and Lex but in his case she found it rather adorable. “I needed some air”, she added, by way of explanation.

“Right, well, can I convince you to cut your walk short?” He asked looking a little sheepish.

“Of course you can”, Chloe smiled at him.

He grinned back down at her and walked her around to the other side of his truck, opening the door for her and closing it after her. Once he was back in and they had started driving - Chloe presumed they were going to the Kents’ farm house judging by the direction in which they were heading - she asked, “So, what have you been up to?”

“Oh, you haven’t heard then, I take it?” Clark glanced over at her.

“Heard what?” She kept her face neutral. She was genuinely interested in what he had been doing recently in general but it was also the perfect time to start to ask about Lana and whether or not they had got back together. She hoped that they had.

“Lana’s car broke down yesterday”, he started slowly.

“Really?” Chloe endeavoured not to sound too surprised as that was always a dead give away.

“Yeah, apparently she was on her way to see Lex when her car just stopped working”, he expanded on the story.

Chloe looked interested just in case he looked over at her.

“She called him but he didn’t answer so she called me”, he went on.

“She didn’t think to call a tow truck?” She asked. Clark was silent which she would take that as a no. “So, you two have .... made up?”

“You noticed that then?” He couldn’t imagine that she hadn’t, it was rather obvious.

“I think that half of the ball game noticed”, she replied lightly.

“I’m sorry, we didn’t mean to ruin a lovely evening”.

“You didn’t”, she knew how hard Clark had been trying to remain civil. It had been Lana to want to continuously cause a scene. “Besides, I don’t think that you could have beaten Lex’s end of evening hysterics”.

“Yeah, they were rather impressive”, he replied with a nervous laugh. “I was worried that he was going to kill someone at one point. Anyway”, he paused, “I’m sorry that I didn’t call”.

“What are you talking about?” Chloe wondered.

“Yesterday”. When Chloe still didn’t appear to know what he was talking about, he elaborated, “I wanted to call you as soon as I got home to check that you were alright but then I thought that it would be too late, then I wasn’t sure if you would be up the following morning and then well, all of the stuff with Lana. I wanted to call”.

“Don’t worry about it, I got your message yesterday afternoon and it wasn’t anything serious”, she shrugged it off. What did it matter if he had been a little late calling? Clark had always been forgetful. Except where Lana was concerned.

“I didn’t call yesterday afternoon”, he said, quietly.

“Oh”.

“I’m ...”

“Lex told me that you had”, she sounded shocked.

“I didn’t. I would have but I’ve been busy and ... It’s not that I didn’t want to but Lex seemed to have it all under control and ...”

“Clark, don’t worry about it, I’m not mad. I’m just wondering why Lex said that you had called when you didn’t”.

“Maybe he got the message mixed up?” Clark suggested, “Maybe it was Lana”.

“Maybe”, she said thoughtfully. Lex didn’t get mixed up. At least, not in her experience. She pondered this as she looked out of the window, corn was not that much more interesting when it was flying passed the window either.

“Um”, Clark broke the silence, “have you spoken to Lana?”

“Lana?” Chloe looked back over at him in mild surprise, “No. Why?”

“No reason, I just thought that she might have called you to apologise, or see if you were okay or you know just to talk”.

“No”, she replied with a shake of her head. “The last time that I saw her was on Sunday evening”.

“Oh, right. I was just wondering”.

They relapsed into silence.

“Is there something that you would like to talk about, Clark?”

“No, I’m fine”, he declined politely.

“Come on, I already have one mysterious and annoying man in my life”, Chloe prodded.

“Does Lex know how you refer to him?” Clark wondered.

“Oh that, he would consider that polite”, she smiled.

Clark shot her a smile. “It’s nothing. Things have just been ... confusing lately”.

“I’m not trying to pry”.

He shot her a look.

“What?” She blinked at him, “Oh, okay, this is because I spent over a year trying to poke my nose into your private life. People can change”.

He laughed and shook his head.

“I repeat. I am not trying to pry, but maybe it would help if you were to talk about it?” She suggested mildly.

“It’s just”, he sought for the words. “Did you think that it would be easy?”

“What?”

“Life, you know meet someone, fall in love, marriage and its all great”.

“Sure”, she shrugged. In spite of what her Dad had been through, she had always believed him when he said that she would find someone marvellous in university. She hadn’t. But she hadn’t completely lost hope.

“You know I’ve been in love with Lana since the first time I saw her.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It took my parents a while for the adoption process to go through - as you know - but finally they took me into the centre of Smallville, I was so excited. I wanted to go everywhere and see everything and we went to get some flowers for Mom and I saw her”.

“Wearing a princess costume?” Possibly that was unkind.

“No, a pink dress”, his voice still filled with wonderment at the memory.

“Of course”.

“She was just so beautiful, so ethereal. I was shy but I went over to say hi and fell”.

“In love?”

“No, flat on my face. She smiled, then I fell in love”. He clarified.

“That’s a sweet story”, she couldn’t laugh at it. She had fallen in love on her first day at Smallville Junior High. Clark had walked up to her, smiled at her from under slightly shaggy dark curls, with huge blue eyes and introduced himself. It had only got worse when she had found out that he wasn’t actually Armish, that he had a nice family and that he was smart and kind.

“You think that I am stupid and sentimental?” Clark brought her back to the present.

“No, I think that you are incredibly sweet and that she is a fool if she doesn’t love you back”, she gave him an encouraging smile.

“I think that she does. She says that she does but ... It’s just not working any more”.

“Why not? You’re both in the same area. Both single. That’s impressive for you two”, she pointed out.

“I don’t know”, he sighed as they moved up to the Kent’s farmhouse.

“Hey, don’t worry. I’m sure that it is all going to work out”, she said, reaching and patting his hand.

“Thanks”.

“You know what you need?” Chloe asked perkily.

“Do I want to know?” He asked as he turned the car off and gave her his full attention.

“A full afternoon of patented Chloe fun, like we used to do in junior high. No thoughts of careers, or love or anything else. Fun. Forced fun if need be!”

He grinned, “sounds good to me, although I think I need to handle something in the barn first, but that will only take a few minutes”.

“I can help”, Chloe offered.

“No, you stay inside it’ll only take me a couple of minutes”, Clark got out and walked her into the house and checked that she was comfy before dashing out to the barn.

~*~

“Clark, is that you?” Martha called from upstairs seconds after her son had left.

“No Mrs Kent, it’s me Chloe. Clark just went to finish something off in the barn. Would you like me to go and get him?” His young blonde companion replied.

“Chloe?” Martha called back, sounding pleasantly surprised. “No thank-you dear I was just wondering”, she came down the stairs without making any noise. Chloe never could work out how she managed it. “Clark’s gone out to do some chores and left you here all by yourself? Honestly, I don’t know where he learnt his manners some times”.

“It wasn’t arranged, he just saw me walking along and ...” She didn’t know what I think that he needs some cheering up”.

“Ah yes, the Lana fiasco rears its ugly head again”, Martha said tiredly.

Chloe blinked. That had to be the first time that anyone had ever used the words Lana and ugly in the same sentence. Maybe even the same paragraph.

“The sooner that those two either decide to make up or break up the better”, Martha said with a surprising amount of candour. “No mother wants to watch her son pining away”.

“I don’t think that he is pining, just”, Chloe, still shocked, sought for the words, “confused and a little sad”.

“You didn’t see him during University”, Martha shook her head guilty, reaching out to the young woman as she noted her guilty expression. “I didn’t say that to make you feel bad, sweetheart. It is natural that friends grow apart during university, I would have been so angry if you had gone to MetU when you had such a good opportunity. I be perfectly frank, I am angry with Clark for going there”.

“It is a good school”, Chloe pointed out, “you are Mr Kent went there, didn’t you?”

“True, but there are just so many other places in the world. He got in elsewhere but Lana said that she might stay in Metropolis so he stayed. But then she left for abroad. He was about ready to move when she came back, not able to cut it abroad and then Clark had to pick up the pieces”, Martha said. She had been so disappointed.

“But she makes him happy”, Chloe pointed out. She had given up trying to pretend that there was anyone else in the world (okay, her) that could make him happy. Clark loved Lana and that was all that there was to it.

“I wouldn’t be complaining if she did”, she shook her head as if realising that she was speaking out loud. “I shouldn’t be saying any of this at all”.

Chloe opened her mouth to tell her not to worry about it, but was interrupted, “I just wish that he would fall in love with someone else. Someone kind and smart and driven and strong. Someone like you”.

Chloe stared at her in surprise.

“Shall we get some hot chocolate?” Martha enquired as if unaware of what she had just said and the chaos it was to spawn.

~*~

Clark drove Chloe back up to the Luthor guest house, the two of them still laughing. “God I’ve missed you. We have to do this more often”. The words were barely out of Clark’s mouth when he was forced to an abrupt stop as two men tore out of Chloe’s house and over to the car.

“Damn it Clark your watch must be slow”, she muttered as she observed the lunatics.

“I don’t always remember to wind it”, he admitted, “what’s the problem?”

“Lex has come over - so it must be five or after - and has noticed that I’m not there”, she sighed, “which means that he and Dad are ...”

“Chloe, are you alright? What happened? Why ...” Lex’s strident tones could be heard very clearly through the glass.

“I’m fine Lex”, she replied with a sigh. “I just went out of a walk. I wasn’t aware that I needed to check in with you”.

“You know that you don’t”, he said as he opened her door for her, “I was just worried”.

“Well you had no need to be”, she said but gave him a hug.

Gabe bustled over and insisted on checking her over too in spite of Chloe’s repeating her age five times. Clark got out of the car and followed them to the door and addressed Gabe as Chloe and Lex headed inside, “I’m sorry, I would have called if I had known that you would worry”.

“Sure you would have”, Gabe said, “Well, sorry, can’t stand here talking all day, we’ve got dinner to get to”. With that Gabe entered, closed the door and was confronted with Lex’s gaping face, Chloe having popped to the loo.

“What?” He protested, “I didn’t actually slam the door in his face!”

“That’s the definition of politeness now?” Lex had been trying way too hard in that case.

“Only when you have a daughter”.

~*~

Later that night, after dinner was done and Gabe had gone to bed, Lex and Chloe sat on her sofa.

“You know that you can’t keep me kicking my heels any longer, don’t you? Tomorrow, I’m going back to work so be prepared”, Chloe warned him her head resting comfortably on his chest, his arm around her shoulders.

“You should spend time with your Dad”, he responded calmly as he stroked her arm absent mindedly.

“I will. I will work, and spend time with my Dad, and with you and fix Clark’s life”. She informed him.

“I thought that we had discussed your penchant for meddling in other people’s lives before”, he said with a pointed look.

“Discussed requires two participants Lex. If you just talk. It isn’t a discussion”, she reminded him.

“Not if you don’t listen apparently”, he sighed, “what makes you think that this will be any more successful than before?”

She told him about what Martha said. “You see, we have to do something”.

“Split them up and keep the pieces for ourselves?”

they're so full of plans lol
can't wait for more

Hope you had an amazing Christmas holidays

ps: I love when Gabe calls her Chloe Bear on fics :)

Hi Malu. My holidays were pretty good. How were yours?

Thanks for reviewing. :D

I'm glad that you like it.

Chapter Twenty-Five

“Okay Operation Fairy Evil Doers is a go!” Chloe announced.

“That is no better than the last version of the name”, Lex complained.

“Honestly you are never satisfied”, she rolled her eyes. “Now, do you remember what you have to do?”

“Yes, Chloe I remember the plan”, they had only been through it five times since they had both finished work that day. “But you know that the definition of insanity is repeating the same thing and expecting different results?”

“It’s not exactly the same. The plan has been tweaked”, she argued. “With the car plan, they didn’t actually have to spend that much time together. I think that that was the cause of the problem”.

“If you say so”, he didn’t sound entirely convinced.

“I do”.

“And I have your guarantee that this plan will be a raging success?”

“I don’t see why not”. She avoided actually giving him a guarantee. A Sullivan Guarantee was like a pinkie promise; sacred.

“Right, action stations”, Lex smirked at her as he sent her around the back of the Talon and he stormed in the front door. “Where’s Lana?” He demanded of the first person he saw, nearly loud enough to be heard by half of the establishment.

Before anyone could respond Lana came scurrying out of the kitchen. “Is something wrong?”

“You could say that. Can we talk, in private?”He inquired shortly.

“Of course”, she answered, even though no one - with the possible exception of Chloe - would ever have thought to say no to him. Lana led the way up to her apartment, her legs shaking as she went. He closed the door behind him and she tried to paint a calm expression on her face as she asked, “What’s wrong Lex?”

“These documents”, he threw a stack down on the table. “The figure are wrong”

“The figures are wrong”, she repeated dumbly.

“Yes. Fix them”. With that he left. Lana gaped after him, her normally dewy complexion pale.

~*~

Once he had left the apartment he turned right and discreetly let himself into another room, which most people thought was used for storage. There, sat Chloe on a blanket she had brought rolled up in her bag, with a small TV in her lap.

“You are sexy when you are pretending that you are mad”, she nodded at the screen.

“Who says that I was pretending?”

“You weren’t?”

“Every bloody month those reports come back to me wrong. I’m sick and tired of fixing them”, he grumbled.

“Makes you wish that you had never wanted to be Clark’s friend so hadn’t given his inamorata a restaurant, doesn’t it?” She teased.

“That’s not exactly what happened”, he informed her as he sat down next to her.

“Sure it wasn’t”, she patted him disbelievingly on the shoulder.

“Why do I put with you?” He wondered aloud.

“Because no one else will play with you”, she answered easily.

“True”, they both turned their attention to the screen.

“Do I want to know how you got cameras in there?” She asked after a few minutes.

“They have always been in there”.

“What?” She gasped

“I said: that the cameras have always been in there”, he stated once more, “we need to get your ears cleaned out”.

“My ears are just fine. I can’t believe that you have been spying on Lana all of these y-”

“I have no been spying on Lana”, he protested, “1. She hasn’t been here all of that time. 2. They are not there to spy, cameras are just installed in everyone of my properties”.

“Even the guest house?” She demanded.

“As a business man I have a team of people in place who ...”

“Lex? Even in the guest house?” She cut in.

He sighed. “Of course” he reached over and tried to pull her into his arms and make her understand but she pulled away. “Chloe”, he tried again, “it is a Luthor property; it needs security”.

“In the main bedroom?” She asked in a slow, careful, trembling voice.

“Chloe”, he reached out to stroke her hair, hoping to calm her.

“Answer the damned question Lex!” She slapped at his hand, tears burning her eyes as she prayed that he would say no. He couldn’t have betrayed her. He couldn't have let her down like this. He couldn’t have ...

“Yes”.

“Lex!” She launched herself up from the floor and started to storm towards the door.

“Chloe wait”, Lex demanded, raising his voice more than was probably wise but he didn’t care about anything but making her understand. “Chloe”, he grabbed her arm and spun her around when she would not stop, “listen to me. They do exist but they would only ever be used in the case of emergency, the feed is secure”.

Chloe remained quiet. Frozen in his grasp. Blinking back tears that he desperately wanted to wipe away. “Chloe, what are you thinking?”

Her lips pursed and she shook her head.

“Sweetheart, please just talk to me. Whatever you have to say, say it”, he hated the desperation in his tone but he couldn’t control it. He couldn't face the idea that he could lose her over something like this.

She left out a low gusty sigh but couldn’t look up at him as she began to say, “I understand why you need them, that it is a part of your life and that I can’t ask you to change that”.

“Thank-you for understanding”, he pulled her into his chest hugging her tightly as relief coursed through his veins.

She wrapped her arms around his slim waist holding him close, savouring the moment as desperate to give him comfort as she was to drawn it from him. With one final squeeze she reluctantly released him, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to end this as she must if she didn’t do it at that second.

“Lex”, she tried to keep her voice from quivering, without much success. “I understand but ... I just can’t live like that. That’s why I’m going to have to move out”.

Lex’s hands fell from her back to his sides, his jaw tensed and his eyes became steely.

“Please Lex. I understood your position. Please understand mind”, she begged, grasping at his arms. She couldn’t lose her best friend.

He took her hands off him and, apparently with a great deal of effort, informed her. “I do understand”.

“Don’t hate me”, she beseeched. She knew that the hardness in his eyes was a defence mechanism but it was killing her.

“Chloe don’t be ridiculous. You know that I could never hate you”, he snapped out of it, allowing her to see some small part of his injury. “But”, he admitted slowly, as if it pained him, “I wish that you would reconsider”.

Chloe stared up at him. She longed to give in to him, for her own sake as much as his but what would become of her if she did? She swallowed before saying, “We should focus on Lana”.

“Of course”, Lex gave a curt nod and returned to the floor and the monitor with her.

Lana was pacing in the apartment wringing her hands and fretting. Finally she appeared to settle on what she was supposed to do. She grabbed her phone and punched in a familiar number.

Chloe’s phone began to ring. “Oh damn it”.

“Don’t answer it”, Lex said, although there was really no need. He placed his hand over hears and hoped that the noise wouldn’t travel. Fortunately it didn’t. They watched together as Lana called the next number on the list. This one responded on the second ring.

“Clark”, Lana’s voice was desperate. “I need your help”.

There was a pause and both Lex and Chloe leant forwards.

“I’m at my apartment. Yes, really? Please hurry!” Lana begged into her phone and a second later there was a ring at the door.

“We should enter him for the Olympics”, Lex joked, trying to hide the despair which was still consuming his thoughts. Chloe just nodded and moved her face closer to the screen as if she could somehow be sucked into it and forget about all of her own problems. After the revelation about the cameras and their conversation about privacy spying on her friends didn’t sit well with her any more, but she couldn't think of any other way to help their friends and she couldn’t allow herself to think about leaving Lex or she would fall apart.

“Even with Clark’s maths abilities that will take them hours”, Lex reminded her, a subtle hint that if she sat like that for hours then she would not only damage her eyes but also her back.

“That’s true but”, Chloe trailed off as she watched her carefully constructed plan implode as Clark took the documents to do for her and left. “Clark you flipping idiot”, she complained before covering her mouth with her hands, too late to do any good.

Lex smiled at her.

“Well, he is”, she whispered.

“I don’t think that that is going to do any good”, he replied in equally low tones.

“Do you think that he heard?” She muttered.

“I think that he would be in here if he had”, Lex said but dutifully switched the monitor’s feed to see Clark leaving.

“He really is a flipping idiot”, Lex agreed.

“We just need to get them together for longer”, Chloe said already mapping out their next plan of attack.

“Chloe, I think that we just need to give up on the idea. We have given them ample opportunity. If they were going to get together - if either of them wanted it - they would have gone for it.” He didn’t add, ‘with or without our meddling’.

“I can’t just leave them to unhappiness”, she turned her head to face him.

“I know”, he reached out to rub her shoulder sympathetically.

“Just one more try?” She asked hopefully, sensing that he was preparing to shut down their project. “I know that we can make them happy”.

“Alright, one”, he held up one digit to emphasise his seriousness, “more try”.

Chloe beamed at him and decided with a stretch. “There probably isn’t much point in us sitting here any more.”

“No probably not. And we should probably be getting back, you still look a little pale”, Lex got to his feet and held out his hand to her.

“I’m fine”, she informed him but accepted his help in rising so as not to hurt his feelings.

“And today was your first day back at work so you should be careful”.

“Don’t worry Lex, I’m fine”.

He gave her a small, tight smile.

~*~

“We have to get a social life”, Chloe decided.

“You are dissatisfied?” Lex enquired with an arched eyebrow.

“No, I am incredibly satisfied. But I am turning into a couch potato”, she said, from where she lay on the settee, her head resting comfortably in Lex’s lap. “Once we have got those two together and you are convinced that I am not going to keel over ... We need to start coming up with mini outings. Twice per week”.

“Twice per week?” There were only going to see each other twice a week?

“If we go out two nights per week then five can be spent on the couch without fear of potatoifying”, Chloe decided, unaware of the bolt of fear that he shot through Lex or that it would have ever occurred to him that she wasn’t going to be spending all of her evenings with him.

“Potatoifying?” He asked, relieved that she wasn’t drawing away from him.

“Potatoifying”, she agreed.

“So, do you have any ideas for our final plan to bring together the star crossed lovers?” He wondered, brushing some imaginary hair out of her face.

“Yes and yes I noticed your use of the word final”, she gave him a look, “We have tried causing a problem for her hoping that she would call Clark and that hasn’t been working. What about if we create a problem for you?”

“What?” That made no sense to him at all.

“It’s simplicity itself. All that you have to do is call Lana and Clark and tell them that you have a problem and need their help solving it. Then we will disappear to talk to someone about it and leave them in a room together”, she grinned.

“Chloe, I just dumped a load of paper work on her. Do you really think that she is going to come running if I say that I have a problem?” He pointed out the obvious flaw in her plan.

“Of course”, Chloe replied with confusion. “I would”.

“I know”, he said slowly, wondering how to give voice to what had been gnawing at him all evening. “Chloe?”

“Yeah?”

“You would never leave a friend to be miserable, right? That is why we are doing all of this?”

“Sure”.

“Don’t leave”.