Here are the entries for this month's challenge of Intoxication. Please be sure to vote, and I'm sure our wonderful authors would love some feedback.
Story #1
Story #2
Story #3
Voting ends May 15th
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Story #1
Title: Love Drunk
Lex holed himself in the mansion for weeks after Lana refused his proposal. She still held a torch for Clark and liked the freedom of dancing between men. She didn't have to say it, Lex saw it on her face when she looked down wide-eyed at the ring he'd spent hours picking out. They might have parted on harsh terms and he'd probably ruined his chances of ever winning her back when he threatened to kill her, but it was worth it. She looked so scared.
There was a sound of steps outside of his study, stomping toward his door. He knew even before the doors flung open that it was Chloe Sullivan, no one stomped quite like her.
“Lex, you have to stop this. You've got a plant to run and you can't do it backing Henny in the dark!” Chloe exclaimed without any pleasantries. This was the fourth time she'd come to talk some kind of sense to Lex but he was hard of hearing.
“Yes I can,” Lex replied with a hint of childish defiance. He turned his laptop around on his messy table to prove to her he'd been working. Though, truthfully, the words and numbers blurred together and he must have approved over three million dollars worth of unnecessary renovations to the grounds and employee lounge. They were in the middle of building an Olympic sized pool in the factory's backyard.
Chloe came close enough to squint at the screen and grimaced. She backed away and held her hand over her mouth, making all sorts of dramatic noises and fanning gestures to signify her disapproval at the old open cans of beer, the thick smell of scotch and cigars, and the half eaten carton of Chicken Lo Mein.
“Lex, why are you doing this? So many people depend on you and you're knee deep in your own filth!” Chloe cried out. When he didn't really respond in any other way except looking lewdly at her body, Chloe clenched her teeth and made a decision. She'd fix him up.
Chloe started by taking off her purse and throwing it in a clear spot on his sofa. She cleared off his desk, can by can and bottle by bottle.
“I never pegged you for a beer guy,” Chloe said as she cleaned. She wasn't sure whether or not he was staring at her or just gazing into space.
“I ran out of scotch really quickly. And then the wine was gone...And then I poured out the champagne,” Lex said as he watched her bend over to retrieve a few soda bottles from the ground. He couldn't help but think how lucky Chloe was, if he were a little less drunk, he'd climb over the table and pin her down on top of all that garbage she was rifling through.
Chloe called it a day after an hour. Lex's gaze and silence became too penetrating and she had to get away from the sickly sweet smell of the room. He didn't say good bye but then, neither did Chloe.
For a week, Chloe returned, working an average of two hours a day before going back home. It was a process of three steps forward one step back, Lex always managed make additional messes. But at least he'd started to shower.
Was Lana really worth all this melodrama? Chloe thought he was only interested in the little brunette because she showed interest in him. She's never known Lex to go out of his way for a woman, there was a line around the world for Lex's bed.
“Please be careful with that,” Lex said as he glanced over the top of his screen at Chloe. She held one of his vintage miniature cast iron cannon figures by one of the wheels. Chloe made an annoyed face and shot a sharp look towards Lex.
“Is that what you told yourself before you dropped it onto this pizza?” Chloe asked. She didn't toss it like he'd feared, but instead, placed it on a plastic tarp that contained his other keepsakes and treasures.
“Fair enough,” Lex said emphatically and returned to his work. He still drank, but he was slowly weening himself off and ended his day in a delightful buzz. That was usually around the time Chloe would decide to leave, unfortunately, so that he couldn't pursue any inklings he felt toward her.
The following week, everything was back to where it should be. Lex however, couldn't concentrate on his work. There was something so empty about his study. There was still a hint of Chinese food and vomit in the air but Lex refused Chloe's enthusiastic bleach regime. The stuff gave him migraines. They agreed on lemon juice and a whole lot of ventilation.
Thinking of her brought on a sudden longing. When her work was done, Chloe no longer stomped into his study to make demands that he put himself back together. Why she'd done it in the first place always tore at his drunken brain but now he reasoned that it was for her father. It was for all of Smallville that Lex had to run his business. They all depended on him.
But he missed her now. And he resented his sobriety and organization.
***
“Lex?” Chloe called into the darkness of the room. She'd stormed into his study a little while ago and saw that it was still in good shape. She checked her text to make sure she'd read it right the first time.
I'm a mess again!
She wasn't lost in his mansion, but it was a lot darker than she anticipated. When Lex wasn't in his study, she found her way down a familiar hall. There was only one room with the door ajar and Chloe felt drawn to it.
“Lex, are you in here?” Chloe murmured again into the dark. Chloe felt along the walls for a switch, instead of finding one, she stumbled over something hard and cold.
“Ow, fuck!” Chloe exclaimed.
The lights blinded her and in the same instant, strong hands extricated her from the tangle she was in.
“Chloe, are you all right?”
“Lex? Jesus!” Chloe groaned, pushing herself away from him. She nearly fell again if Lex hadn't put out his arm. His room was a disaster. Everything was on the floor, drawers turned over, clothes spilling out of the closet, and chairs tossed and tangled on the bed.
“What happened to your room?!” Chloe demanded, kicking at a pair of Armani slacks that threatened to bring her down again.
“I don't know,” Lex lied unconvincingly.
Story #2
"You're just... misunderstood," Chloe chirped, grinning as she smacked Lex's arm.
His lips twitched, eyes falling on her hand. "I am. You'd think with everything I've done for this town that the people in it would be more understanding."
"I know, right? I mean, you should've seen the way they looked at me after the trial." She sat up, downing what was left in her glass, screwing her face up at the taste. "That's really--"She shuddered again, then held her glass up. "More?"
Pouring more scotch into her glass, he steadied her arm. "Careful, this sofa cost more than your car."
"Pshh." She raised her brows and lifted the glass, carefully pouring the alcohol directly onto the leather seat beside her. It rained down and rolled off onto the marble floor, splashing into a puddle at her stockinged feet. "Oops, my bad."
Lex swiped at the couch as he peered down at the floor, then sat back with a shrug. "I was tired of this sofa anyway."
"That's a healthy outlook. Start anew." She set her glass beside her and turned, tucking her feet under her, pleased that they were getting along so well. Alcohol had done wonders for their quote-unquote-friendship tonight. "You should totally buy that place and then not let anyone in."
Imagining all the dirty, angry looks he'd get, she smiled, lifting her arm to the back of the couch and resting her head in her palm.
He snorted and tossed back another drink. "What would that prove?"
"That you're evil?"
"I am." He poured another drink and sat back. "I am very evil. And slightly drunk."
She snickered, lifting her legs to her chest and resting her chin on her knees, watching him through half-open eyes "I always suspected. The evil thing, not the drunk thing-- although, you know, you drink a lot."
"I do."
"And it's sexy."
Lex frowned, turning to her. "Being drunk?"
"No." She waved that away with a laugh. "No. The evil. It's got a bit of a draw, the bad boy thing."
He nodded, smoothing his hand down his tie. "That's true."
Blinking at him, she realized that he looked really handsome in his suit. He always wore one, but this one was really sexy because he was... in it. All white shirt and tie and jacket and everything.
And a bald head. Shiny.
"Your head is really..."
"Bald?"
"Tempting. I've always wanted to touch it." She reached out, then drew her fingers back, biting her lip. "But you're just so... you know."
"Well, now I just think you're buttering me up."
"There's no buttering. I beat the bush. I don't sneak, I don't steal from you, or take things without expressly asking for them." Unlike Lana and Clark, she wanted to add, but didn't, because that was just this side of bitchy. She pushed her foot against his thigh instead, then scooted it back under the cushion. "If I want something, I go after it."
"Not me." His words were amused, light, but she saw something darker in them, and that was exactly the reason he was so sexy. Bad boy.
"Never wanted you." She gave him a bemused look, watching him over the rim of her glass, which had, somehow, gotten back into her hand.
"Thought you said I was sexy. Are you saying you've never--"
"Never," she stressed, lifting her brows pointedly. Of course she was lying. Like a filthy lying thing. But he was already so full of himself that there was no way she was going to pump up his ego anymore.
He smirked and turned more fully toward her. "Well, same here."
Tilting her head to him in acknowledgement, she rested her head in her palm again.
"I've never found you sexy," he continued, considering her. "Annoying and brash. Interfering and--"
"Hey." She poked her foot at his leg again. "Drunk, not deaf."
Lex puzzled over her comment for a few seconds, then shook his head. "I was lying anyway. If you were the last woman on Earth, I'd do you. Or Smallville--"
"You'd do Smallville?" Confused, she went back over his words thinking she must've missed something, all while a shot of pleasure swept through her at the thought of him wanting to sleep with her.
"--maybe Metropolis." He frowned at her, then shook his head again. "No, no. I'd do you in Smallville. Or Kansas. But only if you were the last woman on Earth. Probably more than once." Frowning her way with an exaggeration that she found amusing, he leaned forward. "Think I'll buy the whole block and turn all the stores into casinos and strip clubs."
She pointed at him absently as she switched her drink to her other hand thinking she'd do him anywhere, anytime, too. Definitely more than once. "Now we're talking evil. Ooo! Do boy strippers. And only Penny slots."
"You wouldn't sleep with me?" he asked, looking like he was about to start pouting at any moment.
Ego aside, he had said he'd do her, so it was only fair for her to tell the truth too. "Well, you're all bad boy and evil, right? That's, as mentioned before, very sexy." She wondered how they'd gone from annoyance at the local bookshop owner refusing Lex service because he wouldn't put his cell phone away to whether they'd do each other.
"Clown college!"
And that.
She eyed him askance, half pouting now, too. "But... boy strippers."
"The repressed farmer's wives would probably like that," he scoffed. "And some of the farmers. But clown college, now, that's--"
"Truly evil?"
He nodded in a bobbing head sort of way. "Gotta show this town how bad I really am." Sighing and closing his eyes, he leaned his head on the back of the couch as if he were too tired to hold it up any longer. A happy smile lifted his lips. "You smell nice."
She thought so, too. "It's lemon Pledge." The wonderful aromas of wood polisher and liquor mingled under her nose, tickling it.
"Ah. Is that the new fragrance by Chanel?" He turned his head toward her, opening his eyes slowly.
Chloe burst out laughing, unsure if he was serious or not. His lips curved up a little, giving her no hint.
Sometimes, he said the darndest things.
"I should be a clown."
Like that.
"You'd look cute in a rubber nose," she offered, trying not to imagine him in the whole shebang; a big suit in primary colors, big shoes, an annoying horn to honk.
A lamenting tone lilted in his voice, deep in his throat. "Not very bad-boy though."
His body shifted and she closed her eyes, inhaling his scent. He smelled good, too. "True. But the hair would look awesome. Not many people can pull off the orange afro, but I think you could." She snorted with laughter and opened her eyes, meeting his across the two-inch distance that separated them now.
Much closer than he'd been before.
Startled, she tipped her glass back, dribbling the last two drops into her mouth, then started to get up. Lex stopped her with a hand on her thigh.
"How would you like to graduate from clown college, Chloe?"
"Um..."
He leaned closer and settled his lips right beside her ear, mouth just brushing her skin. "Wanna study under me?"
"What happened to the 'last woman on Earth' scenario?" He wasn't actually suggesting they have sex, was he? No. Couldn't be. They weren't even friends. She'd only come over to pick up... something for Lana. Or was it Clark? A book.
Maybe money?
She hadn't intended to stay, but Lex had griped and she'd commiserated and he'd offered her a drink, she'd accepted and here they were... with Lex's hand sliding higher up her thigh. Her stomach tingled and fluttered and did gymnast-y things.
"Um..."
Refreshing her drink with one hand, he squeezed her leg with the other; multitasking. It brought to mind all kinds of things he could multitask with on her. And one of those things was throbbing. Actually, her whole body was.
"Wanna pick up an easy A?" His hand moved to her chest, cupping her breast. "Actually, no, I think you're going to have to settle for a... C?"
She snickered and nodded. "You're a closet dork."
"Ohh, I'll turn one of the shops into a clothing store and call it Closet Dork. It'll specialize in pocket protectors and computers." His hand dropped to her thigh and he leaned back against the couch again.
Disappointed that he'd stopped his seduction just when she was getting into it, she rested her feet on his legs. "Computers... in a clothing store?"
He fell silent, eyes closed, fingers massaging her feet. Chloe started to drift off as she relaxed into the leather cushions. A few minutes later, Lex sighed. "Maybe I'll just get my books in Metropolis from now on."
Story #3
TITLE: Puzzlecraft
AN: This story follows: Tipping the Board, All of You, Home Movies, Level the Field, and Destiny
There was something about him that drew her in. It wasn’t something she could identify. Actually, that wasn’t true and she knew it. She knew precisely why she was drawn to him. In the silent moments, after making love and her body was coated in sweat but his wasn’t, she would admit this to herself. His arm snaked around her body to force her closer to him, as if to fuse them together. It was also in these silent moments when she knew that he felt something for her. That he needed her in some unfathomable way. He was a machine after all. A machine magnitudes above anything on Earth, but a machine nonetheless.
Brainiac’s arm lost the contours of the body he had shifted into. Gone was the lithe, smooth arm, seemingly finely crafted; and in its place was the arm of a being that none had seen outside of Krypton. His true form. She caressed him lightly.
“How are your new tactile enhancements?”
He grunted behind her. She enjoyed that he made the effort to be more human. “Flawless. I never did understand humanity’s need for this particular act, but now I think I do. This design has a few kinks, but nothing that has lessened my enjoyment,” he paused a moment, “Of course neither you nor I can appropriately convey to the other the true nature of enjoyment; but, inasmuch as we can glimpse the feeling, I have enjoyed this.”
She shook her head, which made her blond hair stand up only slightly less, and smiled, but sobered quickly.
“Things are moving faster than I had anticipated. I had hoped for a year, maybe two.”
Brainiac knew what she referred. It was the anniversary. The only one that mattered most days. He knew that she didn’t truly believe events were moving faster, she just wished that time could stand still.
He kissed her should blade and murmured against her skin, “What bothers you?”
As soon as he asked the question, he knew that she was lost in another time.
Her voice was soft, “I haven’t…loved them in a long time.”
Brainiac chuckled. “You make it sound like a choice. It—“
She cut him off before he could finish. “It was a choice!”
He flipped her over onto her back and shifted until he settled between her thighs and pushed into her. “No, it is not a choice. Not for you. And certainly not for them. What you felt for Clark…for Davis…Oliver…and for…Lex…was never a choice for you.”
With each name, he shifted form, and Chloe felt each of them in his change in rhythm and assets. She gasped. No matter what she told him, she did enjoy being with him. Brainiac was her best friend and, at this point, the love of her life.
He was in his true, Kryptonian form when she climaxed. It never ceased to amaze her. They resumed their previous position. It was comfortable and what defined them.
His voice cut above her labored breathing, “Every choice you made was because of him. And you will never be able to let that go. Even now, the hold is as strong as it ever was. To deny it is to deny yourself and to willfully engage in your own destruction. But as to your other concern, I will handle it.”
Chloe nodded in the darkness. He was right, of course. She was in no position to take the necessary action. Brainiac was her conscience; the honesty flowed from him easily and readily. She could ask for no better advisor or lover. Choosing him to spend a life with was one of the best decisions she had ever made.
********
Liza hated parties. Specifically, she hated her formal birthday parties. The attendees were business associates, hangers-on, and various other leeches that her parents kept close. She snorted. All of them felt special to be in the presence of Chloe Sullivan-Luthor and Lex Luthor. As well they should. They were peons. The first time she had thrown a tantrum, her father had taken her aside.
“Liza, these people are the brick and mortar of our empire. Humor them, make them feel special, indulge them and there is no limit to how you can break and form them.”
Snorting at the memory, she cast her gaze about the room. One point in particular would have her attention all evening: Erik. It had only been two weeks since he met with the real Lex Luthor, who she called ‘Waldo’. “Except no one will ever find him.” She could not think of him as the real Lex Luthor because her father was real. He lived up to the promise that Waldo had and wasted on short-sighted pursuits. Waldo was a waste.
While Erik had not been acting differently than before, she was still worried. Erik was a chameleon and could be whatever you needed him to be the moment before you realized you needed him to be anything different. Sometimes she could see through to the core of him; but others, she couldn’t. She couldn’t help but think that maybe if she spoke with Waldo, then maybe she could glean some insight into Erik, which was a stupid thought. Erik was his own man. If their mother had, for one second, believed that Erik would change, then she would’ve taken action long before anyone knew it was a problem.
********
Hours later found Liza in her lab. It was in their Metropolis headquarters and it was all hers. Her mother had built them room and told her to do whatever she wanted with it. Her only stipulation was that Liza never get caught and she never destroy anything outside the room. Liza’s track record, on both fronts, was unblemished.
She called up the video feed that monitored Waldo’s room and rewound it to his meeting with Erik. Liza had seen this footage many times and she couldn’t find anything.
“What you want cannot be found in the monitors of your many, impressive computers.”
Her father’s voice, in the otherwise still room, startled her. She whirled around to face him, but he walked past her to the super computer she designed. It was better than Watchtower, but that meant nothing. Watchtower was decades old and her mother had only improved. It wasn’t a competition to Liza, but she did need to set impartial benchmarks for herself. Otherwise, she would never improve at the speed and in the way she wanted.
Her father closed the window. “What drives you, my light?”
Liza narrowed her eyes. He was up to something. “I only wanted—”
“I know what you want. That was not my question.” His voice was hard and uncompromising.
She swallowed and looked at her blank screen. “I don’t know how to help him.”
“Who says Erik needs help?”
Liza whirled around again, this time in agitation. He was testing her, trying to provoke a response. By the look on his face, he had succeeded.
Brainiac brushed the hair from the light of his world’s eyes. “Liza, you know the problem, and it is nothing to do with your brothers. It is time that you sought him out, yes?”
Her response was a whisper, “What if I don’t want to know him?”
He tilted his head.
“Fine! What if I choose not to know him, Brainiac?” She regretted her yelled words as soon as they left her lips. Not that they offended him, but it was an unforgivable lack of self-control. Outbursts were for Erik and Arthur; not her.
Brainiac gathered her in his arms, “My light, you and I both know it is a puzzle that you cannot solve on your own, but you must solve it. You are not a machine and you cannot get lost in the power of your computers no matter how hard you try. Indulge this weakness; and, for once in your life, accept being in your skin.”
Liza would’ve responded, but he seemed to read her mind. Her father had always known her better than anyone else. It was her greatest source of comfort.
“It took a lifetime for your mother to accept herself. Such acceptance came at a great cost, which affect her, and us all, even now. She is your mother and gladly meets any expectations and consequences that arise due to that fact,” Brainiac let go of her and held her at arms length. Looking into her eyes, he continued, “You are mine and nothing will ever change that. Do what you have always done and face this challenge, safe in the knowledge that I am always here.”
Liza nodded. Her panic was a momentary lapse. Oliver Queen was a variable, maybe not in the expected way, but he was there. Liza refused to make him more than he was so she would face this. She would solve this problem. It was only a matter of patience.
All three of these entries were great! I enjoyed reading all of them.
The first one was really cute. Poor, pitiful Lex. While it's always a shame to see him moping about Lana, at least he had a typically fast, Luthoresque turnaround. And I loved this line:
The second one was adorable too. I love a drunken Chlex, and when it brings them together it's even better. I think Lex should seriously consider testing his entrepreneurial skills in a Closet Dork store!Quote:
But he missed her now. And he resented his sobriety and organization.
And I was so glad the third one continued the series. What a weird, unnatural intimacy Chloe and Brainiac have, and it's even stranger that it seems to work for them. Obviously, Chloe has had to close herself off to certain parts of her self to be satisfied in her relationship with him--but the ambiguity in the way the relationship is described is what makes it so fascinating! And it was even more interesting seeing a reflection of those dynamics in Liza's situation. Really well done!
Thanks to everyone who wrote stories in this go-around and for westwingwolf for collecting and posting them!
Three great stories, the quality of the writing on this board always makes it very hard to choose when there's any sort of poll involved! I echo Zannie's thanks to the writers and to westingwolf for all the work put in.
Story One - Love Drunk
At first this story was very frustrating, because I assumed that Lex was making himself a miserable wreck because of his pathetic infatuation with Lana Lang!! I was even a little angry with Chloe for taking the time to try and push him out of this melodramatic angst. It just didn’t seem worth her time to waste her efforts on another one of Lana’s brooding rejected suitors.
It was pretty funny seeing that Chloe had to literally clean up after Lex’s mess, the pretty sad as well seeing her reduced to the role of a house elf behind the idiotic billionaire. Didn’t Lex have a household stuff today care of this kind of stuff? Why did Chloe have to spend hours taking care of Lex like an unpaid, unappreciated slave??!?
But then it turned out that Lex had been creating these messes all along purely for Chloe’s company. I loved that!! It was deliciously funny seeing Lex blatant enough to create the next mess in his bedroom at the last, JUST to get his object of romantic interest in his boudoir! LOL!
But I have to admit I resented it as well. He was too much of a cowardly idiot to ask her to come over for lunch or to watch a movie. Instead he created a mess forcing her to come over and clean up after him. Is that any real way to woo a woman?!?
I really hope that Chloe, once she figures out what he’s been doing all along, makes him completely miserable for tricking her to do housework, for absolutely no good reason. Make him suffer first, before getting together with him!!
Story Two
It’s been ages since I’ve read a fic which focuses on Chloe and Lex just having a conversation together. And not just a conversation, but a conversation which is absolutely insane, ridiculous and would make NO SENSE to anyone other than to themselves. Fun!!!
It’s fun seeing Lex’s childish, silly side come out to play… and knowing that Chloe is the only person who can elicit this side to Lex’s personality. She’s the only one he trusts enough to let his guard down to this extent… and the only person who can still understand what he’s saying, even when he’s in this ridiculous state where his attention span has been reduced to nothing!!
ROTFLMAO! I loved all of Lex’s ridiculous statements about being evil, following it up with vague suggestions about strip joints, male strippers and clown college?!??? ROTFL! You can tell that Lex is really NOT taking himself seriously at all over here, and you know that Chloe is the only person in the world that he would allow himself to be an idiotic, adorable dork with!
heeee! And besides the fun, silly snarky conversation, there was also an undertone of sizzling attraction between the two. All in all, it was a exceedingly fun fic! Thanks so much for posting!!!
Story Three – Puzzlecraft
oh wow! This was an amazing story! I loved the strange, surreal, sensual feel to it. I didn’t ever imagine that Brainiac could be imbued with such sensuality, but he was!! In fact, the very fact of being Brainiac actually added to his (it’s?) skills as a lover. It might only be a machine, but somehow it had all the right instincts on exactly what was needed to satisfy Chloe in full. I loved it!
I loved the visual of Brainiac shifting from form to form, finding just the right form at the right moment that would please Chloe the most. I loved the idea of Chloe having multiple lovers all in one, ranging from Lex to Oliver to Clark and even David Bloom if she so desired it. And I also loved the idea that even Brainiac’s true form offered it’s own type of satisfying pleasure (tentacle sex anyone?).
And besides the physical satisfaction and hotness, I also loved the emotional power-play during the interaction between Chloe and Brainiac. I get the feeling that he’s always continually seducing her, ALL the time. With persuasive words as well as with physical pleasure. The whole time he physically seducing her, he’s ALSO winning her over intellectually and emotionally too. Brilliant and shudder worthy imagery! WOW!
I’m afraid I’ve lost track of the overall story, so I’m kind of lost about all the other characters that made an appearance in this story. But they were interesting and fascinating, the whole lot of them. I’m definitely going to be checking out all the installments of this story, and catching up on all the characters. It looks like a very complicated, convoluted plotline, filled with drama, twists and angst… and I LOVE those kinds of stories.
Thank you so much for posting!
I liked the second story the most. It was funny and I liked the banter.
In the first story I liked how Lex was like-able (sp?) but still manipulative.
I liked the unexpected story angle in the third fiction.
This challenge's winner is:
Minty Revolution
Congrats to Minty Revolution! Thank you to all of our authors and to the voters & reviewers.
Please be sure to check out the link in my signature for the new challenge.
Congrats, Minty!
Congratulations, Minty!
Congratulations Minty! :)
oh Oh OH! Thank you!