Okay, I have to confess that the Chlex ongoing conversation about the cat driven James Bond car was starting to freak me out a tad, but then the UST came into play, and I was happy again
I liked Lex wanting to change the subject from any sexually explicit topic, because his attraction to Chloe was reaching dangerous levels--Good stuff.
But the corker was Lex's stunned reaction from Chloe's kissing him--That was a thing of beauty
KATHY
"Don't quote me to me!" Detective Danny "Danno" WIlliams, Hawaii Five-0, episode 1.8 Mana'o
"This could barely fill up Thumbelina!" SALIGIA by westwingwolf
My Fanfic Master List
My livejournal: An Accused Heretic
Loved that whole chapter ! Wonderful and funny . Lexs' reaction to the kiss was great . I could just see him sitting there with a quizzical look on his face , head slightly tilted to the side like a confused puppy. I love that look on a man.
w00t! I love how flumoxed Lex is by Chloe's kiss. I can't wait to see where you two take this story next.
Oh, and the siamese cat in the retrofitted kitty Aston Martin? Priceless.
*hums* "...a kiss is still a kiss..."
squeeeeeee, can't wait for the Sunday date!
Good update. Loved the kitty car talk and yes, Lex would totally do that. So, what are the daddies going to find out about this date?
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Eventhrough i adore geeky Lex and the whole idea of the James Bond cat car, this was my favourite part. It's so simple and in any other circumstances wouldn't probably mean much but it has so much potential here. I can't wait for more.Originally Posted by BlueSabby
Thank you for that great update. That ending was simply marvelous. Please let Chloe play with some of his "toys" soon.
she kissed him because it felt natural and now the long wait for Sunday when they both run it over and over again in their minds. Can't wait for what the daddy's think of everything and daddy/daughter day.
Oh my god these two chapters were awesome!!! I had no Internet for the last two weeks and I went Swoooooon when I saw you updatedLoved them. Especially the well placed 'huh'
A/N: Sabby: Alrighty, so we've got what you want. The daddies. Oh and there's also sweaty men doing sports, for all of you that go for that sort of thing *g* Enjoy and feedback is as always loved. And to the kitty fans out there *G* Glad you enjoyed this particular piece of insanity.
A/N: Blue: Here is the daddy reaction. It's quite good if I do say so myself. Leave me and my big ego some feedback to let us know how you like it. *g*
The new data was sitting on the table. Celeste had called both Lionel and Gabe early in the morning and told them that she needed to schedule a meeting with them. That had gotten her the expected reaction. Lionel had instructed her that she was to get to the office as soon as was possible.
It was still dark outside. Not that one could tell from the basement. She leaned back in her chair and waited for the two men to arrive. Lionel had hung up so quickly, most likely throwing on the first clothes he could find and breaking every speed limit to get to the office, that Celeste hadn’t been able to tell him that she was already at the office.
She had received a call early in the evening that Lex and Chloe were meeting again. She had attempted to set up miced surveillance like last time but they had disappeared from the restaurant. Celeste had cursed a blue streak when she was informed of that. Her employers would not be happy when she told them that her team had lost them.
Later, she found out that there had been a member of the press in the establishment and that the children had ducked him. When she had been informed that they had shown up at Lex’s house, she actually couldn’t believe it. She had asked for confirmation of that to be sent to her desk at the office.
After powering up the computer, she looked at the satellite pictures that clearly showed Lex and Chloe strolling down his street and then disappearing into his house. She had stayed there for over three hours. They had not bugged Lex’s house so Celeste didn’t know what they spoke about. But, Chloe had not gone storming out of the house. Quite the opposite.
The high powered microphones had been pointed at the couple the second the door opened. The copies of the transcribed conversations sat on the desk. But, she didn’t think that the men would be interested in that. There were far more encouraging pictures to focus on.
Personally, her favorite was one of Lex. After Chloe had kissed him, well, he had the most amusing look on his face. It was as if he couldn’t understand what had just happened. A huge smile crossed her face as she looked at it. Lex hadn’t known what hit him.
Gabe had received the call just a couple hours after he'd finally gone to sleep and was not the most happy person to be up and about before the damn sun was even creeping over the horizon. He'd thrown on the suit he'd laid out before going to bed and drove to the office listening to loud music and guzzling a cup of cheap coffee from some all night open diner.
Once in the office and ignoring the odd look from the security at the desk he'd made his way straight to the basement level and towards their base. If this wasn't important, someone would have to pay, and that someone would be about 5 foot 7 with auburn hair and rue the day she was born. He'd never been a morning person.
He rounded the corner into the hallway of their office and almost bumped into Lionel. The man looked impeccable even at this god forsaken hour.
“Did you even sleep?” Gabe snapped his mouth shut as soon as the sentence was out. Damn, one coffee was not enough to get his brain to actually check back with his mouth before he spoke.
The tone of Gabe’s voice amused Lionel. When he had gotten the personality profiles of both his son and Chloe, he had gone over them with a fine toothed comb. He remembered that the girl was classified as being somewhat of a terror in the morning. It was clear where she had gotten that particular trait from.
Lionel only required a scant few hours of sleep..which was where Lex had gotten that trait from. He forgave the snappishness for two reasons. One was because it showed him that Gabe now did consider him something more than his boss and the second was because it was, indeed, too fucking early to be awake.
The reason that Lionel looked so bright eyed was because he had yet to go to sleep. In addition to getting Lex to fall in love with Chloe, he now had a second mission. To get Lex to tolerate him. It was a personal project so he had to cull the data without anyone else. It took up a great deal of his time.
“Not as of yet, Gabe,” Lionel said as he followed Gabe’s lead down the hallway. It was clear that the other man was not to be trifled with at this point. He almost hoped that Celeste made a misstep so Gabe would jump all over her. It had been a long while since she had done anything to incur the wrath of either of them so it didn’t seem likely. But, one could hope.
Gabe was glad Lionel had let that one slip and furiously bit down on the remark that shot through his brain at Lionel's answer. He resorted his priorities and strode straight for the door, opening it widely as he stepped inside, finding the woman that had made him live on only 2 hours of sleep for this day already seated behind the desk.
“Celeste,” he greeted sharply as Lionel closed the door behind him and they both settled down in the seats across from the red-head. “I do hope this is really important.”
‘Someone is cranky this morning,’ Celeste thought. Gabe probably hadn’t gotten much sleep but at least he had gotten to go home for more than an hour. However, they were paying her very well to give up her life for the next few months so she didn’t have anything to complain about.
She was also not about to tell Gabe that Lionel was the reason they were here so early. If he wanted to blame someone for this, it was best that it be her. After this was over, he would, hopefully, have to still deal with Lionel. That was not the case with her.
“Gabe,” she said in a crisp manner, she doubted he would react well to a soothing tone at this point, “I called you both here because your children met up again and Lex brought Chloe to his home.”
Before the men could begin playing twenty questions with her, she continued on smoothly, “As far as we can tell nothing physical happened but I still believe that this was a step that you would both want to have been informed of.”
Lionel was shocked as soon as Celeste had opened her mouth. She had called his partner Gabe….and the man had not jumped all over her to correct the situation. He had not even flinched. So, she had gotten permission to do so. When and how had that happened?
His curiosity on that matter was obliterated when she went on. There were few people who even knew where Lex lived and he was not in the habit of taking his women back to his home. Yet, he had chosen to take Chloe there only a few weeks after they had both sworn to never speak to one another again.
It wasn’t surprising that their relationship had not been consummated, the fool boy probably wasn’t even aware that he should want Chloe yet. Her beauty was not something Lex would miss, but it would take him a good while to first catch onto the fact that he was drawn to her and then to admit it. Which is why they were here.
“And the evening progressed without any of the usual incidents between the two of them,” Lionel asked. By incidents, he meant fights. But using a neutral word made him feel better about the situation.
Celeste nodded and then remembered an aberration in the report. “As far as we can tell, yes. There was one point when voices were raised, but it was only for a moment. Without any listening devices in the house, we’re not privy to what was said, of course.”
Gabe's brow arched as Lionel seemed to be totally over the top with the news and even Celeste seemed incredibly smug about it. What the hell had flown over his head that he didn't get it? So Lex and Chloe had spent time at Lex's home and not gotten into a huge fight, yes it was good news, but hardly something that excused only two hours of sleep.
Instead of letting his grumpy mood get the better of him though, he decided to not dampen Lionel's joy. The man had been pretty far down not too long ago, so he needed a bit of a lift up.
“Okay, is there anything else that's important,” he stressed the word, hoping to hear something that wasn't inane as a meeting between their children that they didn't even have any detailed information about.
The dark cloud hanging over Gabe’s head had not dissipated with the news she had just given them. However, he couldn’t know the significance of Lex taking Chloe home with him. She didn’t doubt that he had read the initial reports about Lex but he probably wouldn’t have remembered a small detail about how private Lex was about where he lived. Lionel would just have to explain it to him later. If she didn’t give Gabe something more, he was libel to hurl himself across the table and strangle her.
“No, that’s not all.” She gestured to the folders that sat in front of the men. Usually, they opened them immediately, making little manly grunts as they read over the reports. But, it was rather early and Gabe had hit her with a question right out of the gates that had distracted them.
The first thing they would see was the picture of Chloe and Lex’s brief kiss. Hopefully, Gabe would find that more interesting.
Gabe looked to the folder in front of him and picked it up. 'This better be good,' he thought before he flipped it open. It took a moment for his brain to register what his eyes were actually seeing, but when he did a small smile crept up on his face.
That was a definite pass his daughter had made there. Granted it was nothing obvious or even unmistakable for one who didn't know her, but the last boy that Chloe had kissed that chastely had been Clark Kent in high school. What a waste of time that had turned out to be. But now she'd done the same to Lex and Lionel and him would make sure that that was not a waste of time.
His smile widened into a grin as he put the picture aside to look at the next one. “Heh,” he chuckled. Now he'd seen everything. If he had to make a decision, Lex Luthor gobsmacked had to be even better than Lionel Luthor anxious. The expression was truly priceless and he was only glad that the press would never get to see those pictures. Lex would probably die of mortification, then come back from the dead to exact bloody revenge.
Gabe bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing as he cast a careful glance over towards Lionel, curious how the other man would react to the look on his son's face, since the reaction to the kiss was a given.
Lionel wished more than ever that this project wasn’t a secret. That way, he could have blown up the picture and have it mounted on Lex’s wall in the office to show him his reaction to Chloe.
His son was not thrown by women’s romantic actions. He’d wager that it hadn’t happened since the boy was twelve or so. But, there it was in beautiful black and white. With a small kiss, Chloe Sullivan had gotten the better of him.
He had never seen such a look on Lex’s face. Who could have known that all it took to throw Lex off of his game was a simple kiss? The grin that spread across his face was a combination of delight and something far less benign. Lex might not be ready for the fact that he was surely falling for Chloe, but he had better get used to it damn quickly. Even without the help of the people in the room, that little blonde was slowly winning Lex over.
Chuckling at the picture of his son, he said, “I’m going to need a copy of this one.” His need for it wasn’t mean spirited. He was sure before this was over that there would be times when he would believe that things were about to blow up. Looking at this picture again would help to remind him that victory was a given.
He looked over at Gabe, still smiling and said, “I think that I’ve just fallen a little in love with Chloe myself, I hope you don’t mind.” He looked back at the picture of his son and shook his head.
As soon as Lionel had turned his head back to the picture, Gabe allowed himself a shudder. This plan definitely had to work, because the last thing he needed was Lionel trying to...He stopped that line of thought harshly and turned back to the gobsmacked look on Lex's face.
“I need coffee,” he mumbled. Hearing a small noise from Celeste, he looked up to smile at her reassuringly.
He figured the woman had expected him to be at least a little uplifted by this, instead of just uttering a short chuckle and thinking of coffee. And he was, he really was. He just really needed coffee first before he could be enthusiastic. So he got up and discovered a freshly made pot on top of the refrigerator in the corner. Now why couldn't she have said so right away?
Gabe poured himself a full cup and guzzled down half of it, unheeding of the fact that it was still hot. The burning warmth seared down his throat and settled into his belly and he already felt better, more alert. Turning back to the other two people in the room he grinned.
“This is great news.” He leaned back against the fridge. “If that look on Lex's face is anything to go by, she's got him. But,” he frowned, took another gulp of coffee and continued. “I'm afraid he doesn't know it yet.”
But all things in good time. The boy might be a bit slow, but he'd get it, eventually. As for Chloe, from that single kiss, he was sure that she definitely had it in for Lex already. Maybe if he encouraged her a little bit during their next family dinner he could give her the courage to make that clear to Lex as well.
“Of course not,” Celeste said as she leaned back in her chair, amazed the affect a little coffee could have on Gabe. “That would make our jobs easy.” She smiled at both of the men. “However, we can hope that things progress in this direction on Sunday.”
Both men looked quizzically over at her. They had not bothered to read the transcripts of Chloe and Lex’s conversation at the door. “They will be meeting for drinks at the Palladium at nine o’clock on Sunday.”
She was surprised that they were meeting in public but she was certain that Lex would have some VIP room set up for them. It was time to make another call to one of her former clients that owed her a favor.
Lex being willing to see her in public was an encouraging step. It meant that he was taking the chance that they would be seen together and people would talk about it. Lionel knew that he was only thinking of friendship with Chloe but soon his son would not be able to ignore what he was starting to feel.
When he looked over their last conversation, Lionel was even more certain that he was right. Lex had been concerned with Chloe going home by herself. Lex’s etiquette was always in top form, but Lionel suspected that there was more to it.
“I expect a report on Monday morning, then,” he said, rising smoothly from the desk. He looked at his watch. “Perhaps a little later, however.” He looked over at Gabe and said, “I have a few calls to make. I’ll see you up there.” He looked over at the woman still seated at the desk. “Celeste,” he nodded at her and then left the room.
Gabe took another long draught of his coffee, resigning to spending the rest of the day hyper on the borrowed energy of caffeine and break down on his couch sometime around 9 at night. But on the upside, their children were coming closer to their ultimate goal. They'd end up together sooner rather than later. All it took from now on was time.
Looking up, he caught Celeste watching him. She had a peculiar look on her face and Gabe wondered what was going through her mind. “How long do you think it will take them to get their shit together,” he asked, wondering why he even wanted to have a conversation.
A slow smile spread across Celeste’s face, “Well, if they’re anything like their fathers…” she trailed off. She was treading on dangerous ground. You were never supposed to even mention anything derogatory about your subjects or the people that had hired you. However, she didn’t think that Gabe would mind…as long as she didn’t dwell on it too long.
She sat up straighter. “We’re in for an uphill battle, that’s for sure.” She flipped her own folder open and put the two pictures side by side. “But, I think that your daughter did us a huge favor last night. Giving in to what she wanted and making Lex aware of his own interest.”
Celeste didn’t want to be overly optimistic, it often came back to bite you in the ass, but she said, “I’d say sometime within the next two to three months.”
Gabe took a deep breath, then finished his first cup of coffee. Well, that was a pretty good estimation. At the beginning of their plan, he'd bet somewhere between twenty years from now and doomsday. Now it was a short few months. He wasn't even miffed about the comment on Lionel and him. There really wasn't much to argue against that.
“Well, that's better than I expected,” he said, trying to imagine himself planning their children's wedding, shepherding Lionel from going over board. “And to think we didn't even do anything to get them there,” he mused.
It hadn't passed his notice that this newest development didn't have anything to do with either of their machinations. It had all been their children's own doing. Somehow that made him even prouder than he would have been had the entire thing been arranged.
Celeste nodded, she had been thinking the very same thing. She almost felt bad for taking Lionel’s money. Almost. But, she was sure that there would be more snags along the way and that knowing about those snags would be helpful to getting the children back on the right path.
Plus, having Lionel and Gabe aware of what stage Lex and Chloe were in would make it easier for the men to tailor their discussions with their children. She had no doubt that Gabe would find a way to bring up Lex the next time he saw Chloe. Lionel’s moves were always more difficult to predict. Hence the ulcer that the man gave her.
She got up and started to gather her belongings together. “I’ve found that if two people are suited for each other, it’s best to just get out of their way. But, these two seem hellbent on getting in their own way.” She shook her head at the antics that she had seen in the past few weeks. “I doubt either of them has even noticed that they haven’t gone on a date with anyone else since this started between them.”
Gabe chuckled and poured himself a second cup of coffee. “Well, I'm sure not going to remind them of that little fact.”
It was all for the better if there weren't other people in the way that they would have to have disappeared. His cup stopped midway to his mouth as he realized that he'd just sounded exactly like Lionel in his own mind. Never a good sign. He had to be the one to keep his feet on the ground so he could pull the other man down when he got to high on his ambitions for their children.
“No, best not to give them ideas about other people who will only get in the way,” Celeste said. She craned her neck under the desk, looking for her shoes. She’d slipped them off during the meeting because they were killing her. Wearing heels for twenty four hours almost continually was hell.
By now, she didn’t worry about looking foolish in front of Gabe. If he didn’t think she was capable after everything that had happened, he never would. She picked up her shoes and made a face at them. When she had put them on yesterday morning, they had looked clean and efficient. They now looked like instruments of torture.
The alarm on her PDA went off and she said, “I have to brief the team.” She was more than happy to stay here and chat with Gabe but it didn’t look as if that was in the cards for her. Instead, she had to go and plot. The former was much more enjoyable than the latter.
Gabe nodded, still a little amused by the way she'd glared at her shoes. He had always wondered why women insisted to wear them when all they ever did was complain about how much they tortured them. Glancing down at his watch, he surmised that the sun should be up by now and he'd have about two hours to finish some left over paperwork from yesterday before the first calls started coming in.
“Alright, I will see you next Monday then, unless anything happens in the mean time.”
“I’ll keep you informed of any changes,” she said. It seemed to her that they were both stalling. But, she couldn’t place why. Shaking off the strange feeling, she made her way to the door. She smiled at Gabe as he held it for her and then soldiered on down the hall as Gabe made his way to the elevator.
~~~~
Lex swung out with the racquet, barely catching the ball and sending it hurtling against the right corner. Squash was one of the few things he was good at, enough to beat his father. So of course when Lionel had challenged him, he'd agreed on the spot. He should've known it was a trap. Then again, the old man was distracted by his hidden agenda, which made the play easier for Lex.
“Already getting winded, dad?”
He sneered, keeping his eyes on the ball as it came rocketing back towards him from the far wall. He slammed it back towards the same wall with a spin, careful to hit above the red line but close enough to the corner to make his father run for it.
At full speed, Lionel charged at the ball. Perhaps this hadn’t been the best idea. Yes, he needed to get Lex alone and talk some sense into him. But, if he had a heart attack in the process it wouldn’t do him much good.
He hit the ball with his racquet and, while keeping his eyes on the ball he said, “I got to the office a few hours before you, son.” The instinct to dig at Lex was so well honed that he didn’t think twice about the remark.
Lionel would have to work on that if he didn’t want to further alienate the boy.
Lex fired the ball across the small court sending it hitting the far wall and fire all the way back to the glass wall behind their back.
“And you concern yourself with my lack of private life?”
Lionel had almost missed the ball but gotten it at the last second, sending Lex running towards the opposite sidewall to reach it. He caught it with the corner of his racket, sending it up and against the far wall once more.
Putting Lex offstep had allowed Lionel to draw in a much needed breath. His doctor told him that physical exertion was good for him but the didn’t think that this was what the man had in mind.
“As you’ve not so subtly pointed out, I’m an old man and, therefore, should have less of a social life than a young man in his prime.” The last word was emphasized by Lionel hitting the ball square with his racquet. The ball banked off the right wall and Lex had to run for it.
This was not the proper way to have a conversation. How was he supposed to discuss anything of importance when he was scurrying after a ball like the proverbial rat in the maze with his cheese?
Lex skidded on the hardwood, catching the ball and sending it flying with a vicious twist, taking a moment to relax while Lionel ran.
“Since when have you started allowing excuses, even for yourself?”
The ball came at him again and this time he could easily catch it with a snap of his wrist, sending it ricocheting across the room to hit the far wall, then the left side wall before it came in his direction, along with Lionel. He gracefully stepped back as the old man ran past him.
He really was getting too old for this. His time should have been spent buying his grandchildren ponies, but no, Lex had to be obstinate about everything. “It was not an excuse, Lex.” He hit the ball with as much strength as he had, “It was an explanation.”
The lack of sleep was catching up with him. While the game had actually done a great deal to invigorate him, if he kept up this pace he would waste all of his energy here and be lax in the boardroom.
Lex ran to catch the ball as it came at him low from the opposite sidewall and made it with time to spare, sending the little white projectile shooting back at the far wall.
“Same difference,” he spat.
If Lionel thought that showing a little weakness would get Lex to show pity, he was dangerously mistaken. His father had never shown any, so why should he? 'You're a better person than your father'. That particular baritone voice in his head came back to haunt him every once in a blue moon, but every time it did it was startling.
Lex barely caught the ball as it came hurtling towards him but his anger fueled his strength as he shot it off again.
The next shot that hurled his way had even more velocity than the previous ones combined. Something was stewing within Lex that he was not pleased about. He wouldn’t share that with Lionel, the boy would rather cut off his own nose and bleed to death than admit anything to his father, so all Lionel could do was keep pushing him.
“If you say so, Lex,” he commented in an even voice. “But even I did commit myself to someone for a short time.” ‘Too short,’ his mind supplied but he brushed that thought away. Dwelling on Lillian at this juncture would do him no good.
He caught up with the ball and it hit two walls before it hurtled directly towards Lex. Lionel tensed up his body. He knew that his son’s next hit would be quite strong.
That was the last straw, Lex ran, hit the ball with everything he had in his racquet arm and sent it shooting off to hit high and hard against the wall and zoom straight at Lionel. That the man had the fucking balls to bring his mother into this. That he'd dare to pretend she'd meant anything.
The edge of Lionel’s racquet brushed the underside of the ball as it came crashing towards his face. But, it did little good. The small ball smashed directly into his face. His nose, to be more specific.
Pain flared up and Lionel felt the blood begin to make its way out of his nostrils. He grunted and sank down to his knees. His hands instinctively coming up to assess the damage.
Lex turned around at the grunt of pain and slowly approached his father. His chest was heaving with every breath from the exertion and the fury running through him. Sweat dripped down from his face as he looked down at the man that had spawned him.
“You betrayed her,” he spoke coldly, with conviction. “You fucked your PA before you even knew she was going to die and then you didn't even have the decency to be there when it happened two years later. You hid like the coward you are.”
His vision still hazy from fury, he threw his racquet on the ground and stalked towards the glass door, opening it as viciously as the hydraulic would allow. Taking a deep breath he turned around to look back on his father, crumpled on the ground with blood streaming from his face. He felt nothing.
“Don't ever lecture me on my private life again.”
When his son had stalked off, Lionel had to congratulate himself on his complete inability to make any headway. The words that Lex had thrown his way had stung because they were true. The fact of the matter was that Lionel had been weak. He didn’t admit it to himself very often and he wasn’t about to admit it to Lex.
His wandering had only increased with Lillian’s sickness. He didn’t dwell on the reasons for his actions, just chalked it up to his nature. Lillian had known about them, he could tell, but she never spoke about it. Even when she was near the end, she always looked at him as if he was the one that needed to be saved.
What Lex did not understand was that he had loved his mother and feared what the emotion could do to him. Which was why he had raised Lex in such a fashion. Only now did he see the damage that had been done.
Hefting himself up from the floor, he touched his nose and winced. He was not about to call a doctor for this but he needed some ice and quickly. It wouldn’t do to meet his investors looking as if he had gotten into a barroom brawl.
Lex had made it clear that he did not want to discuss his personal life or his mother again. But, Lionel had never been very good at taking a hint.
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