That was such a fantastic chapter, Lex that dastardly man. I hope he gets some pain brought his way. I can't wait to find out what happens next.
That was such a fantastic chapter, Lex that dastardly man. I hope he gets some pain brought his way. I can't wait to find out what happens next.
I really wanna see this unfold but I really don't at the same time because it cannot be good. After Chloe finally gets her memory back (assuming she will) Lex might need to consider removing all sharp and blunt objects from the vicinity! I'm loving it all notheless please update soon!!!
ROTFLOL at this image. I seem to remember from Angel that there are four torture elements. Sharp and Blunt and popular ones, but there's also hot (boiling oil, red hot pokers) and cold (use your imagination about what can be done with icicles and liquid nitrogen).Originally Posted by deia
Lex might just want to move to another country for his own safety.
This is going to be SO satisfying, please update soon.
I absolutely loved the update!! Loved that Lex is aware of Chloe's intelligence and other traits, just shows how closely he pays attention to her. Just an awesome story and can't wait for more!
Please update this story! I love the idea of the slightly evil blank-slate plot!
How scandalous to take advantage of Chloe like that, but such a great read.
I love Chloe's little quips that pop up through out this they're so funny.
This is fun and I can't wait to see how Lex spins their life and Chloe's reaction to it all.
Great work
'I build you out of nothing to have you near
I remembered you on trains
So now you're on every train I hear'
Something For Kate: Old Pictures
I can't wait to see the spinning either. But the most nefariously brilliant part of Lex's plan is the fact that he has a legitimate reason for not telling her anything about their 'past history'.... how they met... how they supposedly got together, went on dates, fell in love, popped the question. Lex can keep dodging any direct questions (that he doesn't want to answer) with the claim 'the doctor said it was best that you remembered on your own'.
But I am curious about their sleeping conditions. Despite what a cold, calculating, self-serving bastard Lex is being, I DON'T think he would actually be evil enough to want to take sexual advantage of Chloe. I'm guessing he's going to tell her that they were 'waiting till after they got married'... OR that he wants to wait until she regains her memories.
Right now, it's not much of a problem, because he's not really attracted to her. But let's wait a while until he finally starts noticing how desirable she is, and he reaaally starts suffering some painful lusty pangs. heh he heh... The thought of WYDK-Lex suffering makes me smile.
hmmm. But what about Lex's attractiveness and desirability. I know that if I was struck with amnesia, and had a fiancé like Lex who, on top of acting sweet, devoted, considerate and seemingly attentive to all my needs, oozed sex appeal the way Lex does... I'd jump him after the third night under the same roof as him.
And if he tried to resist... heh... you get the idea.
I can't wait to see Lex fighting off, not only his own growing urges, but also Chloe's growing desire to have sex with him ASAP!
heh heh he... Suffering Lex!
Please update soon. Any chance of Lionel making an appearance? And how goes 'A Thirst for Knowledge'... I'm DYING to know how that one is going to turn out. Please update... something... ANY-thing! (Anything Chlex!)
This is fantastic. Lex is such a bastard for doing this but you know it will bite him in the ass. Hmm... biting Lex's ass...sorry too delicious a mental image to ignore.
Love your writing and can't wait for the next update.
A/N: I want to thank everyone for the encouraging feedback. Also, I know that I've been focusing on this way more than ATfK. I'm sorry about that, but this story is written in smaller parts and so, unlike many things I've written, seems to have an end in sight. In fact, barring any surprises, I should be able to wrap this story up in about twelve or thirteen more parts. So the brisk pace has been kind of refreshing. However, I will try to work on some of ATfK tonight.
Also, please excuse any typos or glaring flaws in the story below – the dog ate my motivation to excel.
Part Two
Chapter Three
Lex had been the epitome of consideration for the last week and it was driving Chloe to the brink of insanity. She understood that he was simply trying to adhere to the medical advice they’d been given, but the kid glove routine was wearing thin. The doctors had told her that she’d have to be patient with regards to her absentee memories, but even without them she wanted to return to some semblance of a normal life. And she was remarkably certain that what she was experiencing wasn’t it.
For one thing, despite Lex’s “welcome home”, the house they were occupying hadn’t actually been their residence previous to the accident. Chloe couldn’t decide what had disturbed her more – that she was being denied the familiar surroundings that she’d secretly hoped would trigger the release of her hidden past, or that her husband was so wealthy that this mansion, this estate wasn’t their primary residence, wasn’t even a vacation home, was, instead, merely something he had picked up at the time because it was a sound investment that he was certain he’d have use for sometime in the future. She might not have remembered any more of her life than the last ten days, but she was fairly confident that she hadn’t been the type of person who could purchase manor homes as an impulse buy.
It wasn’t that she minded being rich, it was just a little disconcerting. She’d already gotten lost three times in the convoluted twist of hallways. The servants were nothing but helpful and polite, but she had trouble having others cater to her every need. Her husband was whisked of to work and the returned each evening by helicopter. It seemed like she was living every young girl’s dream, but like a dream it was slightly surrealistic; even more so given the blank spaces in her head. Still, they’d only been married two months, so even if she could remember everything about her life, she probably wouldn’t have accustomed herself to Lex’s standard of living yet.
Then, as if all of that wasn’t enough of a deviation from what she thought was probably her life pre-head injury, even her marriage was different. Not that she recalled her marriage, but she could almost guarantee that she and her husband hadn’t slept in separate rooms.
With a heavy sigh Chloe ran a hand through her hair; she was frustrated and unsure of what to do. She knew that Lex was just being considerate of her feelings, and she had to admit that sharing a bed with someone she, at this point, barely knew wasn’t the most comfortable of thoughts, but knowing nothing about anything around her, even her own husband, was making her nutty.
And it wasn’t just her history with her surroundings that she wanted, it was any information that would allow her to form reasonable judgments. Although Lex had been absolutely wonderful in every way, she felt odd with no real knowledge of him to back up her blind faith. She wondered briefly if she had been a cynic before, but knew that no one would tell her.
And so it was those things, her longing for context in which to place her life, her craving for understanding of the only representative of her past, her desperate need for some small awareness of who she was, who she should be, that brought her to her husband’s study early on a Saturday afternoon.
Knocking softly on the door, Chloe waited until Lex called to her before entering. She could see by the files spread out across his desk that he’d been immersed in his work, but she didn’t let that deter her from her purpose.
“Chloe,” he smiled as he rose from his desk, “to what do I owe this lovely distraction.”
“Well, if he can manage to tear himself away from the reams of what I’m sure is endlessly fascinating paperwork, I’d like to have lunch with my husband.”
Even though Lex has seen that beautiful, open smile dozens of times over the past week it still caught him slightly off guard on a face that had, for so long, housed only suspicion towards him. And though he wasn’t given to such frequent displays himself, he found her smile oddly infectious, and could rarely restrain a pleased grin in return. Of course, since Chloe believed him to be her loving husband, he found no need to censure the uncustomary action, although he drew the line at actually enjoying it. There was little to be gained and much to lose in letting himself grow used to the small pleasures of Chloe’s engaging presence, and, as Lex had learned long ago to weigh all decision in terms of cost and benefit, thinking about Chloe in anything other than the extremely short term would definitely come under the heading of cost.
“Of course; let me call the kitchen –”
“No need,” she said as she grabbed his hand and began leading him from the room. “I’m not an invalid, you know. I can manage to pull together lunch. By which I mean that I asked Mrs. Whitehead to whip something up. I’d have done it myself, by I couldn’t remember if I can cook or not and I’d hate to spoil our meal by poisoning us.”
Lex wasn’t actually sure himself whether Chloe had any culinary skills and so decided, for the sake of both of their health, to err on the side of caution.
“Though I’m not permitted to comment directly on your skills in that particular area, I will admit that I have never inquired as to the state of dinner with the hope that you had actually prepared it.”
Laughing, Chloe used her free hand to swat his arm. “While I have nothing on which to base my opinion, I’m sure that’s the nicest way anyone’s ever told me I was incompetent in my life.”
“Well,” Lex responded with mock thoughtfulness, “I think that’s a fairly glass half empty perspective. Though you may never ascend the ranks of legendary chefs you could always pursue a career as a culinary assassin. I’m certain that governments around the world would be vying for your services.”
“Remind me again why I didn’t leave you drowning in your flood of files?”
“Because clearly I am a ray of sunlight in your otherwise dreary day.”
Chloe nearly choked on her fit of giggles at the exaggerated sincerity that coated his words.
“Well, Sunshine,” she shot back as they entered the kitchen, “it’s good to know for sure that one of us loves you.”
Before she could approach the servants, Lex gave her hand a tug and spun her around to face him.
“Are you doubting your love for me?”
Looking into the fathomless depths of his gray eyes, Chloe could see that the question was only half asked in jest. Reaching out her, she cradled his cheek.
“Strangely enough, I’m not.”
Chapter Four
Spending great lengths of time with Chloe Sullivan was akin to drinking alcohol, Lex reflected. It was an acquired taste, but once attained it warm and relaxing and, without great effort, could easily become addictive.
It wasn’t one thing she did. Instead it was a hundred little things; things that seemed innocuous when considered individually, but taken as a whole, were entirely too engaging. Of course, they were things that he appreciated on an intellectual level as opposed to emotionally, as he knew that, for reasons to numerous to count, Chloe Sullivan would be the last woman on the face of the earth that he would ever consider in that manner.
Still, just because there were far too many complications between he and Chloe even being friends, much less anything more, it didn’t stop him from appreciating, now more than ever, what a fool Clark Kent was. There was absolutely nothing for his former friend to lose by going after the blonde and, quite frankly, everything to gain. And yet he still hadn’t pursued her; was, in fact, even now trying to make things work with Lana Lang, the fickle young woman whom Lex had lured away from Clark and then left when he realized that hurting him certainly wasn’t worth burdening himself with the self-centered, judgmental prima donna.
Not that Lex would ever be fool enough to mention that bit of wisdom to the oblivious farmboy. In all of the skirmishes between himself and Clark, he had always considered it one of his greatest victories to saddle the other man with Ms. Lang indefinitely. And that sense of triumph had only increased as he’d finally been allowed to see behind the animosity, past the banter and sarcasm to the surprisingly tender heart and sweet nature beneath Chloe Sullivan's brash exterior. How on earth Clark could be exposed to that kind of caring everyday and still consider Lana a worthwhile catch was beyond even his mental capabilities to understand.
“You know, if I wanted to spend the afternoon talking to myself I wouldn’t have dragged you out here with me.”
Lex snapped back to the present and realized that Chloe had finished setting their lunch out on the blanket before them. Certainly he had been on picnics before, but not often and definitely not for years. Still, the hour or so he was taking from work would be worth it in terms of advancing his plans with Chloe. Every minute that he spent with her was increasing her trust in and dependency on him. Not to mention the fact that she was imminently enjoyable company. Which made this excursion beneficial in a number of ways, despite knowing that his “wife” also had an ulterior motive.
“It won’t work.”
Chloe looked up as she reached over to hand him a plate piled high with a gourmet selection that would hardly be considered typical picnic fare.
“And may I ask what devious plan you think I’ve concocted that’s doomed to failure?”
“Are you telling me that you didn’t bring me here to pump me for information?” Lex smirked at remaining a step ahead of her. Even if she was unaware of their previous rivalry, he wasn’t, and he enjoyed winning their increasingly light hearted skirmishes.
“I’m not telling you anything of the sort.”
His smug grin slipped slightly at her admission. Over the last week he’d learned that some things about Chloe were apparently encoded in her DNA. The refusal to go down without a fight was certainly one of them.
“Chloe, you know that I’d love nothing more than to tell you everything about you, your life, our life. But I can’t. You know how specific the doctors were.”
With a good-natured sigh, Chloe set down her plate. She hadn’t done more than rearrange the food with her fork while they talked, because Lex was partially right; her main objective hadn’t been seeing them fed. She did want information. Just not the kind that he suspected.
“You know, Lex; if you’re going to play at omniscience you really should make sure you're right more often.”
“So, if you’re not trying to ferret out your past, just what secrets are you trying to uncover?”
Chloe wondered if she’d ever told Lex just how unbelievably sexy it was when his eyebrow cocked just so; demanding answers as if he owned the truths he was seeking.
“Yours,” she answered.
“Well, since we left the majority of my secrets back in the office from which you just liberated me, I’m afraid that you’re going to be disappointed.”
Leaning over slightly, Chloe bumped Lex with her shoulder at his mocking tone. “I’ll have you know that my husband has offered me all that he has, so I hardly think that I need to engage in corporate espionage, Mr. Luthor.”
With a small start, Lex’s eyes snapped to hers. It had been years since he’d heard that particular form of address fall playfully from her lips, and it caught him slightly off guard. Even though he wasn’t so foolish as to lose sight of his ultimate goal, he did have to admit that, in the last week, he’d established a division between what he considered Clark’s Chloe and the one that, for lack of a better term, was his.
It wasn’t that she was entirely different. In fact, he had a feeling that she was more Chloe now then she’d ever been before. The years of heartache, rejection, and genuine fear for her life had in no way dimmed her, but they had erected an elaborate labyrinth of walls around her innermost self. It was one of what he was coming to understand were the many ways in which they were so very similar.
The feel of Chloe’s hand on his arm as well as her hesitant, “Lex?” brought him out of his thoughts and back to reality. Well, if one could consider picnicking with his fake wife while he attempted to deter her questions about their make believe life together by citing false medical orders reality.
“Chloe, I can only imagine how hard this has been for you. Knowledge being power, I know that you must feel terribly out of control in the absence of so much that you feel you should know. But you have to understand, the doctor’s were very clear; I can’t tell you those things. It won’t return your memory; and more than anything, I want to help make you whole.”
The hand on his arm slipped into his to tangle their fingers together.
“I know that you’re doing everything you can to help me get better, Lex. And though the curiosity’s killing me, I wouldn’t ask you do something that you thought would be harmful to me.” She squeezed his hand reassuringly. “And, for the record, I may not have as much information as I’d like, but I hardly feel powerless. That sounds weak, and I don’t see myself as fragile or frail.
Obviously I don’t remember what our relationship was like before, but when I think about marriage I think about a team, so I find it hard to believe that I wouldn’t have expected as much from ours. Right now you’re kind of bearing the burden for both of us and you’ve been absolutely wonderful about it. Do I like being in the dark? No. But I don’t feel helpless. Here, now, with you, I feel…safe.”
Chloe watched as shock briefly flitted across his face. No matter what memories were missing or what her husband wouldn’t tell her, she wasn’t blind nor was she stupid. In the last week she’d come to learn a great deal about the man that she married. Lex was a veritable fortress. With one row of walls to keep things out and one to hold things in, Chloe wasn’t sure which he felt he needed the most, but knew, instinctively, that each brick was laid in the wake of terrible heartache.
She couldn’t tell if her feelings were the whispers of their forgotten love or the understandable connection one would feel for the only tie to the world around them, but she wanted to lessen the sorrow that she could read in the depths of his eyes, to ease the weight of losing the one person, no matter how temporarily, who should be able to banish those shadows. With every passing hour she spent in his company, she found herself simply wanting to know more about this man to whom she'd committed her life.
“This really isn’t about tricking you into reveal the deep dark secrets of either of our lives. But I’ve been thinking; we’ve only been married for two months. There must be plenty of things about you that I didn’t know before. It wouldn’t be breaking the rules to share some of that past with me.” Bright eyes lowered before rising to meet his shyly. “I just want to know more about you.”
Once again, Lex was surprised by the woman beside him; an odd reaction given that he generally found people’s motives simple to read and their behaviors easy to predict. But Chloe was different. She had been even before her injury, but since then it had been infinitely worse. A month ago he would have been able to reasonably anticipate approximately half of Chloe’s actions based on what he knew of her life experiences. He knew that she’d be protective of those she considered family because she’d lost her parents. That she’d be wary in matters of the heart because of the years of maltreatment by her oblivious best friend. And that she’d maintain a state of hyper-vigilance because of the hard lessons she’d learned at the hands of his family.
But now, all of those events held no sway. There was nothing calculating in her actions or manipulative in her requests. If she wanted to learn about him it wasn’t about gaining the upper hand in their relationship; it was simply an extension of her natural curiosity.
And that was the very thing that made her actions so difficult to anticipate. As a Luthor, Lex had never had dealings with anyone that was free of expectations or devoid of hidden agendas. Even his mother, who had been one of the only two people he’d ever believed truly cared for him, had been guided by the fear that he would grow into the man Lionel commanded, and the imperative to prevent such an atrocity. Clark had been no better, assuming him to be extraordinarily good or irredeemably evil by turns.
But no one had ever looked at him as Chloe was at that moment; with an openness that precluded subterfuge. And, although he would never admit the weakness, Lex felt the need to share with her some small part of himself as a kind of penance for seeing her so unguarded, so defenseless; for allowing her to trust in him, knowing that he was stealing that much more of whatever lingering innocence could be left to a Smallville survivor.
And so Lex found himself sharing with her. A holiday as a child, a memory of boarding school, a few of his clubbing experiences; it was nothing too personal, and certainly nothing to revealing for the woman who would soon know, once again, that he secretly longed for his father’s love.
And, surprisingly, it didn’t feel as wrenching as this type of disclosure, as mild as it may be, usually did. During his dalliance with Lana, she had both begged and demanded that he share himself with her. Lex had always resisted and now, talking with Chloe, he could see why.
Lana had wanted to know about him because she understood that he did not easily share. She had no true desire in seeing him as anything other than the image she’s created in her imagination but, instead, wanted proof of his devotion to her. But Chloe was willing to see him without prejudices, good or bad; to look at him as a blank slate that she wanted him to fill with the reality of who he was, not who she wanted him to be. And while it was clear that her amnesia was the reason that she carried no preconceived notions, the willingness to accept what he chose to share, to allow him to be the person that he was, was a part of her basic make up; an intrinsic piece of her character.
So lost in thought was Lex that he missed the shift in Chloe’s position that brought her side against his. The warmth of her hand burned through his shirt where she laid her hand, and his eyes captured his is their dazzling depths of greens and golds.
“It must have been lonely being you.”
Normally such a stark and accurate observation would send Lex deep within himself. But Chloe wasn't looking at him with pity, wasn't seeing him as pathetic. Instead, there was a sadness in her gaze that bled into a determination to rectify what she found to be an unacceptable situation. And suddenly Lex was struck with an understanding of why Clark cared so much for Chloe; why, even though he professed to love Lana he could let her go but kept Chloe so close.
As Chloe watched Lex’s silent contemplation, she nestled closer into his side, slipping her arm around his back in a partial embrace.
Lex knew that Chloe’s offer of comfort was genuine, but his response was a perfunctory reassuring squeeze of her knee. All tender sentiments had been banished by the unwelcomed thoughts of Clark. And, for once, his animosity towards his former friend was not motivated by secrets and lies, but by the vagaries of fate that had given the younger man a life with an overabundance of solace, with people of such compassion, and left him with the Lionels and Helens of the world.
But Lex knew that that kind of caring was never meant for men such as him. His lot in life had never been soft words and tender touches. No, those things were only briefly in his care; stolen from another. And at that moment, more than any other, Lex Luthor hated Clark Kent.
~*~*~*~*~
Oddly enough, for a man as enamored of control as Lex, the thing he loved most about the corporate world was its unpredictability. He had no question of his ability to convert unforeseen complications into unexpected dividends and, in recent years, he’d learned to apply that talent to his personal machinations as well. So, enjoying a cup of coffee in The Talon, Lex observed the unanticipated, yet quite welcome benefits of his design for Chloe.
It was in aid of that very plan that he’d ventured into Smallville at all, having spent the majority of the past year in Metropolis. While he knew that he’d covered well for Chloe’s abrupt “departure”, he had also learned to never underestimate Clark’s ability to stumble across answers when the boy hadn’t even been aware there was a question; although Lex had always had a sneaking suspicion that, while Clark might discover the 2 and the 2, it was Chloe who managed to make 4 out of them. Not that Clark wasn’t smart; he was, but Chloe was sharp. It was a difference primarily built on her journalistic intuition and cynicism.
So, knowing that it was best to leave no avenues of interest open, even those of mere coincidence, Lex decided that it would be best if he and Chloe weren’t both entirely out of sight at the same time. And there really was no better place to be seen than Smallville, where even a cursory glance by a single citizen would alert the entire town to one’s visit within days. Therefore, Lex could be assured that thirty minutes at a central table at The Talon would definitely make its way up the cornstalk and back to Clark.
However, upon entering the quaint establishment he realized that word of mouth would not be necessary for this particular project as there, tucked into a quiet booth in the corner, were Clark and Lana. He acknowledged their glares with a small nod and barely managed to restrain a smile as they quickly turned their heads away and shunned him with a dedicated intensity that would make them the envy of any Amish community.
What the self-absorbed duo failed to understand was that, far from offending him, they were merely offering him the chance to openly observe them. After all, because of their long and complicated history, the townsfolk were most likely prepared for any type of spectacle they chose to provide, so some minor staring would barely register. And he did have to admit that he was enjoying the view.
In the half hour that he sat there, reading through files and keeping an eye on the two brunettes so studiously ignoring him, he noted two very satisfying facts. The first was that Clark looked harried and distracted. The harried was new, and while Clark had often been distracted by Lana, it usually took an act of God to see him preoccupied by anything else in the presence of Lana. The second was that Clark had checked his cell phone no less than four times for messages. And Lex knew, without the need for any independent conformation, the cause of both of those observations.
Chloe.
Despite his declarations of love for Lana, it was the wise-cracking best friend who was truly the woman in Clark’s life. And though he might not be prepared to admit it, even to himself, it was perfectly clear to anyone who bothered to look that the young man was unraveling in her absence.
Lex had a team monitoring both Chloe’s email and cell phone. Barring any emergency contacts, he received a report each evening of the day’s activity so that he could provide his linguist with the content for appropriate responses via email. In the previous week he had addressed two calls from Chloe’s cousin Lois asking how her story was coming along, one call from Lana suggesting meeting for lunch on her return from California, and thirty seven messages from Clark, who called as few as three times a day, and as often as seven. An obsessive amount which didn’t even take into account his daily email.
The communications ranged from general inquiries about her day to near obsessive worries about her safety. Interspersed amongst the messages were repeated offers to go to California and assist her with her investigation. Lex found these offers to be of particular interest.
Although Martha Kent was a state senator, the cost of maintaining the farm and tuition for her son’s return to college didn’t leave the family with extensive amounts of disposable income. Yet Clark spoke with ease as if both the cost and the time constraints involved in a trek to the west coast were but minor inconveniences. And while the suggestion might simply have been the result of a ridiculously overdeveloped sense of responsibility, Lex couldn’t shake the feeling that it was more than that.
Smiling slightly, he considered the irony that, after the massive undertaking he’d set in motion to steal the information he wanted from Chloe, in the end it may very well be Clark himself who unintentionally gave some essential key to his secret away.
Draining the last of his coffee, Lex looked up to see that Clark had decided to abandon the cold shoulder in favor of outright disapproval and open hostility; and the complete and utter wrongness of the self-righteous loathing being sent his way angered him anew. But no matter how enraged he became at Clark’s judgmental nature, Lex was honest enough to admit, at least to himself, that it wasn’t just the hypocrisy that Clark saw himself as exempt from the standards to which he held others that incensed him, but the fact that Clark could deceive everyone he claimed to care about, yet was perceived as the personification of virtue, while Lex knew that he could heal a colony of lepers and people would still wonder what his angle was. And while the desire to learn Clark’s secret had recently gained importance for other reasons, there would always be that minuscule part of him that hated the people who had convinced the world that being a Luthor was an undeniable precursor to evil; people who had convinced his mother that their truth was so absolute that she took the life of her own son to save him from that fate.
Heated stares clashed as unspoken promises and threats were exchanged across the small distance that belied the gaping chasm separating the two men. With one last, hard look at the man who had, for years, been his greatest friend, Lex ended their stalemate with a slight, yet infinitely satisfied, smile. He was ready to once more shake the dirt of Smallville from his feet. He’d accomplished his mission and felt no need to waste his time hurling silent recriminations, mired in a flood of bitterness and betrayal.
After all, he thought as his smile grew, one of them was going to go home to an evening with the oddly soothing presence of Chloe Sullivan. And for once, it wasn’t Clark.
TBC
~Sarah~
Excellent two chapters!!!! I love Lex & Chloe trying to know each other. It's gonna be bad when it blows up in Lex's face but I hope they can still be together.
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