Okay, its the end of the road for this particular busload of fun! Time to wrap it all up with a good old happy ending - well, you knew it was coming, rightThanx for the support and wonderful comments left by each of you - I appreciate it!
Chapter 15
“Lois...” Clark said as he came into the kitchen and found her there alone.
Startled by the sound of his voice, the young woman in question turned sharply, sending a half-filled coffee mug smashing to the ground.
“Damn!” she cursed as she jumped back to prevent herself being hurt by flying shards of crockery or hot liquid, then crouching down to survey the damage and clean up the mess.
“I’m sorry” Clark said quickly as he rushed over to assist, “I didn’t mean to scare you...”
“You didn’t” Lois told him as they both reached for the same large piece of coffee mug, fingers touching and sending electric pules through both of them as their eyes briefly met too, “You want something specific, Smallville?” she asked, immediately re-focusing her eyes on anything else but the guy she spoke to.
It was too weird and too awkward to deal with. To think she might actually like this guy in any real way was insane to Lois, and yet she couldn’t help herself. She’d pretty much refused to talk to him since Vegas, trying to keep her attention on Chloe at least until her cousin had locked herself away at home, refusing to talk to anyone. Since then it had been any place she could run to just to keep out of Clark’s way so they didn’t have to have this talk she knew was coming.
“Lois, we have to talk about what happened” Clark told her, leaning on the counter beside her as she cleaned up the mess she’d made and started over making coffee, “We can’t just keep avoiding each other and...”
“Why not?” she interrupted, “I mean, it’s working pretty well so far” she smiled in an over-zealous way that was far from genuine as she pushed past him to get to the refrigerator.
“Lois, come on” he urged her, deliberately not moving out of her way and pulling her gently by the arm to face him.
“What do you want me to say, Clark?” she asked him desperately, “Because I sure as hell don’t know where to start” she said with a shake of her head as she faced him.
“Lex had tests run on that water, Lois” he explained to her, “We wouldn’t have... done what we did if we didn’t... if we hadn’t wanted to” he said, fighting the urge to blush like a kid about it.
Lois should’ve been shocked by what Smallville was telling her, but she wasn’t really. She knew deep down she liked this guy, more than liked actually. As insane as it seemed, as outrageous as the idea was that she could already be in love with this farm boy, it was true as the sun shone. He made her feel different to any other guy she’d ever got close to, and she didn’t really want to give that feeling up. She’d thought she was doing the right thing just avoiding him but Lois ought to have known that would never work. Running away from problems or difficult situations had never panned out too well before, there was no reason it should work now.
“What can I say, Smallville?” she forced a smile, “God gave you a good deal. Y’know with the nice guy angle and the hot bod. It’s a tough combination to ignore” she told him, perhaps the first sober compliment she’d ever paid him.
“He, er, didn’t exactly screw up when he made you either, Lois” he told her as they managed to embarrass each other entirely, especially the way they were still stood so close together, memories of all they’d done under the influence shooting through both their minds, “but y’know he maybe could’ve turned the attitude down just a notch” he joked, the smirk that appeared on his face making her laugh through what might’ve been a pissed off expression as she smacked him across the shoulder.
“There are times when I wonder what I see in you, Clark Kent” she said as she moved past him and reached for another mug to pour him a coffee.
He watched her with a smile on his face that just wouldn’t shift. Life was going to be a little different with Lois in it as his girlfriend now, but one thing was for sure, it’d never be dull.
* * * * *
Lex just couldn’t concentrate on work. The only thing on his mind was a certain blonde woman who, despite their wedding, had never actually been his wife. At seventeen and without parental consent, Chloe was not legally bound to Lex and he ought to have known it before they ever got as far as the flight to Nevada. Still, he had hardly been in his right mind, neither of them had, and all that had mattered was being together in any and all possible ways.
Sitting back in his chair with his feet up on the desk, Lex twirled a gold band around between his fingers, the symbol that had bound him to Chloe. Still, the ring was not so important, nor the wedding or similar. What mattered was the way he felt, the way he had always felt and always would, about Miss Chloe Sullivan. She had to feel the same, he knew she did, and yet she wouldn’t even talk to him right now. She was naturally both shocked and embarrassed by what they’d done under the influence of water that was clearly infected by red meteor rocks. Lex only hoped the letter he had left for her, along with the flowers, would be enough to convince her of his true feelings, and eventually help her to be brave enough to admit her own.
“What the hell is this, Luthor?!” Chloe suddenly burst through the double doors, looking far more formidable than even Lionel ever had as she barged over to the desk, glaring at a startled Lex who hid his reaction well.
“I’m fairly certain that’s the letter I left outside your door, Chloe” he told her evenly as he dropped his feet down off the desk and turned in to better face her, “Since you wouldn’t answer your phone or the door, you gave me little choice but to write down my feelings and explanation...”
“Is that what this is?” she asked, backing up from the desk, hoping he took it as a burst of anger that threw her back rather than the real reason - she couldn’t stand being that close to him, feeling his breath on her face, his eyes boring into her own as if he wanted to drown in her. No, right now she intended to be mad at him, get all this stuff off her chest.
“You had another idea?” Lex asked easily, knowing already that he was making her nervous, more so as he got up from his seat and walked around the desk.
“I’ll tell you what this is” Chloe said waving the piece of paper around in her hand, “It is a travesty of a piece of writing, Lex. I mean, come on, how does an educated businessman make school kid mistakes” she laughed without amusement as she backed up a step when he moved forward slightly, eyes following her, staring intently the whole entire time, “Y, O, U, apostrophe, R, E means you are. Y, O, U, R spells your!” she told him, “And as for your so-called feelings for me...”
“I’m afraid they’re going to be a little harder to argue with than my spelling, Miss Sullivan” Lex told her with a wicked look in his eye as he realised she definitely was moving backwards every time he moved forward and she was very close to running out of space before her back hit the wall, “Unfortunately, I was writing from the heart, my head wasn’t checking every letter and comma, but I didn’t lie about what I feel”
Chloe meant to answer back immediately, she had a hundred things in her head on the way over and now, between the way he was looking at her and talking about his feelings that brought back so many beautiful memories, the poor little blonde quite forgot herself. Her lack of food or something must have caught up with her, either that or Lex possessed some kind of thrall that had hypnotised her for she felt herself suddenly lurch backwards. As her hand shot out to save her and hit the wall she realised just how far back across the office he had caused her to go, and that broke the spell, making her mad all over again.
“How dare you?” she said angrily as she shoved him away and stormed back to the centre of the room, slamming the page from her hand onto his desk with a thud, “How dare you make me feel this way? Like I don’t even know how to say what I think anymore”
“If I might make a suggestion” Lex ventured, staying where he was for now and pushing his hands into his pockets, a sign he was backing off just a little since his intention was never to make her quite this uncomfortable and distressed, “Maybe you should stop thinking about it so much. It seemed to work well before, for both of us”
“No” Chloe shook her head, “What happened was insane, Lex, and it wasn’t real” she told him firmly, speaking of their marriage which he quite rightly told her in his letter had to mean nothing in the eyes of the law given her underage status.
Still, she knew everything else had been rooted in reality, the feelings that existed between them, the love that wouldn’t die. With her hand to her aching head and her eyes closed a moment, Chloe was unaware that Lex had crossed the room and was now stood before her, close as he could be without touching.
“Lex...” she said more softly than she meant to, her breath catching in her throat as his arm went around her body and pulled her tight against him as he crushed his lips to hers.
The kiss was familiar and none the less exhilarating than any they’d shared under the influence of the water that had removed all their inhibitions. Lex’s hand on the back of her head kept Chloe close, but the truth of it was it was clear she was not trying to get away as they both savoured the moment and showed each other how deeply they really felt for each other. As they parted, both were breathing heavily and obviously wishing things were as simple as that brief interlude had been. Nothing to figure out, no worries or fears, like before. Things were different now, but that didn’t mean Lex was giving up.
“Now” he said, holding her close still and staring into her eyes, “tell me that wasn’t real” he challenged her.
Chloe knew she couldn’t do it, there was no possible way. She had no defence, no way to lie to him. Even if she could find the words, her eyes would give her away. She was as in love as he was, that was real and true, and without speaking a word they both knew and understood it.
“I... I could use a drink” she told him breathlessly, “Definitely not water” she specified with a smirk that he soon shared as he regretfully let go of her and crossed to the small bar.
Chloe braced herself back against the desk as she tried to catch her breath and regain her bearings. This was ridiculous and insane, and yet it was what she wanted and apparently what Lex wanted too. The idea they could really be in love, be a couple, be happy, to the outside world it would be impossible and far beyond the realms of normalcy. Still, as Chloe watched Lex pour two stiff drinks and walk back to her, she knew it would be the most natural thing in the world to her.
“Thank you” she said softly, as she accepted the offered glass and threw back the shot of whiskey in one as he did the same.
The alcohol burnt Chloe’s throat, but it was nothing compared to the feeling that remained on her lips and all over her body where Lex had just touched her. She had a feeling he knew what he did to her, but she had yet to admit as much as him. The physical attraction between them was not to be denied, but he didn’t know yet that her heart was as lost as his own.
“Lex...” she began as she put her now empty glass down on the edge of the desk, hoping he would just let her get this out whilst she felt brave, but no such luck.
“Chloe, before you say anything, I want you to know that I meant every word I said in that letter. I love you” he assured her, “This isn’t just a fixation or a want for something I can’t or shouldn’t have...”
“Lex, I never thought that” Chloe assured him, “None of this... it’s not exactly how I planned us getting together, if I ever planned it at all” she shook her head as a nervous laugh escaped her lips, “Lately, you were the one person I could always talk to, that always understood. Now everything’s different”
“That doesn’t have to be a bad thing” he said, feeling like the one woman in his life he truly loved might be slipping through his fingers and hating it, “Chloe, I know a lot happened quickly, and whilst I’m not sorry to have been close to you, I am sorry that things weren’t how they should’ve been, especially since, well, that night should’ve been more special for you” he said, the closest to awkward that Chloe had ever seen this usually confident man look.
“If that’s the thing that’s bothering you, then don’t worry” she shook her head quickly, “I wasn’t... well, let’s just say I wasn’t exactly truthful when I wore white at our wedding” she said, nervously tucking her hair behind her ear.
“Oh” was all Lex could find to say, unsure whether he liked it better or not now that she’d confessed such a thing to him.
“But that doesn’t mean that night wasn’t special, it was” she promised him, pushing herself forward a step, standing toe to toe with him as he turned to look down on her with love in his eyes once more, “Lex, what happened was crazy, beyond crazy actually, but I can’t really regret it. I love you” she told him at last, her hand going to his face as she stared up into his eyes, “And I just think if we can maybe start again, do things properly this time... I think we could have something really good here” she told him as he pushed her hair from her face and pulled her gently to him.
“I’ll drink to that” he said with a smirk and a raised eyebrow that caused her eyes to go wide when she realised what he meant, but did not have time to react, as his lips covered hers.
“Do you have a lock on those doors?” Chloe said with a wicked gleam in her eyes as they parted enough to breathe and she glanced towards the way she entered his office before.
“Should I ask why?” Lex checked as she moved out from the space between his body and the desk, pulling him across the office by the hand.
“I’d give you three guesses” the blonde said as they reached the side of the pool table and she pulled herself up to sit on the edge, “but I hope you don’t need them...”
“I don’t” he assured her, returning her wicked look, hands and lips on her body in a second as he pushed her back against the surface of the table and the world around them disappeared into nothing.
- The End -
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