Rebuilding (Sequel to Crossing Paths) PG-13/R Upd. 9/26/08 (COMPLETE)

[tatie87]

This was such a poignant chapter. It was so sad how Alex reacted to Chloe dressing up. I want some Chlex action and lust, soon please.

[daria_103]

Great updates, the scene between Alex and Chloe really got to me. I like how things are progressing between her and Lex aswell, I can't wait to see what he does next.

[hfce]

That was a great update. I am glad they both had Martha there to show them the way.

[lexie]

I want some Chlex action and lust, soon please.

There´ll definitely be sexual ´tension´ and Chlex in the next posting.

I´m happy with the way you´ve all embraced Lex´s children- there´ll be more of them, but starting with next week´s instalment things will finally get Chlexier. A word of warning ... as those who have been my faithful readers ever since I started posting on NS know, I don´t do smut; an R or mild-R rating is as far as I´ll ever get (we have Zannie for those amazing NC-17 fics). However, I can promise you our favourite couple will get to consumate their love in due time in a scene or couple of ¨love scenes¨.

[Linda]

You really know how to tug at the heart strings! What a very moving chapter, I'm a sucker for kids and you have written them so well. Glad that Martha was there to offer some sage advice.

Can't wait for the date. Thanks

[Shy Butterfly]

Wonderful update!

I loved it!!!

[lexie]

You really know how to tug at the heart strings! What a very moving chapter, I'm a sucker for kids and you have written them so well. Glad that Martha was there to offer some sage advice.

Can't wait for the date. Thanks

Thanks for the praise, Linda. I´m happy to know the children´s emotions and behaviour looked natural. As you already know I´m single and childless so I appreciate the words of a mum.

[purplemoon123]

Look what you have done, you've made me all misty eyed. Alex thinking that Chloe was going to leave him and Lily. *sniffle* Loved that Chloe reassured him that she wasn't going away.

¨Then, don´t speak. Show her. You don´t need to resort to Luthor grand gestures. She´s taken the first step organising this outing with Lois´ help. She´s exposed herself to heartbreak; now´s your turn to decide what you´ll do about it. Don´t let the chance to be happy pass you by, Lex. ¨

I love your Lois and now Mama Kent. Listen to her Lex, she's very smart.

[SVfan1286]

Aw, this was such a sweet and lovely chapter. Alex being upset about Chloe getting dressed up and thinking she was leaving him was heartbreaking... That poor little boy. Chloe handled it well though. She makes an excellent mom.

Martha was awesome. She's such a wise women, hopefully Lex take's her advise about Chloe.

Great chapter... I look forward to reading more!!

[lexie]

CHAPTER 4: Restraint

Martha Kent was an extraordinary human being in more ways than one. Not only was she an accomplished housewife, a loving mother, a faithful wife and a real asset to the US Congress but she was a very intuitive and sage woman in the bargain. Ever since their first encounter Lex had felt and immediate connection with her, a bond like the one which had been tragically severed the day his mum had passed away. There was something about Martha Kent which made him feel protected and understood; she was the maternal figure who knew what ailed a child without the need for words- a lot like Chloe when it came to his own son.

Chloe. She had almost knocked his breath away when they were ushered to the box at the theatre and he helped her take off that long black overcoat. He had taken a peek at the front of the dress at the penthouse and liked what he´d seen, but nothing had prepared him for the impact of seeing that long expanse of creamy freckled skin displayed by a deep décolletage.

Lex knew how self-conscious Chloe was about her body, and he couldn´t help but feel surprised at her choice of wardrobe. Less than a month ago they had ended up talking about artificially enhanced bodies, and she had joked playfully about his ´perfect curvy long-legged brunettes´. However, Lex was no fool and read between the lines- she was worried about his comparing her with other women and finding her lacking.

His eyes roamed her back and appreciated the way the dress hugged her curves and her hips- the perfect hips to carry a child, his child. How in the world could she think he would find her lacking? He knew she had been controlling her calorie-intake; he had seen her cut down on her craving for chocolate and turn down the desserts he knew she was crazy about. The fact that she was doing all that for him, to get what was already hers, made him love her even more. She could eat all the chocolate in the world and wear a sack of potatoes for all he cared- there was a lot more to love about Chloe than her physique. Still, he was a hot-blooded man, and he couldn´t deny he had never felt more sexually attracted to her than the moment she slipped out of that overcoat. Although, if he had to be honest with himself, it had all begun with the scene he had witnessed in Alex´s room.

Throughout the play, a performance of Rodgers & Hammerstein´s South Pacific- a romance between a young woman and a widower with two children... ´Really subtle, Lane.´- Lex had found it really hard to fight the urge to touch her. He chided his body for making him feel like a stupid adolescent driven by his hormones. Chloe deserved better than having to deal with a young healthy man in his prime who had been sex-starved for almost nineteen months. What they had managed to rebuild went beyond the physical attraction and the sparks which had been there ever since they met at the office of The Torch so many years ago. He wanted her, yes, but as a lot more than another notch on his belt.

Chloe was sitting next to Lex in the limousine- close enough to smell his heady cologne but far enough to prevent brushing against him by accident. She knew something had changed or, rather, some veil had lifted; she had sensed it in the theatre box when the sexual tension between them had made her feel conscious of her body like never before. She could still perceive that state of arousal and looked out of the car window to hide the roses in her cheeks.There was still dinner ahead and she didn´t know how she´d be able to live it through, facing Lex across the table without the protection offered by the dimmed lights of the theatre.

¨Is everything OK, Chloe? ¨asked Lex softly, studying her profile and noticing the quickened pulse on her delicate throat.

¨Yes, ¨she responded, flashing him a quick smile he remembered from the days when she pined for Clark and tried to put the farmboy at ease after he had inadvertently hurt her. ¨You hated it, didn´t you? ¨

¨What? ¨he asked with a puzzled frown.

¨The show. You seemed distracted at times, ¨she replied, toying with the gold bracelet her dad had given her when she turned sixteen.

¨If I seemed distracted at times, it wasn´t because I found it boring. I admit I´m more of an opera animal, but I´ve always found either Hammerstein or Sondheim above par. What about you? Did you enjoy it? ¨he smirked.

¨Yes, I did. The guy that played Emile was pretty decent and the children were really cute, ¨she smiled, feeling a little more relaxed now that the ten-minute silence had been broken and they were chatting about musical tastes.

¨I´d say it was quite good all in all. There was drama, death, love, a lot of prejudice and several characters fond of snooping... it kind of reminded me of our good old days in Smallville, ¨he said ironically.

¨Yeah, well, Lois certainly does have a sense of humour, ¨chuckled Chloe. ¨Besides, it was either this or two tickets to a sumo-wrestling championship at Metropolis Arena, ¨she gagged.

¨Who the hell does Lois owe favours to? ¨he asked with a lopsided grin.

¨You´d better not ask. Now that she´s expecting, I suppose Clark will keep her on a shorter leash, ¨responded the blonde reporter.

¨I´d love to see that, ¨he shook his head. ¨We´ve arrived, ¨he added when the limo rolled to a stop. ¨I´ve taken the liberty of choosing the restaurant. I don´t trust Lois´ culinary tastes that much, and that dress... ¨he said, offering his hand to help her get out of the car, ¨wasn´t meant for a Burger King. ¨

¨I don´t think Lois... ¨she frowned.

¨You´re right. She had got us a table at Enrico´s, but you´ll like this place better. Trust me, ¨he cut her off with a smug smile.

Les Escargots was a secluded fifteen-table restaurant owned by a couple of Parisian chefs. Even though it oozed luxury and good taste, there was a homely atmosphere to the place which toned down any pretence of ostentation. Lex was right; she liked his choice, maybe because it reminded her of him. All his life he had been judged by people who couldn´t see beyond his name or his millions- when, in truth, that appearance of rich spoilt brat was all smoke and mirrors. It just took a little patience to scratch the surface- if he let you- to see the flesh and blood human being behind the mask, the man that wanted what every man craved- to be loved.

¨So? ¨he cocked an eyebrow, once they were sitting at a table for two.

¨Wipe that smug look off your face, Luthor, ¨she answered, discreetly readjusting her dress.

¨Not overly-ostentatious? ¨he queried, accepting the wine list from the sommelier, who left the table quietly.

¨I´d say it´s very... ¨she scanned the room looking for a word to describe it while he tried not to get distracted by the gold pendant that rested just above the crease between her breasts.

¨Very? ¨he smirked.

¨You, ¨she said somewhat breathless, feeling the scorching look of his eyes on her.

¨And that´s a good or a bad thing? ¨he leant back on his chair, observing the way her right hand toyed with the charms on her bracelet.

¨It´s... good, ¨she smiled, meeting his eyes for a fleeting second before grabbing the menu to hide her discomfiture.

¨Is there anything on the menu that strikes your fancy? ¨he asked her after ordering the beverages.

Chloe had been browsing the dishes without really paying attention to what she was reading- the names were in French, and she had majored in it at college. No, the problem wasn´t the language but the realisation that they were virtually alone in the restaurant and that she felt nude and exposed. It didn´t matter that the dress covered her more than the shorts and tops she used to wear during the hot summers back in Smallville; it made her feel different... a sensual being... someone she´d never been when she was just Clark´s sidekick or one more of the gang. Of course the fact that she was with Lex and that he was looking at her with those smouldering blue-grey eyes of his heightened the experience.

¨Pardon? ¨she said, raising her eyes from the menu.

¨I said... Is there anything on the menu that strikes your fancy? ¨he repeated with a velvety tone which made her wonder if she was just letting herself be carried away and reading innuendo where there wasn´t any, or if he was actually trying to seduce her.

¨You´re the savvy one, Lex; I´m new to this. I trust you enough to let you lead the first time, ¨she responded calmly, closing the menu before setting it down on the table.

¨Are you sure, Chloe? ¨he asked gravely. ¨I can wait until you´re ready.
There´s no need to rush. ¨

¨I´m sure, Lex. Next time, I´ll choose the restaurant and you´ll have whatever I have, no questions asked, ¨she answered jokingly.

¨Chloe? ¨he asked, leaning forward and taking her hands in his. ¨Did you mean what you said? ¨

¨What? That you´ll have to eat whatever I order next time? ¨she laughed nervously.

¨No, what you said before about not wanting to wait any more, ¨he responded, boring his eyes into her.

¨That depends. Was I hearing things or you meant what I thought you meant when you started talking about food? ¨she retorted, shuffling on her seat.

¨What do you think? ¨he cocked an eyebrow.

¨God, Lex! Why can´t we just say what we want to say without running in circles? ¨she exclaimed with anguish in her voice.

¨Habit maybe? ¨he shrugged his shoulders. ¨I´ve always enjoyed our verbal judo. ¨

¨What are we going to do about this? ¨she murmured intertwining her fingers with his.

¨I don´t want you to feel pressured to do anything about it. For the time being, it´s enough for me that we´ve admitted what we feel for each other... ¨he said in a low intimate voice, ¨in our own queer manner, ¨he smiled. ¨Listen, Chloe. If you´ve waited this long, it means you take it seriously, and I respect that. It should be your choice and nobody else´s. You mean too much to me to treat you any other way, and I expect more from this than one night of unbridled passion. ¨

¨You do? ¨she choked, feeling the prickling of tears behind her eyelids.

¨Chloe, hey, ¨he whispered, ¨I didn´t mean to make you cry, ¨he stretched out an arm to wipe away a treacherous tear which was rolling down her cheek.

¨I´m sorry, ¨she smiled , ¨these last few months I´ve been feeling like a stupid cry baby. ¨

Lex looked at the amazing young woman whose face he was cradling in one hand and wondered for the umpteenth time what he´d done to deserve being loved by her. She was crying tears of joy and relief, and he couldn´t remember ever feeling this happy, except maybe for the days when he had held Alex and Lilly for the first time.

Chloe saw Lex openly look at her the way she had dreamt of ever since that summer in exile. There was only one thing missing and she was wondering whether she´d get it, considering they´d poured out their hearts in a public place.

¨Lex? ¨she whispered a few centimetres away from his mouth.

¨What´s a declaration of love without a kiss? ¨he murmured, leaning forward and sealing her lips with a brief and tender kiss. ¨Hungry? ¨he asked close to her ear.

¨Starving, ¨she smiled.

¨Let´s order then, ¨he smiled back.

2.10 a.m. SUNDAY- LEX´S LIMO

Dinner at Les Escargots had been an unforgettable experience for both Chloe and Lex- a night they would treasure for years to come. The food had been first-class, as was to be expected of a cordon-bleu chef such as Henri, and the ambience the perfect setting for that heart-to-heart conversation they had both yearned and feared so much.

Their playful banter over dessert and coffee was followed by a snifter of Armagnac and Lex at the baby- grand piano. They were the only couple left in the restaurant by the time the front door was locked and Lex decided to sit at the instrument. Although Chloe knew he was an accomplished performer and she had seen in his study the piano he had brought back from the mansion, she had never heard him play- maybe because he considered it something too private.

They left at around two as the first drops of rain started to fall, and the intimate cocoon that had enveloped them at the French restaurant followed them to the interior of the limousine. It was in the back seat of the black car that they shared their first real kiss- a long leisurely kiss which made up for all the months of heartache and uncertainty.

Chloe followed his lead and opened to him with trust, giving as much as receiving, never once experiencing that choking sensation of being sucked into something she had no control over. Lex´s kisses were a long languid caress unlike everything she had lived through with Chance the only time he had turned up at her door half-drunken. Whereas that night- a lifetime ago- she had felt threatened and found herself completely at the mercy of someone else´s desires, now she felt completely safe. It didn´t matter that she noticed how aroused Lex was by the darkness of his pupils or the feel of his body against her sensitized skin, she knew he´d never go further unless she granted him permission.

Gabe´s beloved daughter had never admired the Luthor self-control more or appreciated in the flesh what love could do to tame a man who had been born and raised to be a predator than the night they had opened up their hearts.