Chapter 24
I loved how the Chlex couple are planning out their relationship in carefully strategised stepsAfter much discussion they’d decided to meet at The Talon. Although neither of them felt the need to let the general populace know of their new relationship, they did have a very public history together, so there was little harm in them being seen engaging in such innocent activities. Besides, they didn’t want their relationship, when it did come out, to be so shocking as to become a hot bed of gossip. Best to let everyone see them together as friends, make nothing of it, and then pretend, later, that they’d known about it all along.It’s damned FUN to see them both taking such sneaky (but very practical) approaches to bringing their relationship out into the public an increment step at a time.
LOL! I wonder what kind of face Chloe would make if she knew that the ‘goofy smile’ on Lex’s face was inspired by thoughts of her dad! LOL! but I was pleased to see that the conversation between Gabe and Lex went so very well that Lex can smile so happily about it now. The guy deserves a break, and he’s finally getting the turn in luck that is due to him!And Lex had been almost ridiculously happy at the acceptance that threat implied.
Chloe glanced sideways at Lex and wondered what thoughts prompted the slightly goofy smile trying to creep onto his face.
Heeee! Even more fun and fascinating than the Gabe/Lex conversation was the Lionel/Chloe talk! I liked imagining Lex basically going into his meeting grovelling for Gabe’s approval… and I LOVED imagining Lionel approaching CHLOE with the same servile and deferential manners. Lionel was actually even MORE desperate for Chloe to agree to ‘tolerate him’ than Lex was for Gabe’s approval… which is exactly how it should be! LOL!Lionel had tossed one assurance after another at Chloe – he’d changed, he wanted a second chance, he finally understood what was important in life. Frankly, Chloe couldn’t have cared less. If Lionel died miserable and alone then it was no more than he deserved, in her opinion, and he only had himself to blame.
Her only concern was Lex and so, thankfully, their conversation had been brief and to the point – hurt his son and she’d kill him.
I was wondering how Lex and Chloe were going to handle revealing their relationship to the Clana couple, without making Clark or Lana believe that Chloe needed ‘saving’ from the fiendish, despicable Luthor! Heeee!!! But it figures that Lex and Chloe managed to figure out a solution for this waaay in advance, and executed that plan perfectly! What sneakily wonderful writing, Skauble! LOL!“It was hard for Lex and I while we were apart, loving the other but not sure if we could be together. Lex needed a friend, and you didn’t turn your back on him. And that means a lot to me.”
And with that she turned and pulled Lana into a tight embrace and, strangely, felt no guilt at what she’d just done. It wasn’t that Chloe had necessarily wanted to manipulate her friend. But the fact was that Lana would misread the situation no matter what. So the choice was either to let her misread it as Lex being an evil fiend who was settling for poor Chloe because he couldn’t have his true choice, or have her misread it as her being a truly intuitive individual who understood that her friends were hurting and did everything she could to help.
I really enjoyed the charming and skilful manner with which Chloe managed to manipulate Lana’s emotions and mind-set like a violin… and convinced the girl to believe a completely fictitious version of past events. LOL! It was amazing and incredible manoeuvring from Chloe, and I hugely enjoyed reading it!
I also appreciated the note where Chloe accepted that while Lana has some REALLY annoying behaviour and perceptual habits, she’s really a very sweet, accommodating and kind-hearted person who is worth having as a friend. I rather like fics where Chloe can acknowledge the nicer qualities in Lana as well as the annoying, bad ones.
ROTFLMAO! What a delicious compare and contract visual, Skauble! ROTFL!And Chloe could see that she honestly was and so, while she had just lied through her teeth, she felt it was more of the “there is a Santa Claus” kind of lie as opposed to the “could you take this ‘innocent’ package across the border and give it to my ‘brother” kind of lie.
ROTFL! Even better and more awe-inspiring than Chloe’s manipulation of Lana was Lex’s playing with Clark’s perception of the situation, ROTFLMAO! It was such GREAT fun to see Lex actually playing Clark so he felt guilty about ‘suspecting’ that Lex was expressing interest in Lana.“Clark,” Lex frowned and feigned a small amount of hurt. “I know that you and I haven’t been seeing eye to eye on everything, lately, but do you really think that I’d do that to you?”
Okay, Chloe might not have known he was going to go quite that far with the guilt, Lex thought. But he was tired of always being the one who was supposed to carry all the blame for the deterioration of their friendship. Yes, he had his secrets, but Clark Kent was truly the last person on Earth who should start chucking stones out of glass houses.
“No. I mean,” Clark stopped. Pulled his thoughts together and then shot Lex a small, lopsided smile. “Chloe, huh?”
LOL! And just so easily… the Chlex couple have completely re-written history in their favour! ROTFL!
I highly approved that Clark and Lex ALSO made up (sort of) the friendship that was previously strained between them. It wasn’t exactly a friendship… but at least there was some form of acceptance and a truce between them now, which is VERY honestly the best thing that they both can hope for right now.And Lex couldn’t help but smile back. Didn’t even want to try to resist. Clark had been one of the first real friends he’d ever had, and if there was any way that they could come to a place where they could respect the fact that they were both bald faced liars, well, they couldn’t be the friends they’d once dreamt of, but they could be something.
He didn’t know if it could work, but for both his own sake, and Chloe’s, he was going to try. And so he invited Clark over for a game of pool the next day and changed the subject as he saw the women making their way back towards the table.
And who knows… they might end up forming a real friendship again after all!
Squeee!!! I was so, SO happy to see that The Present was finally being brought up in this final chapter. I was dying to know what was wrapped up in that damned wrapping paper!!Which left her even more confused until, “Oh! That was from you?”
Lex scowled down at her in the dim porch light. “Yes that was from me. Who did you think would give you such a thing? Clark?”
LOL! And I shared Chloe’s ‘wild curiosity’ about what the gift could be after Lex seemed so indignant and offended at the idea of HIS gift being credited to Clark. LOL! It was obviously something special and meaningful!!! Hurry and OPEN IT, Chloe!
And now Chloe’s curiosity was afire. Lex seemed truly upset that she would attribute his gift to Clark, which left her dying to know just what was in that package resting, still wrapped, on her desk.
Oh my HEAVENS! *swoon* what a perfect present!!! It’s not only something very practical that Chloe can use to save herself from about 80% of her ‘what if…’ situations, but it’s also a wonderful token of appreciation and value from the man who loves her. I LOVED his implied comment that, anytime she presses that button, he’ll drop EVEYRTHING and come tearing after her… wherever she might be.At her questioning look, Lex took the keychain from her hands. Placing the small, rectangular piece of steel on his palm, he flicked the bottom of it open to reveal a small button.
“It’s a GPS beacon,” he told her. “When you push that button, wherever you are, I’ll know”
Lex hesitated a minute. Looked at the small device in his hand, then back up at the woman he loved. Told her, “Everyone gets lost sometimes. And it’s good to know that there’s always one person you can count on to find you.”
*happy sigh* what a beautiful, gorgeous sentiment to end this chapter on. I loved how Chloe’s present DID end up holding a ‘far beyond’ special meaning for both of them. Yet another reason on why these two were always perfectly matched together.Like she’d found him. The words were unspoken, but she heard them clear as day. And as their lips met, she knew that despite the pain and the obstacles, the misunderstandings and miscommunications, what they’d found…was each other.
Chapter 25. Epilogue
I really appreciated how this chapter began with a quick explanation about how the situation currently stands now after the passage of all these years. It was NICE to hear about how everyone has grown and progressed… what happened with Clark, Lana AND Pete… not to mention the quick details of the development of the Chlex relationship over the past three years.
heee!!!Although he’d never thought it would happen, both he and Chloe had had Christmas Eve dinner in Metropolis, with Lionel, the night before. Despite innumerable underhanded business deals and questionable ethical choices, the man had kept true to his word of not hurting them and Chloe had adopted a mostly ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy unless his actions were truly egregious.
Heh… and it sounds like Lionel has been making a sincere effort to win over Chloe’s approval… still. Excellent!
ROTFLMAO! Oh this was priceless!! I’ve got a firm picture in my head about how Lionel is STILL desperate for Chloe’s good opinion, hence he’s completely wrapped around her finger… and will do anything she asks in order to get that much coveted ‘look of approval’ that he needs from her, LOL!“And you think that I’d give allow you access to anything that would heighten the likelihood of you finding danger? Not likely,” he told her, shaking his head.
“Yeah,” she easily dismissed. “Like you’d be the Luthor I asked.”
Ignoring Lex’s scowl, Chloe began to speculate on possible scenarios for their game.
ROTFLMAO! I had actually guessed from the VERY beginning that Lex was actually trying to pop the proposal question with his ‘what if…’ opening. Hence I was ROTF howling with laughter hearing Chloe rushing over Lex’s words and throwing the most ridiculous tangent in his direction. LOL! Poor Lex… it’s hard enough for the poor guy to bring up this topic without Chloe getting distracted by other shiny things. LOL!“What would I do if – there was a zombie outbreak that affected two thirds of Metropolis? If I was dropped into a pit of venomous snakes with nothing but a letter opener and a block of Velveeta Cheese? I came to Smallville to visit Lana to find it wasn’t really her, but that she’d been cloned?”
“Wait, what?” Lex asked, his mind sticking on one thing in the midst of her many, utterly ridiculous scenarios. “Why would anyone want to clone Lana?”
Chloe shrugged, “I don’t know. That’s what makes it a good ‘What if’.”
What an absolutely perfect ending! I was really not surprised hearing Chloe’s answer… because there’s NO other response she could have given him in this fic, LOL! But it still warmed by heart to hear her answer… even if it WAS the obvious one! LOL!And as she threw herself into his arms, and he crushed her to him, Lex knew that wherever they were, be it mansion in Smallville, penthouse in Metropolis, or anywhere in between; as long as they were together, they were…home.
Wow, Skauble! End of the fic! And you managed to finish off the Christmas fic without missing one single day of updating! I am seriously awed and impressed!!! You actually managed to write faster than I review… which I LOVED!!!
Thanks for the GREAT fic, Skauble. I loved the entire month of waking up every morning to be greeted by a new chapter of this fic. It was a wonderful time, and I’m rather sorry that it had to end. Thanks again… best regards!
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