Smallville 4.05: Return

Previously on Smallville:

..."Sorry," Lex reached out to steady the guy he'd just collided with... Lex peered at him closely; he looked familiar. "Do I know you?"...

..."As interesting as your plans sound," he smirked slightly, unable to hold it back when he saw her raised eyebrows. "I thought maybe we'd visit Lana. Paris is beautiful this time of year"...

...The sudden flurry of flashes blinded her for a second, but she immediately plastered on a smile..."You'll get used to it," he assured her.

..."My father's filed an appeal," Lex told her. "It goes to court tomorrow"...

..."I've always wanted to go to London"... Lex nodded. "Okay, we'll go tomorrow"...

Intro

Not a huge fan of flying, Chloe was glad to hear that Lex had bought them train tickets instead. They took the Eurostar from Paris to London (first class) where Lex's friend was supposed to meet them at Waterloo Station.

Chloe and Lex filed off of the train and, once they'd collected their luggage, began to search the platform for...

"Who am I looking for?" Chloe asked him, peering through the crowd hoping that someone would spot them first.

"There," Lex pointed out a young man. He waved at his friend and they waited while the guy hurried over.

"Luthor," he greeted jovially, shaking Lex's hand and thumping him on the back. Chloe was slightly disappointed to hear an American accent when he spoke – she'd been looking forward to a sexy, rich, British host.

"Wayne," Lex returned; Chloe's ears perked up slightly at the name. She took a moment to get a good look at him; dark wavy hair, charming smile, and impressively broad shoulders...she'd seen him before. "Chloe," Lex put his hand on her back, catching her attention. "This is Bruce Wayne. Wayne this is Chloe Sullivan."

"Hi," Chloe shook his hand, resisting the urge to question the man about Gotham City. "So how do you two know each other? Besides your memberships in the Young and Ridiculously Rich Americans Club?" she asked instead, allowing Bruce to carry a suitcase for her.

"We went to boarding school together," Bruce replied, leading them out to a parking lot. "In Connecticut...at least we did, until Luthor got himself kicked out."

Chloe smirked at Lex. "How many schools did you get kicked out of?"

"Two," Lex shrugged. "And I wasn't even the bad one."

"Whatever," Bruce rolled his eyes at the implications. "We'll have to take a taxi, my car only seats two." Bruce hailed an available car (the strangest taxi Chloe had ever seen) and the driver helped them load their bags.

"How long are you planning on staying in London?" Bruce asked them once they were in the car and on their way. "Westminster," he told the driver. Chloe couldn't help but glance out the windows and the streams of traffic, all backwards.

"Not too sure," Lex told him, sneaking a peak at Chloe out of the corner of his eye. "My father's appeal is going through State Supreme Court, so that could take a while." Bruce just nodded and snuck a glance at Chloe as well. If she'd had any doubts that Lex had told Bruce about her situation, they were gone now. Bruce Wayne may have been as smooth as Lex Luthor, but he wasn't nearly as adept at hiding emotions; pity was evidently painted all over his handsome face, like a mask. She hated it.

"So Mr. Wayne," Chloe began, determined to take focus off of her own situation.

"Call me Bruce," he cut in, giving her a flirty grin that didn't have near the effect that he was aiming for.

"All right," she smiled back. "You're from Gotham, right? How long have you lived in London?"

"I hold a flat in London," he told her. "I like to spend the summer's in Europe, and it's a good city to base out of."

"Wayne Enterprises has several co-op offices in the UK," Lex told her, appearing quite bored with the passing scenery. Chloe nodded.

"So did you enjoy Paris?" Bruce asked her. "Luthor said that you were visiting a friend there."

"It was great," Chloe grinned. "I wish I spoke the language though." Bruce and Chloe continued to make polite conversation, and Lex still didn't join in.

"Are we boring you Luthor?" Bruce asked him finally, a smile tugging on the corners of his lips.

Lex shook his head. "No," he told them blandly, but still made no move to join in. Chloe felt the familiar feeling she got whenever she saw Clark and Lana together, like she'd walked into the middle of something; tension was thick. Each time she laughed at something that Bruce said Lex would glare silently at his friend. She knew it wasn't out of jealousy, but she still didn't know why.

"Oh look," Bruce smirked again when the car pulled over. "We're here."

TBC...
A/N: I'm sooo sorry for the lack of updates! My stupid a! computer had a TON of viruses. Also, I have to bring it in sometime this week to get the burner fixed...so updates may be few and far between. I'll try to do at least the first chapter (much longer than this one) before then though. Sorry guys and gals. :0(

Thanks for the reviews everyone...and don't worry (as I'm sure some of you will ;P ) this fic will NOT be a Bruce/Chloe fic. Okay?