Summary: Six years after leaving Smallville for good, Lex has expanded his empire and is now running for the Senate. Chloe is trying to balance her professional and her personal life as she investigates a LuthorCorp project which will touch many lives and have unsuspected ramifications. Their paths will cross again and make them question the choices made a lifetime ago.
Author: Lexie
Rating: PG-13/15
A/N: At the beginning of this fic Chloe and Lex will be paired with other people, but this is Chlex so you´ll just have to bear with me for a while.
Disclaimer: all Superman and Smallville characters belong to DC Comics and Gough & Millar. No infringement's intended.
CROSSING PATHS
CHAPTER 1: Playing House
Metropolis 2014
It was March and springtime had officially begun in the northern hemisphere. The trees in the parks of Metropolis were showing their first new leaves and the flowerbeds in the suburban areas had started blooming. In the city centre, where skyscrapers dominated the landscape, things were pretty much the same- without the winter snowflakes which were cute when adorning a Christmas card but a real nuisance when one was chasing a story in the middle of a snowstorm.
Chloe put on the indicator and turned right into Mulberry Lane to drive the two blocks which remained to get to her cousin´s. The blonde couldn´t help but smile when she thought of Lois and her efforts to play house. Her older cousin´s wedding to Clark- or rather, to her own personal knight in shining armour, the now ubiquitous Superman- had taken place a little over a year before, and the army brat had moved with her new husband to the outskirts of Metropolis. Chloe knew how much Lois hated the quiet, but it was what Clark´s provincial upbringing craved for, and Lois had willingly given in.
The Kents´ looked a lot like Martha´s home- gingham curtains in the kitchen included; however, the similarities between the two Mrs Kent stopped there. Despite efforts to the contrary, Lois had never been the homely type, as Chloe could verify when she arrived at the Kents´ for dinner on a Saturday evening.
¨Wow!¨exclaimed the blonde reporter when the door opened and she saw Lois emerge out of a cloud of smoke wielding a carving fork in one hand. ¨Should I have brought the fire brigade? You know, I think I still have the phone number of that take-out pizza restaurant somewhere in my purse, ¨she laughed.
¨Get in, Chloe before I vent my ire in the front yard and give that peeping Tom of a neighbour a show, ¨hissed General Lane´s daughter, slamming the door shut.
¨What´s with the reduced visibility? ¨chuckled Chloe as she followed her cousin across the living-room, paying attention not to step on the laundry waiting to be ironed or the women magazines lying scattered on the floor. ´No, my cuz is definitely no Martha Stewart or our own Martha Kent, ´ mused Chloe while Lois opened the oven and took out a roasting tin with cinders.
¨Shoot! ¨ shouted the elder cousin, dropping the tine into the sink and sucking two fingers after getting burnt.
¨Well... ¨said Chloe, eying the black remains which she couldn´t indentify but guessed had meant to be the main course. ¨If there was any doubt in my mind... you´ve dispelled it. You aren´t cut out to be a cordon bleu chef... not even a Betty Crocker, ¨she smiled.
¨This is a complete disaster. Why can´t I ever get this thing right? It looks so easy when Clark´s mum does it. What could the mystery be? You put the meat in the tin, peel some potatoes, slice some carrots and onions and into the oven. ¨
¨Have you prepared any gravy? ¨asked the blonde reporter as Lois scraped the tin clean.
¨Gravy? ¨she echoed with a puzzled look.
¨Yes, gravy or sauce. You know, to baste the meat with. ¨
¨Baste it? ¨she frowned.
¨It´s all Greek to you, isn´t it? ¨smiled Chloe, taking off her jacket.
¨What am I going to do? Clark´s coming any minute now and this was supposed to be a surprise dinner to celebrate our second anniversary as a couple. ¨
¨Look, Lo´. Why don´t you go up and get dressed? I´ll take care of this, ¨ she calmed her down, undoing the cuff buttons and pulling up her sleeves.
¨But... what are you going to do? There´s nothing left in the fridge. I´ve used everything for this meal. ¨
¨Go, Lo´. I´ll call Pietro at L´ucello; he owes me one, ¨responded Chloe, opening the kitchen windows to let fresh air in.
¨Italian? That´d be great, Chlo´, ¨she sighed relieved as Chloe started cleaning the kitchen. ¨Oh, damn!¨ she shouted. ¨I´ve forgotten to unplug the curling iron! ¨
¨Climb up those stairs before we have to add blackout to Tower Inferno, ¨she quipped.
Three quarters of an hour later a key jingled in the front door lock and Clark stepped into an unusually tidy dining-room. The table was set with an embroidered tablecloth Martha had given them as a present on their first anniversary. He scanned the china and silverware with a keen eye and picked up a goblet to inspect it- crystal. Either Lois had a nest egg he wasn´t aware of or he had entered the wrong house.
¨Lois, ¨he called out, ¨I´m home. Have you burnt something? ¨he smiled, loosening his tie and taking off his glasses. He didn´t need them- he had perfect eyesight, but they were part of his disguise, and he only did without them when he was in the privacy of home.
¨How do I look? ¨asked a nervous Lois to her cousin as she finished applying some lipstick.
¨Like a thousand bucks, ¨beamed Chloe when she swirled around to show off the red tight-fitting dress which accentuated her curves.
¨I don´t know what I would have done without you, ¨she confessed, embracing Chloe tightly.
¨What are cousins for? ¨she laughed. ¨Now, get yourself going before he comes up looking for you. ¨
¨Are you sure you don´t want to stay, Chlo´? ¨asked Lois, taking both of her cousin´s hands in hers.
¨I´d a third wheel. Believe me I´ve had enough of that to last me a lifetime. It´s your celebration, Lo´, ¨responded the blonde reporter with a smile.
¨Yes, but if it hadn´t be for you, we´d have never met, ¨she replied emotionally.
¨I beg to differ. Some things are just written in the stars. ¨
¨Do you think Chance is the one for you? ¨asked Lois with a concerned look on her face.
¨Lois, are you upstairs? ¨Clark´s voice was heard again.
¨He´s getting impatient, ¨smirked Chloe.
¨I´m coming, Clark. Why don´t you open the bottle of win in the meantime? ¨ Lois told her husband.
¨OK. You know I was planning to take you out to dinner, ¨he said as he rummaged through the kitchen drawers to get a corkscrew.
¨I´ve beaten you this time, Smallville, ¨she shouted. ¨Chlo´, you haven´t answered my question. ¨
¨I´m content, Lois. With my lousy record when it comes to my relationships with the opposite sex, that´s a lot. ¨
¨You´ve never been a conformist, Chlo´. You deserve more than this lukewarm relationship. ¨
¨It´s not lukewarm!¨she complained. ¨He´s just respecting my wishes. He knows I don´t want to rush things. ¨
¨And is he really comfortable with your decision to wait? ¨
¨He´s not pressuring me, OK? ¨
¨There hasn´t been any incident like the one we talked about three months ago, then? ¨
¨I told you he´s been a gentleman, Lois. What´s wrong with you? Why can´t you be happy for me? ¨
¨I want you to be happy, Chloe. It´s just that there´s something about him... ¨
¨Hey, Lois! Is there someone up there with you?¨ shouted Clark from downstairs.
¨Don´t you dare come up, Smallville, until I´ve had time to get rid of my secret lover. And if you use that super-hearing of yours, there´ll be hell to pay, buster! ¨she shouted back. ¨Chlo´, ¨she whispered, grabbing her cousin gently by one arm and noticing the tears in her eyes, ¨I´d like you to have what I have. ¨
¨Pietro´s specialties will get cold, Lois. Everything´s set. Just remember to send him back the dishware and the cutlery, ¨she responded, taking her jacket and handbag from Lois´ king size bed.
¨Think this over, Chloe. If things are so good between you, how come this is your fifth Saturday in a row he´s left you alone? ¨
¨He´s busy with Lex´s senatorial campaign, ¨she answered grimly.
¨Does Lex know you two are an item? Do you think he´s keeping Chance busy to spite you? ¨
¨First of all, I´m not that important to Lex. Second, he doesn´t know a thing because Chance has made certain we´re never seen together. ¨
¨We both know that very few things escape Luthor´s radar, Chloe. Do you honestly believe he hasn´t had the whole staff on his campaign investigated? Does Chance know you´re researching Cadmus? If Lex had an inkling of what you´re up to, messing with your love life would be one of the many things he´d do to you. ¨
¨I´m going out with Chance, but he doesn´t own me. I´m not dropping Cadmus to prove my allegiance to him. ¨
¨So he´s asked you to stop digging, then, ¨Lois cocked an eyebrow.
¨Chloe, are you up there? ¨asked an impatient Clark.
¨Smallville, what did I tell you about eavesdropping? ¨yelled Lois.
¨He suggested I stop, but he didn´t order me. You´d have done the same if you´d been in my shoes, Lo´, and you know it. As far as he knows, I´ve listened to him and everything´s cool. ¨
¨And what´ll happen when he finds out? ¨
¨I´ll cross that bridge when I come to it. We´re grown-ups, Lois. We should be able to keep our professional and personal lives apart. ¨
¨If you say so, ¨said Lois resignedly. ¨I just hope he won´t break your heart, Chloe. ¨
¨I´m immune to heartbreak, ¨smiled Chloe in an attempt to lighten the mood.
¨Yeah, right, ¨Lois shook her head.
¨Go downstairs, Lo´, and take his breath away, ¨responded Chloe, standing on tiptoe and pressing a kiss on her cheek. ¨I´ll sneak out through the back door. ¨
¨Will you be OK? ¨asked Lois with a frown.
¨Chance said he might come around once the meeting´s over, ¨she answered, putting on her jacket. ¨And if he doesn´t, I have a pretty decent bottle of Chardonnay and a couple of Clive Owen DVDs I haven´t seen yet. ¨
¨Clive Owen, eh? I wish you had the same taste in men when it comes to real life. ¨
¨Lo´!¨Chloe said with reproach.
¨OK. OK. I´m going down. Love you, cuz, ¨finished the brunette reporter, making her way to the stairs.
¨Wow, Lois! Do you think dinner would be spoilt if we heated it up in the microwave? ¨asked Clark seductively when he saw his wife climbing down.
¨Mind off the gutter, Smallville. I need my sustenance first to keep up with you, ¨she answered with a lopsided grin.
Chloe gave one last wistful look at the couple and closed the back door firmly but silently behind her.