Title: Hellos and Goodbyes
Category: Smallville
Rating: T
Genre: Angst/Drama/Romance
Pairing: Chloe/Lex
Prompt: Cravings by blkyangel
Word Count: 924
Summary: What was wrong with her?
Hellos and Goodbyes
-Drabble-
What was wrong with her? She bit her lip, staring at his form as it moved across the room, such poise and confidence in every step. She rubbed her thighs together, biting the inside of her cheek.
"Brandy, Miss Sullivan?" he asked her, glancing her way, eyes dark and knowing. She hated how easily he could pierce her with his gaze, make her insides tighten and squirm with anticipation of his next move.
"I'm fine, thank you," she replied, so calm; a drastic opposite to how her inner self was anxious, pacing like a caged jungle cat, ready to pounce and devour.
He quirked a smile that held nothing but sheer predatory lust before walking across to take a seat in the leather armchair adjacent to him. It was wrong in so many ways that a man like him had to be on the other side; against her and all that she fought for; the evil to her good. What was even more wrong was that he made her want to be bad; he made her want to throw away any semblance of right and wrong, any common decency and just enjoy whatever he could give her. She wasn't blind or stupid and she knew that while the good moments would be so far past incredible, she'd be hoarse with screaming his name, she also knew that in the end, her heart would be shattered and her life a mess. She'd seen what he could do and she knew she wouldn't recover. Which is why she sat where she was and he sat there, before her, looking so smug and above all else.
"Did you want an interview, Miss Sullivan? Because I must say... For anyone else, I'd have had them thrown out before they could open their mouths."
She lifted a brow. "Opening my mouth usually leads to revealed secrets, so I'm surprised you let me in at all."
He chuckled lowly, eyes falling to stare at his brandy in thought. "To what do I the pleasure then?"
She crossed her legs and told herself she didn't notice and didn't care that his eyes watched the movement thoroughly, roaming the length of her legs with due appreciation. She was no Lana Lang, but she could certainly catch the eye of her friend's former husband, it appeared. "I can't come see and old friend?"
He returned his eyes to hers, darker now, suspicious. "Friend. Strong word for us, don't you think?"
I know stronger, she thought. Equals. Chemistry. Lust. Need. Desire. Power. Struggle.
She simply smiled, as if she knew a secret he did not. "We had our moments."
He nodded, relaxing into the expensive comfort of his chair. "Few and far between but I remember them well." He looked over to her, brow lifted. "That was a long time ago... A time that won't be repeated. I've learned trust and friendship is... weakness and lies."
She pursed her mouth. "You learned or you forced? The friendships you had before could only be measured by how much a person could be trusted. And let's face it Lex, you were always looking to sate your own curiosity and desires. It was always take, take, take with you. Giving meant caring, trusting... which you were too suspicious to do."
He smirked, tipping his head in acceptance.
"And now look what you have? An empty manor and constant surveillance, always wondering... When will they strike next? What will they do to stop me now?" She leaned forward. "Just so you know... You made your own bed... They only strike because you force them to." She stared deep into those blue eyes that she knew could swallow her whole if she let them. She rose from the settee and slipped her purse over her shoulder.
"Leaving so soon? And here I thought you had more regrets to throw in my face."
She glanced at him over her shoulder. "I'm sure those will keep you thinking in the coming few years. Until the next time you make another life changing decision, losing everyone and everything that could've mattered to you."
"Could have... or did?"
The words came out so sincere that she couldn't help but pause. "How you felt or how I felt no longer matters, does it?" She wished she could reach out, wipe away the darkness from him and replace it with the carefree man she once knew; he who was out to stop his father and his indecent plans for the world. But now he was the indecent one and she couldn't allow herself to fall into his web of carefully laced dark perfection. She would not be his queen, ruling over those who suffered at his hands. "Goodbye Lex."
He licked his lips, stared at her a moment longer and in that split second, she was sure she saw the old him, gazing at her with an adoration she sorely missed. "Goodbye Chloe," the new Lex said, voice cold and uncaring.
And she turned, leaving him and all that he was behind her, hoping that their moment of reflection gave the good side enough time to get in, get out, and get all that they needed. As a tear slipped down her cheek, she dubbed it her true farewell to the old Lex, who she knew would never return. And when she wiped it away and stiffened her shoulders, it was her greeting to the new Lex, her promise to take him down and ruin him. For the old him who would've appreciated her efforts.