CHAPTER 9: Finding the Way Back
Laura´s Apartment- Metropolis 2022
The interview with Lex had been the second most difficult moment of Chloe´s life. It had taken her all the strength she could muster not to crumble in front of him the minute she set eyes on him again. She had sensed the hurt and reproach in his voice, the lust and love in his eyes. Maybe he didn´t know it then, but he loved her- a look into those blue-grey eyes of his she had often got lost in had told her that much. Lionel might have erased the memory of them but his heart had recognised her. Although Lex had always been a master at hiding his emotions and thoughts behind a mask, she prided herself on being the only one who could read him like an open book.
Chloe hated herself for being so inarticulate at the office, stuttering and hesitating, beating around the bush- he must have realised the portent of what was on those discs because her erratic behaviour had been so unlike herself. The Chloe he had known would have told him the truth without sugar-coating it; she would have told him how much she had missed their verbal judo and craved for his touch and his warmth. She had been but half a woman without him. Now, she could only hope he had gone past the initial shock of the first CD and kept on reading to see what it really meant to love and be loved.
She had lost track of how many hours had gone by since she summoned the lift on the top floor of Luthorcorp Plaza to leave him space and time to process what he would discover on those discs. Endless hours she had spent sitting in the dark of Laura´s apartment after a bitter argument with her daughter, which had ended up with the young woman storming out aggrieved.
Chloe had picked up the handset on more than one occasion, toying with the idea of calling her dad. However, there was only one voice she wanted to hear, just one pair of arms she yearned to be wrapped in. Once again she felt jealous of Lana and of the time she had had next to him. The Princess had had Clark´s devotion, why couldn´t she stay away from Lex?
In the meantime, Lex was downing the bourbon decanter in his office overwhelmed by the words on the screen of his laptop, feeling the tears blurring his sight and then spilling unchecked down his cheeks. Resentment, wrath, love, passion, hatred, clashed in his chest until the onslaught was so big that he swept the desk clean in a rage and then, crumbled in racking sobs.
Now the last words of Lionel´s made sense; the bastard must be laughing from the grave. Still his dad had been wrong in his assumption that it wasn´t possible for Lex to hate him even more. Kill the messenger? How could he ever kill someone who had shown him the true meaning of love?
Chloe was putting freshly grounded coffee in the percolator when the doorbell rang. She had no doubt in her mind who was at the door for she had been expecting his arrival the whole afternoon.
As she walked to the door and checked it was him through the peephole, she could feel her hands tremble and her pulse race. This was the moment she had played so many times on her mind while living in Gotham, watching their girl grow up.
She removed the lock and chain and, taking a deep breath, opened the front door. There stood Lex in his long black Armani coat- the first three buttons of his immaculate white shirt undone- looking as cool and breath-taking as when she was a teen.
I have been here before,
But when or how I cannot tell:
I know the grass beyond the door,
The sweet, keen smell,
The sighing sound, the lights around the shore.
You have been mine before, -
How long ago I may not know
But just when at that swallow´s soar
Your neck turned so,
Some veil did fall, I knew it all of yore.
Lex took off his designer sunglasses and locked his stormy blue-grey eyes with hers, seeing her shiver and turn a delightful red. He was sure she could tell he had been crying, but he couldn´t care less; Lionel Luthor´s lectures about tears and manhood be damned. He wanted her to see that, unlike his father, he was still human. He needed his eyes to speak for him because he, who had always been so articulate- couldn´t find the words to express the turmoil that was raging in his heart.
Chloe got lost in the depths of those beloved orbs just as she had when he had made a woman of her the night of her eighteenth birthday. She could see her love reflected in them and felt the tears prick in hers.
Lex heard her stifled sob and, incapable of staying away from her one minute longer, wrapped her in his arms while kicking the door shut. The sweet apple fragrance of her shampoo invaded his nostrils and, feeling her tremble in his embrace, he sought her lips in a hungry kiss. She tasted of coffee and chocolate mint, and he didn´t seem to get enough of her as he claimed her mouth once more, pleading her to let him deepen the kiss. Chloe snaked her arms around his neck, feeling the smoothness of his scalp with loving hands and revelling in the way his tongue was making love to her mouth.
Lex tasted their salty tears and felt his pulse quicken when her warm hands divested him of his coat and then, his jacket.
¨Chloe, ¨he moaned as she undid the last button on his shirt. ¨Tell me our daughter´s not at home, ¨he murmured, feeling her smile under his lips. ¨Good. It´s taken us too long to find each other again, ¨he added, nibbling her neck.
¨God, I love you, Lex! ¨she answered shivering, as Lex silenced her with a kiss, picked her up and carried her to the sofa.
¨What have we done? ¨asked Chloe sitting up. ¨We´ve got carried away and forgot all about Laura and Alex, ¨said she, freaking out.
¨Chloe...¨he responded soothingly. ¨Everything´s been taken care of, ¨confided Lex, tucking some loose strands of blonde hair behind her ear. ¨I talked with Alex before coming here. I told him the truth, ¨he whispered.
¨You told him they share the same blood, Lex? How did he take it? ¨asked Chloe nervously.
¨I told him to grab happiness with both hands, Chloe. I gave them my sanction. ¨
¨What? ¨asked Chloe outraged, jumping off the sofa.
¨Come here, Chloe, ¨he pulled her back to the couch.
¨But... ¨blurted the blond reporter before he silenced her by putting two fingers on her thoroughly kissed mouth.
¨I´ve got some explaining to do. You see... Alex´s not my son, Chloe. I love him as if he were my own. I´ve given him my name, but I didn´t sire him. He´s known it for some time and kept it to himself. ¨
¨Lana wasn´t unfaithful to you, was she? ¨
¨God, no! She was expecting Alex when I offered her marriage. ¨
¨You knew she was pregnant when you proposed? ¨
¨I did. Knowing the Teagues and what they´re capable of, I offered her my protection. ¨
¨The Teagues? You mean the billionaires who own the largest law firm in Metropolis? ¨
¨Right. Lana fell for Genevieve´s only son, Jason, when she was staying in Paris. When she realised they had been trying to manipulate her as part of a war against the Luthors- it was too late. ¨
¨Are you ever going to stop this hero complex, Lex? ¨
¨Hero complex? I thought that was Clark´s domain, ¨he smirked. ¨Dad called me a knight in shining armour. ¨
¨That you´re not, Lex. ¨she denied.
¨How so?¨ he frowned.
Chloe Sullivan´s no damsel in distress, ¨she quipped, straddling his lap.
¨Independent, are we? ¨he murmured, nibbling at her earlobe and placing his hands on her hips. ¨Chloe? ¨he added, cupping her face in his hands.
¨Mm, ¨she mumbled smiling sleepily.
¨How could I ever forget this? God, you´re so beautiful! What have I done to deserve your love? ¨he asked with a catch in his voice.
¨You made me feel appreciated, Lex. While everyone took me for granted and came to me only when they needed to use me as their own search engine, you saw the real me. I wasn´t truly alive until I loved you, Lex, ´she responded, feeling a tear falling down her cheek.
¨Clark´s a fool. You know that, don´t you? ¨he said, kissing the tear away.
¨I never loved Clark, Lex. Mine was just a childish crush. ¨
¨I´m glad because I´ve no intention of sharing your heart with anyone, ¨ he said passionately.
¨What about Laura? ¨
¨Your heart´s big enough for both of us, Chloe, ¨he stated, and saw her lower her gaze and bite her lower lip.
¨Hey, ¨he murmured, tilting her chin up. ¨ I already love her, Chloe, ¨he added, looking into her misty eyes green orbs. ¨She´s our child. ¨
¨I´m sorry, Lex. ¨she cried. ¨I can´t forgive myself for keeping you two apart. I just... ¨ she sobbed.
¨You don´t have anything to blame yourself for, Chloe, ¨he said, wiping her tears.
¨How can you stand there and tell me that, Lex? You´re her father and you deserved to know the truth. You´ve got every right to hate me for what I´ve done. ¨
¨How could I ever hate you, Chloe? ¨he whispered, resting his forehead against hers. ¨I agree you should have come to me earlier but... the only one I´ll blame for all eternity´s my dad. I knew he hated me but... ¨
¨You know, he had the gall to tell me he did everything because he loved you. ¨
¨That sounds like dad, ¨he responded with the ghost of a smile as a knock was heard on the door.
¨Daddy, is the coast clear? ¨asked a giggling twelve-year-old at the front door.
¨Those are the kids. Shall we make ourselves presentable? ¨he smirked.
¨Lex? ¨she said nervously, tugging at his sleeve. ¨I´m scared. ¨
¨No more than I am, sweetheart, ¨he responded, pressing a kiss on her lips. ¨I´m dying to see what the Sullivan- Luthor gene pool has produced. ¨
Chloe unlocked the door with shaky hands and opened it gently to find Alex, Laura and a freckled red-haired in the corridor.
¨Hi, dad! ¨exclaimed the youngest kid, breaking the tension that electrified the air around them. ¨You look just like Laura, ´she told Chloe with a beaming smile.
¨And you look just like your dad, ¨murmured an emotional Chloe, cupping her cheek and raising her eyes towards Laura.
The young woman was standing upright next to Alex, holding his hand tightly as if he were her lifeline, looking at a point beyond her mother. Chloe grabbed Lex´s left hand and gave him a squeeze. She was so afraid of the way Laura would react.
Young green eyes and steel grey-blue ones locked and studied each other. Chloe thought that, despite her Sullivan looks, Laura was a hundred per cent Lex´s in attitude. Damn that Luthor self-control! Seconds ticked but they felt like hours to Chloe; and then, the world started to spin again and she saw Laura let go off Alex´s hand and rush to where Lex was standing. Chloe felt Lex suddenly hold his breath as their daughter wrapped her arms tightly around him and he struggled with his Luthor-like reserve. ´God, Lex, let go! ´begged Chloe. ´Just show her an ounce of what you did to me but an hour ago and she´ll be yours forever. ´
And then, the miracle of miracles happened, and the younger Luthor closed his arms around his daughter and, burying his nose in her blond hair, said throatily: ¨You´re as beautiful as your mum when she was your age. ¨
¨You´re not half bad yourself, dad, ¨she quipped, wiping her tears with the heels of her hands.
¨I see you´ve also inherited her sense of humour, ¨he smirked.
¨Mum? ¨said Laura, stretching out her arm to take Chloe´s hand.
¨Oh, baby! ¨sobbed Chloe, embracing her tightly and feeling Laura tug at Lex´s hand to bring him into the embrace.
The former Torch reporter breathed relieved for the first time in months. She was aware that they still had a long way to go and several issues to resolve, but it was a beginning. It was the first step to rebuild what Lionel Luthor had tried to destroy so ruthlessly for they have just found their way back.
Author´s Note: the excerpt of the poem included in this chapter is from Dante Gabriel Rossetti´s ´Sudden Light´.
How did you like the ending? What´s your general impression on the fic?
