Chapter 17
Lex tugged Diana over to the sleek black leather sofa in the windowed corner of his office that looked out over Metropolis and pulled her down to sit next to him, but he almost immediately let go of her hand to rub his head again in frustration.
"Tell me what's going on," Diana said gently, looking at Lex with worried eyes. Lex let out a nervous laugh, which sounded quite odd coming from the great business magnate and evil genius.
"Diana, Diana," he said slowly as he sighed. He turned his head to look at her and picked her hand back up in his.
"I am not accustomed to feeling insecure about anything," Lex admitted quietly as he played with her fingers.
"I can imagine," Diana said with a little smile that Lex responded to with a dry chuckle.
"And here I am, with you," Lex said, "plagued with fears that any day now you'll come to your senses and call things off."
"No," Diana said firmly, shaking her head, but Lex gave her a piercing look.
"I know you're upset about more than the fact that Shayera is your friend," he said, referencing Shayera and Bruce's new romance, and even though Lex said it mildly enough, Diana flushed. "We both know you were in love with Bruce," Lex said to her. "Hell, I tried to help you get together with him at the dance. Not even a week ago," he said in bemused disbelief.
"I'm not stupid enough to think that the feelings you had for him will disappear overnight," Lex said, "or insensitive enough to think that it's not natural for you to be hurt that he's dating someone else. But…" he trailed off for a moment before rallying himself to finish. "It's harder to see you upset over him than I would like it to be."
Diana sighed and squeezed Lex's fingertips.
"I hate feeling the way I do about him," she said. "I've been so happy with you, Lex; happier than he ever made me feel. But it hurts that he could move on so quickly. All that time the two of us were in love and he never wanted to date me. Now I blink and he's with Shayera and it makes me feel worthless," she sniffed.
"Diana, you are the complete opposite of worthless," Lex said in wonder. "I'm stunned that he ever rejected you." Diana shrugged.
"You know what he said?" she asked Lex and he shook his head. "He said I wanted too much from him. Me. Who only wanted to give love and happiness to him. But he didn't want happiness," she said bitterly. "Apparently, Batman likes being miserable. Except somehow it's ok for him to be happy with Shayera but not with me." Lex pressed his shoulder into hers.
"To be fair, Shayera's only resemblance to an angel is the wings. She's full of darkness," Lex said. "You're the one full of light. And Bruce's head is so far up his ass that of course he prefers being in the dark," Lex said and Diana giggled, but she looked at Lex in some amazement.
"Lois said almost exactly the same thing," she mused. "About both of them, actually. Although she said Bruce was an asshole, not that his head was up one, but, you know," Diana smiled. "Close enough. She said I was out of Bruce's league."
"Lois Lane is a wise woman," Lex said, smiling back at her. "Although, if she thought you were out of Bruce's league, I shudder to think what she's said about me."
"Actually," Diana said, "she told me not to screw things up with you." Lex's eyebrow shot up.
"We need to go find the real Lois Lane," he said, "because clearly her Bizarro self was the one speaking to you." Diana laughed a little bit, but some tears were starting in the back of her eyes.
"I hate that I'm hurting you because of old baggage with Bruce," she said with regret. "You're the one I want to be with," she said, looking into Lex's eyes and knowing she meant it. Because Bruce's eyes only ever filled her with helpless desperation and longing. But Lex's filled her with safety and comfort and happiness.
And hope, Diana suddenly realized. Hope for a future that was full of love and family with a supportive partner who would give her the romance and friendship that she knew she deserved.
Lex must have liked what he saw in Diana's gaze, because his hand was reaching up to cradle her cheek as he kissed her, more sweetly and less intensely than he had been a few minutes ago, but it felt more intentional. And one of the things that Diana appreciated so much about Lex was his deliberate nature. If he did something, he meant it, and that filled Diana with confidence when the things that he did were for her.
"Tell me why you wanted to wait for sex," Diana said as she pulled back from Lex's lips a little bit. "You must have had a good reason," she said, rubbing his arm a little bit, "and I'm not going to take advantage of you if you're being impulsive and it's not what you really want," she said seriously. Lex sighed.
"I'm afraid you'll leave me," he said honestly. "And if you do, and I've made love to you - and mind you, that is not a phrase or an act or an emotion that I've ever been familiar with - so, if you leave me after that, I will burn the world down," he said in a voice that sounded suspiciously like he wasn't exaggerating.
"Especially knowing I'm your first…?" he confirmed with her and she nodded. Which couldn't help but bring a tender smile to his face as he stroked her cheek. Diana's eyes glowed a little brighter as she smiled back at him and gave him another soft kiss.
"So we should wait," Diana said, bringing her own palm up to lay on his cheek, "until you're sure that I'm not going anywhere. Ok?" she asked him. "And I'm not, Lex," she promised him. "But I'm also not stupid enough to think that you should trust me after only a week, especially with this tangled mess of emotions I have around Bruce. Which I believe will get better," she told him, shifting to lay her head on Lex's shoulder.
"I don't blame you for how you feel," Lex said kindly. "You wouldn't be you if you didn't love the unlovable," he said and Diana giggled.
"You are not unlovable," she protested.
"Of course not," Lex teased. "I was only talking about Bruce." Diana smiled and nestled her head into him tighter.
"I might get over Bruce faster if you and me spend more time together," she said thoughtfully.
"My genius is rubbing off on you," Lex said with approval, pulling her hand up to his mouth so he could kiss her palm. "Spend as much time with me as possible," he told her. He hesitated, but then he said, "Honestly, Diana, I have a spare bedroom. Anytime you're not working and you want to spend the evening and the night, you can. I'll give you a keycard tonight."
Diana's face lit up. "I'd love that," she said happily. "The Watchtower has never felt so far away from Earth as it's felt this week," she said, and the corners of Lex's eyes crinkled up in delight.
"Oh," she said, "could we have Lois and Clark over for dinner tonight? At your penthouse? Lois said she'd be willing to try one dinner." Lex laughed out loud.
"That brave woman," he said. "She must really love you," he added and Diana smiled.
"I think she does, actually," she said with pleasure, but then she frowned and groaned. "I was a real ass to Clark today, though," she moaned as Lex raised an eyebrow.
"I find that impossible to believe," he said but Diana shook her head.
"No, I was horrible," she said. "Upset and emotional, yes. But inexcusably rude. So they'll only come if Clark is willing to let me apologize tonight."
"I'm sure the Boy Scout will be fine," Lex said soothingly. "He'll eat up that apology until he has no room left for dinner," he teased her but Diana laughed because it was very nearly true. "I need to meet Aquaman down at the docks at midnight to give him the nuclear codes," Lex said. "You'll come with me?" he asked her hopefully. "And stay the night?" Diana smiled and nodded.
"Do you want to come with me to Themyscira when I give the codes to my mother?" she asked him. "Is it too soon to meet her? You can't come on the island, of course, but I can land my plane on the water and bring her out to you there, if she's willing."
"I'd be honored to meet your mother," Lex said warmly, reaching up to run a hand through Diana's hair. "Providing she doesn't try to kill me for marrying her daughter." Diana giggled.
"I won't let her," she said.
"Ok, then," Lex said with a smile in his eyes. "Tell me about Shayera," he said, nudging her shoulder as he changed topics. "Bruce said you were angry with her. She's also one of your friends?" Diana sighed heavily.
"Yes. She was. And then wasn't. And then I thought we were reconnecting, but…" Diana's eyes started to fill with tears and she brushed them away impatiently as Lex pulled his arm up and settled it around her shoulders, tugging her in close for a hug.
"She was the only person who didn't judge me for dating you," Diana said to him as she wrapped her arm around his chest. "And she was so supportive about how badly Bruce had hurt me. Then she turns around and gets together with him! How could she…?" Diana asked Lex brokenly, fighting more tears. Lex looked at her thoughtfully.
"I suppose," he said slowly, "that it's completely unlikely for two people with a platonic connection to suddenly realize how right they are for each other and fall in love." Diana looked at him suspiciously. "And," Lex went on, "because that's so impossible a situation, they're naturally only getting together in order to betray and hurt all of their closest friends," he said with a growing twinkle in his eye.
Diana groaned loudly and buried her face in his shoulder.
"Dammit, Lex!" she said as he started to chuckle.
"Baby, I know it hurts to have the shoe on the other foot," he said, cuddling her closer as he kissed her head. Diana made more unhappy sounds before looking back up at him.
"Now I think I need to talk to John, too," she said.
"The Green Lantern?" Lex asked her. "What's happening with him?"
"He's been so angry at me for dating you," Diana said with a sigh. "So angry, Lex. And very rude about it, but… I haven't tried to reach out to him, either," she said with regret. "Well," Diana said guiltily, "except for tattling to him today that Bruce was dating his ex," she moaned in embarrassment. Lex laughed softly.
"I'm such a mess, Lex," Diana said in frustration.
"You're only human, Diana," Lex said fondly. "Or - well - you know what I mean," he said.
"Mm-hm," Diana said discontentedly. "I used to think I was better than this," she said. Lex smiled.
"If you were perfect, where would that leave me?" he asked her playfully. "I like you with some flaws," he said, reaching up to stroke her face. "Villainy is such a turn on," he murmured and Diana laughed out loud and reached her hand up to pull his head close for a kiss.
"Don't get used to it," she warned him. "I happen to find heroics quite appealing, myself," she smiled.
"You may be out of luck there with me," Lex chuckled, "but I could borrow Clark's cape sometimes if that would suffice." Diana laughed into Lex's teasing eyes but she shook her head.
"You are the kindest person I've ever met," she said to him. "It's my favorite thing about you." Lex raised an eyebrow.
"I'm kind?" he asked her. Diana nodded.
"So kind," she said. "To the reporters, and Carlos your pilot, and those executives today. You remembered everyone's name, Lex. And Tess clearly thinks the world of you. Honestly," Diana said, "based on your personalities, you should be the hero and Bruce should be the villain." Lex busted out in a hearty laugh.
"Oh, do tell him that," he said as his shoulders continued to shake. Diana smiled.
"I might," she said with satisfaction. "If he ever yells at me again."
"Such a villain," Lex teased, giving her another kiss.
"I felt insecure today, too," Diana admitted to him. "About you."
"About me?" Lex said in surprise.
"Tess was wearing such a sexy dress," Diana said, "and she gets to spend all day with you, every day, and you two know each other so well. I got a little nervous," she said shyly. "Until she told me she was married."
"Oh, Diana," Lex said, hugging her tightly with both arms. "I've never been interested in Tess. She's a wonderful secretary," he said. "But not my type. She's far too flirty and over the top when she's interested in a man. Unlike my sultry and quietly seductive Wonder Woman," he said with a heated glance. "And she's far too valuable to my sanity, in any case, to ever risk destroying our professional relationship."
"She didn't seem to be interested in you, either," Diana said with relief. Lex laughed.
"Oh, no, Tess wants a man who falls all over her," he said. "Who she can wrap around her little finger while she leads him around. That's why I introduced her to Axel. He's ridiculously happy panting after her." Diana laughed.
"I pity anyone who tries to wrap you around their finger," she said. Lex gazed at her adoringly.
"That's partly why I love you," he said. "You don't have any interest whatsoever in controlling me but you don't seem to realize that you have complete power over me." Diana's eyes softened and she snuggled closer into Lex's chest as he held her.
They stayed like that for a few minutes until Diana said, "I know you have more work to do. I might be a welcome distraction, but I seem to recall you were going to look over some numbers and put an offer together for the DeLorean car company." Lex sighed.
"Unfortunately, yes," he said reluctantly. "But then I'll be free for dinner tonight. You can hang out here in my office while I work, though," he told her. "Or take my credit card and go out."
"You're so good to me, Lex," Diana said to him lovingly.
"Not nearly as good as you are to me," Lex said sincerely.
Back on the Watchtower, Vixen had been slightly hurt when John didn't come back to the commissary after his blow-up with Batman to tell her he was going down to Earth or to even send her a text to that effect. J'onn had thoughtfully filled her in, though, that he had instructed John to rest at home for a few days and Vixen wasn't an idiot. She knew that John still had feelings for Shayera and that he was reeling from learning that she was dating again.
But Vixen also knew her man well enough to know that Batman's betrayal was probably hurting him worse. John took loyalty and his code of honor so seriously. There was nothing that he wouldn't do for one of his old war buddies, no matter how busy he was with League business or his own life. And Vixen knew that to a soldier, they'd all do the same for him.
The trouble was, John had considered Batman to be almost as close of a friend. She couldn't imagine how painful it was for John to learn that Batman was with his ex, and to not even hear it from his friend himself. For a man like John, that wound would be deep and Vixen prayed that it wouldn't be irreparable. John needed Batman's friendship in the League. He'd often told her how he felt that the Bat was the only one who really understood his military perspective and without him coming out and saying so, Vixen had heard John's frustrated sense of isolation from the other Founders.
But John wasn't the type of man who necessarily welcomed comfort and care-taking with open arms, so Vixen figured she'd give him space to cool off and grieve for the rest of the day. In the morning, though… in the morning Vixen would definitely swing by his apartment to check on him. Maybe take him out for a nice breakfast to that diner he liked. And if nothing else, she could offer a sympathetic listening ear.
She sighed to herself and hoped that she'd find John feeling a little bit better after a good night's sleep. Troubles always seemed a little less gloomy by the light of a new day, right?
