Title: Metropolis
Author: AmandaG
Summary: Chloe and Lex find themselves leading parallel lives while spending the summer in Metropolis.
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or places contained here in. I just like to take them out and fiddle with them when no one is looking.
E-Mail: ficklemuse02@yahoo.com
Feedback: Replies and reviews are a few of my favorite things...
Author's Notes: I can't apologize enough for how long it's been between chapters-- Writer's block is a bear- but I can promise it won't be anywhere NEAR as long until the next chapter. Chapter 9 is already 2/3 done.
***
Metropolis Grande Hotel:
"Chloe- I've got to find my father and make sure he doesn't make his injuries any worse. I'm going to leave you in Debra's more than capable hands and she'll send you to the ballroom okay?"
"Go. I'm fine."
Left alone with Debra, Chloe gestured to the hanging garment bag. "I really appreciate this."
"Of course Miss. Why don't you step inside and try it on?"
"Does Lex do this a lot?"
"Attend benefits? Quite a few." Debra answered politely and Chloe had to give the older woman serious points for discretion. She knew darn well Chloe wasn't talking about Lex attending parties. She wanted to know how many times he had to arrange for a woman's clothes.
Remembering their earlier kisses, Chloe sighed.
With lips like those he probably did it on a weekly basis.
She wasn't stupid enough to think that Lex Luthor could be compared to anything else in her life. Clark and Pete- they were known entities. She understood, well okay- her track record with understanding Clark had taken a few noticeable hits lately- but the fact remained they were… well in spite of their best efforts, Clark and Pete were *guys*. They liked *guy* things. They talked about *guy* stuff. And they pretty much lived in a *guy* world.
Chloe knew her place in that world. She was the token estrogen, the Darlene to their Alfalfa and Spanky.
But Lex's world was something totally different. None of the usual rules of behavior applied. Lex wasn't 'one of the guys' and Chloe could feel the water just inching up until she had to stand on tiptoes not to be in over her head.
Being around Lex wasn't easy. He was always challenging her for title of Grand PooBaa of Snark. He could be awfully superior for someone only 5 years older than her. Then there was the research she'd done on him when Clark first fished him out of the river. There hadn't been much of anything in the newspapers but friends of friends had remembered Lex very vividly from his days in the clubs like Club Zero and they didn't remember him as a Boy Scout.
But at heart Chloe was a reporter. She only dealt with *facts* not rumors. Who was Lex Luthor based on what she'd seen for herself with her own two eyes?
Smart. Whoever said that the brain was the largest erogenous zone in the body knew what they were talking about. There were times when Chloe was sure that bantering with Lex *had* to be what foreplay was like- slow and satisfying even if it was just one big tease.
Brave. He'd walked into the fertilizer plant to negotiate with Earl Jenkins. Whether his motive was to keep the students safe or safe LuthorCorp's image- it really didn't matter because he'd done it. Walked into the middle of a hostage situation and saved lives. The whole time they'd been in the plant the only thing Chloe could think was 'Please God don't let us die.' And Lex had walked in calmly and got them released while putting his own life at risk.
Fun. Not a word usually associated with the Luthor clan but Lex Luthor was definitely fun; just being around him made everything seem a little more exciting, larger than life. How many men would rescue their dates from a supply closet by picking the lock, take her to the ball in a nice limo and even arrange for a ...
Chloe's jaw dropped as she checked out her reflection in the bathroom mirror.
And even arrange for the most beautiful gown she'd ever seen in her life.
Pearl grey silk didn't so much as hug her body as caress it, sending little shockwaves all over her skin. If she closed her eyes she could almost imagine Lex's hands...
***
Walking through the crowded reception hall, Lex struggled with the urge to strangle his father. Lionel was sitting at the head of a table with a predatory smile on his face. "You know- Mom always told me how smart you were as a kid. I think she wanted me to feel like you understood what it was like to be a gifted child." Lex approached his father with a barely controlled fury. "Considering the stupid God damned stunt you pulled here tonight I'm gonna just have to chalk that up to another of Mom's fairy tales."
"Son. So glad you could make it." Lionel lifted his flute of champagne to Lex. "Although you missed my entrance- it was rather spectacular if I do say so myself."
"And if your entrance gives you a set back that confines you to that wheelchair for the rest of your life will you still consider the evening a rousing success?" Jerking out a chair Lex sat down next to Lionel, running an unsteady hand over his scalp.
In a move that surprised them both- Lionel reached out and placed his hand on Lex's shoulder. "Son. I have no intention of crippling myself for life. Contrary to what you might think- I'm no fool. Yes. I walked into this hall from the front door. But I haven't done any cartwheels or even a limbo. And I walked for a reason."
Lex felt the muscles in his jaw working as he tried to regain some sort of control. "What reason? What's so damned important?"
"We'll discuss it later." Lionel dismissed.
"The hell we will. If you won't tell me now then I will have Enrique pick you up and carry you out of here over his shoulder."
"There are rumors circulating that LuthorCorp is ripe for takeover."
Lex groaned. "There are always rumors. They aren't true. The company's fiscally sound."
"You and I know that Lex. Our stockholders know that as well. But the rumors are enough to cause concern with potential investors and could possibly lead to other corporations attempting takeovers. I won't have it. I have put my life's blood into this company and nothing will take it from me. A show of strength was necessary."
Lex mentally weighed the pros and cons of carrying out his threat of having Lionel carried out of the ballroom. On the plus side it might provide the citizens of Metropolis a great deal of entertainment.
And he couldn't really think of a down side.
But, as much as he loathed Lionel's reasoning Lex couldn't entirely blame him. The international business community wasn't a flock of fluffy bunnies. When they smelled blood in the water it turned into a feeding frenzy. And if anyone was going to take LuthorCorp from his father- Lex wanted to make damn sure it was him.
And he had no intention of doing that until Lionel was back on his feet and on his game 100%.
There would be no hollow victories in the Luthor family.
**
Sensing a victory- albeit a temporary one, Lionel smiled. "Now. Care to tell me where you've been? Of all of your flaws son, tardiness has never been numbered among them."
"Just waiting to make an entrance." Lex replied smoothly.
"And your escort for the evening?"
"She was rather avoidably detained."
Lionel noted the sudden tightening in his son's jaw- a tell that Lex had never quite managed to cure himself of completely. "Oh? Is Miss Sullivan all right?"
"There was an incident at the Daily Planet with another reporter." Lex bit off, annoyance creeping into his tone while he used the raised seating platform to his advantage and scanned the crowd.
"I trust you will deal with the matter?" Lionel prodded.
Holding the hem of her gown, Chloe came to stand between father and son. "No. He won't. It's already taken care of."
"Chloe, so good of you to make it." Lionel motioned to a passing waiter and retrieved a goblet of champagne. He passed it to Chloe who in turn had it intercepted by Lex.
"State liquor laws Dad- look them up some time." Setting aside the glass, Lex rose to his feet and extended a hand to Chloe. "You look exquisite. Will you do me the honor of this dance?"
In reward for Lex's gallant words Chloe favored him with a megawatt smile that seemed to illuminate the entire room.
"I'd be honored kind sir."
"If you'll excuse us Dad." Lex remarked offhandedly, never taking his eyes off the girl in front of him.
It took a great deal of fortitude to keep Lionel from laughing at the wonder of it all.
His son.
His Alexander concerned about corrupting a minor?
At one point in Lex's youth Lionel had been fairly certain that Lex's only goal was to be THE greatest corrupting influence on the face of the earth.
The more Lionel considered the relationship between his son and Chloe Sullivan the more satisfied he was with it.
**
Author: AmandaG
Summary: Chloe and Lex find themselves leading parallel lives while spending the summer in Metropolis.
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or places contained here in. I just like to take them out and fiddle with them when no one is looking.
E-Mail: ficklemuse02@yahoo.com
Feedback: Replies and reviews are a few of my favorite things...
Author's Notes: I can't apologize enough for how long it's been between chapters-- Writer's block is a bear- but I can promise it won't be anywhere NEAR as long until the next chapter. Chapter 9 is already 2/3 done.
***
Metropolis Grande Hotel:
"Chloe- I've got to find my father and make sure he doesn't make his injuries any worse. I'm going to leave you in Debra's more than capable hands and she'll send you to the ballroom okay?"
"Go. I'm fine."
Left alone with Debra, Chloe gestured to the hanging garment bag. "I really appreciate this."
"Of course Miss. Why don't you step inside and try it on?"
"Does Lex do this a lot?"
"Attend benefits? Quite a few." Debra answered politely and Chloe had to give the older woman serious points for discretion. She knew darn well Chloe wasn't talking about Lex attending parties. She wanted to know how many times he had to arrange for a woman's clothes.
Remembering their earlier kisses, Chloe sighed.
With lips like those he probably did it on a weekly basis.
She wasn't stupid enough to think that Lex Luthor could be compared to anything else in her life. Clark and Pete- they were known entities. She understood, well okay- her track record with understanding Clark had taken a few noticeable hits lately- but the fact remained they were… well in spite of their best efforts, Clark and Pete were *guys*. They liked *guy* things. They talked about *guy* stuff. And they pretty much lived in a *guy* world.
Chloe knew her place in that world. She was the token estrogen, the Darlene to their Alfalfa and Spanky.
But Lex's world was something totally different. None of the usual rules of behavior applied. Lex wasn't 'one of the guys' and Chloe could feel the water just inching up until she had to stand on tiptoes not to be in over her head.
Being around Lex wasn't easy. He was always challenging her for title of Grand PooBaa of Snark. He could be awfully superior for someone only 5 years older than her. Then there was the research she'd done on him when Clark first fished him out of the river. There hadn't been much of anything in the newspapers but friends of friends had remembered Lex very vividly from his days in the clubs like Club Zero and they didn't remember him as a Boy Scout.
But at heart Chloe was a reporter. She only dealt with *facts* not rumors. Who was Lex Luthor based on what she'd seen for herself with her own two eyes?
Smart. Whoever said that the brain was the largest erogenous zone in the body knew what they were talking about. There were times when Chloe was sure that bantering with Lex *had* to be what foreplay was like- slow and satisfying even if it was just one big tease.
Brave. He'd walked into the fertilizer plant to negotiate with Earl Jenkins. Whether his motive was to keep the students safe or safe LuthorCorp's image- it really didn't matter because he'd done it. Walked into the middle of a hostage situation and saved lives. The whole time they'd been in the plant the only thing Chloe could think was 'Please God don't let us die.' And Lex had walked in calmly and got them released while putting his own life at risk.
Fun. Not a word usually associated with the Luthor clan but Lex Luthor was definitely fun; just being around him made everything seem a little more exciting, larger than life. How many men would rescue their dates from a supply closet by picking the lock, take her to the ball in a nice limo and even arrange for a ...
Chloe's jaw dropped as she checked out her reflection in the bathroom mirror.
And even arrange for the most beautiful gown she'd ever seen in her life.
Pearl grey silk didn't so much as hug her body as caress it, sending little shockwaves all over her skin. If she closed her eyes she could almost imagine Lex's hands...
***
Walking through the crowded reception hall, Lex struggled with the urge to strangle his father. Lionel was sitting at the head of a table with a predatory smile on his face. "You know- Mom always told me how smart you were as a kid. I think she wanted me to feel like you understood what it was like to be a gifted child." Lex approached his father with a barely controlled fury. "Considering the stupid God damned stunt you pulled here tonight I'm gonna just have to chalk that up to another of Mom's fairy tales."
"Son. So glad you could make it." Lionel lifted his flute of champagne to Lex. "Although you missed my entrance- it was rather spectacular if I do say so myself."
"And if your entrance gives you a set back that confines you to that wheelchair for the rest of your life will you still consider the evening a rousing success?" Jerking out a chair Lex sat down next to Lionel, running an unsteady hand over his scalp.
In a move that surprised them both- Lionel reached out and placed his hand on Lex's shoulder. "Son. I have no intention of crippling myself for life. Contrary to what you might think- I'm no fool. Yes. I walked into this hall from the front door. But I haven't done any cartwheels or even a limbo. And I walked for a reason."
Lex felt the muscles in his jaw working as he tried to regain some sort of control. "What reason? What's so damned important?"
"We'll discuss it later." Lionel dismissed.
"The hell we will. If you won't tell me now then I will have Enrique pick you up and carry you out of here over his shoulder."
"There are rumors circulating that LuthorCorp is ripe for takeover."
Lex groaned. "There are always rumors. They aren't true. The company's fiscally sound."
"You and I know that Lex. Our stockholders know that as well. But the rumors are enough to cause concern with potential investors and could possibly lead to other corporations attempting takeovers. I won't have it. I have put my life's blood into this company and nothing will take it from me. A show of strength was necessary."
Lex mentally weighed the pros and cons of carrying out his threat of having Lionel carried out of the ballroom. On the plus side it might provide the citizens of Metropolis a great deal of entertainment.
And he couldn't really think of a down side.
But, as much as he loathed Lionel's reasoning Lex couldn't entirely blame him. The international business community wasn't a flock of fluffy bunnies. When they smelled blood in the water it turned into a feeding frenzy. And if anyone was going to take LuthorCorp from his father- Lex wanted to make damn sure it was him.
And he had no intention of doing that until Lionel was back on his feet and on his game 100%.
There would be no hollow victories in the Luthor family.
**
Sensing a victory- albeit a temporary one, Lionel smiled. "Now. Care to tell me where you've been? Of all of your flaws son, tardiness has never been numbered among them."
"Just waiting to make an entrance." Lex replied smoothly.
"And your escort for the evening?"
"She was rather avoidably detained."
Lionel noted the sudden tightening in his son's jaw- a tell that Lex had never quite managed to cure himself of completely. "Oh? Is Miss Sullivan all right?"
"There was an incident at the Daily Planet with another reporter." Lex bit off, annoyance creeping into his tone while he used the raised seating platform to his advantage and scanned the crowd.
"I trust you will deal with the matter?" Lionel prodded.
Holding the hem of her gown, Chloe came to stand between father and son. "No. He won't. It's already taken care of."
"Chloe, so good of you to make it." Lionel motioned to a passing waiter and retrieved a goblet of champagne. He passed it to Chloe who in turn had it intercepted by Lex.
"State liquor laws Dad- look them up some time." Setting aside the glass, Lex rose to his feet and extended a hand to Chloe. "You look exquisite. Will you do me the honor of this dance?"
In reward for Lex's gallant words Chloe favored him with a megawatt smile that seemed to illuminate the entire room.
"I'd be honored kind sir."
"If you'll excuse us Dad." Lex remarked offhandedly, never taking his eyes off the girl in front of him.
It took a great deal of fortitude to keep Lionel from laughing at the wonder of it all.
His son.
His Alexander concerned about corrupting a minor?
At one point in Lex's youth Lionel had been fairly certain that Lex's only goal was to be THE greatest corrupting influence on the face of the earth.
The more Lionel considered the relationship between his son and Chloe Sullivan the more satisfied he was with it.
**