Title : First Impressions
Author : Ultrawoman
Rating : PG
Pairing : Chloe/Lex
Spoilers : Just Shimmer and Lineage, I think.
Disclaimer : All characters (except Alexis Luthor) are the property of DC Comics and/or the WB.
Summary : At least Lex Luthor made one good first impression in his life...
A/N : Short story - one chapter only. All feedback is appeciated.
"Mommy, when did you first meet Daddy?" little Alexis Luthor beamed up at her mother with a cute and inquisitive expression. At eight years old, she was already tall for her age, she got that from her father, and her intelligence came from both her parents. From her mother, she had also gained the longing to be a reporter one day and with it an important asset - a curious streak.
Chloe pulled her daughter up onto her lap and sighed.
"I think I've told you this story before"
"But I wanna hear it again, please Mommy" the child whined and Chloe gave in with a second sigh and a smile.
"Okay. Well, your Daddy and I first met when I was still in High School and I was in charge of the Torch..."
"The school newspaper" the red-headed child filled in the gap.
"Yes, that's right" Chloe continued, "Your Daddy was best friends with Uncle Clark and I thought he had come to the Torch office to see him, but he said he was in school talking to the principal about business and he had stopped by the office to meet me, because my father, your Grandad Gabe, had told him all about me"
"Because Grandad Gabe worked for Daddy" Alexis filled another gap in the story she knew so well.
"Who's telling this story?" Chloe grinned but the child on her knee looked as serious as she did innocent.
"Oh, you are, Mommy" she assured her, "So what did Daddy say to you?"
"He said he was pleased to meet me and he shook my hand and I remember thinking he seemed like a very nice man" Chloe smiled, "and we talked about a project I was doing" she referred to her 'Wall of Weird', "and then he left. It's not a very interesting, Lexi" she smiled at her daughter, "I can't understand why you like it so much"
"Because as soon as you met Daddy, you knew you loved him, didn't you?" the child explained.
"Well, yes, I suppose I did" Chloe admitted.
"And I guess that's why they call it love at first sight" a voice came from the doorway.
"Daddy!" Alexis shrieked as she jumped from her mothers lap and ran towards Lex. He bent down and scooped her up in his arms.
"Hello angel" he said, hugging his daughter tightly and carrying her back to the sofa where his wife sat.
"Hi beautiful" he smiled, giving Chloe a quick kiss, which caused Alexis to giggle. Lex just smiled as he sat down with the child on his knees.
"Shall I tell you and Mommy a secret, Lexi?"
The red-headed child nodded, furiously making both her parents smile.
Lex dropped his voice to a whisper and leaned in toward his wife and daughter for effect.
"The story your Mom just told you wasn't true. We'd met before that"
"Lex, don't tell her that" Chloe scolded, "I thought we were teaching her the value of the truth"
"I am telling the truth, Chloe" he assured her with a smirk and ignoring his wife's confusion he turned his focus to the child on his knee.
"Do you want to hear the real story of how your Mommy and I met?"
Another rapid nod told him she did and Chloe just stared and listened intently as Lex began his explanation.....
"Once upon a time there was a little girl, who looked a lot like you Lexi, but this little girl had blonde hair. This little girls Daddy was in an important meeting and so she had to wait for him out in the foyer of the big office block until he could come and take her home again..."
Chloe was miserable and bored. The foyer of the Luthorcorp building in Metropolis was the last place the eight year old wanted to be. It was a school day, but Chloe hadn't been feeling well so her father, Gabe, had given her the day off. He had a meeting in the morning that he had to attend but he planned to be as quick as possible so he could take his daughter home and look after her for the rest of the day.
Gabe knew it would not be a good idea to take a small child, especially and inquisitive one with a cold, into a meeting with Lionel Luthor, and so at nine o'clock he had placed his daughter on a chair in the foyer with the promise he would be back before the big hand on his watch got to the six. So there she was, a small blonde child with a wad of Kleenex in one hand for her nose and her Daddy's watch clutched tightly in the other.
The big hand had just reached the three when the doors to the elevator opened.
"Daddy!" Chloe called in anticipation, but instead of her father, she saw a young boy. Unfortunately, her outburst had caught his attention and he came running over to her.
"Who are you?" he asked her with a nasty edge to his voice.
"I don't have to tell you that" she sniffed as she answered, checking the latest position of the hands on the watch in her hand.
The boy, who was only slightly older but quite a bit taller than Chloe, was transfixed by the shiny object.
"Let me see that" he said making a grab for the watch.
"No, it's my Daddy's and you can't have it" she said, trying to pull the watch out of his reach.
The child just grinned, evilly, and easily removed the time piece from the little girls grasp.
"Give it back! Give it back!" Chloe cried, hopping down from her chair.
"No, it's mine now" the nasty boy sneered, holding the watch up as high as he could so that no matter how much Chloe stretched to reach for it, it was impossible.
"Give her the watch back" a voice said suddenly, causing both Chloe, and the kid with the watch, to turn abruptly. Another boy, obviously older than the other two children by at least four or five years, stood near the staircase. He wore black jeans, a T-shirt and a baseball cap.
"I said, give her the watch back" he repeated, coming closer.
The younger boy, obviously intimidated, practically threw the watch at Chloe before literally running away.
"Thankyou" Chloe no more than whispered, holding the watch tightly to her chest.
"You're welcome" the young man answered, smiling now. He watched as Chloe climbed back onto the seat she had been on before and then he moved to sit next to her.
"I have a special watch too" he told her. "My Mom gave it to me, before she died" he showed her the special keepsake on his wrist - a beautiful silver watch in which the face was made of a golden coin with the head of Napoleon on it.
"It's pretty" Chloe admitted, "This is my Daddy's watch" she said, daring to release her grip on it a little to show the boy next to her, "I don't have a Mommy anymore either - she left us" she explained, sadly.
"I know it's hard, but everything will be okay. So long as one person's love you, you can be happy, Chloe" the young man told her.
"How do you know my name?" she was curious and a little worried now.
"It's magic" the boy smiled, "I have to go now" he added standing up and starting to walk away.
"Wait" Chloe called, hopping off of her chair again. The boy stopped and turned back, to see what she wanted.
"Thankyou" she said, as she pulled herself up on her tip toes and placed a kiss on the young man's cheek.
He did not have time to say anything in reply as the elevator doors opened once again and this time Gabe stepped out.
"Ready to go now, Princess?" he asked.
"Yes Daddy" Chloe nodded and smiled, "I just..." she turned back to where her 'new friend' had stood but he was already gone....
".....and from that day forward the little girl believed love and in magic" Chloe concluded with a smile.
Lex sighed as he noticed his daughter was now asleep on his lap.
"Was it really that boring?" she asked.
Chloe grinned.
"No, she's just had a long day" she explained, before adding "I can't believe I never realised that was you. Why didn't you tell me before, Lex?"
"It never seemed necessary" he told her honestly.
"So you knew all along that we'd met before?"
"Yes, Chloe, always. I would never forget my first impression of you. You were the sweetest, most beautiful girl I'd ever seen, and you still are" he leaned over and kissed her gently.
"Y'know, you were the first guy, other than my father, that I ever kissed. Even though it was only on the cheek" she smiled.
"And you were the first girl, other than my mother, to ever have kissed me" he admitted.
"Looks like we made quite a first impression on each other, and I never even realised" Chloe smiled.
"I just wish the first impression I made on other people was as impressive as the one I made on you" Lex replied, bitterly, also looking down at the child he held.
"That doesn't matter Lex" Chloe looked up at her husband now, "You told me that day, that you only need one person to love you in order to be happy, and you were right, and you have the advantage of at least two people who love you very much" she explained, meaning, of course, herself and Alexis.
"And you two are all I need" he smiled, thankful that he had made at least one good impression in his life.