Disclaimer: not mine.
A.N. hammered this out in about an hour, so blame that for any typos. Sorry for the delay, holidays and such.
"Your knuckles are bruised." he said flatly.
She looked down from the computer screen to her right hand as it easily navigated the mouse across the grey, matte pad. It would be a lie for her to say that she hadn't noticed. Such a blatant lie that she was almost tempted to say it anyway, throwing in a knowing look so he would drop it. Then she considered the fact that he never dropped things, not matter how mundane or inconsequential. He never dropped things even though he knew he was only harming both of them by picking at it. Not for the first time, she imagines him as a child with perpetual open wounds because he refuses to let them scab over.
She set her jaw and formed a firm expression as she types something into the search space on the screen. The tendon leading back from her index finger burns whenever she moves it. The longer she types the more intense the pain becomes until it's hot needles along her knuckles.
"Yep, those are bruises." she finally replies, actively avoiding his gaze. He pulls a straight backed chair out from under the glass table and sits next to her. He looks at her like she's the most fascinating thing to cross his path all day. To be perfectly honest, she probably is. She continues to type feeling his gaze roam over her face them back down to her black and blue knuckles. The minutes stretch by and still he says nothing. She still hasn't looked at his face, but she knows that she'd find a pensive expression there if she did.
"Lex! Are you going to sit there and watch me type all night?" she bursts with frustration.
"That depends."
"Oh?" her voice carries a note of exasperation. They both know what it depends on.
"Where'd you get the bruises."
She winces. He sounded upset. She told herself it was the pain. "It's a boring story. Why don't you go order dinner from the kitchen, I was thinking stir fry." His gaze never wavers, he just kept on perusing her face and hand with calculating eyes.
"You know what it looks like to me?" he asks. She shrugs. "It looks like you punched someone. God knows I've had the same bruises before. And I know you have too."
She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, still not wanting to meet his line of sight. It was really was such a stupid thing. She should have controlled her temper. She could take the whispers. The glares of betrayal her coworkers shoot at her back when she walked by. The post it notes baring the words 'traitor' and 'What are you thinking' and 'He's going to use you' the magically appeared at her desk when she gets back from the bathroom. She could even take the expression of disappointment in Lois's and Clark's eyes that had been present ever since they had found out. She could take that and she had. With poise and determination, which was how Chloe Sullivan did all things, at least in her minds eye.
It really was such a stupid thing. She didn't even know his name, she just knew he was a thirty- something year old who had never ran a front page story, too talentless or lazy to ever rise above obituaries and wedding announcements. He was leaning over the side of his cubical as she strode by, late for her daily lunch with Lois, crossing her fingers that Clark wouldn't join them.
"Hey Sullivan, I guess those rumors about LexCorp experimenting with mind control were true. Were you their first success or what?"
There weren't really any legitimate thoughts in her brain as she reeled her arm back, punched him in the jaw, and then pulled a tissue out of her purse and handed it to him.
"For your lip." she explained as he took the Puffs out of her hand, somewhat dazed. "It's bleeding."
She didn't go to lunch with Lois, she didn't even go back to work. She just hailed a cab and went to his apartment, opening the door with the key he had given her weeks before, when they were still a secret from the world. Before the post it notes and the disappointment. She sat down in front of the computer and stared at her hand for hours, eventually moving hastily to appear like she had been working when she heard his key in the lock.
"You know, back in Smallville, all I'd have to do is climb the water tower with a bucket of paint to defend your honor. I guess here more forceful measures are needed."
She looked up in shock when a full throated chuckle burst out of his mouth. He clutched at his stomach as the laughs proceeded to become somewhat hysterical.
"You punched someone for me! For my honor!"
"Well, it was for my honor, too!" she shot at him, somewhat offended. Lex shook his head in disbelief and let out another laugh.
"I'll punch you if you don't stop laughing at me! Why do you find this so funny?" She spat.
Lex shook his head again and took her hands, being careful to not squeeze the right one too hard, and pulled her into his lap.
"Chloe Sullivan, you punched someone in the face for me. Not just me, my honor, the honor you don't even think I have half the time. I'm sorry, but this act has exposed you." He informed her.
"Exposed what?" she whined.
He sighed mockingly. "I'm afraid you really are in love with me."
She grinned, relieved he wasn't angry with her actions, and moved to straddle his waist. Neither of them had even breathed the word love since that first afternoon when she found him in her living room.
"I think I can deal with you knowing that." she muttered, pressing kisses along his jaw and smoothly ridding him of his button down shirt. He took her hands and prevented her from going further.
"I am sorry. I'm sorry that you have to put up with this, that you have to…'defend my honor.' I wouldn't put you through this if I didn't love you too." he said sincerely.
Chloe smiled serenely. "I know that." she whispered.
They stared at each other for a few quiet moments, letting the knowledge that this, they , them, was really happening sink in.
"Well, now that we've gotten that out of the way," Lex said brightly as he finished unbuttoning his shirt, "back to work."
Chloe rolled her eyes, "Yes, sir."