Lex paced up and down the office floor, his brow burrowing down onto his face in anger and impatience. He held his phone in one hand, and a glass of port in the other. He voice was edgy and harsh as he screamed down the receiver. "I don't care how you find her just do it! No that will not be acceptable!" He paused for a beat. "Because she's my fiancée that's why!" Another pause. "Sheriff, do you have family of your own?" Lex asked curtly. "Well, if you ever want to get within five hundred feet of them again I suggest you stop making excuses and find my partner."
He slammed the phone down on the desk. Frustrated, he took another swig of the sweet fortified wine dancing in his glass. If his day had been bad, the night had been horrific. Lois had now been missing for three hours; the ransom call had come in one hour ago. His security team had traced the call, and rushed to the pinpoint. They had searched the building, but no trace of the future Mrs. Luthor had been found. Lex had not yet given up hope, but the wrenching feeling in the pit of his stomach refused to go away. As he stared down at the old desk, a familiar voice filled his ears. "Subtle as always Lex."
Lex caught his breath in the back of his throat, and spun round to face a vision so dearly missed in its absence. "Lois?" He whispered.
"Last time I checked." Lois answered simply, striding up the office in a manner not befitting the circumstances she had just escaped from. Her immoveable will one of the many things Lex found intoxicating about her. He smiled incitingly as he, and in turn moved closer to her.
"Lois, I thought I'd lost you." He crooned, stroking the hair from her face. He pulled her into his embrace, fondling her curves, and letting his despairs melt into desires.
"You should be so lucky." Lois muttered into his chest, her body reacting to Lex's caress, but her mind far more stern. She pulled back and stood facing Lex, her feet apart and her arms crossed. "Lex," She said flatly. "What exactly were you planning to do to Nancy's family?"
"Just an idle threat I assure you." He smiled, Lois' attempt to seize the floor greatly amusing him. "Sometimes it takes harsh words to get something done." He said blatantly.
Lois just stood, as if to attention, her face impenetrable. "Like it takes half your personal security squad, machine-gunning down a warehouse, to escort someone out?" She shot back, determined not to be ousted from her argument by Lex. That had happened too many times before.
"Well, it worked. You got out." Lex coyed, Lois' little show of power was pleasing him. He smirked; taking a step closer to her, which Lois instinctively took two steps back from, keeping her composure all the time.
She looked him up and down, and then glared straight ahead, the ferocity of her stare causing Lex to flinch just a little. Even this though was enough to give Lois the vigour to carry on. For Lex, to whom feminism was a foreign concept, to show any kind of weakness in front of the determined young woman was a moral victory.
"Oh yes, of course, because that's all that matter's here isn't it?" Lois stated. "I got out so you're happy, and as long as Lex is happy nothing else matters. People could have been killed Lex. In fact, if Clark hadn't pulled me under that table…"
"Clark?" Lex snapped suddenly, his amusement spent, his eyes flashed momentarily with jealously tinged with hatred.
"Yes Lex, Clark." Lois continued, undeterred by Lex's sudden vicious features. "You see, he actually had the balls to come save me, not just send some half-educated goon squad to cut me to ribbons. Okay," She receded. "His actions might have been hasty and stupid, but at least they were admirable."
For a moment Lex eyes glazed over, whether through concentration or ripe hatred, it didn't matter. Once again, his pitiful excuse for a best friend was the thorn in his backside.
The wheels in his head went into overdrive, until finally, he phrased his justification. "Lois, Lois, Can't you see, don't you understand?" Lex sighed, seemingly sincerely. "I wanted to go to you. I really, truly did. But Clark… Clark." He paused just for a second, to catch the look of misunderstanding on Lois' face. She looked lost, just how he needed her. "Well," Lex continued. "He told me not to. He said he didn't think I could have handled it if the worst had happened. He seemed, incandescent. He ordered me to stay. I don't think I could have refused. You see Lois, I wanted to save you, but Clark, he stopped me. He has this, need, to always be the hero." Lex took Lois in his embrace once again, looking into her face, seeing if his story had gotten through.
Lois just stared at the ground, seemingly beaten. Slowly, in a soft voice she said, "Really? Well then of course that changes everything." Lex smiled, pulling her in closer, only to find himself suddenly stopped. Lois had quite literally put her foot down, wedging herself away from her lover. She lifted her head suddenly, giving Lex the full ferocity of her stare. He blinked, taken back.
"You see Lex," Lois said firmly. "I came here tonight with the intention to try and move past this idiocy. I thought that perhaps I could turn a blind eye, like I always seem to, to this whole mess. Like I do with your questionable business practices, your authoritarian approach to this relationship. Or, here's a good one, how about your father's sudden disappearance? I've never once questioned you about that, because I was negligent enough to think that relationships should be built on trust." She paused, allowing her words to sink in. "But you really think I could carry on doing that after you feed me such bull-shit? And then, on top of everything else, you try to pin your misgivings on my best friend. If you think I can then, please, explain it to me, because I sure as Hell can't." She shook herself free from his grip, which had become increasingly tight.
"Lois, I'm sorry you feel that way." Lex said, trying to keep his composure. He balled his hands up into fists, anger and indecency coursing through his veins.
"No you're not Lex," Lois continued, herself becoming more heated with each passing blow. She wanted to scream, to yell, but she knew the second she did she would lose whatever authority she had in the argument. Instead, she just allowed her voice to sneer and slur.
"Because feeling sorry involves having empathy, which involves having a heart. You don't own a heart Lex, just a shard of ice." She spat.
Something inside of Lex snapped. He raised his hand and struck Lois across the face, the force throwing her to the ground. "How dare you say that?" He screamed. "How dare you say that? After everything I've given you, everything I'm offering you. I know exactly what girls like you are after." He sneered, leaning menacingly over Lois as she started to rise to her feet. He threw aside his port glass and grabbed Lois by the hair. Kneeling down he yanked her head up to his. "You're all the same!" He yelled. "You want a big home, finical security, diamonds and champagne. And I'm foolishly willing you give you that Lois Lane, because despite what you might think, I actually do love you. You'll never have to work. You'll never have to cook. You'll have all the time in the world to raise my children." He cast her down to the ground once again, and stood hauntingly over her.
Lois crouched down on the floor, her head ringing, her passion lit. She glared up at Lex, like a lioness ready to pounce. "Really? Well, that sounds like Hell. Lex, you might be lord of half the world; you'll not own me as well. I won't be your trophy." She stood up, squaring up to him.
"And whose trophy exactly do you plan on being?" Lex mocked, his eyes blazing. "A policeman's? A novelist's? A farmer's? I'm offering you the world Lois Lane. Do you really want to be a poor man's wife over a rich man's queen? What more can I offer you? What do I have to do to make you see that I love you?"
"Lex…" Lois laughed manically, and then, suddenly calmed, as the impact of the last two days finally caught up with her. She swallowed deeply. "As long as there's no price on love, I'll stay." She sighed. "And you wouldn't want me any other way."
She slipped the diamond ring off her finger and, after placing it on the desk, walked out of the office, where Lex just stood, dumbfounded.