Something Old, Something New

Chapter 8: The Truth Comes Out

"That was amazing," Lana sighed, walking through the door and throwing herself down on a couch.

"It's a beautiful show, isn't it?" Kate smiled, happy that she was able to show these country kids some real culture.

Pete frowned a little, "It was kind of depressing, though."

Chloe laughed, "Why do you think it's called 'Les Miserables'? It practically translates to 'The Depressed'."

"At least the lovers lived in the end," Clark said positively.

"And that's all that matters," Lex replied calmly, seating himself across from Lana and loosening his tie.

Kate looked up at him in wonder; she was still intrigued by this new Lex. She had sat next to him at the theatre, and her stomach had been fluttering from the moment they took their seats.

The chemistry between them had been growing since he arrived in Metropolis with the others, and Kate was starting to feel stifled by it. She would have to get rid of him soon, or accept that she had lost the battle and fallen for him again, despite her own ground rules.

"I can't believe we have to leave tomorrow," Chloe lamented.

"So soon?" Kate asked. "I didn't know that."

"Lex ordered his limo for us," Lana said. "We've already missed three days of school."

"Right," Kate smiled at their youth, "School…"

Clark yawned loudly, sending Lana into giggles.

"That sounds like a sign to me," Lex spoke up. "I think I'll be heading to bed."

Kate nodded her agreement, and they all said their goodnights.

Lex walked purposefully towards Kate and kissed her gently on the cheek. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Kate said breathlessly. She felt a flush creeping up to her cheeks, and quickly retreated to her bedroom.

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Kate waved enthusiastically to the group in the limo as it pulled away from the curb. Lex stood beside her, holding his hand up loosely in parting. Four young bodies were poking out of the sunroof, waving cheerfully until they rounded the first corner on their way home to Smallville.

The pair left behind rode the elevator together and entered the Penthouse in silence after seeing their friends off from the lobby. They had had a wonderful time, and Kate was a little sad to see it end.

She was anxious in Lex's presence, and wondered if he could sense it. She wandered the room aimlessly, looking for something to occupy her mind and save her from awkward conversation. Stealing a glance at him, she noticed with a hint of bitterness that he seemed perfectly at ease in their silence. Kate, on the other hand, was going steadily mad.

"This was fun," she said, deliberately putting an end to her wandering by taking a seat on the nearest couch.

Lex nodded his agreement, facing her from his seat on the piano stool. "You'll have to come back to Smallville soon; they'll be missing you."

"Just them?" Kate asked hopefully, knowing full well that she was venturing into dangerous territory.

"No," he replied simply. Lex was debating with himself over Kate – he had felt the spark between them and knew that it was time to tell the truth, but he also knew that it would risk the end of their friendship. What if she ran this time?

"You'd miss me?" she persevered, kicking herself mentally in the process.

Lex had always been a decisive man and he forced himself into a business-like state of mind. He looked up into her eyes and made his decision, "Yes, I'd miss you. I've missed you every day for six years."

Kate swallowed hard, "You have?"

"Yes."

"Then why did you leave?" She surprised herself with the question, and immediately felt the emotion rising within her.

"Let's not live in the past, Kate," Lex said sternly. He felt immediate regret for letting this conversation begin – there was no possible way for them to get through a talk about their past unscathed. He had made the wrong decision.

Kate sighed in frustration, "Okay, forget it. I can't do this Lex; you have to go."

"Go? Why?"

She clasped her hands together and took a deep breath, saying as calmly as she could, "Because I'm in love with you, Lex. I've been in love with you my whole life – but I can't be around you when I'm always wondering when you're going to turn around and leave again."

"You think I wanted to leave you?" Lex was reeling at her emotional confession.

"There's always a choice, Lex, and you didn't choose me." Kate was crying silently, hot tears falling steadily down her cheeks.

"I chose you," Lex said firmly. It was time to tell all. "I spoke to your father after bringing you home from our first real date. He told me that he'd kill me if I hurt you. Before that it had never occurred to me that things might go bad between us. I thought long and hard, and realised that I probably would hurt you, no matter how much I wanted to believe differently. I wasn't a good guy, Kate. You were stupid to fall for me."

"But you're different now," Kate countered. "Why didn't you ever get in touch with me? My father died and you weren't at the funeral, you weren't even going to come to my wedding…"

Lex's emotions boiled over. He left the piano stool and knelt down in front of her, speaking with such purpose that it was almost threatening, "Let me make one thing absolutely clear: I am in love with you. I would rather die than have to sit by and watch while you say 'I do' to any man that isn't me!"

Kate resigned herself to tears.

"Why are you telling me this now?" she whispered eventually. "Do you think it makes things better?"

"No," he said softly. "If anything, it makes things worse. I should have been brave enough to tell you how I felt at the time. But instead, I ran; and now that I'm finally ready to tell you, you're running from me."

"I'm not running," Kate objected. "But I can't handle being left by you twice, Lex. Once was more than enough…"

"I know," he looked into her eyes. "I can't fix mistakes that I've already made; but I can sure as hell keep myself from repeating them."

Kate looked at him questioningly as he stood up, pulling her with him.

He fixed his stare onto her eyes, searching them for some sign. "I'm not letting you run from me," he said with conviction. He had made the right decision after all; he just had to convince Kate that he was worth the chance. "We know the truth now, and I want to risk being with you. What do you think?"

She sighed, "Lex, I…"

"It's 'yes' or 'no', Kate," he interrupted. "Tell me the truth now – are you brave enough to take the chance? I won't say that I'll always get it right, but I will work harder to make you happy than any man has ever worked at anything."

Kate paused for a moment then smiled through her tears, "Can't hurt to try, right?"

Lex shook his head solemnly, "I don't want you to try, Katie. I need to know for sure; can we make this work?"

Kate frowned, knowing that he wanted her to really think before answering. After a long moment she reached up to hug him tightly and whispered in his ear, "I'm not letting go of you again – we'll make it work."

Lex tightened his hold on her, breathing in her scent and revelling in the feeling. She laughed joyfully, planting tiny kisses onto his shoulder as she held him tight.

He pulled away, looking into her eyes and smiling at the happiness he saw there. He put a hand to the back of her neck and leaned in to kiss her soundly.

She smiled deliriously as they pulled away. "I've been waiting years for that," she confessed in a whisper.

Lex laughed, pulling her into another hug. He kissed her hair, saying softly, "Me too."

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The next morning Kate was still filled with the light-headedness of finally being with Lex. They sat on the couch with her legs stretched out across his lap and his hand planted firmly on her knee. They sat in comfortable silence as they sipped at their freshly-made coffee.

"So," Kate said cheerfully, "What are we going to do about your business?"

"No," Lex shook his head firmly. "No business. Let me revel in this for a while."

Kate laughed, "You think I don't know you better than that? You're mind is probably already searching through your business options!"

"You should know that isn't true," Lex said with a devious grin. "My mind is firmly on more important options…"

Kate smiled at the innuendo, and shook her head. "Come on, we need a plan if we're going to get your companies back. What have you been working on while you've been hiding away here?"

"Actually, I was going to proposition you," Lex said, smirking with good humour. Kate hadn't seen him so happy since they were children.

"You've propositioned me several times already," she laughed. "I assume this one is about business…?"

Lex looked her up and down with a grin, and then turned serious. He spoke quickly, "I want to ask you something, but I don't want you to answer straight away. I want you to think about it, alright?"

"What if I want to say 'yes' right away?" Kate asked with a smile.

"Then I want you to think about it from all angles first," he said seriously. "Promise?"

Kate put the jokes aside and put on her business expression, "Alright, I promise."

Lex nodded and took a long sip of his coffee, "I want you to be my investor."

Kate thought for a long moment, "There are several issues from my end – finding the money, getting your father to sell to me in the first place…"

Lex smiled confidently, "This is a business proposal, Kate – it's what I do. Do you really think that I don't have a plan?"