Chapter 7
Steph couldn't stop her hands from nervously fidgeting in the backseat of the limo as Mercy Graves drove her and Lex to their rich-person's super-short-notice Saturday afternoon OB/GYN appointment that Lex apparently hadn't had a smidgen of trouble making for her.
Lex reached over with the arm that wasn't wrapped around her shoulders and squeezed her hands tight in his. Steph let out a shaky sigh, squeezing back and taking guilty comfort in the flood of reassurance that Lex's touch washed through her soul.
"What are you anxious about?" Lex gently asked her. Steph chewed on her lips and looked down at their joined hands, both of her smaller ones wrapped tight around his big one like he was her life line.
"I'm so excited now about being pregnant," Steph whispered. "What if - what if the test was wrong?" she asked Lex, hating the lump in her throat and the fear in her heart.
She should be glad if she wasn't actually pregnant. Steph knew this. She could go back to Gotham and put this crazy fling with Lex behind her. Go right back to Batgirl and her carefully mapped out life. Forget the most amazing man she'd ever dated. Put chubby cheeks and onesies and tiny feet on hold (again) -
"Well," Lex said thoughtfully. "If you're not pregnant, we'll turn around, go home, and get you pregnant," he said smugly. Steph burst out laughing (not in relief. Definitely not in relief) and turned her face towards Lex.
"Really?" she asked him, which was so stupid. Stupid stupid stupid danger warning Bat-alert, Bat-alert -
"Absolutely," Lex replied in a smoky, heated voice with an intensity simmering in his eyes that melted Steph's fears into an evaporating steam. "I'm excited, too, about our baby," Lex pointed out. "In case you hadn't noticed," he smirked at her, one corner of his mouth tilting up in crinkled amusement. Steph reached a hand up to his neck and leaned in and kissed him full of promises that she absolutely should not be making.
I still have my birth control, she promised herself. If we go bare, I can double up on my pills tonight since I skipped yesterday, she reassured her lingering bits of sanity. And I can get the morning-after pill tomorrow when I go home. It'll be fine fine fine -
The intimate, lovestruck way that Lex was smiling at her when they pulled apart was way more than fine.
Dammit.
"Well, you're definitely pregnant," Dr. Jenkins said cheerfully when she re-entered the swanky exam room.
Steph's ragged cry slipped out involuntarily as her shoulders slumped in relief. Lex beamed down at her, blinking tears away himself before hugging her tighter into his arms and pressing tender kisses into her hair. Dr. Jenkins smiled at them.
"I'm so pleased to be able to give you good news," she said warmly. "Congratulations," she added. Steph rubbed her nose on her sleeve and smiled her thanks at the doctor, who was scribbling on a prescription pad.
"This is for your prenatal vitamins," she said, ripping it off and handing it to Steph. "You can wait until Monday to fill it, since you said you're only in Metropolis for the weekend," she said, "and I'll be sending your Gotham OB/GYN my notes from today's visit so they have them for your records."
"Thank you," Steph sniffed, feeling absolutely overcome by a helium-ballooned flurry of joy and excitement bouncing all up and down her body in giddy, haphazard waves.
"You're most welcome," Dr. Jenkins said as Lex echoed Steph's thanks.
"We'd like you to continue to oversee Steph's care as well," Lex said, "in coordination with her Gotham doctor. In case anything ever happens when she's here in Metropolis."
"Of course," Dr. Jenkins nodded. "That's a wise precaution, since you're planning to split your time between two different cities," she smiled at Steph. "It's always more comfortable for a patient to have a doctor they're familiar with who's on call for emergencies, rather than a stranger." Steph waited until Dr. Jenkins left them alone in the room, but then she turned to look up at Lex.
"You're still moving to Gotham, though?" Steph asked him hesitantly. "You know I don't want to live in Metropolis."
"I'm still moving," he promised her. "But with LexCorp based here, I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that you'll occasionally spend some time in Metropolis with me. Perhaps for a gala," Lex said far, far too innocently, albeit with a sexy twinkle in his eye. Steph giggled.
"I do enjoy a good gala," she mused.
"Don't we all," Lex smirked in agreement.
Steph thought they'd go straight back to Lex's penthouse, so she was surprised when Mercy pulled up next to…Harry Winston? Oh, Lex had to be fucking kidding her. Harry Winston jewelry was - far beyond Jared's, that's for sure. Beyond Tiffany's, even. Beyond anything in the realm of Steph's reality. Even movie stars didn't tend to own Harry Winston! They borrowed it to wear to the Oscars and promptly returned it. Holy cow.
"Lex?" Steph asked hesitantly, barely fighting her flustered smile that was sneaking its way into a giddy grin.
"I thought perhaps you'd like a new necklace to wear tonight when we go out," Lex smiled down at her. "Anything you want," he added. Holy fuck. Breathe, Steph. Breathe. It's just diamonds - millions and millions of dollars worth of diamonds - yeah, her mental coaching wasn't really cutting through her heart-filled haze. Lex was too good to be true, wasn't he?
And that was the problem. The super-villain sized problem - which Steph chose to ignore by leaning in and tightly hugging Lex. A happy sigh escaped her throat when Lex cuddled her close, cradling her in his strong arms and stroking a soft hand over her back. Steph allowed herself to relax into his chest, safe and cozy, while she inhaled his sandalwood cologne.
Being held felt so damn good, Steph silently admitted to herself. Hookups could scratch an itch, sure - but when was the last time anybody had ever just locked her in their arms, affectionate and protective, like they'd keep her there forever if she let them? (She wanted to let him. She really, really wanted to let him.)
"Sorry," Mercy chuckled when she opened Steph's door and found her and Lex still cozily entwined. "Should I drive around the block a few times?" the Amazon bodyguard grinned. Steph laughed as she pulled back from Lex and shook her head no, but she couldn't quite lie to herself about how reluctant she felt to move. Lex's softly watchful eyes said he noticed - and was pleased.
Steph dipped her head shyly when she got out of the limo, but Lex didn't give her time to feel embarrassed. He linked his hand with hers and pulled her along into the jewelry store.
"Ah, Mr. Luthor!" a deferential, pristinely dressed, waiting-by-the-door, Ritz-Carlton-Dusnooty-clone intoned as they entered. "We're so pleased that you chose Harry Winston to serve your needs today. And this must be Miss Brown," DusnootyTheSecond fawned.
Yes, she was Ms. Brown, thank you very much, and no, she didn't pay attention to the manager's name, and holy bling, Batman, was there ever a lot of sparkle in this showroom, even though there wasn't an abundance of pieces. Due to the freaking insanely expensive nature of the place and the rarity of the gems they showcased, no doubt.
Steph knew her eyes were as wide as a naive tourist's as she scanned the jewelry cases, but she couldn't really bring herself to care. DusnootyTheSecond and his underlings wouldn't be rude to her no matter how gawky and stupidly out of her depth she looked. Lex's presence guaranteed it.
And fuck, that was way too reassuring and delightful a feeling. But could Steph really blame herself for basking in it? She had grown up dirt poor, and thanks to her heavily pronounced Narrows accent, Steph was used to a lot of smirking faces and quietly amused looks and patronizing tones of voice as she navigated her life in the more middle class world that Bruce's college scholarship had given her access to.
So excuse her for wanting to enjoy being sucked up to for once in her underprivileged life. Sure, it was fake respect, but it was nice - and felt way better than being treated like shit.
"Do you have a favorite gemstone, Miss Brown?" DusnootyDeux politely inquired.
"Well, purple is my favorite color," Steph said. "But deep purple, like eggplant. Not lavender."
"Oh, we have an exquisite deep purple sapphire set in a diamond necklace," DuSnooty exclaimed with pleasure. "I think it will suit you perfectly." He nodded at his assistant who trotted off to retrieve said wonder while DuSnooty escorted his Very Important Customers to a pair of overstuffed, fancypants chairs set in front of an elegant mirrored dressing table made out of carved marble and resplendent with gold trim.
A different assistant appeared with a tray of champagne and macarons and Steph couldn't help smiling a tiny bit at their dismay when Lex politely but firmly refused the alcohol and asked for sparkling water for both of them instead. The macarons were delicious, though, and a treat that Steph only rarely had the chance to enjoy at the occasional Wayne gala. There weren't exactly any fancy French bakeries in her neck of Gotham, or in most of Gotham, for that matter. Any higher-end business stayed firmly entrenched in the Diamond District, as far away from Arkham as possible.
As Steph attempted to delicately nibble on her macarons instead of wolfing them down, she decided that she was quite enjoying herself, despite the gnawing layers of guilt and judgment and self-loathing that were eating away at her stomach underneath the fancy cookies that she was shoveling on top. Could Steph help it if being rich was fun? Pretty Woman hadn't lied. Being fawned over and spoiled by salespeople was pretty damn fabulous no matter how insincerely it was delivered.
And speaking of deliveries, LackeyNumberOne was making their way back over to Steph and Lex with a black velvet box held reverentially in their hands, outstretched like an offering to a god. DuSnooty accepted it equally as solemnly and set the box down on the dressing table with great care before dramatically opening the lid.
Steph's breath flew out of her throat as she took in a freaking enormous purple sapphire - like, way bigger than a quarter - it was easily half the length of her thumb. Good God. And it was surrounded by a bevy of teardrop diamonds, sparkling in the cleverly positioned table lights to maximum effect. The entire pendant was hanging off a necklace made entirely of linked diamonds, any one of which would have made a damn fine engagement ring all by itself. Even more teardrop diamonds hung off of the diamond chain at evenly spaced intervals giving it a feathered effect.
It was, simply put, stunning. Ridiculous. Absurd. Beyond frivolous. The kind of necklace a princess would wear. Like, an actual Royal Princess, who would only own it because it had been in their family for generations back when their ancestors had made the crown jewels.
Steph loved it.
"May I?" Lex asked DuSnooty, who legit waved his hand like Vanna White towards the necklace when he answered, "Please."
Lex stood and picked up the necklace with confident grace and unclasped it. Steph numbly bundled her long, curly hair up in her hands so that Lex could drape the over-the-top masterpiece around her neck. His fingers brushed her skin as he fastened the catch, and then Steph was letting her hair down and letting out a shaky breath at the same time as she took in her reflection in the mirror.
"Oh, my God," she whispered.
"You like?" Lex smiled at her. Steph nodded, allowing her fingers to come up and trace lightly over the sparkling jewels in awe.
"It's beautiful," she breathed out.
"Not nearly as beautiful as you," Lex suavely countered - except his eyes looked damn sincere. Steph's giggle melted into a lump in her throat. "We'll take it?" Lex gently checked with her, accurately reading the swell of emotion in her eyes. Steph blinked and nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
Lex traced a tender finger down her cheek before pulling his wallet out and handing his black card to DuSnooty, who bustled away with it just as LackeyTwo reappeared with their sparkling water. A polite head nod that was just shy of a bow later, and Steph and Lex were alone with the bazillion dollar necklace, whose price had not been discussed once. If you have to ask, Steph figured, but geez. She wondered if Lex would tell her later how much it cost if she asked him.
She wondered if she really wanted to know.
"Thank you," she managed to get out, as grossly inadequate as the words were for the gift around her neck that would probably set her up for life if she sold it.
"It's my pleasure, baby," Lex answered in his sex voice.
Steph knew his sex voice. Oh God. Steph liked his sex voice. That was maybe the bigger problem. Steph liked Lex's sex voice and she liked Lex spoiling her and she liked Lex holding her and she liked Lex fussing over her and she liked Lex for himself, too, and that was the biggest problem of all. Well, that, and he was her baby daddy.
Except, Lex being her baby daddy?
As Steph looked into his eyes, she found it hard to call that a problem.
A/N - Thanks for reading! More to come.
You can follow me on Tumblr as River9Noble.
