A/N: Hey everyone, once again thanks for the feedback. So here is Lex's
POV that I promised. Hope you like it! It was a bit harder writing Lex
than Chloe.
Disclaimers: Still don't own them.
*** Metropolis 1992 ***
"Alexander, how many times do I have to tell you to sit up straight!?" Lionel Luthor roared from across the leather interior limousine. "Slouching implies laziness, and if there's one thing in this world I will not have, it is a lazy son" the elder Luthor finished as he quickly returned his attention to his Wall Street Journal.
Lex immediately straightened his posture, as he muttered a grouchy "Yes sir," underneath his breath while clasping his hands and placing them neatly in his lap. Lex shifted uncomfortably on the seat, trying his hardest to maintain the kind of demeanor his father demanded of him every minute of every day.
He hated it. He hated having to live into everything his father expected of him. He hated having to act all prim and proper when all he wanted to do was run around and play with other kids. But what he hated most was that no matter how hard he tried to please his father, he knew, in the end it would never be enough.
The young Lex's heart sank at this thought, as he cast his gaze downward.
I'll never get anything right, Lex thought to himself as he dared to steal a glance at his father, who was still engrossed in his newspaper.
Then he felt the warm soft touch of a hand descend upon his shoulder. He looked over and saw the gentle eyes of his mother staring back at him. Lillian Luthor smiled at her son and quickly stuck her tongue out at him, in an attempt to break through the sullen mood of the brooding boy.
Lex couldn't help but smile in response to his mother's antics. She could always do that. As low as Lionel's harsh words could bring the young Luthor down, there was his mother waiting with a simple smile to bring him back up again. A smile filled with the unconditional love that only a mother could have. Soon his father's callousness was forgotten and in its place, the warmth of his mother's touch.
The limo came to a stop, in front of the Metropolis Museum of Natural History. The building was huge in its size and dwarfed all those that entered its doors. First Lionel made his exit from the limo, followed by Lillian and lastly the young Alexander.
The trio made their way up the marble white steps while throngs of people parted to allow the powerful Luthor clan to pass. Lex, embarrassed by all the attention ducked his head and tucked himself next to his mother, clinging to her arm as the staring eyes of Metropolis watched them with a mixture of awe, jealousy, and curiosity.
Finally within the confines of the museum, Lex began to feel at ease. As he passed through the giant columns, he remembered fondly the first day his mother had taken him here.
At the tender age of five, Lillian Luthor had brought Lex here, one of his first "field trips with mommy" as she affectionately named them. He had marveled at the sight of the larger than life dinosaur fossils and shimmering beauty of the mineral rocks. Asking question after question, Lillian reveled in her son's passionate quest for knowledge about everything and anything. And as much as her husband tried to instill that Luthor ruthlessness in him, she tried just as hard to bring beauty and simplicity into his life.
As Lex made his way past the familiar T-rex dinosaur, he watched a group of younger, and very rambunctious kids rattle around with excitement and enthusiasm. He noticed, among all the kids, a young blonde girl. She was all by herself, somewhat set apart from the rest of the kids. She looked around the museum, her eyes filled with the same marvel that Lex himself felt, every time he came here.
He watched with interest as she climbed up to the dinosaur's skeleton foot and gently laid her cheek against the cool marble. There was something about her, something that the young Lex Luthor wanted so much to have. Maybe it was the carefree attitude she seemed to exude, not afraid of being on her own, and not afraid of doing whatever she pleased.
"Alexander, don't dawdle" he heard his father call, and immediately, Lex turned back and followed his mother and father down the long hallway, leading to Mr. Atherton's office, the museum curator.
Once inside the office, Lex made his way towards the seat next to the door. He knew from experience that it was best to stay out of the line of fire. He could already tell his parents were about to get into one of their fights once again.
"I still don't understand why we're here" Lionel said, removing his coat and throwing it on the leather sofa behind him. "I could be attending to more important business right now."
"Lionel, please, we talked about this already" Lillian replied in a calm voice, trying to soothe her husband, "you need to start improving your image with the people of Metropolis."
"Don't patronize me Lillian" Lionel fired back, his voice beginning to rise.
Here they go again Lex though to himself as he began the all too familiar ritual of tuning out his parents yelling.
Over the years, he had learned that it was best to keep himself out of his parent's arguments. In almost every case, his mother was always in the right, and yet trying to be the peace maker. He admired that about her, and he still couldn't see why she still put up with his father after all this time.
"I'm not patronizing you and will you please lower your voice?" Lillian said looking over at her son, an apologetic look etched across her face.
"Listen," she began again, "not only will you gain favor with the people of Metropolis, but I'm sure your charitable actions won't go unnoticed by the city council," Lillian continued, "and that would certainly make it much easier for you to build that new plant you've been wanting to be build, just outside of town."
Lionel contemplated her reasoning for a moment. Lillian knew her husband. And she knew exactly how his mind worked. If she could somehow skew his perspective, make him think as though he was the one gaining the advantage, she could get him to agree to anything. In most cases, it was a good cause, like this one.
"I suppose it would be." Lionel began and at that moment Lillian knew she had won.
"I don't see why you won't donate the money to the museum" Lillian continued, interrupting him.
"Honestly dear, there are only so many cars and houses we can buy. I think we should make a concerted effort to put our money into philanthropic causes."
"It just seems like such a waste" Lionel replied, throwing his hands up in frustration, but knowing he would end up giving in.
Lex rolled his eyes at the whole scenario unfolding before him. He had seen it too many times and to be quite honest was getting bored and bit fed up. He shifted in the uncomfortable wooden chair.
Please God, get me out of here, the young Luthor silently prayed.
At that exact moment, he head the door next to him creak. On the other side, he saw the familiar blonde curls that belong to the girl standing outside before. She eyed him with an expression of curiosity mixed with fear.
A first he was upset, well embarrassed more, because the young girl had obviously seen his parents fighting. He was about to say something to the young girl, when she suddenly turned around and ran back down the hallway.
Lex sighed with disappointment as he turned his gaze back to his parents. They were both standing now, talking in hushed tones, but Lex could tell from the serious look on his father's face that fighting wasn't over yet. Then out of nowhere he heard a loud "Pssst" coming from the now open doorway.
And there stood the young girl, with an infectious smile across her little face, "you wanna come play?" she continued, her eyes wide with excitement.
Lex looked at her, trying to decide what he should do. Then taking one more look at his parents and then gazing back at the smiling blonde girl, he had quickly made up his mind. Nodding his head, he slowly made his way out of the door, and quickly shut it behind him.
"Who are you" Lex asked, trying to figure out what this girl was all about.
"I'm Chloe and I want to explore" the girl said plainly as she reached out and grabbed his hand.
"Wait, I have to."Lex protested as he looked back at the closed door that he was slowly being pulled away from.
"C'mon" the girl who he now knew as Chloe replied, her smile willing him to give in.
So with one final nod, he took off, letting her lead him all around the huge museum.
They weaved in and out of all of the rooms, laughing and jumping and carrying on as though they didn't have a care in the world. For Lex it felt as if he were breaking free from the prison his father had put him in as he ran around, just being a kid.
After what seemed like an eternity, the pair had finally found themselves inside the mineral rock room. It was a place that Lex knew well, and his favorite out of the entire museum. Ever since his first trip with his mother, he had grown quite an affinity toward geology and the study of the beautiful rocks.
"Wow" he heard the young Chloe exclaim, "they're all so pretty and shiny." He looked over to see the expression on her face, and found it identical to his when he first laid eyes on the gleaming stones.
"They're mineral rocks" Lex replied, feeling an instant connection with the young girl. He recalled his mother's explanation to him and continued, "they have crystals inside them. That's what makes them shine like that."
"You're smart" Chloe beamed a smile at him that made his insides get all mushy. "How come you know all that stuff?"
"I like studying rocks and stuff" Lex replied shyly, trying to avoid the girl's gaze, "I come here a lot to look at them."
Chloe smiled back at him and Lex immediately saw a look of calm come over her face. And it was somewhat infectious, filling him with a sense of inner peace. Even though he had only known this girl a few hours, he felt completely at ease with her, as if he could say and do anything around her and she wouldn't care, and wouldn't judge him.
Silently Lex threw a "thank you" up to heaven, for bringing the quirky little girl into his life.
"So how come you're here?" Chloe asked, who had now made her way over to the glass cases.
"I came with my mom and dad" he said absently as he came to stand behind her, his eyes transfixed by the girl's pretty face. "They are talking to the head of the museum about giving him some of our money."
"Oh were they the two people yelling inside the room?" she said turning around to face him.
"Yeah," Lex said, his voice taking on a more somber tone, "they do that a lot." He turned away somewhat embarrassed by the question.
"Why were they yelling?" the young girl prodded.
"I don't know. Grown up stuff I guess" Lex said, hanging his head in shame. He hated when his parents fought, even more so because he felt powerless to do anything to stop it. The young Luthor let his mind mull over all the other times he had seen his parents argue. And wished that for once he could just have a normal family, that lived in a normal house.
"Tell me about that one" he suddenly heard from behind. Chloe had a new smile planted on her face and was pointing excitedly at the amber crystal, his favorite stone.
Lex smiled back at the little girl. And with his parents quarrels long forgotten, he began explaining to her the stone's origins and such. When he was through, he saw the gleam in her eyes and couldn't help but feel that sense of calm wash over him again.
"I think it's my favorite" Chloe replied.
Lex watched as she looked at the amber crystal. And suddenly he got an idea. Lifting himself up he opened the glass case and took the stone out. He jumped back down and offered the stone to her.
"Here" he said, "take it" Lex said, wanting to repay her for all her kindness to him.
"But isn't that stealing?" she asked.
Lex had to laugh at her naïve reply. His parents practically owned the museum and he didn't even think twice about whether what he was doing was illegal or not. But for some reason, he liked that about her. It meant that she was so completely different from what his family, more importantly his father, was. No. If anything Chloe reminded the young Lex of his mother, especially the way she could inspire a sense of calm within him with just a look.
"Not really. Besides no one ever comes in here except for me and I won't tell anyone" Lex continued, wishing she would accept the gift. He had so desperately wanted to give her something as a thank you for rescuing him from his father.
He let his eyes meet hers and he watched as she smiled and reached out her little hand. She took the stone from his palm but clumsily let it fall to the floor.
He looked over at her face, which now held a look of sadness and regret as she kneeled down to pick them up and held the two rocks in each palm of her hand.
"I'm sorry" she said, hanging her head in shame.
"It's okay" Lex replied desperately wanting to take away the sadness he saw in her eyes.
Then he saw her look up at him, and he could see the gleam of tears beginning to form in her eyes.
Oh no, she's gonna cry, the young Luthor thought to himself. Quick do something!! He screamed to himself.
So he did the only thing that he could think of. Leaning forward, he bent down and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. He pulled back, and closed his eyes, sure that at any moment he was going to feel the young girl's fist across his face. After a few seconds of silence, he opened his eyes and found the blonde smiling up at him with a toothy grin.
"See? You did me a favor. Now there's one for you and one for me" Lex said taking one of the amber crystals from her hand and trying hard to hide the blush he was sure had taken residence in his cheeks.
"Thank you." And Lex was thankful that she didn't notice his rather embarrassed state. He fingered the stone with her thumb, rolling it back and forth over her palm. And Lex was pleased with himself, just happy in the fact that he had made her happy. Something very un-Luthor-like and he was damn proud of that.
"So what's your na.." Lex heard her begin when suddenly a loud roar from the doorway, dragged their attention away from each other.
Lex noticed a rather pale looking man, his eyes huge behind black frame glasses. His red bowtie, Lex observed, began to tremble as he heard the man exclaim, "Chloe Sullivan! We have been looking everywhere for you!"
The pasty looking man made his way over to the kids and taking hold of Lex's companion he continued, "You, young lady, are in a lot of trouble" he said, shaking his finger at her. "Come on it's time to get back on the bus."
And before Lex even knew what was happening, he watched as his Chloe was being taken away from him. All he could do was wave as he watched the beautiful blonde angel float out of his life forever.
When she was gone, Lex looked down at the stone in his hand and grasped it to his chest, vowing that he would never, ever forget this moment, or the girl who had made him smile.
I am on roll here guys!! So okay, I'll probably post the next chapter within the next two days. In the meantime please let me know what you thought!!!
Disclaimers: Still don't own them.
*** Metropolis 1992 ***
"Alexander, how many times do I have to tell you to sit up straight!?" Lionel Luthor roared from across the leather interior limousine. "Slouching implies laziness, and if there's one thing in this world I will not have, it is a lazy son" the elder Luthor finished as he quickly returned his attention to his Wall Street Journal.
Lex immediately straightened his posture, as he muttered a grouchy "Yes sir," underneath his breath while clasping his hands and placing them neatly in his lap. Lex shifted uncomfortably on the seat, trying his hardest to maintain the kind of demeanor his father demanded of him every minute of every day.
He hated it. He hated having to live into everything his father expected of him. He hated having to act all prim and proper when all he wanted to do was run around and play with other kids. But what he hated most was that no matter how hard he tried to please his father, he knew, in the end it would never be enough.
The young Lex's heart sank at this thought, as he cast his gaze downward.
I'll never get anything right, Lex thought to himself as he dared to steal a glance at his father, who was still engrossed in his newspaper.
Then he felt the warm soft touch of a hand descend upon his shoulder. He looked over and saw the gentle eyes of his mother staring back at him. Lillian Luthor smiled at her son and quickly stuck her tongue out at him, in an attempt to break through the sullen mood of the brooding boy.
Lex couldn't help but smile in response to his mother's antics. She could always do that. As low as Lionel's harsh words could bring the young Luthor down, there was his mother waiting with a simple smile to bring him back up again. A smile filled with the unconditional love that only a mother could have. Soon his father's callousness was forgotten and in its place, the warmth of his mother's touch.
The limo came to a stop, in front of the Metropolis Museum of Natural History. The building was huge in its size and dwarfed all those that entered its doors. First Lionel made his exit from the limo, followed by Lillian and lastly the young Alexander.
The trio made their way up the marble white steps while throngs of people parted to allow the powerful Luthor clan to pass. Lex, embarrassed by all the attention ducked his head and tucked himself next to his mother, clinging to her arm as the staring eyes of Metropolis watched them with a mixture of awe, jealousy, and curiosity.
Finally within the confines of the museum, Lex began to feel at ease. As he passed through the giant columns, he remembered fondly the first day his mother had taken him here.
At the tender age of five, Lillian Luthor had brought Lex here, one of his first "field trips with mommy" as she affectionately named them. He had marveled at the sight of the larger than life dinosaur fossils and shimmering beauty of the mineral rocks. Asking question after question, Lillian reveled in her son's passionate quest for knowledge about everything and anything. And as much as her husband tried to instill that Luthor ruthlessness in him, she tried just as hard to bring beauty and simplicity into his life.
As Lex made his way past the familiar T-rex dinosaur, he watched a group of younger, and very rambunctious kids rattle around with excitement and enthusiasm. He noticed, among all the kids, a young blonde girl. She was all by herself, somewhat set apart from the rest of the kids. She looked around the museum, her eyes filled with the same marvel that Lex himself felt, every time he came here.
He watched with interest as she climbed up to the dinosaur's skeleton foot and gently laid her cheek against the cool marble. There was something about her, something that the young Lex Luthor wanted so much to have. Maybe it was the carefree attitude she seemed to exude, not afraid of being on her own, and not afraid of doing whatever she pleased.
"Alexander, don't dawdle" he heard his father call, and immediately, Lex turned back and followed his mother and father down the long hallway, leading to Mr. Atherton's office, the museum curator.
Once inside the office, Lex made his way towards the seat next to the door. He knew from experience that it was best to stay out of the line of fire. He could already tell his parents were about to get into one of their fights once again.
"I still don't understand why we're here" Lionel said, removing his coat and throwing it on the leather sofa behind him. "I could be attending to more important business right now."
"Lionel, please, we talked about this already" Lillian replied in a calm voice, trying to soothe her husband, "you need to start improving your image with the people of Metropolis."
"Don't patronize me Lillian" Lionel fired back, his voice beginning to rise.
Here they go again Lex though to himself as he began the all too familiar ritual of tuning out his parents yelling.
Over the years, he had learned that it was best to keep himself out of his parent's arguments. In almost every case, his mother was always in the right, and yet trying to be the peace maker. He admired that about her, and he still couldn't see why she still put up with his father after all this time.
"I'm not patronizing you and will you please lower your voice?" Lillian said looking over at her son, an apologetic look etched across her face.
"Listen," she began again, "not only will you gain favor with the people of Metropolis, but I'm sure your charitable actions won't go unnoticed by the city council," Lillian continued, "and that would certainly make it much easier for you to build that new plant you've been wanting to be build, just outside of town."
Lionel contemplated her reasoning for a moment. Lillian knew her husband. And she knew exactly how his mind worked. If she could somehow skew his perspective, make him think as though he was the one gaining the advantage, she could get him to agree to anything. In most cases, it was a good cause, like this one.
"I suppose it would be." Lionel began and at that moment Lillian knew she had won.
"I don't see why you won't donate the money to the museum" Lillian continued, interrupting him.
"Honestly dear, there are only so many cars and houses we can buy. I think we should make a concerted effort to put our money into philanthropic causes."
"It just seems like such a waste" Lionel replied, throwing his hands up in frustration, but knowing he would end up giving in.
Lex rolled his eyes at the whole scenario unfolding before him. He had seen it too many times and to be quite honest was getting bored and bit fed up. He shifted in the uncomfortable wooden chair.
Please God, get me out of here, the young Luthor silently prayed.
At that exact moment, he head the door next to him creak. On the other side, he saw the familiar blonde curls that belong to the girl standing outside before. She eyed him with an expression of curiosity mixed with fear.
A first he was upset, well embarrassed more, because the young girl had obviously seen his parents fighting. He was about to say something to the young girl, when she suddenly turned around and ran back down the hallway.
Lex sighed with disappointment as he turned his gaze back to his parents. They were both standing now, talking in hushed tones, but Lex could tell from the serious look on his father's face that fighting wasn't over yet. Then out of nowhere he heard a loud "Pssst" coming from the now open doorway.
And there stood the young girl, with an infectious smile across her little face, "you wanna come play?" she continued, her eyes wide with excitement.
Lex looked at her, trying to decide what he should do. Then taking one more look at his parents and then gazing back at the smiling blonde girl, he had quickly made up his mind. Nodding his head, he slowly made his way out of the door, and quickly shut it behind him.
"Who are you" Lex asked, trying to figure out what this girl was all about.
"I'm Chloe and I want to explore" the girl said plainly as she reached out and grabbed his hand.
"Wait, I have to."Lex protested as he looked back at the closed door that he was slowly being pulled away from.
"C'mon" the girl who he now knew as Chloe replied, her smile willing him to give in.
So with one final nod, he took off, letting her lead him all around the huge museum.
They weaved in and out of all of the rooms, laughing and jumping and carrying on as though they didn't have a care in the world. For Lex it felt as if he were breaking free from the prison his father had put him in as he ran around, just being a kid.
After what seemed like an eternity, the pair had finally found themselves inside the mineral rock room. It was a place that Lex knew well, and his favorite out of the entire museum. Ever since his first trip with his mother, he had grown quite an affinity toward geology and the study of the beautiful rocks.
"Wow" he heard the young Chloe exclaim, "they're all so pretty and shiny." He looked over to see the expression on her face, and found it identical to his when he first laid eyes on the gleaming stones.
"They're mineral rocks" Lex replied, feeling an instant connection with the young girl. He recalled his mother's explanation to him and continued, "they have crystals inside them. That's what makes them shine like that."
"You're smart" Chloe beamed a smile at him that made his insides get all mushy. "How come you know all that stuff?"
"I like studying rocks and stuff" Lex replied shyly, trying to avoid the girl's gaze, "I come here a lot to look at them."
Chloe smiled back at him and Lex immediately saw a look of calm come over her face. And it was somewhat infectious, filling him with a sense of inner peace. Even though he had only known this girl a few hours, he felt completely at ease with her, as if he could say and do anything around her and she wouldn't care, and wouldn't judge him.
Silently Lex threw a "thank you" up to heaven, for bringing the quirky little girl into his life.
"So how come you're here?" Chloe asked, who had now made her way over to the glass cases.
"I came with my mom and dad" he said absently as he came to stand behind her, his eyes transfixed by the girl's pretty face. "They are talking to the head of the museum about giving him some of our money."
"Oh were they the two people yelling inside the room?" she said turning around to face him.
"Yeah," Lex said, his voice taking on a more somber tone, "they do that a lot." He turned away somewhat embarrassed by the question.
"Why were they yelling?" the young girl prodded.
"I don't know. Grown up stuff I guess" Lex said, hanging his head in shame. He hated when his parents fought, even more so because he felt powerless to do anything to stop it. The young Luthor let his mind mull over all the other times he had seen his parents argue. And wished that for once he could just have a normal family, that lived in a normal house.
"Tell me about that one" he suddenly heard from behind. Chloe had a new smile planted on her face and was pointing excitedly at the amber crystal, his favorite stone.
Lex smiled back at the little girl. And with his parents quarrels long forgotten, he began explaining to her the stone's origins and such. When he was through, he saw the gleam in her eyes and couldn't help but feel that sense of calm wash over him again.
"I think it's my favorite" Chloe replied.
Lex watched as she looked at the amber crystal. And suddenly he got an idea. Lifting himself up he opened the glass case and took the stone out. He jumped back down and offered the stone to her.
"Here" he said, "take it" Lex said, wanting to repay her for all her kindness to him.
"But isn't that stealing?" she asked.
Lex had to laugh at her naïve reply. His parents practically owned the museum and he didn't even think twice about whether what he was doing was illegal or not. But for some reason, he liked that about her. It meant that she was so completely different from what his family, more importantly his father, was. No. If anything Chloe reminded the young Lex of his mother, especially the way she could inspire a sense of calm within him with just a look.
"Not really. Besides no one ever comes in here except for me and I won't tell anyone" Lex continued, wishing she would accept the gift. He had so desperately wanted to give her something as a thank you for rescuing him from his father.
He let his eyes meet hers and he watched as she smiled and reached out her little hand. She took the stone from his palm but clumsily let it fall to the floor.
He looked over at her face, which now held a look of sadness and regret as she kneeled down to pick them up and held the two rocks in each palm of her hand.
"I'm sorry" she said, hanging her head in shame.
"It's okay" Lex replied desperately wanting to take away the sadness he saw in her eyes.
Then he saw her look up at him, and he could see the gleam of tears beginning to form in her eyes.
Oh no, she's gonna cry, the young Luthor thought to himself. Quick do something!! He screamed to himself.
So he did the only thing that he could think of. Leaning forward, he bent down and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. He pulled back, and closed his eyes, sure that at any moment he was going to feel the young girl's fist across his face. After a few seconds of silence, he opened his eyes and found the blonde smiling up at him with a toothy grin.
"See? You did me a favor. Now there's one for you and one for me" Lex said taking one of the amber crystals from her hand and trying hard to hide the blush he was sure had taken residence in his cheeks.
"Thank you." And Lex was thankful that she didn't notice his rather embarrassed state. He fingered the stone with her thumb, rolling it back and forth over her palm. And Lex was pleased with himself, just happy in the fact that he had made her happy. Something very un-Luthor-like and he was damn proud of that.
"So what's your na.." Lex heard her begin when suddenly a loud roar from the doorway, dragged their attention away from each other.
Lex noticed a rather pale looking man, his eyes huge behind black frame glasses. His red bowtie, Lex observed, began to tremble as he heard the man exclaim, "Chloe Sullivan! We have been looking everywhere for you!"
The pasty looking man made his way over to the kids and taking hold of Lex's companion he continued, "You, young lady, are in a lot of trouble" he said, shaking his finger at her. "Come on it's time to get back on the bus."
And before Lex even knew what was happening, he watched as his Chloe was being taken away from him. All he could do was wave as he watched the beautiful blonde angel float out of his life forever.
When she was gone, Lex looked down at the stone in his hand and grasped it to his chest, vowing that he would never, ever forget this moment, or the girl who had made him smile.
I am on roll here guys!! So okay, I'll probably post the next chapter within the next two days. In the meantime please let me know what you thought!!!
