Sanctuary

by a campbell

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Smallville, Chloe Sullivan/Lex Luthor implied Clark Kent/Lex Luthor

NC-17, Spoilers for 3rd season, particularly "Delete". Warning for a first sexual experience that's somewhat rocky.

I would like to thank clannadlvr and fajrdrako for the betas and clannadlvr in particular for the original encouragement and character insights, which were very helpful.

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Make yourself at home, he said.

She was trying. Clark had offered to stay with her till Lex came back, but she’d needed to be alone. Though she was now realizing that talking him out of that offer had been a major mistake.

And, fond as Chloe was of dilled salmon whenever, wherever she could get it, eating dinner alone in the mansion’s vast dining room was an experience she wasn’t eager to repeat any time soon. She supposed she could have asked to have her meal transferred to the slightly cozier study, or for that matter any of the other hundred or so rooms, but she just wasn’t in the swing yet of mansion life. And she hoped to be back home with Dad long before she was. Even if Dad was pretty glum company since the pink slip, she still loved him.

Lex had said he’d be back for dinner, but she hadn’t taken him seriously. For one thing, he never seemed to eat much. For another, he was probably way too busy to entertain an unexpected guest, even without the intrigue of the past few days. Gracious as he’d been, she knew it was only as a favor to Clark that he agreed to let her stay at the mansion. She harbored no illusions about him having any other interest in her, since most of Smallville, even with values bordering on puritanical, seemed to acknowledge that Clark Kent was Lex’s one fascination.

Bored and lonely, Chloe had leafed through and scanned at least half the books in the mansion’s library earlier in the afternoon, so there was little to hold her attention now. Going out to the Kents had been the evening’s light entertainment. If she’d been thinking clearly, she’d have ignored the summons from Martha, but the prospect of familiar faces and the safety of the farm had proved irresistible. After all, there had never been reason to fear Clark’s parents before. The frightening visit had stripped her of her last ounce of self-control, and ice cubes rattled against crystal as she lifted her water glass to her lips. She set the glass down without drinking and put one trembling hand to her brow.

“Okay, come on. It’s over. Get a grip,” she said aloud, and was instantly startled by the echo of her voice in the quiet room. She rose from the table and wandered over to the sofa, then sat down gliding her fingers over the slick leather surface. The last place anybody’d look for me, she’d said before, and endeavored to remember it now. Here, she was safe.

“Chloe.” The sound of another voice jarred her even more than her own, and she jumped for real this time. She responded to her name with a shaky nod, not sure just how long Lex had been standing there in the darkness, all but his pale face shrouded in shadows. He stepped out into the light.

“Pretty scary to think this is the least dangerous place in Smallville.” When she didn’t smile, Lex shrugged. “Just a little attempt at humor. Sorry I missed dinner.” He took a seat beside her.

“No biggie.” She couldn’t mask her relief at having company at last. “Having your best friend’s mom and dad try to off you does wonders for the appetite. If you’re trying to diet, that is.”

“I heard,” said Lex slowly, exhaling on a long breath. He put his hand lightly on hers. “You’re not hurt?”

“No,” she said. His hand on hers was oddly comforting. “But it’s been a wild couple of days. Do me a favor, Lex. Please don’t check your email till I’m gone.” And within a moment she was coming unglued, tears coursing down her cheeks.

Lex held her far less awkwardly than Clark would have. His warm hand stroked her hair gently as she breathed in the lavender-spice scent of his clean shirt. And just a hint of alcohol. So different from her dad’s dry-cleaned business suits or from Clark’s aroma of fresh-mown hay, fabric softener and spearmint gum. In spite of herself, she clung to him, grateful that he didn’t tense or push her away. He was slim and lean compared to Clark, who was big and cuddly as a giant teddy bear, and who made her feel safe. Well, she didn’t feel safe, now, exactly, but whatever this new feeling was, she couldn’t help wanting it to last for a bit longer.

It was good, for a change, not to feel so alone.

“This house must seem like a threatening place to you,” Lex’s breath warmed her cheek as he spoke. “No email. If you’ll just promise me no swan dives through windows this time.”

“Sure.” She forced her breathing to slow and tried for a bright, wobbly grin as she sat back. “I’ll be careful. It’s not like you owe me anything, anyway. It’s enough that you’re letting me stay here. Besides, any friend of Clark’s is a friend of yours, right?”

He stared coolly at her for a beat. She saw his flinch, his hard swallow before he looked away, but when he spoke, his voice was even. “He seems to think so.”

“I know that’s why you agreed.”

Half-lidded, sideways glance. “Friendship for you isn’t enough?”

Chloe didn’t deem it necessary to answer that question, though she allowed a pregnant pause before responding. “Well, I just hope it’s true, because everyone else in this town seems to be trying to kill me.” She exhaled on a long, exasperated sigh. “So if Clark asked you to re-hire my dad, you’d do that, too?”

“He’s asked already,” said Lex, staring straight ahead. “I turned him down. Clark and I aren’t really seeing eye to eye lately.”

His tone was steady, but there was something so plaintive and vulnerable underlying what he said that her intended snippy comment died on her lips as she turned sharply to look at him. He was clasping and unclasping his hands and thinning his lips.

She sighed. “Look, Lex. I’m not going to take advantage of your hospitality by putting you on the spot. About my dad, or about Clark.”

“I’m not worried. It’s no secret between us that both you and I have a history with Clark.”

Chloe nodded. “He is special.” Taking Lex’s silence for agreement, she continued. “I’ve envied you at times. Figured you’d understand him better because you’re another guy.”

He loosened the collar of his white dress shirt and stretched both arms across the back of the couch. “Well, maybe I’ve envied you, too. Friends since eighth grade. And you’re...what...seventeen, now?” He turned to regard her with brows raised. “Prom date. Confidante. Partner in crime on the beat. An all-around good pal who’s stood the test of time. He and I didn’t have much history of friendship racked up before the problems began.”

She shifted on the couch, thinking that, no matter how matter-of-fact Lex tried to sound, he couldn’t quite mask the desolation beneath. She glanced back up, and found him watching her. He didn’t look away, just held her gaze, calm and assessing. His voice was casual when he finally spoke again.

“I’d ask what Clark did to you, but I try to respect the privacy of my friends. Both of them.”

He’d said it twice now, so maybe it was true. Maybe Lex really did consider her a friend and not just a connection to Clark.

“More like what did I do to him? I’m not the best of friends, Lex.”

“Being a good friend is a near-impossible task. Probably one of the hardest jobs in the world. I’m not that good at it myself, due to lack of practice. And you? You’d be a handful for anyone, and Clark’s obviously busy with other things right now.”

Chloe couldn’t deny he had a point. “You know, Lex, I really don’t mean to be a pain. I just have this insatiable need to know everything. Sometimes...no, usually... people don’t understand. Sometimes it causes trouble. Correction: I cause trouble.” A nervous laugh. “I’ve got to admit it.” She smiled, and he responded with a genuine grin, looking down at his gaze to his folded hands. Startled, she thought, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen him really smile before. She’d seen the cool smirk, and the thoughtful gleam in his eye whenever his gaze fell on Clark…but a real smile? It made him look younger, almost ridiculously so, and she was surprised by a sudden keen desire to see him smile again.

“Sometimes I have the same problem,” he said, almost as though talking to himself rather than to her. His voice. Soft and mellow with that dusky edge to it. She realized with surprise that she could listen to it indefinitely. With a deep breath, she picked up the conversation.

“But Lex, I want you to know I didn’t tell anyone anything about your father. I’d never do that.”

Lex shrugged without looking at her. “He found out somehow,”

The structure may look perfectly stable, but it can’t take any pressure.

Chloe looked away. No one knew for sure how sane Lex was right now. Least of all her. She stole another glance at him as he gazed off across the room, calm and cryptic as the Egyptian Sphinx once again.

Lex leaned back on the sofa and turned his lidded gaze back to her. “So tell me about you and Clark,” he said in the casual, offhand manner she suspected hid more emotion than he was willing to let on.

She made the sigh deliberately theatrical. “Clark and I are ancient history. We were a couple for one evening. Oops, no,” She shook her head and held out a hand as though to stay her thought process. “Make that half of an evening. The tornado hit, I looked around, and zip! he was gone.”

“Happens a lot,” Lex didn’t meet her eyes as he took a big sip of his drink.

No mistaking the bleakness in his voice. She decided to go for it. “So, what did Clark do to you?”

“He’s angry,” was his clipped response. “Angry all the time now. I go to the farm or he comes here, we start talking and within minutes we’re quarreling.” He lifted his glass to his lips again and stared off, bleakly.

“Maybe you guys should just get married, already.” She chuckled at his reaction, face briefly shocked before he snorted and choked on his drink,--because, honestly, she’d never seen Lex so much as startled, ever-- then waited till his fit of coughing subsided. The expression that settled on his features when it did, stunned her. Needy, desperate... “I’m kidding, Lex,” even though she’d half meant it. “I think he’s just scared. I’m just not sure of what. Changes, responsibilities. Who isn’t, right?” Lex’s face relaxed into a smile that warred with one final cough.

Chloe picked up a napkin from the drink cart and dabbed at his lips, trying not to notice how the smile faded from his face as he did so. “Destiny. I imagine you can understand that, heir to the Luthor empire.”

The half-smile was back as he touched his index finger to the tip of her nose.

“I understand he was out of town last summer, too,” he continued. “Any idea where he went, or what happened to him while he was away?”

“Metropolis.” she whispered, her senses alight from his touch.

Lex didn’t move, didn’t sit back. “I figured as much.” Chloe stretched and settled back herself, lulled by the sound of his voice.

“He stayed there till his dad made him come home.”

Lex considered a moment, and she noticed his sigh. “I don’t like admitting that my memories of that spring aren’t the clearest. Seemed that Clark and Lana had--"

She turned away, and he stopped speaking at once. She looked back to see him swallow and thin his lips. “Sorry,” he said.

“No, no, it’s okay, believe me.” She shrugged. “Ancient history.”

Lex didn’t appear convinced, nor did he take his eyes from her face. “Competing with a fantasy is hard.”

“You know, Lex, sometimes I scare myself. In the midst of that horrible fight at the school today, part of me was actually getting into it. Fighting with Lana, I mean. We’re friends, but something, someone in me took over. Someone who still holds a major grudge against her. It scares me to think of it now. I wonder about myself. You know,” she turned to him abruptly, because she was about to say something she never said to anyone. “Sometimes I think that maybe if I’d been able to grow up with my mother around, maybe I’d be better at personal relations. Maybe I’d be more...lovable.”

“I know the feeling,” His voice was gentle. Beautiful, calming, she noticed, not for the first time. She could easily listen to it for hours.

“I admire you, Chloe. You always have an agenda, and you don’t let qualms or scruples get in the way of that interview or that story. You go for it, and you get it. And you’ve got the bruises to prove it.” He reached out, trailed a gentle fingertip along her brow, stopping when he reached the small “x” the miniature band-aids made over her eye.

Something broke inside her. She tried to keep her voice from quivering, but couldn’t seem to stem the flow of words. “So tell me why I’m always the one left alone.”

Lex was probably the only person in the world who could snort with delicacy. “Like I have the answer to that.”

The remark went straight to her heart, and she hated beyond belief for succumbing to weakness this way, but he’d barely finished speaking before she was sobbing, her shoulders shaking. “I’m tired of being a stand-in for someone else. I want to be wanted for myself. Maybe...probably... you’re the only one who could understand. Maybe you--”

She tasted the softness of his lips. His tongue slid into her mouth with expert precision, his arms were around her, hands moving in smooth circles on her shoulder blades. He tasted like scotch and smelled like dry cleaning and fine fabric. And his kisses were unlike those clumsy, endearing pecks of Clark’s she’d enjoyed briefly so long ago. Lex was skilled. Had obviously had lots of practice. In spite of a small, far-off voice urging caution, she felt herself relax into his embrace.

As the caresses intensified, her reaction began to alarm her. A white-hot flash of dismay, almost fear, that warred with curiosity and excitement. Physical arousal as well as emotional. She wriggled herself briefly free long enough to gasp, “Lex, whoa.” He was still trying to kiss her, eager mouth on her cheek, chin, everywhere. She pulled herself back so she could speak. “Wait a minute. What are we doing?”

A drowsy grin before his eyes fell closed and he moved in again. She put up a hand to stop his lips touching her face.

“Making the most of tonight. We can worry about tomorrow later,” he whispered near her ear.

She felt an amazed, wicked urge to chuckle. “So is your name Lex Luthor or Scarlett O’Hara?”

She got the grin she’d been waiting for earlier.

“Somehow I doubt I can fool you. Maybe trying to forget.” With another sigh, he looked away. “This may not be the best idea after all.”

No, she thought, with something like confused panic.

“On the contrary,” she heard herself saying. “I think it’s the best idea anyone’s had all day.”

Lex began shaking his head before she was finished speaking. “Chloe, I told you I’d protect you and I will. And I won’t take advantage of your being here, either.”

“You’re not,” Chloe assured him.

He spoke steadily, seriously, holding her gaze. “ Listen to me. We can’t get to Clark through each other.”

For just an instant, his words made her feel like a naughty, presumptuous child. She shrugged it off. “Don’t worry,” she assured him. “I’m not thinking of Clark right now. I want this. I want you. Trust me.”

“I believe that’s my line,” said Lex. And kissed her again. She let him do it, her mind
and senses spinning around in a heady swirl.

***

After the kiss, when she could speak again, she couldn’t help giggling. It was almost as though she’d breathed in bubbles from ginger ale, or some really strong champagne. “I know I shouldn’t be saying this, but I’m not known for my discretion.” She stopped chuckling and held his gaze. “The bigger question is, are you thinking of Clark right now?”

She wondered just how she’d dared to say that. And decided instantly that, after today, there wasn’t much left to be afraid of.

Lex stared at her for a long moment, and a mix of emotions ran through her. Was he going to get angry, maybe tell her to stop being stupid and go to bed...by herself?

Was he going to say they weren’t good enough friends for her to speak to him that way?

Instead, he touched a fingertip to her top lip. “Shh. Did anyone ever tell you that you talk too much?”

Chloe couldn’t suppress a giggle. “Never. Not once.”

His answering laugh warmed her. “Good enough. So why don’t we both try to forget Clark. For tonight. And take this upstairs.”

***

Lex’s bedroom was vast, but Chloe had only time for the briefest of glances around before she was back in his arms. But she kissed first, tore at the collar of his blue dress shirt the way she’d seen people do in films. Then he took the lead, grabbed her hands and pinned them against the wall behind her head, kissing her face, her neck, murmuring something inaudible.

Before she knew how it happened, she was half undressed. Her slacks were off and on the floor and her blouse was unbuttoned.

His mouth felt the way she’d imagined it would on the infrequent occasions when she changed her fantasy jilling material to focus on Lex instead of Clark. She was embarrassed to realize that she found it hot that Lex lusted for Clark the same way she did, even if he wouldn’t admit it. And right now, well, he might be using her for a substitute, but that was immaterial. He was kissing her now with the as much singleminded intensity as she could wish, and suddenly she felt completely grown up, a mature, desirable woman, and it felt good. No, great. She liked it.

Loved it.

He sank to his knees, pressing her against the wall, and nuzzled the wiry blonde curls at her crotch, his practiced pointed tongue seeking out the bud between her thighs. She sucked in her breath on a cool gasp at the white-hot sensation, which was miles beyond touching herself, and like nothing she’d ever felt before. He sat back on his heels and blew a cool breath on the wet flesh, then leaned back in, circling, then teasing with the tip of his tongue. Her response was a blissful shudder.

He drew back, glanced up. “Like that?” he murmured, his voice a husky whisper.

She swallowed and nodded. She couldn’t begin to put into words how much she liked it.

She cupped his bald head in her hands, hesitant at first, then guided him back to taste in the right places. Then it was too intense and she tried to push him back, but he gave a small moan and resisted for a moment, and her clutching hands pulled him in closer in spite of herself.

He pulled back with a last lick and kiss, relenting for a moment, and swiped at his mouth with the back of his wrist. His voice sounded a touch breathless when he spoke. “If you let me bring you off once like this, it’ll make it easier. That is, unless you’ve—“

“No.” A sharp shake of her head. “You’re the first. And I’ll be okay.” The words tumbled over each other. She definitely didn’t want to rush this. If it was this good already--

His expression betrayed nothing, not surprise, satisfaction, or disappointment. He gave one more nuzzle and suck, then leaned back on his heels, lips wet, the scar that split his upper lip gleaming. “How about lying down, then,” and he nodded toward the maroon-shrouded bed. She nodded, too, but before she could move, he rose to his feet.

“Wait,” he said. “Let’s do this right.” And he lifted her in his arms.

Okay, Lex Luthor obviously knew how to be a real romantic. His smile drew an answering grin from her as he carried her over to the bed. She wondered if he could feel, or hear, the thudding of her heart.

He set her down gently. “Okay?” he asked, then leaned over her and brushed back her bangs, planting a soft kiss on her brow.

She lay back on the dark ruby satin cover, thinking, okay, this is it. Feeling a little chilly, and oddly like a patient at a doctor’s office, exposed and vulnerable, she forced herself to push that image from her thoughts, focusing instead on the expression on Lex’s face and trying to slow her ragged breathing. She’d never imagined he could look this way, panting, gaze heated: needy. She wouldn’t let herself wonder if he’d ever looked at Clark this way, if Clark had ever seen him aching and desperate.

Her senses had already been stirred to such a pitch that she was more eager to continue than afraid.

He reached down with gentle fingers to lift up the hem of her shirt, and she sat up to slip it over her head. He stripped off his shirt, too, tossing it somewhere off behind him, saying something under his breath she couldn’t make out and glancing at her with a small smirk as though to put her at ease. She watched mesmerized as bare skin was revealed; her eyes scanned up and down his toned chest. His thin and slight appearance when clothed belied the taut, muscular form underneath.

He caught her appreciative gaze and smiled. “Chloe, relax and this will be much easier. Take a deep breath.”

I’m not nervous, she told herself, but she knew she was, so she did, sucking in, then exhaling cool air. How had he been able to tell? This was a big deal, but it was time. Beyond time.

“Now...” he whispered, “Come here.”

He gathered her in his arms. Kissed her, slow and long, in no hurry whatsoever. Her arms wound round him as she responded. His warm palm glided down her side, over her hip and between her thighs while his other hand stroked her cheek, fingers winding through her hair. He touched her as though it were the most important thing in the world, caressed her as though he weren’t a multimillionaire with a billion dollar corporation and vast, limitless concerns. As though he had all the time in the world to devote to it.

He knelt next to her on the bed, took one finger, two, and licked the tips. First he kissed her. Then he reached down, circled her opening, then stretched her, and she whimpered. “Mmmph.”

He sat back on his heels. Reaching for her hand, he guided it toward his crotch. She could see before she touched that he was hard, and swallowed as she felt firm flesh rise to meet her hand behind the fine cloth of his trousers. He made a low sound in his throat, almost like a growl. Guided her hand to button, then zipper. “Go ahead,” he said, his voice like rough sandpaper.

It was supposed to be Clark, she’d always thought it would be Clark, never imagined it being anyone else, but it would never be Clark, so it might as well be Lex, who had enough experience to put her at ease and was broadminded enough not to hold her being a virgin against her. And who at least liked her.

But she pushed the thought away. She was a little afraid, but…she wanted this. Really.

She sat up on her elbow and licked her lips, her tongue protruding just a little as she fumbled with the button of his fly, then grasped the zipper and tugged. Her finger snagged on the teeth of the zipper.

“Oops, sorry.” She giggled a little, nervously, slid the tip of the finger into her mouth.

“It’s okay,” he whispered, and she dropped her eyes before the heat in his gaze.

She’d seen Clark hard a few times, for reasons that she didn’t think had much to do with her, but he’d been wearing jeans, or khakis, and she’d known he would be big, anyway. He was so tall, and they always said that the size of a guy’s hands—but Lex wasn’t small, either. Bigger than she would have expected, and no hair anywhere, which she supposed she should have expected. She subdued a crazy urge to chuckle. Guys. How could they just—act normal, with these--

Don’t even think about it, she told herself. Then took a deep breath.

She spread her legs so he could nestle between her thighs, and before he did anything else, he kissed her again, all mouth and tongue, toned muscles and flesh, and she felt her body warming, opening like a hothouse flower under a heat lamp. Lex pressed his open mouth to one small breast, then the other, kneading the opposite one with his hand as he kissed and tongued the nub of flesh. He kept up a hot, whispering babble, in which she could periodically pick out her name, as he alternately kissed and sucked.

Chloe moaned, half-dismayed that the warmth and wet between her thighs was seeping out to soak the bedcover beneath her. Lex didn’t seem to notice, or mind. He shifted, and positioned himself, and she felt the nudge of his cock as she held her breath. Then there was pressure, and pain, almost more than she could bear, but she was too proud to cry out.

There must be a mistake, this couldn’t be right. It really hurt. More than it should, according to those teen books she’d devoured so avidly. There was no way he was going to get inside. Something was wrong. She wasn’t built right, or something. Because it felt as though she were being split apart.

“Stop,” she was astonished to hear herself beg.

For a moment, she didn’t think he was going to. But he pulled back a little and touched a gentle hand to her cheek. “It’s okay. It’s always hard the first time. We’ll just take it slow.”

And she’d read that it was, and Lana had hinted that it was, but she hadn’t expected it to be this hard.

He leaned in again, pressed steadily and harder and, as desperately as she was trying to be brave, she felt tears burning the back of her eyelids. He was kissing her, so it was hard to catch her breath, but… “Stop,” she moaned again, giving him a little push back. “Lex, I... can’t do this. I thought I could, but I can’t.”

His discouraged sigh sent a wave of desolation through her. He turned his head to place a soft kiss on the hand that gripped his shoulder. Shifting her grip and stifling a gasp, she saw she’d left red finger marks on his pale skin.

“Okay, we’ll stop,” he said, and pulled back.

No, she moaned inwardly, suddenly bereft at the prospect and astounded at her lack of courage. If she chickened out, now, then what? She couldn’t give in to defeat this way. Shaking her head, she summoned up all the inner strength she had. “No, Lex. We’re not stopping. I can do this.” She would do it, she vowed.

He looked doubtful. “You’re sure?”

“Mmm hmm. Just give me a minute.” She drew a deep breath. “Okay.”

He pushed again, slowly, and she gasped, and then he was in. “All right so far?” he murmured near her ear.

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak, trying desperately to keep from tensing up too much. She could do this. But the stretching, the pain was intense, almost beyond bearing

“Good.” He began to thrust slowly, in, then out, and she bit her lip in order not to moan. She was not going to let him know how bad it was, she was going to be brave, and it did seem a little better, now. After all, she’d never heard or read of anyone dying from it. But it still hurt like the dickens. And it went on and on. She bit her bottom lip, resolved not to moan or whimper again.

She almost sobbed with relief when she felt the pause and shudder that signaled his release. It was over.

Well, you survived, she told herself.

Lex kissed the crisscrossed bandaid on her brow with a satisfied sigh. “It will be better next time. Easier. Trust me.”

God, I hope so , was her rueful thought as she let her eyes drop wearily closed. It was hard to face the fact that her performance had been less than stellar. She wondered dismally if Lex were as disappointed as she was.

She felt his hand brushing her bangs lightly, felt the touch of his lips on her mouth.

“Trust me,” he said again. And I’m honored to have been the first. Believe me.”

His arms went around her, and she burrowed into the warmth, the soft murmur of his voice the last thing she heard before falling asleep.

***

She woke to the sound of rain spattering the windows, to find Lex gazing down at her, chest bare, sheet covering the lower part of his body.

“’Morning. Awake at last?” Despite the implication, he must just have awakened himself; his voice was thick with sleep but soft and mellow as always, and the sound went right through her.

She sat up slowly. “Ouch.”

He smiled. “You’re okay?”

“A little sore. Nothing terminal, though.”

He bent to kiss her. “It won’t last long. And you’re beautiful in the morning, in case no one’s ever told you.”

She couldn’t suppress a smile, or the warm feeling his words gave her. “Thanks.” She drew the sheet up around her and glancing over at him worriedly. “So, we’re planning to keep this just between us?”

He looked at her for a moment, eyes half closed. “Luthors are nothing if not discreet. My lips are sealed. For a moment, anyway. Until I...”

Lex leaned over again and teased her lips apart with his tongue. She lay back, giving herself up to the kiss, wincing a little as he pressed against her. His eyes darkened with concern as he drew back the sheet and trailed the side of his hand gently down her cheek.

“Let’s see if we can do something about that.” And, before she could speak, move or do anything, he was between her legs, probing, licking and sucking again, and, sure, it still hurt, but not enough to make him stop. And within a few moments, she no longer noticed the pain which, within a mere instant more, turned to ecstasy. She flung herself back on the satin pillows as stars burst behind her eyelids.

They lay quiet afterward, his hand weaving through her hair. She stirred and nestled closer, not sure that she ever wanted to leave this room.

Lex’s caressing hand slowed to a stop, and he nudged her with his elbow. “So, shall I drive you home? I have to be in Metropolis by one, and you and your father might like to do something to celebrate his new position.”

Her brain wasn’t computing. “What?”

“Gabe’s working for me, now. As of today.”

Happiness and relief warred with unease. “Oh, no.” She shook her head. “Lex, you don’t have to do that. You shouldn’t do that.”

“I wouldn’t do it if I felt I had to. If you recall, when Clark asked for that favor, my answer was no. But I will do it, now. Because I want to. My idea, my choice, my decision.”

She tried for her usual tone of “flip”. “Which makes me just a tad uncomfortable, considering what just happened between us.”

“It shouldn’t. It isn’t payment for anything. I’ve been planning to do it anyway. Call it a gift. For no reason other than that I like Gabe, and he’s been a good employee who deserved better treatment than he received. And that you and I are good friends.”

“But, your father—"

“Chloe, please. Let’s not conclude a very pleasant night and morning by bringing up that subject.”

Chloe was astonished to find herself smiling through a haze of sentimental tears. To find she liked Lex so much better than she ever thought she would. To discover she was glad he’d been the first. Because she was sure that, in spite of it all, they had no future together whatsoever.

Or did they?

“And I hope we can stay friends.”

He bent and let his eyes drop closed, touching the tip of his nose to hers, and she let him do it, winding her arms around his waist.

She loved Clark. And so did Lex. But somehow, they’d found each other. At least for a evening. Whether it might be for longer remained to be seen.

“To the future,” said Lex, with a low laugh at her startled expression.

_________________

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