I Saw It In Your Eyes
Couple(s): Ch/L (Yay!)
Rating: PG-13, just for the fun of it all
Disclaimer: Everything but the plot belongs to someone other than me.
Spoilers for: nothing
Author's Note: This was loosely inspired by the beautiful Rufus Wainwright song, 'Tower of Learning', though this isn't really a song fic.
* * * * *
Lex Luthor felt dead inside; felt that deep, indescribable, difficult to pinpoint ache in his stomach and his heart. He wasn't a sentimental man--he didn't believe that he needed love to make him 'live' again--but he knew alcohol, parties, and nameless, faceless women would only mask the pain, possibly intensify it over time. But, until he found a way to banish it forever, he would have to come up with temporary ways of relieving it, else he'd lose his mind.
It was for that reason, and that reason only, that he found himself sitting in the Beanery one Saturday evening, waiting for Chloe to arrive; their friendship was growing and she'd suggested they meet for coffee and discuss the whole Nicodemus flower incident. Her insatiable need to investigate was one of the many reasons why he liked her so much. He was pretty sure that seeing Chloe wouldn't make him feel much better. Still, he was willing to do anything for just a momentary reprieve from it all: his father, business, the ache.
"Lex." And there she was; a vision in form-fitting boot cut jeans and a black t-shirt. Her curly blonde hair was in disarray--she looked natural and beautiful. Despite himself, Lex drew in a sharp breath; her subtle beauty never ceased to render him speechless. She couldn't hold a candle to all of his nameless bimbos put together. "Lex?" she said again, a teasing lilt in her soft voice.
He blinked his icy blue eyes, wrapping his cold hands around his lukewarm mug of black coffee, drawing whatever heat he could from the porcelain. "Chloe, hi. I'm sorry, I was thinking about--" how lovely you look right now. "--business." That statement always worked when he wasn't sure what else to say; no one ever asked him to elaborate on that subject.
As he expected, Chloe accepted his vague response. "Am I interrupting anything?" Without waiting for an answer, she dropped onto the cushioned chair across from the one upon which he was perched.
The smirk Lex never left home without once again formed on his face. "I was thinking about business, Chloe; any distraction is a welcome one--especially pretty ones." It slipped out before he realized what he was saying. Though he was a bit embarrassed--he didn't want to flirt with the sixteen year-old daughter of his assistant manager--he didn't let it show, averting his gaze to the blackness in his cup.
To her credit, Chloe grinned. "Glad I could help." He felt her bright eyes scrutinize him; he had bags under his eyes that revealed he hadn't slept for days, his face was even paler than usual, his cheekbones were sunken in, leading her believe that he hadn't eaten much over the previous few days.
"I'm fine, Chloe," he whispered as her warm hand pried one of his off of the mug, which he was gripping so hard his knuckles were completely white. Her concern for his well-being was extremely surprising; but it was nice to have some care.
Her thumb drew soft circles on the back of his palm, while she continued to stare at him. The second he raised his eyes to hers, she delved deep into his soul. In that one gaze, she seemed to understand everything about him; every evil deed he'd ever done, every bimbo he'd ever slept with, every person he'd backstabbed, every heartache he'd suffered.
He fully expected to see contempt in her own irises; after all, if anyone knew truly everything there was to know about Alexander Joseph Luthor, one would never stand within three miles of him ever again.
Instead of contempt, however, she gazed at him with...understanding and respect. Lex very nearly broke the Luthor rule against tears by crying from relief; every other citizen in the quaint, little town of Smallville sneered at him, or like Clark, was overly sympathetic to the point where Lex felt like he was being patronized.
But Chloe was different. She smiled at him, letting him know she cared, letting him know that, while she didn't know exactly what he'd gone through, she understood that it had been rough. She accepted him as human, despite everything he'd done.
"Should we get started?" she asked as though nothing had changed between them, her ever present notebook already in her hands.
He knew he was being unrealistic; he knew her smile was probably one of simple friendship. But he also knew something else: when he was with Chloe, he didn't feel completely empty anymore.
FINIS
******