Convenience

[gem65]

This is a totally different Lex from your other story. I enjoy both of them, but love this one. I never thought I'd say this about Lex, but he's actually sweet in this story. I don't know what else to say other than I loved this update. And congrats again on your 2,000th post.

PS: My post just brought this story to page 4. Yippee!

[phoenixnz]

This is a totally different Lex from your other story. I enjoy both of them, but love this one. I never thought I'd say this about Lex, but he's actually sweet in this story. I don't know what else to say other than I loved this update. And congrats again on your 2,000th post.

PS: My post just brought this story to page 4. Yippee!

You know, this is what I love about Mike's portrayal. In the beginning, you could clearly see the potential for Lex to be one of the good guys. Even though you know he becomes evil. And it's nice to explore the possibilities through fan fics. You'd think I'd get confused between the two different Lexes, but funnily enough, I'm not. I guess it's the reporter in me that I can focus on different stories at the same time.

[gem65]

You know, this is what I love about Mike's portrayal. In the beginning, you could clearly see the potential for Lex to be one of the good guys. Even though you know he becomes evil. And it's nice to explore the possibilities through fan fics. You'd think I'd get confused between the two different Lexes, but funnily enough, I'm not. I guess it's the reporter in me that I can focus on different stories at the same time.

That all makes so much sense. It's not easy to focus on different stories at one time, but it's still fun.

PS: My mother has seen the show a few times and loves Lex. But I think I told you that a long time ago.

[macgurL91]

omg!! great! thank you for the update.


they really are perfect for each other.. oooh.. if only i can have him carry me around like that.. hahaha!

[phoenixnz]

omg!! great! thank you for the update.


they really are perfect for each other.. oooh.. if only i can have him carry me around like that.. hahaha!

You and me both hon. Chloe is one lucky, lucky girl.

[lexie2]

I read this new chapter the day you posted it but was in a rush.

Just wanted to say I loved the playfulness of their budding romance. Crossing my fingers for them not to start questioning what they have found in each other believing their feelings are unrequited.

Lovely update.

[phoenixnz]

I read this new chapter the day you posted it but was in a rush.

Just wanted to say I loved the playfulness of their budding romance. Crossing my fingers for them not to start questioning what they have found in each other believeing their feelings are unrequited.

Lovely update.

Thanks hon. I'm feeling really guilty because I've neglected this fic in favour of another but I hope to have an update soon.

[phoenixnz]

Finally, finally managed to write a new chapter.



Chapter Nine

The rest of the week they spent in the glorious haze of a young couple in love. At least, that was how it appeared to everyone around them. But neither Lex nor Chloe were sure about the others feelings. All they knew was that they had to take what happiness they could get.

They took time exploring each other’s bodies as they made love. Chloe found herself with a new appreciation for her own body. Lex delighted over every curve. What she once saw as an imperfection became something to be worshipped through his eyes. Areas that had once had her frowning became erogenous zones – kissed until she was breathless with wanton need.

When they weren’t making love, they swam in the clear blue waters, or went sightseeing around the bays, taking in as much of the local culture as they could stand. Lex seemed so relaxed here and Chloe found herself going with the flow.

She didn’t want the time to end. But she knew it would be back to reality all too soon. She hated the idea of bidding farewell to the island where so many things had been awakened in her.

On their last afternoon, as they watched the beautiful sunset, Chloe lay curled up in Lex’s arms on the beach.

“I wish we didn’t have to go home,” she sighed. “I wish we could stay here and – I don’t know – grow coconuts or something.”

“I don’t know,” Lex answered slowly. “I think you’d get pretty bored if that was all we did. You’d go nuts without your computer and a story to chase.”

“What are you suggesting, Mr Luthor?” she said, turning and poking him lightly in the ribs. “Are you saying I’m some kind of adrenaline junkie.”

“Well, angel, you do seem to have a knack for finding trouble. Or is it that trouble finds you?”

“Why you ...” She turned fully around to face him and began tickling him. Lex grabbed her wrists.

“Don’t even try it,” he warned.

“Hasn’t anyone ever told you, you should never dare me?”

“And I’ll have you know I can out-tickle you at a hundred paces.”

“Bring it on, Luthor,” she said fiercely as if they were facing off.

“You’re asking for it,” he warned in almost a singsong voice.

Chloe just giggled, trying to wriggle her way out of his grip. Before long, he had her on her back on the sand, laughing hard as he tickled her into submission. It was the kind of intimacy she had never thought she would have with Lex. And before long, it led to intimacy of another kind. Finally, sated, they walked hand in hand to the still warm water to wash the sand off.

Next morning, Chloe packed with some reluctance. Lex came up behind her, putting his arms around her waist and kissing the crook of her neck. She murmured in appreciation.

“Our flight leaves in a hour,” he told her.

“And then it’s back to reality,” she sighed. She continued folding the clothes until the case was packed full.

“I know angel,” he sighed in return. “But we have commitments back home.”

Chloe leaned back against him, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths, just enjoying these last few moments of intimacy.

“Lex, I ...”

Could she really tell him how she felt? She loved him. Hell, she wanted to shout it from the rooftops, tell the whole world she was madly, crazy in love with Alexander Joseph Luthor. She could just see the headline now. Chloe Loves Lex.

But her daydream was interrupted by the knock on the door and one of the hotel staff advising that the car was ready to take them to the airport. Then it was a mad rush of last minute gathering of items and checking they had everything before rushing down to the car.

Chloe had hoped that Lex would arrange for them to have some private time on the plane home, but it wasn’t to be. As soon as he got on the plane, there was an urgent call from Metropolis. He immediately fired up his laptop, working diligently, talking all the while on the phone. With a sigh, Chloe went off to find some movies to play on the small screen.

They returned to the cloying heat of a Metropolis summer. Lex had barely paused in his phone conversation long enough for the plane to land then taxi along the runway to the Luthorcorp hangar. He was immediately on the phone again once all the inspections were done and the formalities over.

Chloe sat in the back of the air-conditioned limo, staring out the window at the city. The honeymoon was definitely over.

Clark greeted her at the penthouse when she arrived. Lex had stayed in the limo, as he was heading immediately to the office.

Lex had moved to Metropolis when Clark had started college. Clark had his own security code and came and went as he pleased. If this had been any other situation, Chloe would have been vaguely annoyed that Clark was here so soon after she got back, but since Lex wasn’t there, she didn’t feel like being alone.

“So how was the honeymoon?” he asked as they went into the living room and sat down with a pitcher of cool lemonade. He’d already asked where Lex was and she’d told him Lex had gone to work.

“It was great,” Chloe answered, with little enthusiasm. Clark immediately picked up on it. He certainly had become better at that in the past few months.

“So why has Lex gone to the office as soon as you got back on home soil?”

“Really,” she insisted. “It was great. We swam, we ate, we slept and Lex didn’t think about work the whole time.”

Well, okay, that was a sort of lie, by omission. There had been that hour or two the first day, but after that it had been nothing but sun, sand, surf and sex. Lots of it.

She sighed. “As soon as we got on the plane, it was a different matter. He was all about the work.”

“Well, he does run a major corporation,” Clark said reasonably.

“I know. It’s just, I wish ...”

“Hey, it’s okay to feel put out. Just tell him how you feel.”

“I can’t ask him to change his whole life around for me. It’s not fair to him.”

Clark looked like he disagreed with that point, but said nothing.

Chloe leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes briefly. Clark moved on to other things, cheering her up by telling her some funny anecdotes. He even told her about a story Lois had been working on which had turned out to be no story at all and the trouble Lois had got herself in over it.

Chloe wasn’t mean-spirited, but a tiny part of her got a little satisfaction out of the fact that Lois, who had walked in to the job at the Daily Planet with virtually no qualifications, had got into trouble for not checking her information.

She could see Clark grinning fondly over her cousin’s antics and that gave her an idea that there was more to them just pushing each other’s buttons. She made a note to mention it to Lex.

The housekeeper chose that moment to appear.

“Mrs Luthor, will you and Mr Kent be wanting dinner?”

Mrs Luthor. It felt strange now that she was back on home soil. It had been different on the island. Now she was being addressed as such by a member of Lex’s staff and it just felt weird.

She looked at Clark. “Staying for dinner?”

“You bet. Try and keep me away.”

Chloe turned back to the housekeeper, making a mental note to try and get her name. Subtly though. She nodded.

“Will Mr Luthor be joining you?”

Lex had already inferred it was likely to be an all-nighter.

“He’s had to go into the office. Some work emergency.” She made her tone mild. It wouldn’t do for the housekeeper to think that there was trouble in paradise already. “Would you be able to keep dinner warm for him?”

“Of course.”

Lex still hadn’t returned home by the time the housekeeper left for the evening. He called around midnight to tell her not to wait up for him, so Chloe went to the kitchen and pulled his, by now, ruined dinner from the oven and threw it in the trash.

She was asleep when he finally did come home, so didn’t hear him come to bed. She never saw his sigh of impatience when he saw that she was wearing the pyjamas he disliked so much. While on the island, after that first night together, she had worn the nightgown Lois had told her to buy, even if it had been worn only briefly before Lex pulled it off.

The first Chloe knew of Lex being home was waking up next to him. He was sleeping on his side, turned away from her and it felt odd. She had woken up every morning on the island to find his arm around her waist and his body cuddled close to her.

He seemed to have been attuned to her every movement though as he instantly woke up the moment the bed dipped.

“What time did you get home?” she asked, keeping her voice even.

“Around four.”

“You missed dinner.”

“I know. I grabbed a sandwich at work.”

Yeah, that’s healthy, she thought.

Chloe desperately wanted to say something. To admonish him for going to work when they’d had such an amazing week. She really wanted to let him know just how angry she was at him neglecting her on their first night at home.

But as she’d sat in the armchair last night, waiting for him to come home, eyes staring without seeing at the television screen, she’d remembered one very important thing. No matter how amazing the honeymoon was, no matter how much she wanted it to be real, it wasn’t.

It was a marriage of convenience. The problem was, Chloe thought that if Lex truly did love her, then nothing would have made him go to the office and leave her home alone. He would have made some excuse, delegated, done something – anything, rather than what he had done.

And that was what hurt the most.

[gem65]

She could see Clark grinning fondly over her cousin’s antics and that gave her an idea that there was more to them just pushing each other’s buttons.

Bring on Clois.

It was a marriage of convenience. The problem was, Chloe thought that if Lex truly did love her, then nothing would have made him go to the office and leave her home alone. He would have made some excuse, delegated, done something – anything, rather than what he had done.

And that was what hurt the most.

Poor Chloe. I really feel for her. Little does she realize that Lex really does love her. As usual, I loved the update.

115 posts to 5,000

[phoenixnz]

Bring on Clois.

Poor Chloe. I really feel for her. Little does she realize that Lex really does love her. As usual, I loved the update.

115 posts to 5,000

Chloe is confused, which is understandable. Lex, of course, is going to make a lot of mistakes before he gets it right.

[BabyDee]

Awwww. Their dialogue above on the beach was just...perfect. Both of them are knuckleheads not to know how each one feels about the other. Communication, Chlex! )

Awesome update, Leanne!

[phoenixnz]

Awwww. Their dialogue above on the beach was just...perfect. Both of them are knuckleheads not to know how each one feels about the other. Communication, Chlex! )

Awesome update, Leanne!

Yep, both knuckleheads, but as you know, in all schmoopy romances, the path of true love is never smooth. Maybe we should just knock their heads together or something.

[phoenixnz]

Chapter Ten

Lex knew from the polite words, then the silent treatment he was getting that he had screwed up with her. Big time. Their first night home and he had gone to work. But an emergency had cropped up and there had been no way to get out of it. Not when it was a company threatening to take over Luthorcorp. He had a bad feeling that his father was behind this. Even in prison, his father’s influence was wide and varied.

But it didn’t help the situation with Chloe. He knew he would have to make it up to her. He just wasn’t sure how.

After a quick shower, he went to work, without breakfast, despite Chloe’s protests that he should eat something. He kissed her on the cheek and left for the office, knowing she was going to worry, then get mad. But there was nothing he could do. He’d arranged for an emergency board meeting this morning.

As soon as he got into work, he had his assistant order his wife some flowers. His wife. It was still hard for him to believe that he was really married to Chloe. The feisty blonde who had dominated his thoughts from the moment they’d met. He stared down at the gold band on his ring finger. He really did need to make it up to her.

He looked up his calendar on his laptop. The next month was full of meetings with suppliers and contractors. And he had to go to Gotham in two weeks to meet with Bruce Wayne over a deal they were working on together. He would barely have time to sleep, let alone do anything else with Chloe. It was bad timing all round, he sighed. And she was going to be, rightfully, angry.

Clark came in shortly before he was due to meet with the board.

“Clark. I’d really like to chat, but I have a meeting to get to.”

“What did you do to Chloe?” Clark asked, immediately ignoring the dismissal.

“Clark, I really don’t have time for this. I have an emergency board meeting and a hostile takeover bid to deal with.”

“Chloe’s really upset, Lex.”

“She didn’t say anything to me this morning when I left.”

“Well, she wouldn’t would she?”

Lex frowned. What did he mean by that?

“Clark ...”

“Chloe’s not going to say anything because she believes you don’t love her. That you only married her as a favour.”

“You know that’s not true,” Lex said. “I do love her.”

“Then why haven’t you told her that?”

“I thought I did tell her. On the honeymoon.” But really, had he actually said it out loud? Come to that, had she? He had never really been all that good at putting his feelings into words, but he thought he had shown it in other ways. After all, he’d been nervous the first time he’d made love to her, and if that wasn’t a good indication of how deep his feelings went, then he didn’t know what was. He’d never been nervous before, with other women.

Of course, then there had been the night before the wedding when he’d been drunk enough to let out his love for her. After all, people when they were drunk had few inhibitions, and he’d just let it all hang out.

But she hadn’t believed him. And that was the whole problem.

Then, of course, there was his reputation to consider. Lex had slept with a few women – more than a few. And, while he didn’t like to blow his own horn – oh, who was he kidding, there – he was no slouch in that department. But the women he’d slept with before Chloe had never meant as much as she did. The time they’d spent together – in bed or out, meant more to him than all the other women put together. God, why hadn’t he told Chloe that?

“Mr Luthor? The board is waiting for you.”

Lex nodded at his assistant, then looked at Clark.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’ll find a way to make it up to her. I will. I just have to get to this meeting.”

“Sure, hostile takeover. I get it.”

But as Lex went into the meeting, he wasn’t so sure that Clark did get it.

The meeting was long and dull and he was glad of the respite when he came out of it four hours later. His assistant handed him a note saying that Chloe had called and he took the time to call her at the penthouse.

“Thank you for the flowers, Lex,” she said, “but you didn’t have to do that.”

“I wanted to,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry about last night. It’s just ... this emergency cropped up at work and I couldn’t leave it to someone else. I think my father might be behind a takeover bid.”

“I know. Clark told me ... well, a little. Is there anything I can do?”

She was so accepting. Lex smiled. That was his Chloe. Offering to put her skills to work.

“Thanks angel,” he said, “but it’s all in hand. I’ve just come out of a four hour board meeting.”

“Sounds exciting,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Lex laughed.

“Yeah,” he agreed.

“Are you coming home for dinner? I’m betting you haven’t had anything to eat all day.”

Truth was, he’d been surviving on coffee all morning and he was starving. The thought of dinner, whatever it entailed, was tempting. Especially if it meant with her. But, he sighed regretfully, it was going to be another all-nighter and he would barely have time to grab a sandwich.

“Lex,” she said with a sigh when he told her he wouldn’t be home until late. He said goodbye to her when his assistant came in, telling him the meeting was resuming.

When he did manage to get to his office around seven that evening, after yet another round of meetings with department heads, he found his assistant smirking at him. He wondered what that was all about, then he saw the platter on his desk. It was covered and steam was rising from it. Chloe had sent dinner.

“She left instructions that you were to eat properly even if we have to force feed you,” his assistant said.

Lex threw back his head and laughed. Long and loud. It was one of the things he loved about Chloe. When she decided to do something she went all the way, and god help anyone who incurred her wrath. She’d been determined to make sure he ate something and he knew he would be in trouble if he didn’t eat it.

He read reports while he ate, thanking his lucky stars that he had married someone who was not only stunningly beautiful, but also had a good head on her shoulders.

When he finally did make it home, this time just after midnight, she was sound asleep in their bed. Wearing a negligee. And he was tempted by those luscious curves beneath the silk. He really was. But he was exhausted. As soon as his head hit the pillow he fell into a deep sleep.

Next morning, he woke to find her sitting up, drinking coffee.

“Good morning,” she said.

“Good morning,” he returned. “What time is it?”

“Seven. I’ve been awake for about an hour. You were looking so peaceful I didn’t want to wake you.”

“Thanks.” He yawned and stretched. “I have to get to the office.”

“Again? Lex, you’ve been working two days straight.”

“I know, angel. I have a feeling my father took advantage of my absence last week to try for a coup.”

“He’s in prison, Lex. How much damage could he do?”

“Enough. This is Lionel we’re talking about.”

He got up, going to the bathroom to start getting ready. He heard Chloe put down her coffee cup and follow him in. She stood in the doorway.

“Lex, you’ll burn out if you keep this up.”

“It’s the price of being a Luthor,” he said. He bent down and kissed her quickly. “I’m sorry, baby. When this is all over I’ll make it up to you.”

“You better,” she growled. He watched as she turned away and walked out of the bedroom. Sighing he stripped off and got into the shower. He really would need to make it up to her. But how, he had no idea.

[macgurL91]

wow. i love it! yeah, Chloe is in need of wooing from her beloved hubby.. great update again! i wonder what Lex will do to make it up to her... thank you for the update! ^_^

[lexie2]

Sorry for not reviewing the previous chapter. Actually, I read it the very same day you posted it but I was multi-tasking and buried in paperwork, test planning and homework marking.

Well, it seems Lex will have to do some serious thinking. I wonder what he'll come up with for neglecting his new bride as soon as they landed in Metropolis. He has to know Chloe loves him so it can't be fear of rejection what's stopping him.

You'd better think fast, boy!

I look forward to the follow-up.