Fic: Blood is Gold - 4/?
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chloecrossingTitle: Blood is Gold
Author: HumbugGirl
URL: http://www.pink-kitten.org/lamplight or http://www.livejournal.com/~humbuggirl
Fandom: Smallville/Stargate
Pairing: Chloe/Lex, Chloe/Lionel, Chloe/Daniel
Genre: Angst, Action/Adventure, Romance
Rating: FR21
Summary: In the weeks following Chloe’s disappearance from Smallville the blonde reporter finds herself mixed up in a whole new variety of trouble.
Spoilers: Mentions spoilers for first two eps of season 4
Disclaimer: Neither the characters of Smallville or the show itself belong to me. They all belong to someone with far more money and power. The same is true of Stargate.
Author’s Notes: 1.Sparked by spoilers for season 4 of Smallville as of 19-07-2004 – don’t say you haven’t been warned. This doesn’t exactly follow what is suggested in them for Chloe as it’s based more on what appears to be Lex’s storyline for the beginning of S4. 2. This is completely and utterly AU after S3 and the brief spoilers that have been given for S4. 3. Assumes established Chlionel relationship sometime between the end of S2 and the beginning of S3. If you have a problem with this move on and don’t bother reading. I should point out however that to begin with Chlionel doesn’t play a major part of the plot and that it’s used more as a device that anything else. 4. At the time of writing this fic I have *not* seen the second half of S3. 5. Its going to be a while before this fic gets around to any of the relationships mentioned in the pairings and that’s because I’m actually trying to write something that’s plot driven.
Feedback: Will be much desired… it might actually help me not get too sidetracked, lol.
~ Part Four ~
The flight from Metropolis had very nearly worn him out. Exhaustion was becoming a daily threat – something which Lex had not suffered from since he was a child and had been caught in the meteorite shower and something which he was not particularly enjoying the return of. If, for instance, fate and time had decided that it was appropriate that his hair should suddenly decide that it was time to grow again then he would have been ecstatic but as usual fate had a cruel sense of humour and had decided to give back to him one of the few things that he would not have welcomed the return of.
On the way to the hotel he had hidden himself away in the back of his limo, refusing even the company of his personal assistant and instead opting for the company of a suitable aged bottle of scotch. It had done little to aid in the removal of his fatigue but it had rather effectively combated both the nagging headache that had begun to form behind his eyes three or four days previously and allowed him a quiet moment without having to be told that either something had gone wrong with the dig, Chloe had managed to get out on her own again, or, god forbid, something mundane like a slump in the markets had occurred. The sense of relief those few short minutes before they rolled up before the hotel were magical and more than enough for Lex to remember that he wasn’t going insane, things weren’t getting on top of him and that there was nothing wrong with him that a decent night’s sleep and a week away from his life wouldn’t change completely. The fact that he did not have the time to have a week away changed nothing. He could manage just fine. He could keep moving.
The air-conditioned lobby of the hotel was a welcome relief even to the claustrophobic atmosphere of the limo with its bullet proof glass and motorcade or security vehicles that ensured no one would have a chance to take a lucky shot at the Luthor heir. The only thing preventing Lex from feeling relief entirely were the four guards that immediately positioned themselves around him. As his security team they had orders to be with him every step that he took until he was safely tucked up in his room for the night and even then there would always be one positioned on the door. The team were good, handpicked by himself after many an incident when he had found himself subjected to consequences of the mishandling of the procedure by his personal staff or even because they had been deliberately positioned so that they might either observe him, try to attack him or even both. For this trip Lex had chosen to take two guards from Smallville with him but also to employ a local security company who, in addition to the two men currently walking with him, also had others scattered around the grounds to the hotel. Their local knowledge would be invaluable if he was attacked and Lex was fairly certain that his research into them had gone far enough to weed out any potentially dangerous elements before he had even landed in the country.
Of course there was always a slim chance that he might have missed something and thus the reason that there was a fairly vicious looking knife still attached to his leg that a fairly substantial bribe had allowed him to carry through customs with him. It had been distinctly irritating to discover that even his private air craft was subject to the new laws that seemed to be springing up all over the world.
Lex just hoped that he wouldn’t actually have to use the knife. He counted himself reasonably proficient with it and knew that if the situation did arise where it would be necessary to use it then he would be able to but that did not mean that he wanted to.
The staff behind the reception desk perked up when they saw him enter the lobby, abruptly becoming both alert and friendly. One backed away towards a door at the back of the area behind the desk and a second later a tall greying man that Lex knew to be the manager emerged with a characteristically pleasant smile painted onto his features. His dark eyes fixed solidly on Lex as if the men around him were not even present and he said, “Welcome Mr Luthor. I trust you had a pleasant flight.”
“Reasonably good,” Lex said knowing that the man didn’t really care anyway. “Are my rooms ready?”
“Yes sir. We have prepared your usual suite for you.”
Lex nodded his reply, taking the key that was handed over the desk to him. “Is Miss Sullivan in?”
Confusion flickered for a second over the man’s face and he cast a glance in the direction of the small woman who had evidently been manning the desk while he had been in his office. She shrugged her reply and the manager said quickly, “I’m not sure but it would be easy to find out. Would you like that I rang her room to see?”
“No, that’s fine. I’ll be heading up there myself in a second anyway. Has there been any messages waiting for me?”
“No sir.”
“Okay, hold my calls. I don’t want to be disturbed.”
“Yes sir. Will there be anything else?”
Lex shook his head and turned, heading in the direction he knew the elevators lay in and trusting that someone would bring his bags in the mean time. He had no intention in going to his rooms so when the elevator finally stopped in its ascent he stepped out and walked down the corridor in the direction of Chloe’s bodyguard’s room. The very first thing he wanted to do was find out whether she had attempted any more little excursions in the last twenty-four hours since Lex had spoken to the man and then he would head next door to see Chloe herself before finally heading off and getting some sleep.
The last item seemed more and more tempting by the minute.
His guards kept a respectful distance as he headed down the corridor and arrived at Howard’s door. Lex raised his hand, knocked twice in quick succession and then only narrowly stopped himself from jumped back slightly as the door was ripped open and Howard’s reddened, irate looking features appeared. “What?!” the man growled before realising who was stood before him.
The colour abruptly drained from Howard’s features and he gripped the frame of the door all the more tightly. “Mr Luthor…” he breathed. “I’m… I’m sorry… I thought it was Chloe. I mean, she’s been bugging me all evening and I…” He stopped and took another long deep breath to steady himself. “I think she’s decided to take upon herself to drive me insane, sir.”
A slow knowing smile drifted onto Lex’s features. He knew the feeling well enough. “It’s okay Howard. I take it that Chloe has been doing her very best to try and get away again?”
The man looked uncomfortable. “Not exactly. I caught her trying to sneak downstairs a couple of times but after that she seemed to decide that it would be better to play along. Except… well she’s playing along too much sir. She’s started asking me before she does anything.”
The smile on Lex’s features widened. “I don’t doubt it,” he answered. Glancing in the direction of Chloe’s door he added, “You go back to whatever you were doing. I’ll go and see her.”
Howard nodded emphatically, he eyes unconsciously going in the same direction that Lex had looked only a second before. “I think she’d like that.” His expression flickered. “Of course I don’t think you know what you’re letting yourself in for…”
“It’ll be alright,” Lex said reassuringly. The look on Howard’s face was enough that Lex knew him to be at least relatively serious so he suppressed the smile that had been threatening once more. Instead he turned, letting the guard disappear back into his room and within a couple of steps found himself stood outside of Chloe’s door.
He had planned on taking a few moments to steady himself, to fix on his features a pleasant smile that he was nearly certain would manage to placate whatever irritation it was that the blonde girl was feeling. ‘Nearly certain’ being the important phrase there. Having yet to speak to Chloe he couldn’t honestly know just how angry she might be considering the comparatively small subterfuge he had used to get her to Egypt and more importantly away from Smallville.
He was in the process of raising his hand to knock on the door when it opened and left him surprised for the second time in a few short minutes. Chloe stood before him, an expectant look on her face and her hand firmly clutching the door. Fixing the smile on his features Lex quickly took in everything from her expression to the lightly golden tan that she had managed to acquire since arriving in the country to the way that her hair had turned even blonder and the fact that she appeared to be wearing a rather skimpy set of pyjamas. Or, more precisely, a matching set of thin shorts and a flimsy camisole top.
For a brief second Lex found his breath catching in his throat as his eyes rested a little too long over where the material strained over her breasts before remembering that she wasn’t there to be ogled and quite firmly redirecting his gaze towards Chloe’s freshly flushing face. Obviously abruptly self-conscious the blonde girl dropped her hand from where she had been holding onto the door and folded her arms over her chest. The action had the unfortunate – or possibly fortune depending on how you looked at it, Lex thought – result of simply making Chloe’s breasts seem all the more prominent and he had to fight not to look down again.
“So you finally decided to show up then,” she said brusquely.
“How did you know I was out here?” he asked, willing avoiding answering her.
“I could hear you talking to Howard and you never answered my question.”
Lex winced a little and tried not to let it show on his face. “Can I come in?” he tried instead.
Chloe looked at him steadily for a few seconds, appearing to contemplate the proposition and then nodded shortly. She stepped to one side and let him slip by saying, “Make it quick,” as she did.
Lex walked further into the room, noting with pleasure as he did so that it was just what he had specified. A comfortable looking sitting room with large doors opening up onto a small veranda and a door going off to one side where he could only presume Chloe’s bedroom was. The door to that room however was closed and the glowing laptop computer sat on the low coffee table before the couch told him that the blonde girl had not been in bed. Somehow it didn’t surprise him but it was pleasing all the same to know that he had not pulled her out of bed.
When he turned back towards her it became apparent that Chloe had remained by the door. She was leaned against the wall there just heavily enough for Lex to gather that she was trying to appear relaxed and to know that she was anything but. The thought mad him a little apprehensive and, if he was completely honest, a little sad as well. Having Chloe uncomfortable and nervous around him had not been the point of helping her escape Smallville until things were once again safe for her to return and considering what he knew of the girl Lex could only assume that the discomfort she was displaying was not a passing thing.
Of course the reason for that might very well extend far beyond simply him. There was a quiet reminder at the back of his mind alerting Lex continually to the fact that Chloe nervousness – though he hesitated to call it that completely – and possibly her irritation with him right at that moment was as much a product of her dealings with his father as it was with him and thus that she had probably rather wary where Luthors were concerned anyway nowadays.
Lex didn’t blame her. He wasn’t one-hundred percent clear on the details of exactly what had gone on in those months when she had been working for his old man – Chloe had not seen fit to tell him all of that – but he was aware that Lionel had threatened her on several occasions and that, at least for a while, his own behaviour towards her had not been perfect. It was something he regretted greatly and which he would happily have taken back if he could. Swooping in and helping her out of the mess her life had become in Smallville had been meant to help him atone for some of the sins of his family but the fact was that Lex sincerely doubted whether Chloe would be able to look at him as easily as she first had on those first few occasions when they had met when he had first moved to Smallville.
The thought was more distressing that it should have been even considering his desire to make sure he could return some of the ‘good’ implications that had been sorely missing from the name of Luthor for so long.
He tilted his head to one side and carefully, keeping his tone even, said, “Chloe, if you’ll come and sit down then perhaps I’ll be able to explain everything a little better for you.”
TBC
Author: HumbugGirl
URL: http://www.pink-kitten.org/lamplight or http://www.livejournal.com/~humbuggirl
Fandom: Smallville/Stargate
Pairing: Chloe/Lex, Chloe/Lionel, Chloe/Daniel
Genre: Angst, Action/Adventure, Romance
Rating: FR21
Summary: In the weeks following Chloe’s disappearance from Smallville the blonde reporter finds herself mixed up in a whole new variety of trouble.
Spoilers: Mentions spoilers for first two eps of season 4
Disclaimer: Neither the characters of Smallville or the show itself belong to me. They all belong to someone with far more money and power. The same is true of Stargate.
Author’s Notes: 1.Sparked by spoilers for season 4 of Smallville as of 19-07-2004 – don’t say you haven’t been warned. This doesn’t exactly follow what is suggested in them for Chloe as it’s based more on what appears to be Lex’s storyline for the beginning of S4. 2. This is completely and utterly AU after S3 and the brief spoilers that have been given for S4. 3. Assumes established Chlionel relationship sometime between the end of S2 and the beginning of S3. If you have a problem with this move on and don’t bother reading. I should point out however that to begin with Chlionel doesn’t play a major part of the plot and that it’s used more as a device that anything else. 4. At the time of writing this fic I have *not* seen the second half of S3. 5. Its going to be a while before this fic gets around to any of the relationships mentioned in the pairings and that’s because I’m actually trying to write something that’s plot driven.
Feedback: Will be much desired… it might actually help me not get too sidetracked, lol.
~ Part Four ~
The flight from Metropolis had very nearly worn him out. Exhaustion was becoming a daily threat – something which Lex had not suffered from since he was a child and had been caught in the meteorite shower and something which he was not particularly enjoying the return of. If, for instance, fate and time had decided that it was appropriate that his hair should suddenly decide that it was time to grow again then he would have been ecstatic but as usual fate had a cruel sense of humour and had decided to give back to him one of the few things that he would not have welcomed the return of.
On the way to the hotel he had hidden himself away in the back of his limo, refusing even the company of his personal assistant and instead opting for the company of a suitable aged bottle of scotch. It had done little to aid in the removal of his fatigue but it had rather effectively combated both the nagging headache that had begun to form behind his eyes three or four days previously and allowed him a quiet moment without having to be told that either something had gone wrong with the dig, Chloe had managed to get out on her own again, or, god forbid, something mundane like a slump in the markets had occurred. The sense of relief those few short minutes before they rolled up before the hotel were magical and more than enough for Lex to remember that he wasn’t going insane, things weren’t getting on top of him and that there was nothing wrong with him that a decent night’s sleep and a week away from his life wouldn’t change completely. The fact that he did not have the time to have a week away changed nothing. He could manage just fine. He could keep moving.
The air-conditioned lobby of the hotel was a welcome relief even to the claustrophobic atmosphere of the limo with its bullet proof glass and motorcade or security vehicles that ensured no one would have a chance to take a lucky shot at the Luthor heir. The only thing preventing Lex from feeling relief entirely were the four guards that immediately positioned themselves around him. As his security team they had orders to be with him every step that he took until he was safely tucked up in his room for the night and even then there would always be one positioned on the door. The team were good, handpicked by himself after many an incident when he had found himself subjected to consequences of the mishandling of the procedure by his personal staff or even because they had been deliberately positioned so that they might either observe him, try to attack him or even both. For this trip Lex had chosen to take two guards from Smallville with him but also to employ a local security company who, in addition to the two men currently walking with him, also had others scattered around the grounds to the hotel. Their local knowledge would be invaluable if he was attacked and Lex was fairly certain that his research into them had gone far enough to weed out any potentially dangerous elements before he had even landed in the country.
Of course there was always a slim chance that he might have missed something and thus the reason that there was a fairly vicious looking knife still attached to his leg that a fairly substantial bribe had allowed him to carry through customs with him. It had been distinctly irritating to discover that even his private air craft was subject to the new laws that seemed to be springing up all over the world.
Lex just hoped that he wouldn’t actually have to use the knife. He counted himself reasonably proficient with it and knew that if the situation did arise where it would be necessary to use it then he would be able to but that did not mean that he wanted to.
The staff behind the reception desk perked up when they saw him enter the lobby, abruptly becoming both alert and friendly. One backed away towards a door at the back of the area behind the desk and a second later a tall greying man that Lex knew to be the manager emerged with a characteristically pleasant smile painted onto his features. His dark eyes fixed solidly on Lex as if the men around him were not even present and he said, “Welcome Mr Luthor. I trust you had a pleasant flight.”
“Reasonably good,” Lex said knowing that the man didn’t really care anyway. “Are my rooms ready?”
“Yes sir. We have prepared your usual suite for you.”
Lex nodded his reply, taking the key that was handed over the desk to him. “Is Miss Sullivan in?”
Confusion flickered for a second over the man’s face and he cast a glance in the direction of the small woman who had evidently been manning the desk while he had been in his office. She shrugged her reply and the manager said quickly, “I’m not sure but it would be easy to find out. Would you like that I rang her room to see?”
“No, that’s fine. I’ll be heading up there myself in a second anyway. Has there been any messages waiting for me?”
“No sir.”
“Okay, hold my calls. I don’t want to be disturbed.”
“Yes sir. Will there be anything else?”
Lex shook his head and turned, heading in the direction he knew the elevators lay in and trusting that someone would bring his bags in the mean time. He had no intention in going to his rooms so when the elevator finally stopped in its ascent he stepped out and walked down the corridor in the direction of Chloe’s bodyguard’s room. The very first thing he wanted to do was find out whether she had attempted any more little excursions in the last twenty-four hours since Lex had spoken to the man and then he would head next door to see Chloe herself before finally heading off and getting some sleep.
The last item seemed more and more tempting by the minute.
His guards kept a respectful distance as he headed down the corridor and arrived at Howard’s door. Lex raised his hand, knocked twice in quick succession and then only narrowly stopped himself from jumped back slightly as the door was ripped open and Howard’s reddened, irate looking features appeared. “What?!” the man growled before realising who was stood before him.
The colour abruptly drained from Howard’s features and he gripped the frame of the door all the more tightly. “Mr Luthor…” he breathed. “I’m… I’m sorry… I thought it was Chloe. I mean, she’s been bugging me all evening and I…” He stopped and took another long deep breath to steady himself. “I think she’s decided to take upon herself to drive me insane, sir.”
A slow knowing smile drifted onto Lex’s features. He knew the feeling well enough. “It’s okay Howard. I take it that Chloe has been doing her very best to try and get away again?”
The man looked uncomfortable. “Not exactly. I caught her trying to sneak downstairs a couple of times but after that she seemed to decide that it would be better to play along. Except… well she’s playing along too much sir. She’s started asking me before she does anything.”
The smile on Lex’s features widened. “I don’t doubt it,” he answered. Glancing in the direction of Chloe’s door he added, “You go back to whatever you were doing. I’ll go and see her.”
Howard nodded emphatically, he eyes unconsciously going in the same direction that Lex had looked only a second before. “I think she’d like that.” His expression flickered. “Of course I don’t think you know what you’re letting yourself in for…”
“It’ll be alright,” Lex said reassuringly. The look on Howard’s face was enough that Lex knew him to be at least relatively serious so he suppressed the smile that had been threatening once more. Instead he turned, letting the guard disappear back into his room and within a couple of steps found himself stood outside of Chloe’s door.
He had planned on taking a few moments to steady himself, to fix on his features a pleasant smile that he was nearly certain would manage to placate whatever irritation it was that the blonde girl was feeling. ‘Nearly certain’ being the important phrase there. Having yet to speak to Chloe he couldn’t honestly know just how angry she might be considering the comparatively small subterfuge he had used to get her to Egypt and more importantly away from Smallville.
He was in the process of raising his hand to knock on the door when it opened and left him surprised for the second time in a few short minutes. Chloe stood before him, an expectant look on her face and her hand firmly clutching the door. Fixing the smile on his features Lex quickly took in everything from her expression to the lightly golden tan that she had managed to acquire since arriving in the country to the way that her hair had turned even blonder and the fact that she appeared to be wearing a rather skimpy set of pyjamas. Or, more precisely, a matching set of thin shorts and a flimsy camisole top.
For a brief second Lex found his breath catching in his throat as his eyes rested a little too long over where the material strained over her breasts before remembering that she wasn’t there to be ogled and quite firmly redirecting his gaze towards Chloe’s freshly flushing face. Obviously abruptly self-conscious the blonde girl dropped her hand from where she had been holding onto the door and folded her arms over her chest. The action had the unfortunate – or possibly fortune depending on how you looked at it, Lex thought – result of simply making Chloe’s breasts seem all the more prominent and he had to fight not to look down again.
“So you finally decided to show up then,” she said brusquely.
“How did you know I was out here?” he asked, willing avoiding answering her.
“I could hear you talking to Howard and you never answered my question.”
Lex winced a little and tried not to let it show on his face. “Can I come in?” he tried instead.
Chloe looked at him steadily for a few seconds, appearing to contemplate the proposition and then nodded shortly. She stepped to one side and let him slip by saying, “Make it quick,” as she did.
Lex walked further into the room, noting with pleasure as he did so that it was just what he had specified. A comfortable looking sitting room with large doors opening up onto a small veranda and a door going off to one side where he could only presume Chloe’s bedroom was. The door to that room however was closed and the glowing laptop computer sat on the low coffee table before the couch told him that the blonde girl had not been in bed. Somehow it didn’t surprise him but it was pleasing all the same to know that he had not pulled her out of bed.
When he turned back towards her it became apparent that Chloe had remained by the door. She was leaned against the wall there just heavily enough for Lex to gather that she was trying to appear relaxed and to know that she was anything but. The thought mad him a little apprehensive and, if he was completely honest, a little sad as well. Having Chloe uncomfortable and nervous around him had not been the point of helping her escape Smallville until things were once again safe for her to return and considering what he knew of the girl Lex could only assume that the discomfort she was displaying was not a passing thing.
Of course the reason for that might very well extend far beyond simply him. There was a quiet reminder at the back of his mind alerting Lex continually to the fact that Chloe nervousness – though he hesitated to call it that completely – and possibly her irritation with him right at that moment was as much a product of her dealings with his father as it was with him and thus that she had probably rather wary where Luthors were concerned anyway nowadays.
Lex didn’t blame her. He wasn’t one-hundred percent clear on the details of exactly what had gone on in those months when she had been working for his old man – Chloe had not seen fit to tell him all of that – but he was aware that Lionel had threatened her on several occasions and that, at least for a while, his own behaviour towards her had not been perfect. It was something he regretted greatly and which he would happily have taken back if he could. Swooping in and helping her out of the mess her life had become in Smallville had been meant to help him atone for some of the sins of his family but the fact was that Lex sincerely doubted whether Chloe would be able to look at him as easily as she first had on those first few occasions when they had met when he had first moved to Smallville.
The thought was more distressing that it should have been even considering his desire to make sure he could return some of the ‘good’ implications that had been sorely missing from the name of Luthor for so long.
He tilted his head to one side and carefully, keeping his tone even, said, “Chloe, if you’ll come and sit down then perhaps I’ll be able to explain everything a little better for you.”
TBC
