The Big, Strong Hero & the Distressed Damsel
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Seriously.
A/N: This has not been beta'd. Mistakes are my own.
Dedicated to: Fiona and the other fic writers because they rock.
The storm was bad; so bad, in fact, that Gabe called from the plant to say that he was going to stay until it blew over. "Honey," he continued, "I know you're working on the Torch, and I don't want you to drive in this weather. I'll ask Lex to pick you up."
Chloe, who'd been quickly editing Pete's latest, misspelled article, rolled her eyes. "So we can't drive in this, but Lex can," she retorted.
A sigh from her father. "Look, he's used to this. Besides, he has a chauffeur who gets paid to taxi the Luthors through anything. Sit tight, and I'm sure he'll be by in about half an hour." Muffled voices indicated that he had to get back to work.
"Wait!" Chloe exclaimed, gripping her cellphone. "What makes you so sure Lex will even want to pick up the daughter of his manager?"
Gabe had already hung up. With a sigh of her own, she scrunced up her face and observed the monitor of her iMac. "It's 'configuration', not 'configerashion', Ross. It's called a *dictionary*." She changed that word, then sent 'spell check' through the rest of the document; she usually liked to do that on her own --so she could check grammar along the way-- but her neck hurt, she was cranky, and she didn't really want to see Lex.
A sharp knock on the door caused her to swivel her chair around. A damp yet collected Lex was smirking at her through the glass pane. "Can I come in?" he mouthed, indicating that the door was locked; when she was mostly alone after school hours (a few janitors hung around, too) she always locked the door.
Getting up, the blonde girl yanked open the wooden structure, smirking as well. "Didn't think you'd come."
He swept inside, as was his wont, the bottom of his unbuttoned trench coat swirling around him. "It would be poor form to not help my manager; he does great work, so I figure, 'what the hell'. Besides," he paused, and his piercing eyes carefully took in the tiny room. "Besides, when *you're* the damsel in distress, I know I can get some good banter out of the occasion. I like what you've done to the place." It was a non sequitor --especially for Lex-- but Chloe was too annoyed by something he said to acknowledge the compliment.
"Don't *ever* call me a 'damsel in distress' again," she said with false sweetness. "I'm not a 'damsel', and the only 'distress' I'm under is related to the atrocious article I'm writing; you certainly don't want to, nor can you, help with that. My father was being a little too overprotective when he asked you to come here and --thank you. I've been working on reorganizing the Wall." She realized, just in time, that she was getting carried away; as was *her* wont.
Lex paused again, chuckled. His eyes moved down her slender body, taking in her flared jeans, the hems embroidered with odd patterns, and a white peasant top that seemed to flatter her. "It shows."
"Should we go now?" Chloe asked casually; she didn't want to stand there snarking with Lex Luthor, but she did; he was much more interesting than all her other...than all her friends put together. (She and the bald billionaire weren't friends, she didn't think.)
"No," Lex replied, reached behind him and gently pushed the door closed. When he moved so his hands were on her shoulders, she swallowed. "It's getting worse out there," he whispered. "I don't want to put you in unnecessary danger."
Since they were already flirting... "As long as I have you to protect me, oh, big, strong hero..." she returned quietly, her eyes glittering.
He smirked again. "And while I'd like nothing more than to take you in my arms and bring you to safety, my poor steed won't be able to handle another trip."
That struck Chloe as odd. "You drove?"
Lex raised his eyebrows, as though he were surprised that she even asked. "Of course. It wouldn't be particularly gallant of me to force one of my drones to drive me, then take all the credit for rescuing you, would it?"
She was strangely touched by his words. "'Gallant' isn't a word typically used to describe you, Lex," she shot back, resisting the urge to ask why he *really* came all the way out to the school; she didn't believe his story for a second. Then her hands wound around his wrists, and she pushed his own hands off of her shoulders. "Now. Since you won't let me leave, I'm going to get some work done. Make yourself at home." With one hand, she motioned to a few stray desk chairs that were waiting for various bodies to fill them in order to write.
When Lex shook his head, she wasn't surprised; she didn't expect him to take orders (it *was* more an order than a suggestion) from anyone, let alone her. However, she *was* surprised when he guided her to her desk. "You've worked enough." He stared into her eyes while using his unoccupied arm (one still gripped her shoulder) to sweep everything but the computer off her desk top. "Time to play."
Her eyes grew wide. "Friggin, bloody hell, Lex! What's your problem?"
He wet his lips with his tongue (she had to turn away) and watched her seriously. "I'm not suggesting anything illegal, Miss Sullivan; you're sixteen, though I don't want to devirginize you, anyway. You know, you *must* know, that I really like you. Frankly, Clark's never going to get a clue as to how fabulous you are, so, what's a lonely girl going to do?"
She had to admit Lex's logic made sense; Clark *wouldn't* get a clue, and Chloe was lonely. Even if she didn't thik she cared about Lex as anything more than a guy she liked to flirt with, they were alone, there was lightning, she'd always secretly thought that storms should be spent with someone... "What makes you think that, A) I'm still a virgin, and B) I want to make out with you?"
He grinned to himself; she always had to challenge him. "I think you're still a virgin because you hate every guy on the face of the earth, with very few exceptions; you don't think any of them are worthy of you, and, from what I've seen of today's male students, they aren't. Even if you *did* decide a guy was worth spending time with in a romantic context, you wouldn't give yourself up right away because you have respectable boundaries." He took a slow breath, stared into her eyes. "If you don't want to make out with me, say so; I was simply letting you know that it's an option."
She scowled. "Gee, thanks; so glad you deem me important enough to give me permission to make out with you, if I so choose." The scowl melted suddenly, her facade went with it, and she grabbed him. "What the hell," he heard her whisper before their mouths fused together fiercely. She stretched out across the desk, her head a few inches from her iMac. Without breaking the kiss, he joined her.
There were some sighs and soft noises as the kissing continued, but no words were exchanged. Perhaps twenty minutes after the initial kiss began, Chloe carefully pushed him away. Their eyes locked, and she smiled a bit. "Thanks for being my first," she said with just enough sincerity.
Lex, in spite of himself, was trembling slightly. He sat back on his haunches, gazed down at the gorgeous young woman (though she was more of a woman than any other full-grown female he'd ever met). "Your first kiss?" he asked quietly.
A nod as she sat up and hugged her legs to her chest. (The desk was bigger than it appeared.) "That I remember." A quick glance out the window let her know the rain had slacked off a bit, but was still pouring. "Let's go," she ordered quietly.
He slid off the piece of furniture, offered his hand; she waved it off, but linked her arm through his as they left the office.
They were silent in the ride back to the Sullivans, until Lex manuevered his Jaguar into the driveway. "Bye, Miss Sullivan," he said simply, facing her.
Chloe nodded once. "Bye, Lex. Uh, thanks for coming to my rescue." She stared at him for a beat before adding, "since you're such a knight in shining armor, and all."
He winked. "Next time you need to be rescued, Damsel, make sure I'm the first person you call. Have a good evening."
She threw the door open, closed it, then bolted for the porch. She unlocked the front door after fumbling with her keyring. Before going inside, she half turned, not expecting to see him idling in the driveway. She waved once; he returned the gesture, then slowly backed the Jaguar into the street.
Chloe wasn't sure what had happened, but she knew she was almost glad it had.
******