Chlex Fanfic: Orchestrato, Chapter 17
Back with another Chlexy update!
Enjoy. Amazing banner by Chleansmile. Thanks again, Sunny! :-)
Title: Orchestrato
Author: BabyDee1
Pairing: Chlex
Rating: PG13 for now, NC-17 later
Warnings: Some chronology-shifting with the events of Episode 4.1 (Gone)
Timeline: Safehouse Summer of Love, End of Season 3/Beginning of 4
Disclaimer: All characters belong to the CW & DC comics.
Summary: Lex inexplicably bonds with Chloe whilst keeping her survival a secret from the world
Feedback: …makes me squee. :)
Read previous chapter here.
Read story from the beginning here.
Chapter 17
Lex banged loudly on the front door of the old farmhouse. A few moments later, the door was yanked open by one very angry farmer.
“Who the hell do you think you are, banging on my door like you own the place?” Jonathan said angrily.
“I'm sorry to disturb your weekend, Mr Kent, but I wouldn't do so unless it was really important,” Lex replied evenly. “Could I possibly talk to Clark?”
Jonathan’s grip tightened on the door handle. “He has chores to do.”
“Mr Kent, this is a life death situation,” Lex said tightly. “Please, can I see Clark for just a few minutes?”
“Maybe you didn’t hear me earlier, Lex. I said-”
“It's alright, Dad,” Clark said as he appeared beside his father. “I think I know what this is about.”
Jonathan glared at Lex, but allowed his son to ease past him. Clark strode away from the farmhouse towards the barn, and Lex quickly followed.
As soon as they were up in the loft, Clark spoke.
“What do you want, Lex?”
He took a deep breath. “It's about Chloe, he replied. She's alive.”
“I knew it,” Clark said triumphantly. “All this time, I said she was alive, I knew it!”
“But I don't know how long for,” Lex continued gravely. “Clark...she's been abducted.”
***
“What?” Clark gaped. “Abducted from where?”
“From the Mansion this morning.”
“She’s been at the Mansion all this time?” Clark said, his voice rising dangerously as he advanced slowly on him.
“Not the whole time, Clark; only since you exposed her last safe house, and almost got her killed,” Lex said sarcastically.
“Right, so you took her to the Mansion,” Clark sneered. “The same Mansion I came to just yesterday and demanded to see her at? That Mansion?”
Lex held up his hands. “Clark, listen to me-”
“You lied to me, Lex!” he thundered. “Over and over, you looked me in the eye and lied to me for months! I have been going out of my freaking mind, trying to figure out where she is, and you knew that!”
“And I’m sorry, Clark!”
“You made me think I was crazy for believing she might be alive!” Clark raged on, ignoring him completely. “Do you have any idea how messed up that is?”
“You can hate me all you want, Clark, but right now we need to find Chloe,” Lex interrupted tersely. He tossed the disk at him. “Take a look at this.”
Clark fixed him with a stony glare, but snatched the disk out of the air and went over to his computer. A few seconds after he put the disc in the drive, Chloe appeared on the screen.
“Where's this?” Clark asked, frowning.
“My bedroom, at the Mansion. She'd gone in there to hide,” he added hastily when Clark shot him a flinty look.
“Hide from what?”
As if in answer to the question, Chloe's assailant appeared on the screen.
Clark's eyes narrowed. “Tyler? What's he doing there?”
“You know this guy?” Lex asked, immediately interested.
“Of course. Tyler James Richter, he's the son of the local blacksmith,” Clark replied. “He was several years ahead of us at Smallville High, finishing just about the time that we all started.”
Tyler reached for Chloe with a spiky metal arm, and Clark paled.
“Oh, my God. He was with his father in the forge the day of the meteor shower,” Clark said, snapping his fingers. “The meteors must have affected his limbs, and somehow fused him with the molten steel.”
“That explains a lot,” Lex said dryly. He fixed his gaze squarely on the floor and took a deep breath. “Clark, I apologise for lying to you. It wasn’t easy, but with Chloe being such a high-profile witness in my father’s case, it was my responsibility to keep her safe at all costs.”
“Yeah, how's that working for ya?” Clark replied sarcastically.
Lex ignored the barb and focused on the solution to the problem. “You said this guy was the son of the local blacksmith,” he said, raising his head. Can you take me to the-”
He stopped, realising with a jolt that he was talking to thin air.
Clark had disappeared.
***
Impossible.
“Clark!” he yelled, giving the loft a quick scan before rushing down the stairs and out into the courtyard. “Goddamnit, Clark!”
“Lex Luthor, you will not take the Lord’s name in vain on my property!” shouted an angry Jonathan Kent.
“Mr Kent, it’s Clark - he was right here, and then he just left, all of a sudden…”
Jonathan’s face instantly became guarded. “I know,” he murmured lowly. “I sent him on an errand.”
“An errand?” Lex echoed. Without the truck? “When?”
“I told you, he had chores to do,” was the curt reply. “Now, if you’ll excuse me-”
“Mr Kent, could you give me directions to the local forge?” he asked desperately. “It’s run by a man named Richter; he has a son, Tyler. It can’t be far from here. Do you know where it is?”
Jonathan snorted. “You mean you don’t?”
“I wouldn’t be asking you if I did,” Lex replied, his anger rising. “Where is it?”
Jonathan tut-tutted. “For shame, Lex,” he said, his voice and manner extremely condescending. “You’ve lived in Smallville for three, almost four years, and you have no idea where the old forge is?”
“No, I don’t!” he all but bellowed. God, the man was infuriating. “Now, where is it?”
“If after three years, you don’t know how to get to the forge, then I’m not going to tell you,” Jonathan replied. “Now I’d like you to leave.”
“Mr Kent, please-!”
“And if you disturb my Sunday morning again, the police will be here to drag you off the property.” He stomped back into the house and slammed the door.
“Fuck!” Lex growled. He ran to the Ferrari and fired up the engine, then sped out of the Kent’s driveway. He had to find that forge, no matter what it took.
***
By the time he traced the location and arrived at the blacksmith’s forge, it was deserted.
Lex checked the building from top to bottom, but there was no sign of Chloe. There was, however, clear evidence that she had been kept in the building; her tiny boot-prints were all over the floor, and there was torn masking tape and what looked like shredded rope in one corner of a small, windowless room.
Lex rose unsteadily to his feet. Clark must have saved her somehow; he always did. There was an unspoken peculiarity about the young man, but he somehow always managed to be in the right place at the right time. He prayed to God that he had been here for Chloe.
He dialled Clark’s cell and waited for several rings before it was answered.
“Tell me you have her,” Lex barked as the phone was picked up.
Silence. Then: “I’ve got her.”
Lex swallowed. “How is she?”
“She’s fine,” Clark replied. “A little worse for wear, but not seriously hurt.”
“Oh, thank God,” Lex breathed. “And…and Tyler?”
More silence. “He won’t bother anyone ever again,” Clark finally confirmed grimly.
Lex heaved a sigh of relief. It was over…almost. They still had the trial to get through. Once that was done and his father was behind bars, then they would all be able to breathe easy.
“Are you back at the farm?” he asked as he hopped back into his car.
“No.”
“Well, tell me where you are, so I can come for Chloe,” he said.
“After the danger she was exposed to whilst in your care, I’m not letting you anywhere near her,” Clark snarled.
Lex scowled. “I didn’t mean for her to get kidnapped, Clark.”
“And yet somehow, she was,” Clark mocked. “Don’t worry, Lex; she’s fine, and she’s getting some well-needed rest.”
“I need to stay with her, Clark,” Lex insisted. “The trial-”
“She’ll be in court tomorrow morning at eight o’clock to give her testimony against your father,” Clark said caustically. “That’s all you really want from her, isn’t it, Lex?”
Lex clenched his fist on the steering wheel in annoyance. “I just want to make sure she’s okay-”
“She’s safe right now,” Clark said in clipped tones. “You don’t need to worry about her.”
Lex’s eyes narrowed. “Let me speak to her.”
“She’s asleep,” was the dismissive reply. “See you in court, Lex.”
“But-”
The line went dead.
“Goddamn it!” he yelled, and hurled his phone to the floor of the car. He leaned on the steering wheel and took several deep breaths to get his anger under control.
Clark Kent was a self-righteous, arrogant little prick…but he had somehow saved Chloe, and Lex figured he owed him for that. As much as he wanted to put the young man in his place, he realised - grudgingly- that it would be better for Chloe to remain in hiding for the final few hours until her court appearance. It was the only way to ensure that his father wouldn’t get his clutches on her again.
But oh, God, what he wouldn’t give to hold her in his arms right now and tell her that everything was going to be okay.
Lex closed his eyes and envisioned her at his side, her eyes sparkling in delight as he gathered her close, her lush body warm and soft against his while he inhaled the soft fragrance of her hair.
Tomorrow, he thought as he fired up the engine. This would all be over tomorrow. Once the cell doors slammed shut on his father, he wouldn’t waste another second in letting Chloe know how much he loved her.
***
Chapter 18…
Enjoy. Amazing banner by Chleansmile. Thanks again, Sunny! :-)
Title: Orchestrato
Author: BabyDee1
Pairing: Chlex
Rating: PG13 for now, NC-17 later
Warnings: Some chronology-shifting with the events of Episode 4.1 (Gone)
Timeline: Safehouse Summer of Love, End of Season 3/Beginning of 4
Disclaimer: All characters belong to the CW & DC comics.
Summary: Lex inexplicably bonds with Chloe whilst keeping her survival a secret from the world
Feedback: …makes me squee. :)
Read previous chapter here.
Read story from the beginning here.
Chapter 17
Lex banged loudly on the front door of the old farmhouse. A few moments later, the door was yanked open by one very angry farmer.
“Who the hell do you think you are, banging on my door like you own the place?” Jonathan said angrily.
“I'm sorry to disturb your weekend, Mr Kent, but I wouldn't do so unless it was really important,” Lex replied evenly. “Could I possibly talk to Clark?”
Jonathan’s grip tightened on the door handle. “He has chores to do.”
“Mr Kent, this is a life death situation,” Lex said tightly. “Please, can I see Clark for just a few minutes?”
“Maybe you didn’t hear me earlier, Lex. I said-”
“It's alright, Dad,” Clark said as he appeared beside his father. “I think I know what this is about.”
Jonathan glared at Lex, but allowed his son to ease past him. Clark strode away from the farmhouse towards the barn, and Lex quickly followed.
As soon as they were up in the loft, Clark spoke.
“What do you want, Lex?”
He took a deep breath. “It's about Chloe, he replied. She's alive.”
“I knew it,” Clark said triumphantly. “All this time, I said she was alive, I knew it!”
“But I don't know how long for,” Lex continued gravely. “Clark...she's been abducted.”
***
“What?” Clark gaped. “Abducted from where?”
“From the Mansion this morning.”
“She’s been at the Mansion all this time?” Clark said, his voice rising dangerously as he advanced slowly on him.
“Not the whole time, Clark; only since you exposed her last safe house, and almost got her killed,” Lex said sarcastically.
“Right, so you took her to the Mansion,” Clark sneered. “The same Mansion I came to just yesterday and demanded to see her at? That Mansion?”
Lex held up his hands. “Clark, listen to me-”
“You lied to me, Lex!” he thundered. “Over and over, you looked me in the eye and lied to me for months! I have been going out of my freaking mind, trying to figure out where she is, and you knew that!”
“And I’m sorry, Clark!”
“You made me think I was crazy for believing she might be alive!” Clark raged on, ignoring him completely. “Do you have any idea how messed up that is?”
“You can hate me all you want, Clark, but right now we need to find Chloe,” Lex interrupted tersely. He tossed the disk at him. “Take a look at this.”
Clark fixed him with a stony glare, but snatched the disk out of the air and went over to his computer. A few seconds after he put the disc in the drive, Chloe appeared on the screen.
“Where's this?” Clark asked, frowning.
“My bedroom, at the Mansion. She'd gone in there to hide,” he added hastily when Clark shot him a flinty look.
“Hide from what?”
As if in answer to the question, Chloe's assailant appeared on the screen.
Clark's eyes narrowed. “Tyler? What's he doing there?”
“You know this guy?” Lex asked, immediately interested.
“Of course. Tyler James Richter, he's the son of the local blacksmith,” Clark replied. “He was several years ahead of us at Smallville High, finishing just about the time that we all started.”
Tyler reached for Chloe with a spiky metal arm, and Clark paled.
“Oh, my God. He was with his father in the forge the day of the meteor shower,” Clark said, snapping his fingers. “The meteors must have affected his limbs, and somehow fused him with the molten steel.”
“That explains a lot,” Lex said dryly. He fixed his gaze squarely on the floor and took a deep breath. “Clark, I apologise for lying to you. It wasn’t easy, but with Chloe being such a high-profile witness in my father’s case, it was my responsibility to keep her safe at all costs.”
“Yeah, how's that working for ya?” Clark replied sarcastically.
Lex ignored the barb and focused on the solution to the problem. “You said this guy was the son of the local blacksmith,” he said, raising his head. Can you take me to the-”
He stopped, realising with a jolt that he was talking to thin air.
Clark had disappeared.
***
Impossible.
“Clark!” he yelled, giving the loft a quick scan before rushing down the stairs and out into the courtyard. “Goddamnit, Clark!”
“Lex Luthor, you will not take the Lord’s name in vain on my property!” shouted an angry Jonathan Kent.
“Mr Kent, it’s Clark - he was right here, and then he just left, all of a sudden…”
Jonathan’s face instantly became guarded. “I know,” he murmured lowly. “I sent him on an errand.”
“An errand?” Lex echoed. Without the truck? “When?”
“I told you, he had chores to do,” was the curt reply. “Now, if you’ll excuse me-”
“Mr Kent, could you give me directions to the local forge?” he asked desperately. “It’s run by a man named Richter; he has a son, Tyler. It can’t be far from here. Do you know where it is?”
Jonathan snorted. “You mean you don’t?”
“I wouldn’t be asking you if I did,” Lex replied, his anger rising. “Where is it?”
Jonathan tut-tutted. “For shame, Lex,” he said, his voice and manner extremely condescending. “You’ve lived in Smallville for three, almost four years, and you have no idea where the old forge is?”
“No, I don’t!” he all but bellowed. God, the man was infuriating. “Now, where is it?”
“If after three years, you don’t know how to get to the forge, then I’m not going to tell you,” Jonathan replied. “Now I’d like you to leave.”
“Mr Kent, please-!”
“And if you disturb my Sunday morning again, the police will be here to drag you off the property.” He stomped back into the house and slammed the door.
“Fuck!” Lex growled. He ran to the Ferrari and fired up the engine, then sped out of the Kent’s driveway. He had to find that forge, no matter what it took.
***
By the time he traced the location and arrived at the blacksmith’s forge, it was deserted.
Lex checked the building from top to bottom, but there was no sign of Chloe. There was, however, clear evidence that she had been kept in the building; her tiny boot-prints were all over the floor, and there was torn masking tape and what looked like shredded rope in one corner of a small, windowless room.
Lex rose unsteadily to his feet. Clark must have saved her somehow; he always did. There was an unspoken peculiarity about the young man, but he somehow always managed to be in the right place at the right time. He prayed to God that he had been here for Chloe.
He dialled Clark’s cell and waited for several rings before it was answered.
“Tell me you have her,” Lex barked as the phone was picked up.
Silence. Then: “I’ve got her.”
Lex swallowed. “How is she?”
“She’s fine,” Clark replied. “A little worse for wear, but not seriously hurt.”
“Oh, thank God,” Lex breathed. “And…and Tyler?”
More silence. “He won’t bother anyone ever again,” Clark finally confirmed grimly.
Lex heaved a sigh of relief. It was over…almost. They still had the trial to get through. Once that was done and his father was behind bars, then they would all be able to breathe easy.
“Are you back at the farm?” he asked as he hopped back into his car.
“No.”
“Well, tell me where you are, so I can come for Chloe,” he said.
“After the danger she was exposed to whilst in your care, I’m not letting you anywhere near her,” Clark snarled.
Lex scowled. “I didn’t mean for her to get kidnapped, Clark.”
“And yet somehow, she was,” Clark mocked. “Don’t worry, Lex; she’s fine, and she’s getting some well-needed rest.”
“I need to stay with her, Clark,” Lex insisted. “The trial-”
“She’ll be in court tomorrow morning at eight o’clock to give her testimony against your father,” Clark said caustically. “That’s all you really want from her, isn’t it, Lex?”
Lex clenched his fist on the steering wheel in annoyance. “I just want to make sure she’s okay-”
“She’s safe right now,” Clark said in clipped tones. “You don’t need to worry about her.”
Lex’s eyes narrowed. “Let me speak to her.”
“She’s asleep,” was the dismissive reply. “See you in court, Lex.”
“But-”
The line went dead.
“Goddamn it!” he yelled, and hurled his phone to the floor of the car. He leaned on the steering wheel and took several deep breaths to get his anger under control.
Clark Kent was a self-righteous, arrogant little prick…but he had somehow saved Chloe, and Lex figured he owed him for that. As much as he wanted to put the young man in his place, he realised - grudgingly- that it would be better for Chloe to remain in hiding for the final few hours until her court appearance. It was the only way to ensure that his father wouldn’t get his clutches on her again.
But oh, God, what he wouldn’t give to hold her in his arms right now and tell her that everything was going to be okay.
Lex closed his eyes and envisioned her at his side, her eyes sparkling in delight as he gathered her close, her lush body warm and soft against his while he inhaled the soft fragrance of her hair.
Tomorrow, he thought as he fired up the engine. This would all be over tomorrow. Once the cell doors slammed shut on his father, he wouldn’t waste another second in letting Chloe know how much he loved her.
***
Chapter 18…