Author: Phoenixnz
Title: Convenience
Genre: Romance, drama, AU
Rating: PG13 (at most)
Warning: Schmoop, plus some spoilers for up to season 7
Pairing: Chloe/Lex
Summary: What if Lex fell for Chloe the first time they met, stayed friends with both Clark and Chloe and actually became a good guy. And what if, to help Chloe with her finances, he proposes a marriage of convenience?
A/N: There was no Lexana and Lex knows Clark's secret.
One
“It’s unbelievable, and totally unfair.” Chloe was in full rant mode and all Lex could do was sit back and watch the fireworks. It was no good even trying to talk some sense into her when she was like this. “I mean,” she continued, “what kind of idiot denies financial aid when I so clearly need it. What am I going to do – I need my degree if I’m ever going to be a full-fledged journalist – a respected one at that.”
She took a breath and picked up a handful of the Moroccan Chicken dish she was sampling. Why she had chosen a Moroccan restaurant this time around, Lex couldn’t fathom. But Chloe was always up for something new. It was one of the things he admired most about her.
Before she could get her second wind and start on another rant, Lex leaned forward.
“Chloe, it’s not the end of the world. I can help with your tuition, you know that.”
Chloe’s emerald eyes widened as she looked at him, mouth half open in the middle of chewing. For a moment, Lex thought she was going to start ranting at him about how he threw his money away left, right and centre, and that she wasn’t some kind of charity case and didn’t want to owe him anything, but he already had his argument in that little debate. He owed his life to the feisty blonde sitting across from him. If it hadn’t been for her friendship, or Clark’s, for that matter, he wouldn’t have survived his father.
Thanks to his two closest friends, Lionel had been rotting in a state prison for more than three years now, and Lex was grateful for that. Okay, so some people would say that paying a year’s tuition was more than that gratitude was worth, but not from where he sat.
“Lex, while I appreciate the sentiment,” Chloe said finally, calmly, “I really can’t accept it.”
“Why not?”
“Because I need to do this on my own – my own terms.”
“It would still be on your own terms. I mean, if it makes you feel any better, we can call it an interest-free loan and you can pay me back when you can manage it.”
Chloe continued to stare at him, her food forgotten.
“Lex, you do know how much journalists get paid, don’t you? Even at the Daily Planet.”
He shrugged. “I could always buy the newspaper and raise the salaries,” he offered.
“Don’t joke about these things.”
Lex picked up his drink and sipped from it. “Who’s joking?”
“Leeex,” she wailed plaintively.
“All right, fine,” he sighed. “I won’t buy the Daily Planet. Yet.”
Chloe gave an exasperated sigh. She’d often told him in the past that no one was more infuriating than he was. He liked to think of it as keeping her on her toes. He grinned, unrepentantly.
Lex had trouble remembering, sometimes, how things had changed. Sure, when they’d first met, he and Chloe had been wary of each other. And he’d been more focused on his friendship with Clark. Back when Clark was a freshman at Smallville High, Lex had just been exiled to the town from Metropolis. After years of partying hard, and nearly getting his name splashed all over the tabloids, Lionel had decided it was the last straw and had sent Lex to take over management of what Lex had loosely termed ‘the crap factory’.
But one afternoon, he’d been driving too fast and hadn’t been able to stop in time to prevent catastrophe. His car had hit a bale of barbed wire and he’d smashed into the railing of a bridge. At the same time, he’d hit Clark Kent, although, of course, Clark had denied it.
That had been the beginning of their friendship. And since then, Lex had adopted Smallville as home, much to Lionel’s disgust.
It was through that friendship that his friendship with Chloe Sullivan, the feisty young blonde reporter with the pixie haircut, began.
Lex smiled as he remembered the first time Chloe had attempted to interview him. It had been almost funny how quickly she had gone for the jugular. She’d been asking about a recent incident at Level Three at the plant. Something Lex had not been aware of.
“So, Mr Luthor, are there any more secret projects going on at Level Three of the Smallville plant?”
“Please, call me Lex,” he’d insisted, hating the formality, especially when it was Clark working the camera Chloe was using.
“Okay, Lex,” she’d said, her green eyes flashing evenly. And he just knew he was in trouble. “You going to answer my question?”
Yep, he thought. He had been in trouble all right. He hadn’t been able to get the blonde out of his head since.
But she had been only fifteen, and there was no way he was going to do anything about it then. So he’d settled for friendship. Dating other women – even getting married a couple of times to, as it turned out, women who only wanted him for his money. Both homicidal. Lex had breathed a sigh of relief when he’d come out of it almost unscathed.
Lex looked up when Chloe kicked his ankle.
“Wake up sleepyhead,” she said, frowning at him. “You were day-dreaming.”
Lex started to protest but she just grinned. She picked up a piece of the spicy chicken from her plate and offered it to him. He shook his head. Call him obsessive-compulsive, but he had a thing about hygiene.
“Oh come on, Lex, live dangerously. It’s not like you can get sick.”
“Chloe!”
“Wuss,” she snorted.
Oh, if only they weren’t in a public restaurant where one of the patrons was likely to have a camera. But the press knew all about his friendship with the young reporter and they had little interest in something they saw as exceedingly dull.
“So, anyway, we were talking about your financial woes,” Lex prompted.
Chloe sighed.
“Look, Lex, I appreciate the thought that you want to help out, in that grand gesture sort of way that you’re famous for, or maybe I should say infamous?” She shook her head. “Anyway, I’d rather not borrow money from you. Thanks all the same.”
“Then what are you going to do? I mean, your dad’s salary isn’t going to be enough to pay for your tuition. And if you can’t get financial aid ...”
“Look, don’t think I’m not grateful for everything you’ve done for us Lex. I mean, if you hadn’t talked to Oliver Queen, my dad wouldn’t have his job in Star City.”
Oliver Queen. Former Excelsior Academy alumni. For years they had hated each other. Oliver had bullied him in school, all because he’d appeared to be weak. But then they’d had to work together on a lucrative business deal and Oliver had come out of it not only richer, but also with a new respect for Lex. He’d finally apologised for everything that had happened between them at boarding school.
When Lionel had blacklisted Gabe Sullivan, Lex had felt guilty. So he’d asked Oliver for a favour. And Gabe Sullivan had moved to Star City to manage one of Queen Industries’ smaller subsidiaries. It was perfect, even if the salary wasn’t quite enough for Gabe to have saved money for Chloe’s education.
Lex did feel sympathy for Chloe’s situation. It was her final year of college but Met U had made some cutbacks due to the recession, and those students who had received financial aid in previous years were being turned down this year. Lex really wanted to help his friend, but he knew her pride was getting in the way of accepting it.
But Lex thought he had a solution.
“You know, Chloe, there is a way we could do this. I mean, a way I could actually pay for your education without you worrying about how to pay it back. And all you’d have to do is sign a little contract.”
Chloe looked intrigued in spite of herself. But experience had taught her to proceed with caution in these instances.
“What kind of scam are you planning? I mean, you’re not thinking of, I don’t know, buying the university or something, are you?”
Lex scoffed. “Please! Even I couldn’t afford to buy Met U. No, Chloe, I’m talking about something completely different. What if there was a way for you to have access to my money, free and clear. Or anything you want.”
Chloe snorted with laughter. “Right. I suppose that means I’d have to marry you or something.”
“Not ‘or something’ Chloe. That’s exactly what I mean.”
Title: Convenience
Genre: Romance, drama, AU
Rating: PG13 (at most)
Warning: Schmoop, plus some spoilers for up to season 7
Pairing: Chloe/Lex
Summary: What if Lex fell for Chloe the first time they met, stayed friends with both Clark and Chloe and actually became a good guy. And what if, to help Chloe with her finances, he proposes a marriage of convenience?
A/N: There was no Lexana and Lex knows Clark's secret.
One
“It’s unbelievable, and totally unfair.” Chloe was in full rant mode and all Lex could do was sit back and watch the fireworks. It was no good even trying to talk some sense into her when she was like this. “I mean,” she continued, “what kind of idiot denies financial aid when I so clearly need it. What am I going to do – I need my degree if I’m ever going to be a full-fledged journalist – a respected one at that.”
She took a breath and picked up a handful of the Moroccan Chicken dish she was sampling. Why she had chosen a Moroccan restaurant this time around, Lex couldn’t fathom. But Chloe was always up for something new. It was one of the things he admired most about her.
Before she could get her second wind and start on another rant, Lex leaned forward.
“Chloe, it’s not the end of the world. I can help with your tuition, you know that.”
Chloe’s emerald eyes widened as she looked at him, mouth half open in the middle of chewing. For a moment, Lex thought she was going to start ranting at him about how he threw his money away left, right and centre, and that she wasn’t some kind of charity case and didn’t want to owe him anything, but he already had his argument in that little debate. He owed his life to the feisty blonde sitting across from him. If it hadn’t been for her friendship, or Clark’s, for that matter, he wouldn’t have survived his father.
Thanks to his two closest friends, Lionel had been rotting in a state prison for more than three years now, and Lex was grateful for that. Okay, so some people would say that paying a year’s tuition was more than that gratitude was worth, but not from where he sat.
“Lex, while I appreciate the sentiment,” Chloe said finally, calmly, “I really can’t accept it.”
“Why not?”
“Because I need to do this on my own – my own terms.”
“It would still be on your own terms. I mean, if it makes you feel any better, we can call it an interest-free loan and you can pay me back when you can manage it.”
Chloe continued to stare at him, her food forgotten.
“Lex, you do know how much journalists get paid, don’t you? Even at the Daily Planet.”
He shrugged. “I could always buy the newspaper and raise the salaries,” he offered.
“Don’t joke about these things.”
Lex picked up his drink and sipped from it. “Who’s joking?”
“Leeex,” she wailed plaintively.
“All right, fine,” he sighed. “I won’t buy the Daily Planet. Yet.”
Chloe gave an exasperated sigh. She’d often told him in the past that no one was more infuriating than he was. He liked to think of it as keeping her on her toes. He grinned, unrepentantly.
Lex had trouble remembering, sometimes, how things had changed. Sure, when they’d first met, he and Chloe had been wary of each other. And he’d been more focused on his friendship with Clark. Back when Clark was a freshman at Smallville High, Lex had just been exiled to the town from Metropolis. After years of partying hard, and nearly getting his name splashed all over the tabloids, Lionel had decided it was the last straw and had sent Lex to take over management of what Lex had loosely termed ‘the crap factory’.
But one afternoon, he’d been driving too fast and hadn’t been able to stop in time to prevent catastrophe. His car had hit a bale of barbed wire and he’d smashed into the railing of a bridge. At the same time, he’d hit Clark Kent, although, of course, Clark had denied it.
That had been the beginning of their friendship. And since then, Lex had adopted Smallville as home, much to Lionel’s disgust.
It was through that friendship that his friendship with Chloe Sullivan, the feisty young blonde reporter with the pixie haircut, began.
Lex smiled as he remembered the first time Chloe had attempted to interview him. It had been almost funny how quickly she had gone for the jugular. She’d been asking about a recent incident at Level Three at the plant. Something Lex had not been aware of.
“So, Mr Luthor, are there any more secret projects going on at Level Three of the Smallville plant?”
“Please, call me Lex,” he’d insisted, hating the formality, especially when it was Clark working the camera Chloe was using.
“Okay, Lex,” she’d said, her green eyes flashing evenly. And he just knew he was in trouble. “You going to answer my question?”
Yep, he thought. He had been in trouble all right. He hadn’t been able to get the blonde out of his head since.
But she had been only fifteen, and there was no way he was going to do anything about it then. So he’d settled for friendship. Dating other women – even getting married a couple of times to, as it turned out, women who only wanted him for his money. Both homicidal. Lex had breathed a sigh of relief when he’d come out of it almost unscathed.
Lex looked up when Chloe kicked his ankle.
“Wake up sleepyhead,” she said, frowning at him. “You were day-dreaming.”
Lex started to protest but she just grinned. She picked up a piece of the spicy chicken from her plate and offered it to him. He shook his head. Call him obsessive-compulsive, but he had a thing about hygiene.
“Oh come on, Lex, live dangerously. It’s not like you can get sick.”
“Chloe!”
“Wuss,” she snorted.
Oh, if only they weren’t in a public restaurant where one of the patrons was likely to have a camera. But the press knew all about his friendship with the young reporter and they had little interest in something they saw as exceedingly dull.
“So, anyway, we were talking about your financial woes,” Lex prompted.
Chloe sighed.
“Look, Lex, I appreciate the thought that you want to help out, in that grand gesture sort of way that you’re famous for, or maybe I should say infamous?” She shook her head. “Anyway, I’d rather not borrow money from you. Thanks all the same.”
“Then what are you going to do? I mean, your dad’s salary isn’t going to be enough to pay for your tuition. And if you can’t get financial aid ...”
“Look, don’t think I’m not grateful for everything you’ve done for us Lex. I mean, if you hadn’t talked to Oliver Queen, my dad wouldn’t have his job in Star City.”
Oliver Queen. Former Excelsior Academy alumni. For years they had hated each other. Oliver had bullied him in school, all because he’d appeared to be weak. But then they’d had to work together on a lucrative business deal and Oliver had come out of it not only richer, but also with a new respect for Lex. He’d finally apologised for everything that had happened between them at boarding school.
When Lionel had blacklisted Gabe Sullivan, Lex had felt guilty. So he’d asked Oliver for a favour. And Gabe Sullivan had moved to Star City to manage one of Queen Industries’ smaller subsidiaries. It was perfect, even if the salary wasn’t quite enough for Gabe to have saved money for Chloe’s education.
Lex did feel sympathy for Chloe’s situation. It was her final year of college but Met U had made some cutbacks due to the recession, and those students who had received financial aid in previous years were being turned down this year. Lex really wanted to help his friend, but he knew her pride was getting in the way of accepting it.
But Lex thought he had a solution.
“You know, Chloe, there is a way we could do this. I mean, a way I could actually pay for your education without you worrying about how to pay it back. And all you’d have to do is sign a little contract.”
Chloe looked intrigued in spite of herself. But experience had taught her to proceed with caution in these instances.
“What kind of scam are you planning? I mean, you’re not thinking of, I don’t know, buying the university or something, are you?”
Lex scoffed. “Please! Even I couldn’t afford to buy Met U. No, Chloe, I’m talking about something completely different. What if there was a way for you to have access to my money, free and clear. Or anything you want.”
Chloe snorted with laughter. “Right. I suppose that means I’d have to marry you or something.”
“Not ‘or something’ Chloe. That’s exactly what I mean.”
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