Oh, hello. How are we?
I discovered this song 'Godless' by Banks and was really inspired by the lyrics to write this, so I did. For this story, though, I wanted to portray Lex as I've seen him in comics and animated movies and shows. Because, well: he is an extremely good character, and I needed to highlight that fact.
Anyway, hope you enjoy it!
Warnings: none
Word count: 1,314
He didn't believe in love, Lex had told you himself. Then why couldn't he stop thinking about you?
You and Lex had known each other forever. From the day your parents introduced you as naive little kids, until now, as you wandered through life, lost.
You'd seen the best and the worst of one another. Gone through the happiest and darkest of times, together.
Lex didn't believe in love, so of course, when the time came: it was you, the one to fall.
Then.
After weeks of an unusually cold wind sweeping through the city, you woke up one morning to the warm rising sun pouring on your face.
The air felt different that day, like a sign for change.
A fact both fitting and terrifying, for something had flickered in your mind lately. Something you'd been meaning to do, but didn't feel like the right time. Until today.
With a deep breath, you removed the covers and hung your feet off the bed.
Gathering the courage to tell Lex Luthor that you loved him.
You climbed up the stairs of LexCorp, with clothes rustling and footsteps hurrying along, you tried to put a coherent order to the words swimming and darting around your head like tadpoles. Fruitlessly.
"Ah! Y/N. There you are." The familiar, cheery voice of Lex called from in front of you, just in time to stop you from crashing into him.
"Lex!" You managed with a gasping voice, out of breath. "Hey."
"Hm— hello to you. Good morning. How are we?" He inquired, but cut you off before you could reply. "Look at you..." He chimed, twirling you around. "...Beautiful."
You offered a smile before turning away, blushing and mouthing a thank you.
"Come now. There's something I want to show you." He continued, beckoning you to follow him.
You walked past the lobby, the basketball court and into one of the labs for authorized personnel only. In the middle of it, was an empty glass box.
Lex got ahead of you and rooted around, pressing a button on the base.
With a hissing sound, a small rock arose in the center, it's green glow reflecting on your eyes.
"What's that?" You asked, getting a closer look.
"That, my dear. Is what we've been looking for." Lex walked to your side, staring at the mineral. "A little souvenir from the Kryptonian world engine, that I believe, will kill Superman."
Your eyes widened, your whole body gripped with a sense of worry. "Kill Superman?"
Lex puffed up his chest with disturbing pride. "At last."
You breathed sharply, grappling with unwelcome thoughts. "Why...?"
"Hm? Why? You ask?" Lex inquired, his face turning somber. "Have you forgotten already, Y/N? The tears in your eyes, the fear you felt. As you watched our home blighted by that alien?"
He moved closer, you stepped back. Afraid, as you listened to his harangue, and watched the man you loved consumed by darkness with every word.
"Have you forgotten?" He hissed. "Because I haven't."
"Lex." You whispered, unable to meet his gaze. "Don't do it... I— do you want to know what I think? Of all this?"
"Hm— no." Lex began, reaching for a stress ball and giving it a violent squeeze. "No, I don't. But let me guess: 'my boss and friend is about to make a mistake. One that will destroy him, because he's been touched by the idea of ending the kryptonian, when all I want is for him to touch me.'"
He slammed the blue ball against the glass, making you jump and cower down.
"Lex, please." You muttered, tears threatening to fall.
He clasped his fingers around your chin, forcing you to look at him straight in the eyes. Then, said: "'Despite how I dress, or what I do. He doesn't notice me, because he has eyes only for his ambition.'"
"You're a monster." You cried, pushing his hand away to run, wiping the tears that blurred your vision.
Later that day.
"So," A strange voice called from your left, startling you. "Who was it?"
You glanced sideways to find a slender man with dark brown hair and beard framing his caramel eyes. You examined him, suspicious. Then, asked: "Sorry?"
"You're sitting by yourself in a cafeteria, dressed to catch a man, but with no man in sight and with bloodshot eyes." The guy said, matter-of-factly. But commiserate. "Someone broke your heart. So, who was it?"
"I— uh." You mumbled with a dubious expression on your face, as you gulped down what remained of your coffee as if for inspiration. "Sorry. Who are you?" You responded with an irritated tone.
"Jimmy Olsen." The stranger reached out his hand. "You caught me trying to snap photos of confidential LexCorp documents once, Miss L/N."
You rummaged through your memories.
"Ah! So you're the one that got away." You replied, shaking his hand. "I should turn you in, you know? Luckily for you, my boss and I had a falling out."
One of Jimmy's eyebrows rose with interest, and then his mouth twisted up at the corner. "So it was Lex."
Your eyes shot open, as if unexpectedly slapped. Waves of embarrassment bubbling through you.
Jimmy probed you with a glance, brows furrowed in puzzlement. "Really?"
You remained quiet, confirming it.
"Wow..." He whispered, seeming to chew on that for a moment. "Well— I mean, I get it. Filthy rich, brilliant, nice hair. If you can get past the 'hm's and 'ah's."
You chuckled, nibbling on one blueberry scone, questioning the wisdom of falling for Lex in the first place.
"Yeah, well." You stated, putting down the pastry and wiping your lips with a napkin. "It's not like it matters anymore."
Jimmy's eyes softened in understanding, as he ran his finger through his hair. "Well, Y/N." He said. "If it's any consolation: I think he made a terrible mistake letting you go."
Now.
I should've never allowed it. Lex thought, drumming his fingers on his desk and looking out at the city.
After what happened between you, you tried to quit, but Lex wouldn't accept your resignation, and finding a new job had proven to be a lot more complicated than you'd initially thought. So you carried on working for him, but not without a cost, as the two of you slowly grew apart.
It began with your long and friendly conversations turning into cold exchanges of polite, meaningless sentences. 'Good morning', 'good evening', 'how are you?', 'see you tomorrow' and so on.
Then you became distracted. Showing up for work a few minutes late; delivering projects past their due date; giggling at your phone screen during meetings.
Lex thought you only needed time for sorting your emotions, so he gave you space.
Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that you would run away halfway across the globe with a photographer.
Lex drummed his fingers harder against the aged wood. Since then, he found himself grappling with unwelcome thoughts every day, thoughts about you.
Hm— Does he hold your hand? When you're afraid, does he hold you close and tell you that everything will be alright, Y/N? He wondered. All you've ever wanted was to feel safe, after all. You were safe, Y/N. Here. With me. So tell me, does he deal with every man that looks at you wrong? Cat calls you? Follows you without your knowing?
In his eyes, all he'd ever done was protect you. Keep you close so nobody would hurt you, even after it was you the one to deliver the first blow.
Does he help you hide the skeletons in the closet too?
The phone rang suddenly, pulling Lex from his thoughts and startling him. "Hm, yes?" He said into the speaker. "Ah, just the man I wanted to talk to.
I need you to do something for me."
