Cherry Wine {lex luthor}

chapter fourteen

The night was, for once, uneventful. Lex, despite my protestations, began the night on the couch. His sole excuse was;

"That is a line we have not crossed, and once we do, it will be impossible to go back."

I, for once, could not come up with an argument against that, even though I knew, deep inside, that he was wrong. We had crossed that line a long time ago.

Of course, it was all a moot point once I awoke, yet again, in cold, terrified sweats. Lex crawled into the bed next to me, silently holding me until I calmed down enough to sleep.

But yet again, when I awoke, the bed next to me was cold and empty. The sheets were smoothed and pulled taught, neater than I had ever left them.

It was still early enough that the autumn sky was grey and distorted with a low-clinging fog. I shivered, wrapping my arms around myself. The summer was fully gone, now. I was grateful, looking out the window, that I had a warm house to stay in, and someone caring for me. I shuddered to think of those that had lost everything in the fight, who were left to fend for themselves in the cold.

I pulled on a thick, black turtleneck and a dark plaid pinafore dress, foregoing tights. I was still worried about any sort of clothing pushing on my thigh, so I opted instead for thick woollen knee socks. If yesterday's weather was anything to judge by, it would be better to dress warmly rather than freeze once we got to the city.

I left my room, leaving the door ajar. The carpet muffled my stockinged feet, and I kept my ears pricked for any sound that would indicate Lex was nearby.

I had just reached the landing leading down to the front door when I heard his voice, high and shaky. He was talking-no, spitting-down the phone to someone.

"I couldn't care less how you achieved it. All I need to know is that it's going to reach Gotham safely." He paused, listening for a moment, and then laughed cruelly.

"Don't worry about the government. If you think I can't get whatever I want from them, you're very much mistaken. Just look at what happened in-" He broke off catching sight of me staring down at him.

He muttered an apology, and ended the call, not breaking eye contact with me. I bit my lip at the sight of his face. It wasn't angry, like I was expecting. No, he was amused.

"Good morning." I said, trying to keep the quiver out of my voice.

Lex strode up the stairs, hands in his pockets. He was wearing a white tee shirt and dress pants, and he looked, for lack of a better word, like a frat boy. An incredibly rich, terrifyingly powerful frat boy, but a frat boy nonetheless.

"I didn't expect you to be up quite this early!" He said, and leaned down to press a cheeky kiss to my temple. "But since you are, we may as well get going. I'll get the valet to pull the car around front."

I gaped at him, taken aback by his good mood.

"You're cheerful this morning." I said suspiciously. Lex clapped his hands together, and then placed a hand on my lower back, guiding me down the stairs.

"Am I not allowed to be?" He asked. I turned and squinted up at him.

"It's making me nervous."

Lex threw his head back and laughed. It was a good sound. For so long he had been serious with me, careful, treating me like a china doll. It felt good to see him relax a little.

He pulled out a pair of black, shiny leather shoes from a hidden hall closet and set them in front of me. I looked at them, and then back at him. He smiled, and I sat down, ready to try them on.