Title: Hideaway Author: Christie Email: tinamishi@yahoo.com Archive: http://number14.org/precious Genre: Smallville (Lex/Lana) Rating: PG Spoilers: Duplicity Summary: Lana lied to her aunt. Then she lied to Chloe. Pre-Duplicity. Disclaimer: Smallville and it's characters are property of Millar/Gough Productions. * Heavy raindrops pelted the window of the Talon, leaving thick rivulets in their wake and distorting the dark sidewalk beyond. The downpour only made it easier for Lana to decelerate her work, methodically refilling the sugar. Creamer. Napkins. Stirrers. Counting the till. Recounting. Filling the balance book with neat, precise rows of numbers. Starting over. Realizing black looks more professional than blue. Recopying neat, precise rows. Wishing it were Thursday. Thursday was ordering day. She could inventory. The clock on the wall opposite, the clock with the obnoxious neon blue border she'd convinced Lex was "retro", glared at her. Lurching toward midnight, the time wasn't moving fast enough. Another glance at the drenched, abandoned street outside. Lana could barely make out the bus stop she knew was just beyond the Talon doors. She sighed. Avoiding home was probably stupid. No way would Nell allow a repeat of the night before, would she? Lana shuddered at the memory. Eleven o'clock on the dot, the exact time she always got home when she closed the Talon. Her aunt and Dean on the living room floor, obviously having forgotten that someone else resided there. Lana shook the image from her mind. No, she did *not* want a repeat of last night. She bit down on her lip, hand hovering over the telephone. It wasn't even walking in on Nell and Dean as much as it was the *talk* afterwards. Dean, acting as if she were a child, explaining the "act of love shared between two consenting adults". It had been a nightmare, Lana's insides screaming, her outsides frozen in the dumb, acquiescing smile she always wore around her aunt's new boyfriend, hating him with every fiber of her being. Lana picked up the phone, dialed, and lied to her aunt. * Usually Lex didn't mind the rain. Driving in it was a bitch, but that's what chauffeurs were for. Except when he got caught in an infamous Kansas downpour and the roads went from bone dry to oil slick in minutes. That was when he cursed the rain. He cursed anything that made him slow down. He tried to stop in at the Talon every Friday night. He needed the mundane task of reviewing small numbers -- till balance, total sales, waste amount -- to unwind from business dinners in Metropolis. Business dinners in Metropolis meant quality time with dad. Time with dad, quality or the other kind, made Lex tense. The digital clock on his dash read eight minutes until midnight as Lex slid to a stop at the curb just under the red Talon sign. Beyond the torrent the building was lit, all yellow and cozy behind rain-slicked glass. When Lex squinted, he could just make out the slim figure with dark hair behind the counter. Lex found the key on his keyring and readied it before slipping out of the dry haven of his car. He sprinted to the sidewalk and cursed the jam-prone lock as he jiggled the key just right -- up and to the left -- before hearing the lock slide out of place. Lana was already out from behind the counter and halfway across the dining room when Lex stepped inside, jacket soaked. He shrugged it off and shook his head. "Normally, I've got nothing against rain." He hung his jacket on the coat rack and eyed the teenager, finally noticing the baseball bat she held at her side. An eyebrow rose involuntarily. "Expecting a more dangerous person with a key?" He jingled the ring in his hand. Lana shrugged and turned back toward the counter. "Some scary stuff has happened here," she admitted, placing the bat under the register. "Better to be safe than sorry." Lex nodded his agreement, although in general that wasn't *his* motto. He cocked his head and glanced at the garish retro clock above him. "You're here kind of late, aren't you?" he asked, his eyes straying across the impeccably clean dining room, over the polished counter, neatly arranged supply stack for the morning shift and finally settling on the girl with her head bent over the balance book, black ballpoint pen twirling idly through her fingers. Her shoulders raised and lowered in a minute shrug. "Just checking this over." Lex knew the tone. He'd invented the tone. Forced nonchalance. Pretending with a side of overcompensation. *I don't want you to know anything's wrong but if you do happen to guess, I suppose I'll tell you.* He grinned, though she wasn't looking up to see it. "Avoiding going home, Lana?" Now she looked up. Studied him for a bit as if contemplating whether or not to really spill. He'd have liked to pour himself a cup of coffee from the pot on the counter but instinct told him to hold her gaze. He shifted imperceptibly on the balls of his feet. Hands slipped into his pockets. She must have stared at him for a good thirty seconds before beginning to blush a slight crimson. She cleared her throat and looked away. "It's stupid really, it's Nell's new boyfriend." Lex raised his eyebrows. He wasn't sure what he was expecting but it wasn't that. Now he moved toward the counter and pulled two clean mugs from a tray. He filled them both with coffee and handed one to Lana. Lex sat on a stool opposite her. "Dean, if I recall?" Lana's face scrunched up into a look of extreme distaste. One look Lex couldn't help but notice was adorable in every respect. "Yeah," she muttered. "He and Nell are getting pretty serious..." she paused, and Lex noticed the blush now covered her ears. "...on the living room floor." Swallowing down the chuckle that bubbled unbidden to his throat, Lex reminded himself that it was tough being sixteen, when moments like that were embarrassing rather than simply inconvenient. He smiled into his coffee and took a long sip. "So how long are you hiding out for?" Lex detected the slight grimace when Lana glanced up at the clock, and had the distinct feeling she wasn't annoyed at the lateness of the hour but rather that it wasn't quite late enough. "I'm actually hiding out here tonight," she finally said. "There's that cot in the office." She didn't look at him, but Lex kept her in his steady gaze anyway, finishing the last of his drink before speaking. "You'll stay at the mansion tonight," he announced, attempting to leave no room for disagreement in his voice. Lana did not pick up on the tone. She immediately shook her head. "No, I'm fine, really -- " "Lana," Lex cut in, firmly enough to draw her eyes to his face. "I'm not leaving a teenage girl alone in this place all night." He softened his voice a little as he climbed off the stool. "The mansion's got plenty of room and I'd enjoy the company." Lana paused, seeming to mull the last part over. Lex had thrown it in as an appeal, but realized that it wasn't entirely untrue. Lana was someone he considered a friend as well as a challenge, and he enjoyed his time with her. She was refined without being pretentious, optimistic, but -- he had recently learned -- not naive. He smiled when she nodded with only a shred of reluctance. "If you're sure it's okay." Lex held his hands out to either side. "Okay with me as long as it's okay with Nell." She was gathering her backpack and coat when she answered. "I told Nell I was staying at Chloe's." As Lana clicked off the coffee machine and rinsed out the pot, Lex realized he also enjoyed Lana because she continued to surprise him. She displayed no guilt for lying to her aunt, no fragment of culpability, no scrap of remorse. Before tonight, Lex would have bet his trust fund that Lana couldn't lie without feeling at least nominally guilty. But he'd have been wrong. Again. * Biting down on her lip only partially stopped Lana's teeth from chattering. More effective were the panicked thoughts cris-crossing her mind. Lana couldn't stop asking herself what exactly she thought she was doing and how, exactly, she'd gotten herself into this in the first place. Was walking into her house really that terrifying? Nell was probably asleep in her own bed, alone, and she was in Lex's car, worrying about the damage her rain-drenched clothes and hair were doing to his leather upholstery. She was in Lex's car, going to Lex's home, to spend the night, and her aunt thought she was at Chloe's. She should be at the Talon, on the musty cot in the back. Or better yet, at home, in her own room, her own bed. Still, some part of this was exciting. Some part of this was exactly what she *wanted* to be doing, but would never have the courage to do. Except she was. Wet and dripping on his leather interior, only feeling slightly better because Lex was wet and dripping on it too. "I'll pull it around to the garage." His voice startled her and she squinted through the window, realizing they were already up the mansion's drive. The huge garage door opened noiselessly and Lana clutched at her backpack straps as Lex guided the car inside and killed the engine. It was silent and dark inside. Even the rain couldn't be heard. Lana sat perfectly still, afraid to breathe. She jumped when she heard Lex's door open and the interior of the garage suddenly flooded with light. "Mr. Luthor." Someone had appeared, as if his only job was waiting for Lex to arrive home so he could open the car door. Lana supposed it wasn't that much of a stretch to assume that it *was* his only responsibility, except that Lex would make more prudent business decisions than that, regardless of whether or not he could afford to staff such a person. Lana busied herself with opening her own door, dragging her wet jacket and backpack with her. She spared a small hope that her English essay wasn't completely ruined. Lex was speaking quietly with his car-door-opener-guy and Lana waited, again concentrating on breathing softly and not making any unnecessary noise. *This* was why she didn't do spur of the moment things. Her discomfort was strangling. Finally, Lex motioned her forward, opening a side door and allowing her into the house. It was unexpectedly warm for a drafty old castle, and Lana realized they were in an ante-room, the mother of all mud rooms to be exact, with fresh, warm towels to dry off with and a roaring fire in the corner. "I asked Marcus to gather some dry clothes for you and to draw a bath. I'll show you where the guest bathroom is." Lex spoke as if he always had baths drawn for sixteen year old girls, and he strode purposefully through the room and into the kitchen, nodded to a few of his staff and disappeared through another set of swinging doors. Lana had to run to keep up with him. She knew this was a bad *bad* idea. After what seemed like walking a mile, Lex stopped at a large, ornate door and pushed it open. "The bath is through there," he said, gesturing toward yet another set of doors. "Leave your wet clothes here and Sophia will pick them up to get them cleaned and dried for tomorrow. She'll leave something for you to borrow tonight." He reached out and ran his hands up and down her arms. Lana couldn't find it in herself to be startled at the contact, there were way too many things coursing through her entire being to add any more. "Get warm," he said gently before turning away and closing the door behind him. * It wasn't until the hundredth time he'd questioned his motives that Lex actually told himself to knock it off. Out loud. He sighed as he stepped into clothes, running a towel over his head multiple times, not as much to dry it but to avoid looking into the mirror. Had he offered for Lana to stay over because he really felt guilty about leaving a teenage girl alone all night at the Talon? He sincerely doubted it. Lana would have been fine. The alarm had been installed weeks before, and if she was comfortable enough staying there, he should have been comfortable enough letting her. But he'd invited her over. No, he hadn't just invited her over, he'd *insisted*. He wasn't taking no for an answer, and when she hadn't said no, he'd been elated. Elated. That Lana Lang agreed to a sleep over at his house. Yeah, something wasn't right about it. But he couldn't back out now. He'd wanted her company and he'd gotten it, and damned if he wasn't going to take the opportunity and run with it. On the surface it all looked very innocent. Even noble, if you looked at it from his point of view. No one needed to know the real reasons behind anything, and if they questioned his motives, well, it wouldn't be the first time. "Hi." She startled him, though he managed to hide his involuntary jump. He took another sip of his scotch to calm his beating heart and turned slowly from the fire. "Feel better?" She smiled at him and touched her hair. "Much. Thanks." She'd pulled it up, away from her neck the way Lex liked it. She hardly ever wore it up, and when he was lucky enough to catch her that way, Lex always felt like he had witnessed a treasure being unearthed, something that would be put away for a long time, it's beauty never appreciated the way it should be. Lex turned back to the fire, desperate to keep his thoughts anywhere but Lana's neck. "Did you know the advertising slogan for Dewar's 1400 Scotch is 'warms you to the soul'?" He heard her moving behind him, and she finally slid into the armchair adjacent to his. She leaned forward, elbows resting on her knees, hands out toward the fire. "No. Is it working?" Lex took another long swallow and thought for a moment. "Yes," he said honestly. She giggled softly, and he couldn't help but gaze at her, the fire's glow lighting one side of her face, casting the other in shadows. From somewhere in the back of his mind, he heard the door open quietly and soft footsteps approach from behind. "Hot chocolate, Miss Lang." She turned and smiled brightly at Marcus, taking the mug and wrapping both hands around it. Lex noticed her fingernails were painted pink, almost the exact shade of lipstick she sometimes wore. He smiled without letting her see it, turning his face back to the fire. It was silent between them until the door shut and Marcus' steps receded down the hallway. A grandfather clock somewhere in the master wing chimed once. If Lana noted the lateness of the hour, she didn't mention it. He heard her shift, and from the corner of his eye saw her take a long sip from the steaming mug in her hands. "This is nice. Is this your bedroom?" she finally asked, and Lex felt her gaze settle on him. He was surprised by the question, but only moved to sip his scotch, eyes unable to be drawn from the leaping orange and yellow embers in the fireplace. He supposed it was better that way, not looking at her in his bedroom was the safest course of action, since he couldn't even begin to figure out why and how she came to be there in the first place. He nodded in the affirmative. A pause, then, "I thought it would be bigger." Now, Lex's eyebrows raised and he turned in the half-light toward her. "Should I be flattered that you have a prior idea of what my bedroom would look like?" He smiled to show the question was rhetorical, and glanced at the sweatpants and sweatshirt she was given to wear. "Those fitting alright?" She shrugged and looked down, pulling at the hemline of the soft blue material with her delicate pink nails. "They're a little big. But yes, thanks." The look that passed between them was a little long, and a little lingering, and left Lex feeling a little more uncomfortable. He wanted to throw caution to the wind, but a nagging voice in the back of his conscience told him that this was dangerous. So he finished off the scotch in one long swig, relished the burning in his throat as it slid down and warmed his stomach, then stood. "You should probably get some sleep," he said, purposely adding finality to his tone. "It's pretty late." She only nodded and stood, still clutching the half-empty mug in one hand, her other holding the waistline of the entirely too large sweatpants. Lex had to look away then, turning more abruptly than he'd meant to and striding across the room. He had the door open and Lana ushered through it in a matter of seconds. * The car thing and the bath thing were nothing compared to this. Drinking hot chocolate in front of a fire in Lex's *bedroom* was enough to make Lana's heart rattle against her rib cage. Lex looking at her the way he'd been looking at her made her cheeks burn and her stomach knot and her nerves twist until they were humming. She followed his clipped pace through the master wing, retracing the same steps she'd taken from the guest suite after she'd finished cleaning up. Her hand clutched at the ceramic of the coffee mug, afraid that if she loosened them just a little bit, the cup would crash to her feet the instant Lex turned her way. At the guest bedroom door, Lana briefly wondered how Lex could tell all the huge, dark wooden doors apart. She looked up to thank him, not expecting to get caught in his stare again, not expecting to be powerless against the intense meaning she saw there. Her legs swayed and her grip loosened, and she only hung on to enough clarity of thought to keep one hand on the mug, the other on her pants so neither one fell straight to the floor. She breathed in and out as shallowly as possible and counted silently to ease the thrumming of her heart. She'd counted to fifty-seven before Lex finally moved, rocked from the balls of his feet to his toes and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Sophia will lay your clothes out in the bathroom once they're dry," he said, his voice sounding all business-like, his eyes looking like something completely different. "I'll arrange for you to be woken at six, if that will give you enough time to get ready to leave by seven." The arrangements for the next day sounded almost monotonous to Lana's ears. She wanted to talk about something else, anything else, but it was one o'clock in the morning and she was wearing borrowed clothes that were most likely Lex's at some point in his life. That alone made it seem oddly inappropriate to speak of anything more personal than breakfast in the kitchen at 6:30. "That will be fine," she heard herself say, somewhat glad to hear the detachment in her own voice. There was no sense putting herself out there if Lex wasn't going to reel her in. His hands moved out of his pockets then, nothing else to do but say goodnight and go to bed in their respective rooms, wings so far apart it seemed like miles of house between them. Lana sucked in a breath and began to gather the energy she needed to force a friendly smile on her face. But Lex startled her, placing his hands on her shoulders for the second time, only keeping them there and leaning forward just slightly to brush a kiss across her forehead. "Goodnight, Lana." The breath she was holding was expelled in a woosh. Lana swayed on her feet, glued to the spot as she watched him walk away. She could tell herself until the cows came home that the whole evening was innocent, that nothing had happened that wouldn't happen between two close friends who had to stay in the same residence for a night. But she'd know she was lying, she'd know that things had changed between herself and Lex. Another door had been opened, one that led to things that were both scary and exciting, dangerous and fulfilling. The trembling in her limbs didn't stop the smile that played on her lips as Lana pushed open the heavy door and slipped into her suite. Something had happened, something amazing, no matter how she looked at it. And in that instant she knew that Nell would always think she'd slept over at Chloes, and if Chloe asked, she'd always think Lana slept at the Talon, because whatever was happening wasn't meant to be told. Though she was sure of nothing else in that moment, she was undeniably sure of that. -end- 6 Nov 2002 ===== http://number14.org