Requested by LeenDabaja
This is going to be a bit different. For one, the story is going to feature J. Daniel Atlas from Now You See Me as Lex's brother. I tried my best to make this seem reasonable enough. And although I really didn't care for Now You See Me (sorry), I REALLY love Jesse's character and I had a ton of fun writing this!
((because I don't care for the film, I've only seen it once so please forgive me if he's a little out of character!!))
I will also be adding a few gifs/pictures within the story because I just find it easier to picture what's happening that way.
//
You sipped on your black coffee as Lex Luthor, your boyfriend and boss, tossed a blue stress ball into the air. It was an average Tuesday morning. You scrolled through your emails silently. You sighed as you chewed on a chocolate chip mini muffin.
"You should put complimentary muffins in every break room," you said. "I'm tired of spending a dollar to buy one in the vending machine downstairs."
"Complimentary muffins," he repeated. "Sure."
"I'm being serious," you said.
He caught the ball midair and leaned forward. "I'll do my best to get you unlimited muffins," he said, giving you a peck on the lips. He chuckled.
There was a knock on the door. It opened and bit and Mercy poked her head in. "Mr. Luthor, you have a visitor."
"Ah! Yes!" He glanced at the schedule to his left. His eyebrows furrowed together. "Ah... did my three o'clock move?"
"No, sir," Mercy said. "This isn't a scheduled meeting. Uh... this man says he is your brother."
You raised your eyebrows. Brother? Lex never had a brother. You shook your head and shifted your laptop from your lap to the arm of the chair. "It's probably some businessman that was desperate for you to notice them," you said, laughing.
Lex placed his hands on his hips and nodded. "I, uh, actually... send him to the break room on the third floor and I will be there shortly." He turned around as Mercy left. He held up a finger. "Ah, so... I have a brother."
You laughed. "Okay." You knew very well that Lex's father never wanted to start a family. Even Lex was just a business move. But Lex never laughed with you. "Wait. Babe, are you serious?"
He nodded and chewed on his lip. "Yeah."
"What?" you gasped. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"
"Uh, hm. Let's see... oh! Ah! Because he is a condescending jerk with no feelings towards any other human being!" he exclaimed, nervously waving his hands.
"Okay," you said softly. "What's he doing here? What does he want?"
"I... I do not know," he said. "He was arrested just a couple of months ago, but other than that..."
"Arrested?" you nearly shouted. "For what?"
"Uh... robbing a bank," he stated. His tongue swiped across his lips. "With a magic trick."
"Magic," you stated. Lex nodded. "And you're letting him in a million dollar building. Wow, Lex! Let the guy that is apparently able to steal thousands of dollars through a deck of cards and a magic wand into a building filled with expensive equipment! Brilliant!"
"Shhh!" Lex hushed you, grabbing the tops of your arms. "Darling, I promise that I'll get rid of him as soon as possible. Just please, please stick by my side."
You hung your head and let out a deep breath of air. "Okay. Okay, I'll be there."
He smiled as he ran his hands up and down your arms. "I love you."
"I love you, too," you replied. You reached up and kissed him. He pulled back and sucked in a deep breath. "Guess we should go up there."
"Yeah," he said. He started towards the doors.
"So," you said. "Can you tell me about him? Other than him being a jerk and also having a criminal record."
Lex smiled. "His name is J. Daniel Atlas. Dad was never involved in his life, you see, since I was the only business tactic he needed. His mother was my third housekeeper. Daniel took her last name."
"You two never saw each other," you guessed. You both stepped into the elevator. As the doors shut, Lex nodded.
"Hardly. I saw him when he was first born and his mother screamed at our doorstep because my father got her pregnant and again at Dad's funeral." He pursed his lips. "Other than that... I do not believe we've had any sort of contact."
"Wow," you breathed. Lex led you to a tall glass door. Through it, you could see the tall, dark haired man. He stood facing the glass windows, his hands holding a glass of champagne. Mercy stood off to the side of the room, glaring at his back.
"You know," Lex started. "If we leave now, we'll make it to the front door before he'll even notice."
"Lex," you mumbled.
"I know." He straightened up and waved at Mercy. She opened the door and in stepped Lex, you right on his heels. "Ah! Thank you, Mercy."
"Mhm." She quickly slipped out.
Daniel slowly turned around. His eyes skimmed over his brother quickly and jumped to you. You blushed as he took his time looking at you, his eyes moving up and down your body. He smirked and took a long drink from his glass.
You nearly gasped. He was an exact image of Lex. The only difference was the bit of scruff on his face and his dark hair. Even their smirks were the same.
"Well, well, well," Lex mumbled, placing his hands on his hips. "My, my, brother. You look well."
Daniel smiled and shrugged. "What can I say?" he asked, stepping forward. "You know, I have always wondered just where I got my looks. And after seeing you... apparently not from Dad."
Lex opened his mouth, shut it, and nodded. His fist clenched and he forced a smile on his face. Daniel kept the same smirk on until he glanced over at you again.
"Hello," he said, his voice suddenly sounding much deeper. "I don't believe we've ever met."
"No, we haven't," you replied. "I'm ___." You held out your hand and he took it. His eyes stayed glued on yours as he pressed his lips to the top of your hand.
"Mm... you're right," he said. "Because if I had met you before, I would have remembered you." His eyes moved around your body again.
"Oh..." You laughed nervously and pulled your hand away. He smirked at you. You glanced up at Lex, who was biting down hard on his lip.
"Daniel," Lex said. "This is my girlfriend."
Daniel's eyebrows raised. "Oh. Yeah?"
"Yeah," you said, taking Lex's hand.
Daniel nodded and looked from you to Lex. Holding up his hands slightly, he chuckled. "All right. All right. No trouble."
Lex nodded. "Right. So, uh, what are you doing here? I mean, I haven't seen you since Dad's funeral and..."
"And you think I want something from you," he finished for him.
"What else would you be here for?" he asked harshly. "You're not exactly a family kind of guy."
Daniel grinned. "Oh, right. And you are? Funny, I don't remember you coming to see me when my mom died. But hey, I was there when your dad died!"
"Our Dad," Lex corrected.
"He never got to know me enough to be my dad," Daniel replied. "Maybe if he showed up on my first Christmas or eighteen birthday or my graduation, I would call him Dad. But he didn't."
"Hm. Right, but he was my Dad?" Lex laughed dryly. "Ah! Because that's what dads are. People who stick around for holidays and birthdays but ignore you every other day unless they need you to take their anger out on."
Daniel's smile faltered. His eyes widened and his jaw fell open a bit. Disbelief was all you could see on his face. You squeezed Lex's hand reassuringly.
"Want to talk about what a Dad is?" Lex asked, leaning forward. "I wouldn't know."
"Guys," you whispered. You pushed Lex back a little bit. He looked at you and frowned. "Maybe I should leave you two alone. I'll ask Mercy to call off your next three appointments. I think you two have a bit to talk about."
"Mm... you're right," Lex mumbled. You reached up and kissed his cheek. He smiled softly at you and you quietly left, leaving the two brothers alone.
//
Nearly an hour later, as you were chatting with some of the newest interns, Lex and Daniel stepped off of the elevator. You looked at them and smiled. They seemed happy enough.
"Hey," you said to Lex, who reached down and kissed you. He wrapped an arm around you and hugged you close. You looked up at Daniel. "Everything okay between you two?"
"Mhm." Lex looked over at his brother. "I think we might even go into business together."
"Really?" you asked. "So LexCorp is hiring magicians?"
Daniel sighed and looked down. He couldn't hold back his smile.
"Hey now," Daniel said. "You haven't even seen one of my tricks." He pulled out a deck of cards.
"And she's not going to today," Lex replied. "We have a meeting in twenty minutes. I would like to keep my company standing."
Daniel shrugged and you laughed. "Kidding," you said. "So. Business. Like what kind?"
Lex shrugged. "Uh... just... just a new project I'm working on. Nothing big." He cleared his throat. "I was just following Daniel out to catch his taxi and thought you would want to say goodbye."
"Oh." You held out your hand. This time, Daniel shook it. "Well, it was very nice to meet you, Daniel."
"My pleasure," he replied, his eyes raking across your body once more.
Lex stepped in front of you and pushed his hand away. "Okay, all right. That's it. Stop looking at her." You laughed as Lex pushed his brother towards the doors. You followed behind them.
The taxi pulled up and Daniel went to open the door. Before his hand touched the handle, Lex called out, "Hey, Daniel?"
Daniel turned around. He squinted in the sun. "Yeah?"
"You're... uh, welcome here any time," he told him, nodding.
Daniel smiled. "Thanks." He waved to both of you before he turned around and climbed into the back of the taxi. You slid your hand into Lex's as it pulled away.
"That wasn't so bad," you said.
Lex nodded, watching the taxi driver down the road. "Yeah, not so bad." When it turned, he looked over at you and smiled. "Not bad at all."
"Is he still a condescending jerk?" you asked.
Lex nodded quickly. "Hm? Oh, mhm. Uh-huh. Yeah. He's the biggest jerk I've ever met."
You nodded in return and laughed. "I thought so. Too bad you invited him back, huh?"
"Yeah," he replied. "Yeah. Hm." He shook his head and looked at the ground. "Dang it. What is wrong with me?"
You laughed again. "Aw, come on, babe. If we're lucky, he'll get arrested again!" you joked.
He chuckled. "It wouldn't surprise me at all, ___. Not at all."