Sometime during the time I was asleep, a fire was lit in the grate. I awoke to the warmth of it fanning over my face. I sat up and smiled, bringing my feet up underneath me. We had had a fire place in my home out in the suburbs, and on cold days in the fall and winter my dad would light a fire. The three of us would sit with hot chocolate or tea, all snuggled under one blanket. It was one of my happiest places, sitting hidden away from the weather in our little house.
The memories made my eyes well up, and I dashed the tears away before they could spill over. The quick movement caught Lex's eye, and he looked up from his laptop.
"You're awake." He said simply. "You were shivering in your sleep, so I lit the fire."
I raised my eyebrows at the image of Lex lighting the fire. It seemed incongruous with his image, such a funny juxtaposition that I snorted slightly.
"You know how to light fires?" I asked. Lex nodded, without stopping his typing.
"I learned when I was nine or ten. I used to have to light the fire in here every day before my dad came in to work."
I sobered at the mention of his father. Lex Jr. did not talk about Lex Sr. very often, and when he did, it was with an edge of anger. I knew he hadn't been treated well as a child, and that he resented the lie that Lexcorp was named for him, not his father, but that was all.
A ringtone broke the silence. Lex jumped, and patted his pockets, before pulling out a sleek iPhone.
"Luthor." Was all he said, turning in his chair so his back was to me. "It was successful?"
There was silence as the person on the other end of the line relayed whatever they had called to say. I watched as Lex sat up straight in his chair, and turned to face me with a grin.
"Well, that's fantastic. It all went to plan. I'm sure it will go to hearings very soon."
He dropped the phone on his desk, and stood, hands on his hips.
"Is there any better feeling than knowing something you have planned went off just right?" He asked. "That's what I live for. Everything falling right into place."
I stared at him in confusion. Just hours ago he was scolding me about how dangerous it was for me to know about his work, and now he was waxing poetic about it?
Lex poured himself a glass of dark amber liquid from the table on the edge of the room, looking pensively into it. He tapped his fingers on the cut crystal, deep in thought.
I didn't want to interrupt his thinking, so I sat still and watched him, his mouthing moving silently. It reminded me just how smart he actually was. He had to be well above a genius level IQ, judging by how successful his company was and how much he had accomplished at such a young age.
"Hmm." He pulled himself out of his reverie and focussed his gaze on me. It was hot and intense, and I shrank back a little.
"I would do anything for you, you know that, right darling? Anything." He came to stand in front of the roaring fire, his back to me.
"I know, Lex." I said quietly. "You've told me."
"This was my fathers' room." He continued, seeming not to have heard me. "I used to sit right where you are now. He would try to teach me just how hard life had been for him when he was young."
I wanted to reach up and take his hand, but something inside me warned me to stay put.
"I learned fast. There was no one to save me, no god came down from the sky to intervene. So I took matters into my own hands. I don't regret it, Ruth, not for an instant. And seeing you here reminds me of how terrible it is to have all this power and do nothing to save people."
I stood, and wrapped my arms around him, hugging him tightly. He seemed tense, but he relaxed into it, resting his hand on the back of my head.
"You've done more than anyone I know." I said into his shirt. "You bankrolled the rebuild Metropolis project. You've poured money and company resources into protecting our country. That's not nothing."
Lex drank from his glass, and the smell of alcohol washed over me.
"It's all useless, though, if I can't stop the person behind all the destruction."
I let go, and leaned back to look up at him. His face was taught and sad, and he looked older.
"That weight shouldn't be on your shoulders solely." I said. "You don't have to prove anything. You've done enough."
He shook his head emphatically. "I've already started playing the game, Ruth. It's all up to me. I push the little pawns around, and at the end, instead of taking the king, I kill the god."
I frowned, and stepped farther away, the heat from the fire spreading dampness up my spine.
"What does that mean?" I asked. "What do you mean 'kill the god'?"
Lex shook his head again, pouring the rest of the alcohol into his mouth. He smelled of liquor and something dark.
"It's an expression, Ruth. I'm not a murderer."
I shivered, despite the heat of the flames. His voice said one thing, but his tone and his body language said something completely different. Again, I was reminded of how smart, how powerful he really was. He owned the Metropolis government. He controlled half the senate, and he could influence trade and economy with just one phone call.
"I..." I was speechless. Lex took my wrist, and spun me away from the fire. He was outlined in red, now, silhouetted against the glow. There was a tension in the room, between us, and I closed my eyes against it.
"Don't look away from me." He whispered. I opened my eyes, meeting his burning gaze. "Don't ever look away from me, Ruth. Don't ever be afraid."
I was suddenly all too aware of the heat and the pain in my leg and the fact that I hadn't eaten since supper the night before. My legs have way beneath me, but before I could hit the ground, Lex caught me.
"Careful, now." He said, lowering me to the plush carpet.
"It's too hot." I panted. "Please, I need air."
Lex looped a hand under my arms and picked me up. The room was spinning around me, and black spots clouded my vision.
I heard, not saw, the study door open with a bang, and then we were downstairs and out into the cool, rainy air. I took a deep breath, the freshness soothing and pure.
"Put me down?" I asked, and Lex carefully lowered me to my feet. We were standing on a wooden porch, facing the backyard. There were gardens, and a little ways in the distance, a gazebo surrounded by rose bushes.
"This is beautiful." I said, looking around.
"Yes." Lex said from behind me. "Just beautiful."
I turned a little, looking up over my shoulder at him.
"You're getting all wet." I laughed. His usually curly hair was soaked, hanging straight down to his collar. I blinked a few water droplets from my eyelashes, and he smiled, reaching over to wipe them from my face.
"So are you." He pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. There was a brief pause, a second that seemed to last into eternity, and then he kissed me.
I expected it to be hot and angry, his passion and intensity from the conversation before leaking into it, but it was soft and sweet. I could feel him smiling against my mouth.
I pulled away, and pushed my hands through Lex's hair, taking it away from his face. He looked down at me, his hand on either side of my neck.
"I have to go to town tomorrow." He said. "One of my men found something extremely valuable down in the Philippines."
"Okay." I said.
"I want you to come with me." Lex said earnestly. "You don't have to do anything. Just come and stay in my office. Spend some time with my assistant." He rubbed his thumbs over the soft skin of my neck, and I shuddered at the sensation.
"Is it such a good idea?" I asked . "For me to be back there so soon? I've been doing so well."
Lex nodded.
"I think so. You wouldn't be outside at all, and once you're in the building you forget you're in the city entirely."
Pride radiated off him at the mention of his offices, and I relented.
"Alright, I'll come. But only if you admit you only want me there because you'll miss me." I teased.
Lex didn't miss a beat, to my surprise.
"Absolutely. I cannot stand to be away from you for a second."
I blinked, and smiled slowly. I decided not to tease him any more-he may be a grown man, but inside I knew he was an emotionless wreck, and I didn't want to ruin the moment.
"Just wake me when we have to go." I said. "I assume I won't be alone tonight."
"No. Not for a second." Lex said. I rolled my eyes, but my heart wasn't in it. I knew that without him, I wouldn't get a moment of sleep.
"Lets go inside." I suggested, after a moment. "I'm starved and also cold now."
Lex took my hand in his, and lead me back indoors. I took a deep breath of the heady, flowery air, and followed him.