SV : Ripley ficlet
6/1/08 02:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
roxyTitle: Ripley ficlet
Pairing: Lex/Clark, Rip/Greg/Irving
Rating: G
*headsmack!*It occurred to me that new folks might not know that this story is based on two other stories I wrote a few years ago. (one an m-preg, the other kind of sort of a kidfic.) The stories are in my tags under Ripley.
Irving leaned back in the wrought iron patio chair, and stretched his legs out under the table. He liked sitting on the balcony, he liked the almost hypnotic sound of water washing against the shore, the dancing glints of sunlight on the ocean's surface…the light and the sound together lulled him into a quiet, emotionless contemplation of his life….
He breathed in the ocean scent, licked at the taste of sea spray, the slightly sticky feel on his lips. He pulled a wine glass towards him, watched the liquid bubble briefly against the sides. with a small sigh, he lifted it to his mouth, took a little sip of the cool, tart liquid. And choked at the sound of an all too familiar and dangerously smooth voice.
"Hello, Irving. Lovely place you've chosen to get away from it all." Lex came around the table and sat across from Irving. He was dressed in linen, shirt and trousers, and just like every single time he saw him, Irving was struck with how handsome Mr. Luthor—Lex—was. And, as usual in Lex's presence, he felt like an gawky and not very bright kid. The man was just so elegant, so cool and controlled…Irving had done his best in the last few years to model himself after Lex. At least, he tried to be as in control as he was, even if it only worked when he wasn't facing Lex or Rip's other dad. Or Rip…shit.
Lex gazed at him, his expression calm, the very picture of composed. "Irving, my daughter is terribly upset. Would you care to explain why?" He leaned back in the chair and traced the bright circular patterns in the table's tiled top and Irving tried to put a bit more space between them without actually moving his body.
"I have no explanation…no reason."
"You left on a…whim? Surely not a conscious desire to hurt Alexandria? Or Gregory? Or…has either one of them done something to hurt you?"
Irving was shocked that Lex seemed to genuinely want to know if one of his—his—one of them had hurt him in some way. He took a long moment, thinking before he spoke. "Mr.—Lex—you have to understand. This thing that we live with…it's always over our heads. It's not enough that Rip and Greg want a baby. They want one with…they want one with me, you understand, and I'm not sure I know what to think about that."
Lex had both elbows on the table now, and he was nodding. When the waiter moved by their table, Lex motioned him over and ordered wine for the both of them. "Irving…what *you* must surely understand is that Lexie thinks it's normal—she's grown up with the idea. She's had twenty some years to live with the idea of what's normal for her. Gregory…well; he's a lot like Clark. He'll do anything for Lexie."
Irving felt bold enough, or had had enough wine, to smile over the rim of his glass. "Does that make me the Lex in the relationship?"
"I doubt it, Irving. How far are you willing to go for them? Not very, from what I can see."
Irving stopped smiling. "You don't understand. No one does. I'm not running from them…I'm giving them a chance for something better—I'm not necessary for them. What does it matter if it's two people or fifteen? It's not going to matter to Lexie's baby."
Lex stood and grabbed Irving's arm. "In your room. The balcony is much too public a place to talk about our business."
Irving staggered a bit when he got to his feet. Must be a combination of the sun, and the wine. He'd had a bit to drink but surely not that much…He carefully extricated his arm from Lex's grip. "Enter freely..." He bowed as Lex passed him with a sardonic smile. Lex was going to rip him a new one and he'd be damned if he'd act like a puss.
*************
Once inside the room, Lex stopped, looked around. "This is nice. Very nice, Irving."
It embarrassed Irving how much it meant that Lex approved of his choice. He tried for nonchalance, and sprawled on the white leather couch facing the glass wall of doors that separated inside from out. Lex raised an eyebrow at his boneless sprawl. "Are you…comfortable?"
He tried to joke, "I make a living…um." He immediately straightened at Lex's loud lack of laughter and quickly moved to the balcony—closed the doors, just to be doing something, anything, to lighten Lex's scrutiny. "You wanted privacy, we have it now." Through a tremendous force of will he didn't say sir.
"Irving…have you and Greg been together, ever?"
"Us, just us, you mean? No. Greg's not gay. Greg is…totally, incredibly in love with Lexie, who for some strange reason seems to love me too, and it's always been that way. We've…never. I mean, we've…with Rip." He turned a deadly shade of red, and Lex's expression told Irving that he wasn't quite as blasé about the conversation as he tried to act. Well, the man was her father after all, he thought, and winced…"To. Um, Rip. Not…oh God, please tell me this conversation can end now?"
Yes," Lex said and Irving breathed a sigh of relief and was pretty sure Lex did too. He poked about the room's bar, brought out another chilled bottle of wine. "Shall we?"
Irving breathed, "God, yes…"
Several glasses of wine and lots of reminiscing later, they were both feeling rather…pleasantly not sober.
Lex was explaining to Irving just how annoying Clark had been in his youth. He might have been slightly…maudlin. Irving sat across from him, nodding non-stop in sympathy. "I know," he murmured sympathetically, "I know. Greg…he acts like I'm just a—an accessory of Alexandra's. I mean, besides a hug and a kiss in the deepest throes of passion, or a pat on the back on his way out the door…" he trailed off. "Can’t you talk to him, please Lex? No one doesn’t pay attention to you. You're like…the master of the world or something." He reached out and grabbed Lex's wrist. "Please…" he left his hand there waiting for Lex to throw it off. When he didn’t, his fingers came to life, tracing designs on Lex's wrist, his hand, his palm…"Lex…"
"Hmm?" Lex jerked back to awareness, having been miles and miles and years and years away. He looked down at his captured wrist, a puzzled look giving way to amused annoyance. "Irving, are you coming on to me?"
Irving froze—paled. "Y-Yes?" he stammered.
"You're a very attractive young man, but you are a *very* young man who lives with my daughter. And therefore off-limits. Not too mention…"
"I know, I know. Clark would kill me, and Rip would kill what was left. But Lex, you've been my ideal for years. Every person I've ever met I've compared to you."
"What, including Alexandra? Including Greg? Stop comparing, Irving. Look at what you have and think whether you want it and if you do, why? Why don’t you want a child? Why won't you commit to the others—" he held up a hand at Irving's protest "—Why won’t you tell Greg how you feel?"
Irving slumped back in his chair. "I want them to see me. Me, not the third wheel that helps the little trike roll around…"
Lex lifted an eyebrow and Irving snorted, "you know what I mean. God." He grabbed double handfuls of brown hair, pulling at it until it tufted around his head. "And Rip—Lexie—she just steamrolls everyone—if she wants it, they have to want it. And Greg just flows right along, because as far s he's concerned, Rip is god…I love her, I swear but she drives me crazy." He was up pacing, and waving his arms. "She wants a thing and he'll move heaven and earth to make it so. I want a something, and I'm talking to myself. I just—" Lex was in front of him looking so—so—so Lex, and Irving grabbed him, and planted a big sloppy frantic kiss on him—his tongue twisted against Lex's lips, insisting on entrance, and Lex's arms flew up, one hand locked on Irving's collar, the other buried in his hair--and yanked Irving's head back.
"Are you insane, are you—" Irving went for it again, and this time, Lex laughed, muffled by Irving's mouth. Irving pulled his head back himself, affronted, mortified as Lex collapsed into giggles. "Oh my god, that hasn't happened to me since…grade school…" he wheezed, and wiped his eyes, stopped because Irving hadn’t moved an inch, and was in fact, still pressed against him and hard. Very hard.
Lex's eyes narrowed. "Irving…I don’t want to hurt you…"
Irving took a quick couple of steps away, wilting under an emotional tumult of confused lust, fear and embarrassment. Relief seeped in when he realized the hurt Lex meant wasn't physical. "I think you're terribly confused. You need to talk to Alexandra and Greg and sort this out. If this situation can’t be solved, then it might be better if you did move away." He squeezed Irving's shoulder gently, firmly. "Far away."
******
Lex's mind wandered as the jet took off…he thought about Alexandra, holding her…wet, blue, barely moving in his palm those first few minutes of her life. Falling violently in love with her. He thought about Clark and how the young boy he was then had cried the first time he'd reached out to Lex for help. And broken his heart, and saved his life, and made him understand what love really was. He thought too, about a funny looking but sweet little boy who blushed ridiculously bright red whenever he came into the room, and sighed. He hoped sincerely that whatever he decided wouldn't hurt his daughter.
TBC
part three
Pairing: Lex/Clark, Rip/Greg/Irving
Rating: G
*headsmack!*It occurred to me that new folks might not know that this story is based on two other stories I wrote a few years ago. (one an m-preg, the other kind of sort of a kidfic.) The stories are in my tags under Ripley.
Irving leaned back in the wrought iron patio chair, and stretched his legs out under the table. He liked sitting on the balcony, he liked the almost hypnotic sound of water washing against the shore, the dancing glints of sunlight on the ocean's surface…the light and the sound together lulled him into a quiet, emotionless contemplation of his life….
He breathed in the ocean scent, licked at the taste of sea spray, the slightly sticky feel on his lips. He pulled a wine glass towards him, watched the liquid bubble briefly against the sides. with a small sigh, he lifted it to his mouth, took a little sip of the cool, tart liquid. And choked at the sound of an all too familiar and dangerously smooth voice.
"Hello, Irving. Lovely place you've chosen to get away from it all." Lex came around the table and sat across from Irving. He was dressed in linen, shirt and trousers, and just like every single time he saw him, Irving was struck with how handsome Mr. Luthor—Lex—was. And, as usual in Lex's presence, he felt like an gawky and not very bright kid. The man was just so elegant, so cool and controlled…Irving had done his best in the last few years to model himself after Lex. At least, he tried to be as in control as he was, even if it only worked when he wasn't facing Lex or Rip's other dad. Or Rip…shit.
Lex gazed at him, his expression calm, the very picture of composed. "Irving, my daughter is terribly upset. Would you care to explain why?" He leaned back in the chair and traced the bright circular patterns in the table's tiled top and Irving tried to put a bit more space between them without actually moving his body.
"I have no explanation…no reason."
"You left on a…whim? Surely not a conscious desire to hurt Alexandria? Or Gregory? Or…has either one of them done something to hurt you?"
Irving was shocked that Lex seemed to genuinely want to know if one of his—his—one of them had hurt him in some way. He took a long moment, thinking before he spoke. "Mr.—Lex—you have to understand. This thing that we live with…it's always over our heads. It's not enough that Rip and Greg want a baby. They want one with…they want one with me, you understand, and I'm not sure I know what to think about that."
Lex had both elbows on the table now, and he was nodding. When the waiter moved by their table, Lex motioned him over and ordered wine for the both of them. "Irving…what *you* must surely understand is that Lexie thinks it's normal—she's grown up with the idea. She's had twenty some years to live with the idea of what's normal for her. Gregory…well; he's a lot like Clark. He'll do anything for Lexie."
Irving felt bold enough, or had had enough wine, to smile over the rim of his glass. "Does that make me the Lex in the relationship?"
"I doubt it, Irving. How far are you willing to go for them? Not very, from what I can see."
Irving stopped smiling. "You don't understand. No one does. I'm not running from them…I'm giving them a chance for something better—I'm not necessary for them. What does it matter if it's two people or fifteen? It's not going to matter to Lexie's baby."
Lex stood and grabbed Irving's arm. "In your room. The balcony is much too public a place to talk about our business."
Irving staggered a bit when he got to his feet. Must be a combination of the sun, and the wine. He'd had a bit to drink but surely not that much…He carefully extricated his arm from Lex's grip. "Enter freely..." He bowed as Lex passed him with a sardonic smile. Lex was going to rip him a new one and he'd be damned if he'd act like a puss.
*************
Once inside the room, Lex stopped, looked around. "This is nice. Very nice, Irving."
It embarrassed Irving how much it meant that Lex approved of his choice. He tried for nonchalance, and sprawled on the white leather couch facing the glass wall of doors that separated inside from out. Lex raised an eyebrow at his boneless sprawl. "Are you…comfortable?"
He tried to joke, "I make a living…um." He immediately straightened at Lex's loud lack of laughter and quickly moved to the balcony—closed the doors, just to be doing something, anything, to lighten Lex's scrutiny. "You wanted privacy, we have it now." Through a tremendous force of will he didn't say sir.
"Irving…have you and Greg been together, ever?"
"Us, just us, you mean? No. Greg's not gay. Greg is…totally, incredibly in love with Lexie, who for some strange reason seems to love me too, and it's always been that way. We've…never. I mean, we've…with Rip." He turned a deadly shade of red, and Lex's expression told Irving that he wasn't quite as blasé about the conversation as he tried to act. Well, the man was her father after all, he thought, and winced…"To. Um, Rip. Not…oh God, please tell me this conversation can end now?"
Yes," Lex said and Irving breathed a sigh of relief and was pretty sure Lex did too. He poked about the room's bar, brought out another chilled bottle of wine. "Shall we?"
Irving breathed, "God, yes…"
Several glasses of wine and lots of reminiscing later, they were both feeling rather…pleasantly not sober.
Lex was explaining to Irving just how annoying Clark had been in his youth. He might have been slightly…maudlin. Irving sat across from him, nodding non-stop in sympathy. "I know," he murmured sympathetically, "I know. Greg…he acts like I'm just a—an accessory of Alexandra's. I mean, besides a hug and a kiss in the deepest throes of passion, or a pat on the back on his way out the door…" he trailed off. "Can’t you talk to him, please Lex? No one doesn’t pay attention to you. You're like…the master of the world or something." He reached out and grabbed Lex's wrist. "Please…" he left his hand there waiting for Lex to throw it off. When he didn’t, his fingers came to life, tracing designs on Lex's wrist, his hand, his palm…"Lex…"
"Hmm?" Lex jerked back to awareness, having been miles and miles and years and years away. He looked down at his captured wrist, a puzzled look giving way to amused annoyance. "Irving, are you coming on to me?"
Irving froze—paled. "Y-Yes?" he stammered.
"You're a very attractive young man, but you are a *very* young man who lives with my daughter. And therefore off-limits. Not too mention…"
"I know, I know. Clark would kill me, and Rip would kill what was left. But Lex, you've been my ideal for years. Every person I've ever met I've compared to you."
"What, including Alexandra? Including Greg? Stop comparing, Irving. Look at what you have and think whether you want it and if you do, why? Why don’t you want a child? Why won't you commit to the others—" he held up a hand at Irving's protest "—Why won’t you tell Greg how you feel?"
Irving slumped back in his chair. "I want them to see me. Me, not the third wheel that helps the little trike roll around…"
Lex lifted an eyebrow and Irving snorted, "you know what I mean. God." He grabbed double handfuls of brown hair, pulling at it until it tufted around his head. "And Rip—Lexie—she just steamrolls everyone—if she wants it, they have to want it. And Greg just flows right along, because as far s he's concerned, Rip is god…I love her, I swear but she drives me crazy." He was up pacing, and waving his arms. "She wants a thing and he'll move heaven and earth to make it so. I want a something, and I'm talking to myself. I just—" Lex was in front of him looking so—so—so Lex, and Irving grabbed him, and planted a big sloppy frantic kiss on him—his tongue twisted against Lex's lips, insisting on entrance, and Lex's arms flew up, one hand locked on Irving's collar, the other buried in his hair--and yanked Irving's head back.
"Are you insane, are you—" Irving went for it again, and this time, Lex laughed, muffled by Irving's mouth. Irving pulled his head back himself, affronted, mortified as Lex collapsed into giggles. "Oh my god, that hasn't happened to me since…grade school…" he wheezed, and wiped his eyes, stopped because Irving hadn’t moved an inch, and was in fact, still pressed against him and hard. Very hard.
Lex's eyes narrowed. "Irving…I don’t want to hurt you…"
Irving took a quick couple of steps away, wilting under an emotional tumult of confused lust, fear and embarrassment. Relief seeped in when he realized the hurt Lex meant wasn't physical. "I think you're terribly confused. You need to talk to Alexandra and Greg and sort this out. If this situation can’t be solved, then it might be better if you did move away." He squeezed Irving's shoulder gently, firmly. "Far away."
******
Lex's mind wandered as the jet took off…he thought about Alexandra, holding her…wet, blue, barely moving in his palm those first few minutes of her life. Falling violently in love with her. He thought about Clark and how the young boy he was then had cried the first time he'd reached out to Lex for help. And broken his heart, and saved his life, and made him understand what love really was. He thought too, about a funny looking but sweet little boy who blushed ridiculously bright red whenever he came into the room, and sighed. He hoped sincerely that whatever he decided wouldn't hurt his daughter.
TBC
part three
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6/4/08 03:48 am (UTC)