The Power of Words

Part 4

Lex jerked awake, half-opening his eyes and looking around his bedroom in confusion. It took a moment for him to figure out that the god-awful racket that had woken him up was actually someone pounding on the penthouse door. He grabbed his robe from the foot of the bed as he got to his feet, slipping it on and belting it before heading into the living room.

A quick peek at the clock on the mantle as he passed told him it was barely six in the morning. Whoever was at the door had better be bleeding and on the verge of dying, because if they weren't, Lex was going to rectify the situation.

Slowly, and with as much pain involved as possible.

Throwing the door open, Lex growled, "What the hell..." and then ducked when a fist came close to connecting with his jaw.

"Oh my God, Mr. Luthor. I'm so sorry," stuttered the man, his eyes wide with panic. "I didn't mean to..."

Lex was in no mood for apologies. "Would you care to explain, Fischer, just why you're knocking at six fucking o'clock in the morning?" He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the security guard.

"I... umm..." Fischer took a deep breath and straightened his shoulders, praying silently that he would still have a job once he was through. "Mr. Luthor, you had a delivery first thing this morning." He pointed a somewhat shaky finger at a small mound of containers sitting on the floor near his feet.

Glancing down, Lex shook his head sharply in denial. "No. Fucking. Way." He continued to stare at the wicker basket that was perched on top of the pile as Fischer hurried to explain.

"Your young... ah... friend came by about four and said that these were for you. He seemed pretty certain about it, so I... well, I accepted the delivery."

"Of course you did." Lex continued to look down, his brow furrowed in thought. After a moment, he looked up with an ingratiating smile. "Fischer, you have kids, right? Why don't you take it?"

Fischer shook his head. "Sorry, Mr. Luthor. I'm allergic. In fact, that's why I brought this stuff up now, since my allergies were really kicking in."

Lex noted absently that the man's eyes were puffed up, red and watery, but his mind was concerned mostly with what he was going to do with his delivery.

Vinny.

Stuart's pedigreed Persian cat.

A fucking cat!

Cursing under his breath, Lex bent down and picked up the wicker basket, flinching as he looked inside. Vinny was crouched down along the bottom, his bright green eyes narrowed angrily. The tip of his fluffy tail was flicking back and forth and a low rumbling was coming from deep within his chest.

Lex turned and walked into the living room, tossing over his shoulder, "Bring that stuff in, Fischer." He set the basket onto the low coffee table before seating himself at one end of the sofa.

Green eyes glared balefully back at Lex, and it was painfully obvious to Lex that neither one of them was happy with the situation.

Glancing up when the cardboard box was placed next to the basket, Lex gave a tight smile. "Thank you, Fischer. That will be all," he said dismissively, going back to contemplate the room's other occupant.

"Oh, your friend left this as well," Fischer murmured as he removed an envelope from his pocket, handing it to Lex. "Well, good luck, Mr. Luthor. He's a fierce one. Spent the last couple of hours hissing and spitting at me." Fischer backed toward the front entrance cautiously, hoping to make it out of the penthouse with his job still intact. "Have a nice day, Mr. Luthor." With that, Fischer spun around and fled, closing the door firmly behind him.

"Well, fuck!" Lex laid the envelope down beside him on the couch and threw himself back onto the cushions. What the hell was he going to do with a cat, particularly one that hated him as much as Vinny did. And the feeling was more than mutual.

Lex began devising multiple ways that he was going to ruin his father's life. And Stuart's. He was working out scenario number four when he was interrupted by an earsplitting howl. Lifting his head from the sofa, he looked at the basket.

One white paw was sticking through the metal bars, as though trying to unlatch the hook. Lex smiled ruefully as he leaned forward to open the basket. "I guess you want out, huh? I don't blame you, I'd hate to be caged too."

Vinny remained still for a second before dashing out past Lex and up onto the back of the sofa. He halted on the armrest opposite Lex, his nose twitching and ears laid back menacingly as he glowered at Lex.

"This is only temporary, you understand." Lex didn't want to think about the fact he was sitting there holding a conversation with a cat. "As soon as I can, I'm going to find someone to take you."

Vinny gave him the feline equivalent of an eye roll and jumped gracefully from the sofa to the floor. He began prowling about the room, stopping occasionally to sniff something before turning to look back at Lex. Vinny sat down, his tail wrapped primly around him and gave a plaintive meow.

Lex shrugged. "Yeah, it sucks, but it looks like you're stuck with me for the time being." He got to his feet and opened the flaps of the box, silently taking inventory. Cat food, bowls, toys and... Lex shuddered as he eyed the litter box.

Christ.

Removing the bowls and the food, Lex moved into the kitchen, ignoring his silent shadow. He filled one bowl with food, the other with water and placed them both in one corner.

Vinny crept closer, brushing up against Lex's leg quickly before heading over to the bowls to eat.

Lex watched for a moment before remembering the envelope. He ran one hand down Vinny's back, tugging on his tail gently then straightened. "I'm going back into the living room," he muttered, feeling a bit ridiculous as he left the room.

The envelope felt crisp and cool beneath his fingers. His name was scrawled across the front in Stuart's familiar handwriting. Lex carefully pried open the flap and slipped the letter out.

Lex gave a short laugh as he finished reading the missive. Christ, Stuart really had his head up his ass if he thought Lex gave a shit about Vinny. Tossing the note onto the coffee table, Lex decided to go back to bed. Maybe if he pulled the covers up over his head and slept for a year, he'd wake up from this nightmare and his life would be back to normal.

He could only hope.

Lex paused as he stepped over the threshold to his bedroom. Ensconced comfortably on top of his favorite pillow was a huge, white fluff ball. He huffed indignantly, but Vinny merely glanced at him before laying his head down onto his paws and closing his eyes.

Lex moved over to the large bed, tossing his robe carelessly at the foot, before pulling back the duvet. He jerked the pillow out from beneath the cat and brushed the fur from it as Vinny stomped to the center of the bed.

Once he was comfortably on his side with his back to the cat, Lex closed his eyes. The pillow compressed slightly behind his head and soon, there was a quiet purr buzzing near Lex's ear, relaxing him and easing him to sleep.

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