Fortress

Inheritance

A/N: I don't own Smallville or any characters and places in the DC universe. Nor do I own the episodes that these chapters are based and contained from.

I also don't claim to be a writer. My inspiration is simply to get a creative outlet going.

I only own Tyla Nevin and what pertains to her character story.

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The next day, Lex found himself preoccupied with the FBI more than he would like. Besides the push to find something on his father, he felt like they were always listening regardless of whether he was wired or not. He avoided Tyla at the mansion in the off chance that their conversations were recorded. Because of the growing paranoia in his mind, he was torn between wanting to spend time with her and pushing her away from the crossfire that was due to appear. There wasn't a doubt that his father would put up a fight once he found out, along with the possibility that he would go after Tyla.

To add to his fears, he had a sneaking suspicion that she was hiding something. She was harboring it since he rehired her. He tried giving her space but the mystery of Tyla was delving deeper and deeper into his mind. Whatever it was, it had to do with his father, he knew that much. There was the possibility that it was in her nature. After all, she kept the idea of Nathan being in her life to a minimum. If she was genuinely happy, why had he not wanted to spend time with her? The man was an idiot not to. He was missing opportunities.

Although Lex could attest that he had as well. He was practically giving them away. He had a couple of boxed tickets to Oasis that evening in Metropolis and he was saving them to go with Tyla. But his father had other plans in store for him. Now he had to succumb to giving the blonde an easy date night with her beau.

He found her in her office, resting on her sectional and partly watching some program about paranormal investigating while she scribbled on some paper. "What are you doing?" He asked her, skeptically. He walked forward to look at the paper, but Tyla clutched the letter to her chest as soon as he announced his presence.

"Writing to New York," she said. She had made a small vow with her sister to write letters while they were in different states. For Tyla, it was to keep in touch but for her sister, she liked the idea of having a pen pal while being in NYU. Since the modelling fiasco, Tyla was the only person that she felt that she could trust. Tyla had come with a handful of lawyers and etched into the law that her sister was still a minor. Although the incident had the right to consent, it was to take the pictures, not to distribute them. In the end, the settlement gave Tyla's sister a full riding into NYU on the fashion degree that she sought after. "What are you doing here, Lex? You never come in here."

This was true. He equated this as her off-limits room even if she didn't outwardly say it. He had one room that he told Tyla to avoid entirely unless it was urgent. She had never broken it but for Lex, not frequenting her spaces was a matter of respect. "My father is coming," he said, leaving the single sentence hang in the air between them. Tyla looked pensive. "I'm not sure if you want to be here." He paused again, reaching into his back pocket to pull out the pair of tickets. They were nicely packed in a small dark blue suede case with Oasis written across in gold lettering. Once more, he felt the urge to shirk all responsibility and go with her to the concert, especially because Shapiro was the obvious prospect for her to go. Which is precisely the sort of thing I was afraid of, he thought to himself and handed them to her.

Tyla took the parcel from him and smiled. "Thank you," she said, checking to see that the show was this evening. "I could have stayed up here to avoid your father, you know."

Lex didn't tell her that Lionel knew that she lived here. That was irrelevant. "I suspect that my father, along with the authorities listening to our conversations would be a bit too crowded for you," He raised his arm, pulling back the sleeve of his grey, buttoned shirt to check the time on his rolex. "Especially since your agent friend is coming in an hour to wire me."

Tyla made a face. "He's more your friend than mine," she replied. She tapped the tickets against her lap and got up. She reached up and skimmed her hand down his shoulder. Lex used all his energy to hold it. "Thank you again," she said. "I-uh." She chuckled, suddenly feeling incredibly nervous being in front of him. "I'm going to give my mother a call." Lex gave her a guarded look. He knew she liked Oasis but - "She will appreciate this more than Nathan. His tastes are...peculiar." She gave Lex a smile and walked to her room, leaving him standing there, wondering just how peculiar her suitor was.

******

Lex underestimated the plan. If he knew that she wouldn't go with Shapiro, then he could have probably shirked his responsibilities and gone with her. However, she had already sauntered off to spend the rest of the day with her mother before the concert which left him sitting across from Lana on the couch with Talon papers littered across the coffee table. It was something that Tyla usually would have been doing with the young girl at the end of the month. Lex was barely privy to the business performance review. As a silent partner and the one with most of the shares, he budded in when he felt like. It didn't make as much money as he wanted but due to Tyla's insistence that she could make sure that the coffee-come-cinema would hold its on. Naturally, he lumped it as one of her duties.

Except tonight, he was stuck. The room was silent. Lex wished that he would have just postponed this meeting. "I know I am not the greatest company, especially with the Talon's bills not being the, uh, high point of your month, but I'm guessing something else is going on," he said, noting Lana's forced smile and the slight disappointment her face bore when she realized that Tyla had gone out. She had come into the study with a bright and hopeful face. When she saw Lex, it just disappeared.

"No, no, no, everything's fine," she lied. She was hoping for a bit of girl talk. The blonde was incredibly good at letting Lana vent her frustrations especially about Clark. The more Tyla had come around the Talon to pick up drinks and paperwork, the more they became friends. She was in fact delaying the meeting just in case she would run into the Tyla on her way back. She realized her defeat when Lex commented. She picked up her purse and started to leave.

Lex sighed and leaned back against the couch. "Lana, you know you can talk to me about anything," he watched her stop at the door.

Lana turned around and looked at Lex, debating for a few seconds on whether to stay or try her luck with the woman on another day. She gave in and walked back to sit on the couch next to him. "I want to believe that someone can change, but...." Tears welled up in her eyes. "But I'm starting to lose faith."

"Are we talking about Clark?" Lex blinked. It had been a long while since he heard anything about the teen. Even from Clark's perspective, he had not heard the star-crossed lover speak in longing of the girl next door. Last he heard; it was Adam that caught Lana's eye. With that circumstance, he simply had a vested interest in terms of the damages that were being done to his business venture. Now that Adam was gone, it was hard to keep track of teen affairs.

Lana nodded, wiping her tears, making Lex feel a little awkward playing the big brother role. "He, uh, he came by the Talon earlier to drop off-" She nodded towards the book that Tyla had lent Clark a week back. She had dropped it off on the teen's behalf but the red cover seemed to glare at her for her decision. "And he kissed me."

"He kissed you?" Then why is she upset? He wondered.

"Yeah."

"Isn't that what you wanted?"

"I don't-" Lana held back a sob and took a deep breath. "I don't know."

Lex sighed. He found himself, trying to channel Tyla through his words and thoughts. He thought about what she would say in this situation. She was much more of a guide than he could ever be. "Look, I'm afraid I'm a little jaded in the romance department. The only thing I know about relationships is that someone usually winds up getting hurt." He put a comforting hand on her back. He was not in a relationship but he was feeling the pain that came with watching a woman he found himself growing fond of, live her life without him. He felt hurt that she never seemed to have considered him.

"And you don't think I can trust Clark to not do that," Lana said, snapping him from his thoughts.

He looked over to her. "I don't think it's about trust," he started to say. "It's like the German poet Rilke said, "A person isn't who they are during the last conversation you had with them. They're who they've been throughout your whole relationship.""

Lana looked to the floor and then back to Lex's eyes, unhappily. It was as if she was echoing back his own unhappiness.