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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Tyla sat at the Talon, tracing her fingers around her coffee cup. She was sitting on one of the lounge chairs with the morning paper. She stared at the front page; however, she wasn't reading any of the words. Her mind was too much of a daze. She felt numb, fighting back tears that threatened to stream down her face. Thankfully, there was not anyone here that recognized her.
All save one.
"You seem rather lonely," Lex's voice sounded behind her. She sat up straight and wiped away her tears quickly. The man moved to sit across from her and stopped, noting the tears that she failed to rid. He had half expected that she was here at the Talon with Nathan, but if she was visibly this upset.... "What happened?" He gritted his teeth, pushing the anger down.
"They could be happy tears," she retorted, rather feebly.
"I doubt that's the case here," he reached over to hold her hand, but she leaned back against her chair and curled her fingers around the coffee from comfort. "I don't think I have to anticipate him coming to the mansion while I am gone." He didn't dare say his name now, not with the look that she gave him. He wouldn't admit to her that he was relieved. He would be in Washington with his father, tracking every move and every conversation for the FBI. He was apprehensive to go, not just because of the situation but also because he was leaving the mansion to the thralls of Nathan and Tyla. Even if the man was the most respectful person and Tyla had asked Lex first, he didn't feel comfortable of the idea Tyla playing house with someone else. He only agreed because she was visibly happy about the idea.
"He's not coming around anymore," she croaked, more tears fell down her face.
Lex sighed as a couple of girls passed by and gave him a look of contempt. It wasn't he who made this mess! He looked back and noticed the shelves being filled of to-go cups. He motioned that he would be back, walking over to grab one. Not a single person stopped him, not since he was the one who own the Talon. He paused, grabbing a handful of paper napkins, a to-go cup and a stopper before turning back to Tyla who was still trying to wipe the tears falling down her cheeks with the back of her sleeve. He filled the cup with her coffee and handed it back to her. "Come on, Ty," he coaxed, gently holding her wrist. "You and I both know that you can't stay here." He wasn't going to have her surrender to her sobs at the Talon. Not when he could drive her back to home where she could be truly alone if she needed. Tyla didn't move. She just stared at the cup that he had given her. Lex sighed and knelt next to her. "Ty? Let's go. You can tell me everything in the car, or you can sit there in silence but there's no use staying here."
The blonde finally looked to him and took a deep breath. There weren't any more tears, thankfully. She slowly got up, gathered her things and made her way up the stairs out the door. Lex looked back towards the counter; he would forgo his little coffee run for now. He followed Tyla and opened the door for her. His silver Maserati greeted them, glinting in the sunlight. He always managed to park right in front of the shop. It was like his claimed parking spot of the business.
He pressed the button to his keys and the car chirped happily, unlocking the doors. He opened the door for Tyla, and he had barely closed the door as more tears fell down her cheeks. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath as he handed her the serviettes. He finally closed the door and moved to the driver's side to get in. He felt looming anger, not at Tyla. Not at her clear upset but at the man for dropping her. Well, she may have dumped him. He didn't know but he felt like she wouldn't have been like this if she was the one who called it quits.
He got into the car and turned the keys. The Maserati roared to life; the radio played a soft ballad to which Lex turned it down. "You have two choices," he started to say as he clipped his seatbelt on. "Silence or you can tell me what happened. I'll take your lead."
"Why are you checking the paper?"
"Just in case...workplace hazard" She replied, a little distracted.
"I think Luthor can last a day in the spotlight without you running to the rescue." Nathan's tone of voice was very stern, spiteful even.
"Wow...someone is a little catty today."
"I just haven't seen you lately. Ever since you told me that the FBI visited, you've been heard but not seen which you still haven't told me what that was about by the way."
"I'm innocent.... why does that matter?"
"Tyla.... I think it was better when we kept our relationship secret. I saw you practically every weekend and every chance you got at Metropolis and now, I would be lucky to see your face.." Somehow, it was easier when she avoided Lex and the mansion. The man never realized that she had slept over a couple of times.
"You'll have a whole four days of me."
"And then it will be maybe three weeks until I see your face again."
Tyla looked down at her coffee. "I don't know what to say, Nate. You want our relationship to go back as a secret? That's no way to move forward." She was 90% sure that this was a man that she could see herself with but now, this was changing.
"Why do you work so hard for Mr. Luthor? You told me that he is the most difficult person that you have ever worked with. Both are just..."
A flash of anger appeared on her face. No one could talk about Lex in that light, except her. They didn't work at the same capacity as she did. "It's my job, Nate. I help him."
"He needs a lot then."
Tyla glared at him. "Well, it's not like I see you coming out like roses right now." She snapped. Nathan watched as she sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Look, I made a lot of sacrifices coming here. I left my family, my friends, my entire life back in National City and I have a job that although it is difficult, I love it. Can you say the same for yourself?" It was Nathan's turn to look down. He had often spoken how much he hated his job. He was stuck there, not because he was held there by the Luthors, but his opportunities were extremely limited. "Please don't make me choose between my job and you." Tyla pleaded. Her voice was barely a whisper.
"I don't know if it's the job or him anymore, Tyla. I thought it was the job, but you didn't mention anything to him about us and you claim that he is your friend."
Tyla left Nathan's last comments to herself. For her, it was the job that pushed them away. That and the fact that the luster and thrill of the relationship had ended.
"Almost seven months and he was feeling expendable?" Lex asked, not leaving his gaze from the path before them. He had listened to her as he drove out towards the mansion. Although he understood how sometimes the thrill of being with a woman could be better behind closed doors, Tyla was not that kind of person. The blonde looked over at him as she dried her eyes. "Yes, I pay attention." Between those seven weeks in Belle Neve that had been scratched from his memory then from her birthday to now, he could do that math. That was as long as his last relationship, give or take the fact that his ex-wife had hijacked the plane and left him for dead for three months. He glanced over, seeing Tyla turn stoic. "Ty...the business world is not an easy route with or without a relationship. You know this, you accomplished a lot in a short period of time, it's only natural that you like what you do." He could argue that managing a Luthor was not an easy task but that was a different conversation. "If he fails to grasp where you are, or he feels like he needs someone whose work does not require long nights or early mornings then he served his purpose."
"That's really cynical, Lex," she muttered, starting to drink her coffee. His little monologue was almost inspirational, but he also wasn't a person that had a good track record for relationships.
"Practical," he corrected her. He slowed down his car just as touch as he approached the bridge. Since flying off it, almost killing him and Clark, he always slowed down this part of the road. Be it a habit now or truly heeding Jonathan Kent's words to drive slower, he regarded it. "Tell me, did you say that you loved him?" He gripped the steering wheel, bracing for the answer.
"I thought that it was getting to that point," she trailed off. Neither of them had spoken of it yet. But neither of them were where they wanted in the relationship.
"I'm not talking about thoughts," he said, glancing at Tyla before he turned the bend at the end of the bridge. He tapped his foot at the accelerator and the Maserati purred to speed. "Did you love him?"
Tyla took another sip of her drink and she looked out of the window. Did she love him or was she waiting for Nathan to say it first? "No," she finally spoke.
"That proves my point," he said, trying to hide the smile of relief that was etching his features. "You're crying over convenience, Tyla." He didn't need to look at her to feel the unhappy gaze that she was giving him. "I would think that if you are going to be sentimental about anything, do so for the things that truly matter."
Tyla took a deep breath and focused on her coffee for the rest of the way. Lex might have been a little harsh, but she knew that he was right. There would still be pain, but grief had a funny way of waxing and waning when one was in the company of friends.
*****
The millionaire regretted leaving even if Tyla constantly told him that she would be fine. He knew it was a lie, but she had also told him that she wanted to be alone. The truth was that Tyla wanted to get away from Lex. As much as his words left a rough band-aid effect to her emotions, they were needed. But what Tyla desired next was to sit with the feelings, something that Lex would never understand. He was a man who tried to kill his demons instead of facing them. It was practically a Lionel tactic to say that what she was doing was a sign of weakness and vulnerability which had no place in the Luthor world.
When he had returned, he found Tyla stressing about a breach in his plant. Someone had broken into the research division and chemicals had spilled before the quarantine procedure was implemented. What was equally a crisis for Tyla was that her newly established ex-boyfriend was one of the biotechnicians that worked with that specific project. To her chagrin, she had placed him that job. It was a dumb favor and now she had to interact with him to try to fix it.
He found her in the backyard, resting her feet in the pool with her teeth biting the tip of her tongue in the way which he admired. Her hair tied up in a high ponytail, long lock swirled down. His gaze softened as she spoke to him about what had transpired while he was gone. Every so often, she sent an irritable comment through the phone where Lex had guessed it may have been either Nathan or the security detail. He assured her that he would handle it from now on, taking the phone from her hand and putting it to his ear. Yes, it was Nathan.
He had just come back from visiting the plant when he heard Tyla run down the stairs and make her way towards the study to meet him. He had taken it upon himself to give her a small gift, a spa day in a box. He knew nothing of this sort, so he relayed the task to Mercy with some excuse that he heard that women liked that sort of thing after a breakup. Of course, he was still trying to grapple with the idea of wanting to be with her but also giving her the proper time to process her recent relationship failure. Not that the man that she had been with, a man who he had really met once, was someone he could compete with and therefore succeed against. But because she had chosen him all those months ago, Tyla deserved the respect that she made a choice to see that through. So, he settled with being her friend and hopefully, giving her something that she would probably enjoy.
"Lex! Why is my face burning?"
He heard her screaming at him as he placed his briefcase on the leather chair at his desk. He tried not to bark an insult and blinked at the petite woman who stood behind him. Tyla had some sort of seaweed mask on her face. Her hair was tied this time, with a burgundy towel, and he thought about how thankful he was that she was wearing a pair of black sweatpants and a grey tee instead of a bathrobe. It would have been incredibly difficult to keep focus. He walked over to her, trying to keep a straight face. "What are you talking about?" he asked.
Tyla threw a box at him. Lex scrambled to grab the rectangular package as it bounced off his chest. He grasped it with his left hand and inspected it. He moved the box, tilting it from one side to another. The All-Day Spa treatment titled, glittered pink at him. "This mask! It's making my face burn," she hissed as he found the instructions on the right side of the box.
"Ty...how long have you had this on?" he mumbled as he looked over towards the blonde.
"What do you mean?"
"It says you need to have this on for half an hour," he tapped the side of the box. A smirk grew from the corner of his mouth. "Have you had this on this whole time?"
Tyla blinked and then looked from the box then into his green eyes. "It says "all day" on the box," she said, sheepishly. It dawned on her that the entire treatment was all day, not the face mask.
"It says thirty mins on the instructions!" Lex exclaimed as he handed her back the box to see. His smirk grew wider. "You didn't read the instructions?" He laughed in disbelief and held his hand over his face. She worked for him. She read reports with such careful detail that she caught things before production made grave errors. She couldn't read one paragraph on a single box?! How relaxed did this treatment make her? "Take it off."
"No."
"Tyla. Take it off!"
"That's going to hurt much more," she protested. Neither of them noticed a short-haired blonde teen walk in and folded her arms, amused at the bickering that beheld in front of her.
"Your skin needs to breath, take. It. Off!" Lex raised his voice. He took a threatening step forward which followed with Tyla slinking a step back.
"I swear if you.... hello." Tyla turned to see a smirking kid. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, don't mind me. It looks like I found a story right here." She looked between Lex and the woman. Using her powers from that gas that she inhaled when she broke into that lab would help. Lex wouldn't divulge so easily. "Are you two an item or something?"
"No!" Tyla exclaimed.
"I don't know," Lex said, a little surprised that the words came out so quickly. The two of them looked at each other in shock then confusion settled in. "Uh...Chloe, this is Tyla. Tyla, Chloe writes the Torch with Clark at the high school." He moved away from Tyla, awkwardly and approached Chloe. "Thanks for coming."
"Yeah, well I feel like I should thank you. I only have a minute because Clark just called me about a story that broke at the hospital but I'm not going to miss something here, so... why don't you know about her?" Chloe nodded towards Tyla who also approached, about to say something when....
"She had someone," he looked between the two ladies. "I am still trying to gauge between what might be too soon to what is appropriate.... given the circumstance." He balled his hands into fists and his eyes widened. Did he just admit that in front of Tyla?
"You "had" someone?" Chloe turned to Tyla.
"It was nothing serious, I settled for Mr. Right Now...let me guess-OW!" Tyla shouted. Lex had turned and ripped out the seaweed mask from her face. Her face revealed a deep shade of red however, it was hard to tell whether it was from Lex's confession or if it was from the mask that had dried out the natural oils from her face. She growled in pain under her breath then glared back at Lex who had walked away to throw out the mask. She took the towel that was twisting her hair and tried to dab her face with the water that had settled in the threads. "I'm guessing you were the one who had a little field trip to the plant the other night. Now, no one can resist telling you the truth."
Chloe shrugged. "It has its benefits. Hold on and you're telling me that you wouldn't consider Lex after "Mr. Right Now?"" She asked. Lex walked back with a speechless look, bracing for Tyla's answer.
"I...would," she said, slowly before shaking her head. "What are you doing here?"
"I called her here," Lex said. That was about as much as he wanted to hear. The entire confrontation was starting to make him feel uncomfortable especially since he didn't want all his thoughts revealed to Tyla and the woman probably felt the same about him.
"Are you looking for an apology?" The young teen asked.
"No," he said. Finding out the truth had its advantages. Something he would definitely use in the future. He walked over to Chloe and put his hands on her shoulders. "Chloe, I want you to use your gift to help get back the weeks my father stole from me."
Tyla blinked, slowly considering telling him herself but with this last exchange, she didn't want to be near Chloe. She knew that she was failing on being just an employee. To be that and Lex's friend was unavoidable; there would be no separation from the two, personal and professionalism. "I'm...going to go...uh, wash," Tyla said as she moved away, averting her gaze from Lex and Chloe. The man watched as she left, suspicion flickered in his eyes. Tyla knew something.
"Lex, I don't think – maybe you should just leave it alone." She started to leave as well but she stopped at the door. She turned around to look at Lex. "I don't know anything about those weeks, but I do know that because of you, my dad can't get a job. So why would I help you?" She would get the truth out of him regardless.
"Because my father's the one who ordered his dismissal. You know that's the truth, don't you?" he asked, as he approached her again. He wouldn't let her leave until he got the answers that he needed.
Chloe inhaled sharply and raised her hands up to massage her temples as if she was started to get a headache. "Meaning that my family's future is just one chess move in the endless game of one-upmanship played by you and your dad."
"It's not a game, Chloe," he growled. "You're the only one who can get me the truth." He watched as Chloe circled around him. Lex was now in front of her.
"Why do you keep doing this to yourself? Why can't you just walk away from your father?"
"Because he won't give me the only thing, I've ever wanted from him," he said, almost instantly. Because it was harder to walk away from a family member than a friend who treated him the way Lionel did. Because it was better to keep him around than to be truly alone. He tried not to think of the myriad of reasons. If they reached into his conscious, he would admit them to Chloe.
But she continued her interrogation. "And that would be?"
Lex turned to face her. "I want him to love me. All I ever wanted was love." He lowered his eyes and chuckled with displeasure. The admission surprised himself, but he was more focus on the emotion that was starting to rise in him. He swallowed hard and looked away from the teen. "Get out."
*****
He left the mansion almost instantly after Chloe had left and decided to drive to clear his head. After his admittances, he couldn't get the thought of Tyla leaving briskly at the mention of his memory coming back. The blackout feeling from that time kept him incredibly nervous. He remembered Tyla trying to give him support, vaguely before he became a patient. But when he has asked the first time, she had avoided it altogether. Could she blame him for searching this whole time?
He received a call from his father on route and he sighed. This should be good, he thought, changing his course. Lionel was summoning him which could only be one of two things; his father was getting increasingly nervous of Lex's discoveries, or his father was going to berate him for his choices. Neither were good right now. He found himself at LuthorCorp, contemplating on which side of his father was going to reveal themselves today. He walked towards his father's office, half-debating on sending a quick message to Tyla but if he needed the space, there wouldn't be a doubt in his mind that she would need it as well. He looked over to the secretary who wouldn't dare say a word as he pushed opened the doors. He entered, watching Lionel talk on the phone. Lionel's back was turned to him towards the windows, unaware of his son's arrival. "No, that's it. No need to call back," he spoke.
"Two invitations to your office in one week" Lex said, as Lionel hung up the phone. The older Luthor turned around to see Lex standing at the entrance to his office. "I should be flattered."
Lionel chuckled. "You should be more careful. In the future, if you want to reactivate one of my old projects, son, all you have to do is ask." He walked forwards towards Lex.
Berating it is, he thought as his jaw tensed in anger. Lex approached his father, trying to keep his voice from raising. "If you made more of an effort to keep me informed, I wouldn't have to resort to subterfuge," he said, sternly. They were apparently partners.
"I am trying to understand, Lex, why you would be so desperate to learn the truth that you would resort to using a dangerously unstable drug."
If this had worked, he could ask Tyla of all the things that he wanted to know. Better yet, he could have his father admit to everything while Lex was under the wire with the FBI once again. "Well, I guess the truth has never really held much merit for you."
"Now, I'm losing my patience, Lex. You are constantly defensive with me. Now tell me damn it. What is it you want from me?" Lionel growled and Lex almost felt like he was resorted to a little boy again.
A myriad of answers flooding his mind. Some were unreasonable, others more questionable in the sense that his father would never apologize for. Regardless, he would never be heard or acknowledge by the man in front of him. Lex looked at his father sadly for a short moment before scoffing at the idea of ever telling him the truth. "It doesn't' really matter, Dad," he replied, quietly "I'm never gonna get it." Any more seconds spent in the office would resort to more wasted time. Lex didn't want to spend a moment longer. He turned away from his father and left the office, decided that returning to the mansion would be a better refuge for his thoughts.
******
Tyla was in her room, lying on top of her light wooden four-poster bed. She flipped a page of her book, her right leg swinging off the side. She barely noticed that Lex had hovered at the entrance to the former guestroom. He noticed that she had taken a few liberties since then. Her balcony had its own lounging area, a small round coffee table, a few chairs, and pillows. There were a few flowers that rested on a stand where her laptop and her bag now lay. The windowsill to the left still had the candle that he had given her for her birthday. Although one of the dark wooden side tables remained untouched, the one to her right had books pilled up that it almost surpassed the lamp that was now on. She had also changed the décor. Lots of pictures of her family and friends back home adored the walls. A larger picture of her with her friends at the Sharks game was nearest to him. There were empty spaces still, perhaps to place local artwork, he was not sure. He rapped his knuckles against the door to alert her. "How is your face?" He asked her.
"Probably about the same as your ego," she said, finishing up the sentence before reaching over to her side table. She picked up a small purple ribbon and placed it as a bookmark. "Incredibly vulnerable."
Lex held back a shrug as she placed the book on the side table. He noticed that she was reading the diary of Anne Frank. He searched the far reaches of his mind, reminding him that she read that book whenever she like she needed to be humbled with her life. Between what had transpired and her breakup, it was understandable. But that was not what he was coming to see her for. "That was second time that you averted me regarding those seven weeks that I lost," he noted. He watched as Tyla's shoulder tensed up. He was becoming more perspective of her tells. "Why do I get the feeling you know more about it than you're letting on?" He hated the feeling that Tyla was keeping secrets from him.
The blonde sighed, swinging her legs so she now sat at the edge of the bed and looked at him. "Lex, your father went to such extremes to destroy those memories because they posed some sort of threat to him," she started to say. She might as well tell him why she could not say. "He went so far as to threaten my wellbeing. He tried to make sure that I would be complacent enough to not say anything and well...Belle Reeve was the last straw."
"You were scared and then you quit," he added. She didn't need to nod for him to know that whatever she was keeping from him, it was not at her own accord. She was walking on eggshells because of his father, it explained the overwhelming hesitance every time he tried to get close to her. She was in a constant battle of trying to be honest while keeping herself and her family protected. She was exposed. "And although my protection in being my employee can only go so far, it will just be one battle after another. One win after another loss."
Tyla got up and moved towards him. "Why did you hire me back?" she asked him. Lex now tensed up. However, that was mostly from shock that she was closing a gap between them. "It's not exactly like you're off the hook from keeping secrets from me."
"I value your friendship, your work ethic, your loyalty," he started to say. But he knew what she was hinting towards. "It wasn't like that." It wasn't until recently that her friendship with him left him to desire more. He didn't care that she was considering it anymore. He was aware that he was attractive and that the female population at LuthorCorp and LexCorp had all "considered it" at one point or another. He reached up and brushed away a dark strand of her hair. That All-Day treatment package had brought out a glow in her, although he could see that her face was still tender. "I was trying to find the right moment to make the first move."
"Is that a Lex standard? To calculate everything down to a "move?" She searched his green eyes. "Some things aren't as simple as that. They slip away if you take too long." She wouldn't deny that she cared about him. She wouldn't have gone through such lengths to find him at that island if she didn't. But the more she spent time with him, the more she questioned what was happening between them.
Lex lowered his eyes and chuckled quietly. He was surprised at her boldness, and in a way, at himself. The desire to belong to a place of love was something that he wanted more than anything in the world. He had all too often felt like Tyla would be able to give him that. The more that he tried for his father to give him love, the more he knew it was unlikely. "If I do anything now, it won't be genuine," he lowered his voice. What happened at the study forced them to speak about it but if he were to act on it, it would feel like an ultimatum.
"If you don't do anything now, I won't know if you are truly serious," she coaxed him. She was still unsure if she saw Lex in that light. She wouldn't jump at the chance the minute her boss felt a need to simply hook up. She was entirely aware of the PR complications and HR obstacles that would run in her wake. She would have to mean more to Lex than someone under his thumb. She had to see that he meant more.
Lex chuckled, knowing exactly the kind of test she was giving him. It would have been something that he would have done. He leaned in and kissed her left cheek. "That won't work, Tyla Nevin," he said, softly. He turned around and left her in her room. Her face now redder than when it was burning from the mask. Lex walked to his room and shut the door behind him. He leaned against it and raised his hand to his face. He groaned, trying to keep himself from doing something impulsive. As much as he wanted to stay and speak with her, he wanted her to speak freely. He wanted to make sure that she was not held under the clutches of his father. If she were free to speak, she would be free to love. Just like him. Only then would he be able to see this through with her.