I'm so glad there are still Smallville fans out there who want to read this story. Thanks!

Chapter 3: Connecting

******Several Weeks Later******

Lex was in Metropolis, listening to the monthly reporting of the board. His dad insisted that he come to them whenever he could. Normally, he was annoyed with the inconvenience of having to go to these meetings. Now, however, he loved any excuse to go to Metropolis. He had met Buffy about six weeks ago, and life was fun again. They weren't exactly dating—the woman was too elusive for such traditional maneuvering. Ever since her Saturday in Smallville, he had found an excuse to see her on four other occasions. They went to lunch twice. An art show once and a concert last week.

They spoke more on the phone, however. Usually, he would call her every few days around eight o'clock. Not too late but not interrupting dinner in case she had plans. The first few phone calls, he'd kept light and innocuous. Then the Wednesday before Thanksgiving things changed. She was going to Ohio to spend the holidays with friends and her sister. She became nostalgic at lunch when he'd gotten her to meet him before her flight. She always missed her mother the most this time of year until after Christmas. Lex could relate. He'd been much younger than she when he'd lost his own. They connected over their shared losses. The next night, she'd call him for the first time, surprising him. She wanted to share a funny story of Dawn's attempt to cook all the pies. It had been gross and unforgettable. Buffy was quite pleased since her friends still talk about her first attempt to do Thanksgiving when her mother was on a business trip.

Lex liked her more and more. More importantly, though, he felt that he'd made a real friend. Counting Clark, he'd made two. If Xander visited more, he might have three. Considering he'd had few real friends in his entire life, he felt very blessed this year.

School was out for the term at her university. Her last final was today. She was going home for Christmas but promised to be back in town for New Year's Eve. Lex had a few houses in Smallville to show her that he thought she might like—he'd use any excuse to spend time with her.

After the incredibly boring board meeting, his dad said, "Lex, come to my office."

Obediently, Lex followed. His dad had sent him to Smallville to punish him—Lex's party life style was getting out of hand. Now that he'd met Buffy and Clark, he was more than a bit embarrassed at the careless life he'd lived up until now. His dad was looking at a folder.

"What's up, Dad? The month report sounded like everything seems to be going well," Lex observed. He sat down in the chair in front of his father's desk.

"What are your plans for the day?" Lionel Luther asked.

Lex frowned, surprised by the question. His dad never showed interest in Lex's personal life or his mundane activities. "If you must know, I'm going to visit my friend Buffy on campus. We'll probably go to dinner," Lex said.

"Buffy Summers, right?" his dad asked.

Lex sat up straight. "Yes," he said slowly. "Why the sudden concern about my personal life, Dad? I've kept my nose clean, stayed out of trouble. The plant in Smallville is running fine. Why the sudden need to keep tabs on me?"

"I'm your father, Lex. It's my job to make sure that you're cultivating the right type of relationship. Befriending Clark Kent is a smart move. His father is the salt of the earth type who carries a lot of weight with the other farmers," Lionel said. "This new girl, though, concerns me."

Lex smirked. "She's just a girl, Dad. I'm not getting married. I haven't even kissed her. We're friends," he said.

Lionel frowned. "That right there concerns me. You don't waste time on beautiful women unless you're interested in them. The fact that you're doing this old-fashioned courtship means she's special to you," he said.

"How do you know she's beautiful?" Lex asked, suspicious.

Lionel threw down a photo of her. "Because I care enough to discover all I can about the people you spend time with," he said.

"Since when?" Lex asked, angry.

"Since always," his dad replied. "I've just never told you."

Lex burned with rage at his father's daring. However, he worked to keep his cool. It never paid to let his father know exactly how much someone mattered. His dad would use it against him. He was the master manipulator. Lex learned at an early age to never show any weakness or vulnerability in front of his dad. He would always live to regret it if he did.

He picked up the photo. It was a closeup of Buffy smiling at him at their last lunch in town. "This is a new low, Dad," he said in disgust.

"What's low is this girl. I doubt you know her as well as you think you do. She's got a criminal history that would be dangerous for our image and this company," Lionel said.

"What's that supposed to mean? She's a psych major who plans on starting a mentorship at Smallville High," Lex said. "She's not a master spy."

"No, she's a murderer," Lionel said flatly.

Lex looked at his father in true disbelief. "Now you've lost your mind!"

Lionel threw the folder down in front of Lex. "See for yourself. She was arrested once for murder when she was sixteen. Accused of throwing her Mom's boyfriend down the stairs and breaking his neck. Then she was wanted for murder again a year later," Lionel announced.

Lex read the file. "All of these charges were dismissed," he said, throwing the file back on his dad's desk. "This says nothing."

"It says that she's dangerous and unstable," Lionel said.

"First of all, you would've said the same exact thing about me when I was sixteen and seventeen," Lex countered. "Hell, Dad, you would've said that a year ago. People change. They mature. They grow up."

"Did she tell you about any of that?" Lionel asked.

"No, but it doesn't matter," Lex said. "She saved my life, Dad. She jumped into water to save a stranger. That should tell you all you need to know about the type of person she is. She lost her mom a few years ago and had to raise her sister. Believe me, that made her grow up fast. Then her entire town was destroyed. She's been through a lot. Now she wants to give back to others." Lex stood up. "Buffy is someone to admire, not fear, Dad. My relationship with her won't be causing problems with the stockholders. I'm confident of that." Not letting his dad say anything more, Lex walked out of his office.

His dad controlled a lot of things in his life—too many really. However, this wasn't something Lex was going to let his father interfere with. Buffy Summers was already too important to him.

Buffy was packing up her dorm when Lex arrived. Her dorm room door was open. He knocked on the door frame.

She looked up, smiled to see him. It had been so nice taking her time with a man. There was no life and death drama bringing them together too closely. Although they had started their relationship in a life death situation, the rest of their time together had been utterly normal. It was the first relationship Buffy had had like this since she'd been called. Lex hadn't even tried to kiss her yet. Buffy figured she'd kiss him before she went home. It was Christmas after all.

"Hello," she said. "I'm ready to go."

"Are you moving your stuff out?" he asked.

"I got permission to wait until the holidays since I haven't secured a new place. They said if I don't have it emptied out before the next term, I'll be charged," Buffy said.

"Well, it just so happens that I have a few places in Smallville that might work for you. I was thinking you could check them out tomorrow after breakfast. You were driving to Ohio, right?" he asked.

"Yes, I brought a car back over Thanksgiving. It will allow us to bring some stuff. And pull a small U haul with Dawn's stuff. We'll buy furniture locally," Buffy said.

"That sounds like a good plan," he said. "You can stay in Smallville tonight."

"So . . . you want me to stay the night with you?" she asked, surprised. "I didn't realize we were ready for that kind of thing."

Lex smiled. "I live in a mansion. I have over a dozen rooms you can choose from," he said. "I wasn't expecting you to stay in my room."

Buffy gave him a mischievous smile. "Now that would be a very nice Christmas surprise, wouldn't it?"

Lex laughed. "Yes, it would," he said. He held out his hand for hers. When she did so, he pulled her close. "I do like you, Buffy Summers. But if friends is all you want to be, I'm okay with that. I haven't had very many good friends in my life. I'd rather have you as a close friend, than nothing at all."

Buffy gave him a searching look and then reached up and gave him a soft kiss. It was fleeting, but it wasn't a kiss of friendship. "I like you, Lex. A lot," she assured him. "My romantic history is incredibly tragic, though. I don't want to rush things. I'm a complicated woman with a lot of crazy things in my past. I have obligations to people that will sometimes pull me away. Most men will have trouble with my secrecy—I have things I can't really talk about. Maybe someday but not now."

"I understand. There's things in my past that aren't pretty," he said. "But I do have to tell you that my dad ran a background check on you."

"What?" Buffy asked in dismay.

"Why don't I tell you all about it over dinner? Mexican sound okay?" he asked.

"Sounds great," she said. She wasn't sure how she felt to know that his dad had investigated her. Of course, there wasn't much he could find out—at least nothing slayer related. Willow had warned her about Lionel Luther and by extension Lex. However, she wasn't going to judge Lex by his father any more than she'd want someone to judge her by Hank.

Twenty minutes later, they had ordered and were sipping margaritas and eating chips with salsa and queso. "So, what did your dad find in my history that upset him? I'm assuming he was upset," she said.

"Listen, my father is a force of nature. I can't control what he does," Lex said. "I can only apologize for the invasion of your privacy."

"Willow warned me about your dad. He's got a ruthless reputation," Buffy said.

"That's true, unfortunately," Lex said with regret. "He found a copy of your arrest record. I pointed out that the charges had been dismissed."

"I had this troll of a principal in high school. He hated me. Whenever he could, he'd try to find a way to finger me for whatever was going wrong," she shared. "For example, I went into the library after school to meet my friends. One of them had been murdered. He immediately accused me of doing it—like I'd kill my friends."

"That's horrible. Did they find out who did?" Lex asked.

Buffy looked incredibly sad as she nodded. "It was my ex-boyfriend and his friends," she shared.

Lex gave her a surprised look. "I guess you weren't exaggerating about the crappy love life," Lex said.

"I really wasn't," she said, looking morose.

"Does that mean the bar is low and I have a decent shot?" Lex asked hopefully.

Buffy laughed as he wanted her to. "I guess that's one way of putting it," she said. "Another time, I was actually arrested was when a robot that looked human was dating my mother."

Lex gave her an incredulous look. "You're joking," he said.

"Nope. My town was pretty crazy. Once it came out that he was a robot, the charges were dropped," she said.

"Man, your mom had even worse luck with guys than you did," he said in bemusement.

"Very true," she said. "But I'm glad to say that the night before she died, she had a very nice first date. He sent flowers."

"That's good," Lex said, glad for her.

Their food arrived, interrupting. Then Buffy was occupied eating.

Lex had never spent time with a woman like her. She didn't mind at all showing her appetite. It was a very healthy appetite. He couldn't help but wonder if it would spill over to other areas.

Buffy was glad that they were able to talk about some of her sordid past without it being a big deal. Maybe someday she'd share with him some of her slayer related secrets. Maybe this time—with Lex—things really would be different.

******Chapter End******

I know this is short and not too much happens, but there's another chapter coming soon. Please take a minute to review!