Lex met Vivian just outside the door. "Evening." He said holding out his hand to accompany her up the stairs and into the manor's main forte. She looked gorgeous in jeans and a semi sheer black camisole. Lex suddenly felt mildly under dressed in his average slacks and dark blue button down silk shirt. "Thank you." She said as he took her coat and hung it on a hook sticking out of the stone wall. "This is a very medieval feel?" she said looking around at the tapestry on the walls. "My father had it shipped over brick for brick from Scotland." Lex boosted. "I'm sure you feel right at home in the ancestral castle." Vivian said walking down the hall running her fingers over picture frames that lined the wall. Lex followed sliding his hands into his pockets casually. "Actually I think it's a bit much. I would of opted for a roomy apartment or a water front villa." He confessed. Vivian looked over her shoulder and smiled at him. "Will you show me the rest of the house after dinner?" she asked. "If you like." He replied. She smiled and turned to face him. Sliding her arm through the gap between his and his torso she smiled at him. "Lead the way to my meal." She said. Lex grinned and led her down the hall to the dinning room. He led her around a massive round oak table and pulled out her chair. "Thank you." She uttered softly as she sat and he pushed it in for her. He sat beside her as a woman brought in two plates of food. The woman was nearly in her mid forty's and could have easily been Lex's mother had Vivian not known better. Lex looked nothing like either of his parents. His late mother Lillian had auburn hair that accentuated her fair skin while his father Lionel had long waving almost black hair with a blotchy toned complexion. She supposed that Lex got his milky cream skin from his mother but saw almost nothing in him that reminded her of Lionel Luthor. She took a guess that his wit and uncaring nature were all the traits Lionel had passed on to his only heir. "Thank you Tabby." Lex said to the woman. She nodded slightly and left the room.

"So Lex, what has the world's favorite son been up to?" Vivian asked cutting a bite off her steak. "Well, after a few… mishaps in Metropolis my father banished me to Smallville. Gave me the Fertilizer Plant and told me to prove myself worthy basically. Since then I've been trying to distance myself from his long shadow." Lex replied. He poured her a glass of wine. "I hear around town you aren't well liked." She proclaimed. "I have my moments. Most people around here hear Luthor and run in fear. They have me pegged as someone that I've worked so hard to not become." He said. "We're all pegged for something Lex." She replied with a coy smile. "What are you pegged for?" he asked with a grin. She smirked. "I guess I'm pegged as the poor wandering child who lost her parents." She said. "I'll never live up to what either of my parents were and I'm not going to even try." She added. "So that's what you've been up to? Hiding under a rock?" Lex asked. "Not a rock really, more of a mask." She said taking a bite of steak. "This is really good." She said. "Tabby is my favorite cook." Lex said with a smile. "She makes me whatever I want whenever I want. It a very blissful relationship." He said. Vivian grinned and ate another piece of steak. "You'll thank her for me then." She said. "Of course." Lex replied. "You said most people fear you. Who does Lex Luthor call friend?" she asked sipping her wine. "Clark Kent." He said proudly. She looked at him questioningly. "He's a local farmer's son. The only one around here I fear I can carry on an intelligent conversation with." He explained. "He's got a good head on his shoulders." He continued. "That is hard to come by in a man." Vivian said with a smirk. Lex smirked at her. "Would you like to see the rest of the house now?" he asked. "Love to." She replied setting down her utensils. Lex stood up and pulled out her chair. Holding out his hand she took it and entwined her fingers with his as he led her out of the dinning room and down a hallway.

Lex opened a door and let Vivian walk inside. Her jaw dropped as she looked over ancient Egyptian busts of Cleopatra. She walked around the room running her fingers over books, statues of cats and shining gold jewelry. Her eyes fell on a chair that sat in the back of the room. "Cleopatra's throne are you serious." She said walking towards it. "Its not the original. I let the museum keep that. It a remake out of all the exact woods and paints used. Its as authentic as the original." Lex said. "Can I?" she asked with a smile. Lex nodded as she sat on the throne. "My god." She said running her fingers over the engravings on the arm rest. "This is amazing." She remarked looking around again. "I never forgot about you." Lex said with a smile as he walked closer. Vivian beamed as her eyes fell on his. "Come on. I'll show you the rest of the house." He said holding out his hand. She looked around one last time then took his hand allowing him to lead her out of the room.

"This is really the only section of the house that I use." He said opening a set of double doors. Vivian walked in a looked around in awe at the library. The shelves were lined with books and the walls were donned with antiques. "This is beautiful. But not really what I'd expect from you." She said. Lex looked at her with confusion. "I'd imagined your house to have… a more modern feel." She confessed. "With high tech gadgets and gizmos beeping and flashing." She added. "Glad I could surprise you." He said. Vivian smiled. Lex looked around sliding his hands into his pockets and smiling. "This is nothing really though." He said. He placed his hand on the small of her back and led her through a door between two book cases. It led to an office with more books, a glass desk, fire place and pool table. She smiled. "This is my office." He said proudly. "Everything I ever need in life is here." He said walking in further and sitting on the edge of the pool table. "Well of course, I'm here now." She said flashing him a smile. Lex smirked as she walked past him running her hand over the dry bar and desk. Vivian walked towards the fire place and her eyes flushed with color as she watched the flames lick at their stone encasing. Lex walked up behind her and stood almost right against her back. She closed her eyes as he spoke. "As a boy my mother would read to me by this fire." He said. "This use to be her sanctuary, the only place where she could get away from all my father's business lectors and read her books." He added. Vivian turned around and looked up into his eyes. Lex looked down at her softly brushing a strand of hair from her eyes. All of Vivian's self control failed her as she touched her lips to his in a delicate kiss. Lex slid his hand to the back of her neck as he returned the kiss with passion. She'd just wrapped her arms around his neck as his phone rang in his pocket. He parted the kiss and looked into her eyes. "One second." He said pulling the phone from its position. She let him go as he flipped it open and turned to talk.