Bound to His Heart
Lex hated coming to these fundraiser functions. Watching the opera was nice enough, but then he was required to mingle. The company's PR team could only boast about Lex's humanitarian acts if there were photos of him at fundraisers from multiple papers. Not to mention the potential connections that could be made.
Except, no one was there worthwhile for Lex to mingle with. There were always the hangers-on. People looking for how they could use him. They might expect him to use them back, but they would assume they'd see it coming. Lex made sure they never would.
In the past, this was an event Lex would bring Helen to.
Helen.
There had been multiple women in Lex's life. Women who only saw Lex as a prize. A golden boy they would ensnare and marry. They'd all fantasize of leeching off his money and spending their days at the spa and the gym and the plastic surgeons, staying thin, young, and beautiful. All the while having affairs with the pool boys and their trainers as Lex slaved away in an office.
Lex knew what these women smelt like now and how to avoid them. But Helen had been different. She had been smart. Independent. Ambitious. Beautiful.
And a gold digger just like the rest.
Helen had been able to trick Lex into believing she cared for him. Then, on their plane as they went towards their honeymoon, she had orchestrated his death. Helen had drugged the champagne he drank and left him on a colliding plane hoping he'd die and leave her a wealthy widow.
Naturally Lex survived.
There weren't many people to comfort Lex after his failed marriage. Second failed marriage if one counted the annulled marriage from Desiree Atkins, the meteor infected black widow.
Helen's betrayal had hurt Lex deeper than he dared admit to anyone. If Helen could have fooled him, what hope did he have of finding true love?
Still, it would be nice to have someone with him during these affairs. A friend he could trust and share these dull meetings with.
Someone like Lana Lang.
Lex forced himself from going down that road.
Their relationship had started as one of mutual benefit. Lana had come to him in wide-eyed innocence practically begging him to not tear down the old Talon building. Lana had a personal connection with the standing structure; it was the place her parents had met. Since they died when she was so young, the young girl clung to every part of their history she could. Lex could relate to that. Out of curiosity and a small friendship with her Aunt Nell, Lex had agreed to the meeting. The high school girl brought nothing to the table except a desperate plea that would leave him with all the responsibility.
Lex turned her down. But Lana came back, prepared with a business plan. A coffee shop wouldn't be a cash cow, but he respected the ambition she showed. Lana put her heart and soul into the coffee house. The profits were minimal, but through the years of working with her, Lex gained a friend.
Lana Lang was a breath of fresh air in his world of subterfuge and amoral profiteering. She was ambitious and thoughtful. In many ways, she reminded him of himself. But Lana was free of Lionel's influence.
Lana was innocence.
Lana was beauty.
If she were any other woman, Lex would make his move. Slowly, so slowly, she wouldn't know he was circling her with cupid's bow until she was struck through the heart. But Lana wasn't just any other woman.
Lana Lang was the woman whom Clark Kent pinned after.
Clark was the one person on Earth Lex could consider a friend. Lex admired the boy and appreciated Clark's adherence to a moral code. His naïve friend followed it often at the expense of his own happiness.
Lex had watched as Clark kept his distance from Lana, even as he was strongly drawn towards her. His excuses had been "her boyfriend": Whitney Fordman. At first, it was because they were dating. Then, because he was away in the military. And then, because Lana needed to mourn Whitney's death. At first, Lex had admired the young man's code of chivalry, respecting her being in a relationship with the Smallville Quarterback. Then, he respected Lana's need for space when Whitney was killed in combat. Finally, he made a move only to become his own worst enemy and sabotage his own efforts.
Excuses such as these would never occur to Lex. He would see these as opportunities to bring himself closer to her. Were it any other person, Lex would ignore them and make his move. But Clark was his friend, and Lex was desperately trying to respect that.
The truth was Lex might not be friends with Clark for much longer. Their friendship had been rocky ever since Clark came across Lex's investigation room.
The boy had his secrets. Secrets that involved Lex and the questions he had regarding this strange town. Lex had asked nicely. He had been helpful and protected Clark and his family from his father, but that just wasn't enough to gain Clark's trust. It was frustrating and hypocritical. Clark apparently was allowed to keep all the secrets in the world, but if Lex dared to refrain information, Clark got mad.
The room housed Lex's obsession. When Lex first arrived in Smallville, he had been in a car crash on a bridge that almost killed him. Thanks to Clark rescuing him, Lex had survived. The evidence showed his survival was nothing more than a miracle; a statistical anomaly. Lex needed to know why he had been spared. At first, he thought it was because of Clark and Lex displayed bizarre connections that pointed to him. But lately, Lex was starting to think that Clark's uncanny appearances were nothing but strange coincidences. And maybe, what Lex was looking for wasn't in Clark, but in himself. He had tried explaining that, but Clark only saw his photo in the room and Lex's unconventional background searches.
Lex was trying to repair the damage, but, to Clark's credit, his young friend was now more cautious around him. Whether they would stay friends or not, Clark would be a rival for the fair Lana Lang. Lex knew Clark would willingly step onto the battlefield to win Lana's heart. Clark would fight for her with only a slingshot against swords and lances if it meant losing her forever.
If Lex were to step on the battlefield and draw the line, he would surely lose Clark as a friend. It would be a tragic lose, but a necessary and beneficial one if it meant gaining Lana's love.
The one thing holding Lex back, was him realizing this could be a war he could lose.
Lex needed a distraction. He didn't want to think of such things anymore. His eyes drifted around the room and caught sight of a beautiful creature. The woman looked at him with the signal so many others had given before. Here was a game Lex knew all too well. Someone passed in front of her, and expertly she disappeared. Lex quickly looked around the room and saw his prey on the lower level. He descended the stairs where she was standing idly by, listening to music.
He approached her and they shared a serene moment of listening to her iPod. The moment was nice, and Lex briefly allowed himself to think that he could fall in love with this woman. That she would love him back and the two of them would share a bond that could never be broken.
"What's your name?" Lex whispered.
"Does it matter?" was the sirens only response.
Lex drew her close, inhaling her scent and trailing kisses down her neck. If Lex allowed himself, he could picture her features changing into the woman he wished he was holding.
No, Lex agreed later in the dark hotel room. Your name doesn't matter at all.