The Crack in My Shell is Clark Kent
CW: reader has cracky ass joints, clark is nosy, reader is miserable and a lil negative, cryptic thoughts, reader has paranoia, gn reader, reader has a personality
Summary: clark wants to help you with your joint pain.. the problem? you won't let him in.
He didn't even mean to hear it, I mean- you were all the way across the office, typing away, minding your own business. Definitely not because you were desperately trying to finish your piece before Perry's fuckass deadline. Yikes. (you finish, you always do)
Alas, he heard it, and his head shot up, it definitely came from your desk. Your face was slightly scrunched up, as you looked down to your ankles, grumbling a quiet, "why did that one hurt?"
Clark couldn't say anything, because hearing something like that would require super-hearing.. which he does not have... It would be even more conspicuous because your desk was all the way on the other side of Lois's and closer to Cat's. So with a quiet sigh he turned back to his work.
It happened a concerning amount of times after that. It was like your knuckles reset every two minutes. (they didn't, but it sure as hell felt like it did) Each crack had Clark glancing over to make sure nothing broke.
He was finally able to mention it when you came over to hand him a piece of your writing. Your article happened to be an important piece for his article, which happens more often than you'd think among journalism. You placed a manilla folder on his desk before speaking,
"I figured you'd be able to use this in your piece."
Clark turned from his computer and looked up at you through his glasses somehow maintaining his golden retriever resting face, a kind and inviting look. One that you wouldn't fall for. 'He's too innocent, it's definitely calculated,' you'd think.
You idly cracked your knuckles as you awaited his response. Cracking them forward and backward, then cracking the joints just under your nails, and then you wring your hands. Each movement had your wrists and fingers cracking as you watched him examine the file.
His attention was taken from the file as he hears your cracks up and close. He looks up at you, those baby blues ever concerned, "do your joints always crack like that?" He questions softly, soft enough to make you sigh. He wasn't interrogating, but with you, any question is a personal attack on your life.
You wrinkle your nose at the question. 'Why does he care? Not like he's gonna do anything about it.' You think to yourself. "Uh, I guess they do." You answer carefully. Clark gives you a look- a mixture of concern, sympathy, and the need to do something more, swirling in those crystal blues. He wanted to help, but he knows you'd get irritated if he tried.
"Well thank you," he suddenly remembers and turns to you, "for the piece." He clarifies, gesturing to it with his huge hand, and he gives you that stupid smile- the one that makes your heart thump and decreases your sanity. You just hum in acknowledgement and turn on your heel, getting irritated already.
Maybe its the constant cracking, or the pain in your joints that occasionally comes to bite your ass that made you so irritable. Maybe it's how many times you've been stabbed in the back by someone you thought was nice. Either way, a smile is rare to come from you and trust is given to none. A lonely life that you lead with nobody in your corner but yourself.
That might be why Clark pisses you off so much. He's just so kind, and he's so kind it comes to a fault. It makes you feel a little more shitty because you know you're not that kind anymore- maybe he does genuinely want to help, it's not like you could find a reason for him to betray you. Either way, you prefer not to take that chance so it doesn't really matter to you if he is a rarity in humanity or not.
Maybe that's why Superman also rubs you the wrong way, as much as you respect him for his efforts, he has that same way of irritating you as Clark does.
They're kind-of similar, now that you think about it...
You stop yourself there, you can't waste time thinking about things you don't care about. You sit down at your desk and huff before checking the time and getting back to work. You're going to have the worst wrist pain later, the thought alone makes you close your eyes for a moment.
Stupid, stupid Clark Kent. You've decided he's trouble. Small town farm-boy trouble is what he is. He's annoying and he's going to hurt you when you let your guard down.
You choose to ignore those thoughts for sake of focusing on your work. Secondly, because you feel bad thinking about him like this, he hasn't really done anything to you that would warrant these thoughts.
Clark sees past your uncongenial nature, you don't hate him, you're just guarded. A little too guarded, but Clark is patient if not kind. He knows that deep down you like it when he's kind. Your heartbeat gives it away. Not that you know he knows, as far as you know, you're being slick with your little reactions.
You just need time, and time is what Clark can give you.
i was gonne make this a oneshot then decided the start was too shitty so now it needs multiple parts to become good writing
idk i hope this suffices i just wanted to post something- anything, perchance be nice with criticism <3