AMYGDALA

She tried to focus back on the soft blue light of the computer screen in front of her. She couldn't leave for the day until she finished typing up her shift report , but her mind kept wandering.

Her phone buzzed on the desk.

Running late sorry. Had to evacuate the subway again - metahuman flooded the station! :(

A sigh escaped her lips. Lucy was meant to be here at eleven thirty so they could do the shift handover before the next vet tech on shift got here at midnight.

*yn* had already sent Will, the vet tech on her shift, home for the night. It meant that she'd be manning the fort on her own for at least another thirty minutes.

She responded to Lucy letting her know it was fine and not to stress before placing her phone back down.

She rubbed her temples as she felt a headache begin to creep up the back of her skull. The last twelve hours were starting to take its toll.

She pushed out of the chair, stretching her stiff limbs.

Tea. She needed tea.

The sound of her sneakers squeaking on the laminate bounced off the walls. A car honked in the distance.

It was so quiet that she could hear the tiny huffs and snorings emanating from the animals being kept overnight in observation.

Her hand wrapped around the handle of the rusting kettle.

A sharp series of rapid knocks made her jump and jerk her hand back, causing the kettle to topple off the counter. The lid swung open halfway on its journey to the floor, causing water to soak her front.

"Fuck!" She cursed as the kettle crashed loudly on the ground.

If the water had been boiled, she'd have been taking a very urgent trip to the ER.

"I'm coming - shit!" She hissed as she tried to clumsily ring her scrubs out.

The knocking continued as she hurried out into the waiting area.

They always locked the front door after hours. The locals knew there were drugs galore in here. *yn* had very quickly learnt that they weren't particularly fussy about whether they were intended for humans or not.

There was a man standing at the door. It was hard to make out his features in the dark. What she could tell was that he was huge, his imposing frame nearly engulfing the whole glass panel.

As she got closer to the door, she realised he was holding a bundle of white fur. Almost blinding so. Like it had been carved from fresh snow.

She paused for a split second.

She was acutely aware that she was alone in here. And it wouldn't be the first time that someone had tried to use a stray to get inside.

"Please! You have to help us!" The man's voice was muted as it tried to pierce through the thick glass.

*yn* glanced back down at the bundle in his arms. It was unmoving.

That made her decision for her.

She slid the deadbolt out of the latch and stepped aside, allowing the man to tumble in.

The fluorescent light allowed *yn* to finally get a look at him. A mass of black curls on top of his head, a face framed by thick glasses that were sitting lopsided on the bridge of his nose.

That was all she took note of before she focused her attention on the animal in his arms.

A dog.

"Thank you - I just- I came home and I didn't know what to do and I just googled the closest emergency vet and I-"

"Follow me. What happened?" *yn* asked him as she crossed the waiting room to open the door that led to the consultation rooms.

"I-I don't know I just came home and he was unconscious, I tried to rouse him but nothing was working."

"Just put him here." She gestured to the table in the middle of the small room.

"He's breathing, I could hear- I checked his pulse." The man continued as he placed the dog down gently.

"Well, that's a good first step." *yn* ripped two fresh gloves out of the dispenser.

"He couldn't have eaten anything? Chocolate? Medicine left out?"

"No." He shook his head adamantly. The sticky thwack of the gloves encasing her hands rung out through the room.

"Ok. That's good." She nodded as she rounded the table.

Her heart was beating fast, but she was calm. The headache had dissipated. The adrenaline that she was addicted too had taken hold.

"I'm going to have to ask you to step out while I take a look at him sir." She instructed without looking up as she began to press her hands against the dog's ribs.

"What- no I can't-"

"Sir." She cut him off firmly. "I'm not asking."

"But-"

"Sir-"

"It's Clark."

She glanced up at him, noting the expression on his features. She'd seen that look a thousand times before.

Pure fear. Panic. Confusion. The guilt that he might have been the one to cause this.

"Clark." She softened her tone. "I'm *yn*. And I understand how you must feel right now. But in order to give your dog the best medical attention that I can, I need to be a hundred percent focused and I can't do that with you in the room."

He opened his mouth as if to argue, but promptly shut it and nodded.

"Ok." She nodded back. "What's his name?"

"It's uh-" Her brow furrowed, peering up at him through her lashes when he paused. "It's Dog."

She nodded, unphased.

"I've heard a lot worse, trust me."

She remembered to shoot him a small smile, hoping it would somehow ease his worry.

"Dog is in safe hands. I promise."

Clark jiggled his leg up and down. The fluorescent light hummed above him.

It had felt like hours had passed since he'd crammed himself into the small waiting chair.

He could hear the vet, *yn* she'd said her name was, moving around in the room behind him.

His ears picked up her soothing voice.

"You're very handsome, has anyone told you that before?"

He leant his head back against the plaster, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to calm himself down.

"You're going to be just fine, gorgeous boy. I'm going to take very good care of you."

His heart warmed. Krypto was indeed in very safe hands, he could tell already.

After what felt like an eternity, he could hear the squeaking sound of *yn*'s sneakers getting louder. Clark shot up out of the chair the second the door swung open.

"How is he?"

Now that she wasn't in sink or swim mode, she could finally look at the owner of her patient properly.

The thick frames that she identified earlier were covering kind, blue eyes. The glasses were still crooked, sliding down the bridge of his nose like they were trying to escape. The black mass of curls were perfectly tendrilled, flopping down over his forehead.

His body was wrapped in a jacket. There was a tuft of red material poking out of the left pocket.

His frame seemed even bigger than she remembered. His thighs looked like they could be the size of her torso, his biceps the size of her head.

He was stupidly good looking, she quickly realised.

The tense look on his face made her snap back into reality.

She cleared her throat, "So far, Dog seems completely fine."

Clark let out an audible sigh of relief.

"I did an ultrasound and a physical and couldn't detect anything abnormal, apart from some bruising that's starting to form around his skull." She placed her stethescope around her neck.

"I did a quick scan, there's some slight swelling around the brain but nothing that seems to be of any concern. Looks like he might have taken a bump to the head."

Clark frowned. "I don't understand."

"I've seen it happen before. Dogs get a bit too excited, run into a tree chasing a ball or a coffee table or something and stun themselves."

"Are you- are you saying that he knocked himself out?" Clark queried in disbelief.

*yn* shoved her hands into the pockets of her scrubs. "Until I run a few more tests and get the results of the bloods back, that's my best guess right now. Yeah."

"I guess that explains the dint in the- wall." He pinched the bridge of his nose as he let out a groan. "What the hay, dog." He mumbled to himself.

*yn* raised a brow in amusement. "Did you just say 'what the hay' unironically?"

Clark blinked. Now that he knew Krypto was ok, he looked at her. Really looked at her.

Covered head to toe in pink scrubs adorned with dog bone shapes. Scrubs that were soaked through the front, clinging to her skin. Hair scraped back. Dark rings under eyes that seemed to sparkle. Lips twisted in a bemused smirk.

Beautiful.

"What can I say, you uh- you can take the boy out of Kansas, but can't take Kansas out of the boy?"

That elicited a small chuckle from her. The mood lightened between the two.

"Well if you grew up in Kansas, you must know a thing or two about animals." She answered as she crossed the waiting area to the reception desk.

"You mean I must know a thing or two about cows, right?"

"I wasn't going to say it but..." She shrugged innocently as she opened a fresh intake form on the computer.

"I can't talk though, I've lived in Metropolis my whole life so I guess that makes me an expert in what...rats and squirrels?"

Clark chuckled at that. He pushed his glasses back up the slope of his nose.

"I've given Dog just a little something for the pain and a shot to try and rouse him." *yn* explained, slipping back into vet mode as she typed out Dog's symptoms.

"Thanks. How much is the bill for all this?"

*yn* swotted his question away with her hand. "Don't worry about it."

Clark frowned. "I insist."

"It's fine, honestly. I didn't have to do much. I'm just glad he's ok."

Clark smiled at her. "Thank you, that's very kind of you."

"It's nothing." She dismissed him, feeling herself growing slightly nervous under his gaze. "If it's ok with you though, I'd like to keep him overnight in observation, just to make sure it's nothing more sinister."

"Oh uh-" Clark cut himself off as he tried to think of an excuse. The last thing he needed was Krypto waking up and tearing this place apart.

*yn* glanced up at him over the computer screen.

"I think I'd rather just take him home, he can get a bit antsy. He's not very well trained."

"Trust me, we'll be fine. Our whole lives here are pretty much spent dealing with untrained pets."

"I appreciate that it's just- um- well he's- how do I put this-"

A loud crash echoed down the hallway. Clark didn't need super hearing to know what room it came from.

"What the-" *yn* sprung into action, hurrying down the hallway. Clark was hot on her heels.

She yanked open the door to the consultation room. *yn*'s jaw dropped. Clark nearly collided into her back as she stopped short of breaching the entryway.

Floating a few inches off the table, was Dog.

He was still groggy, but most definitely awake. He was swaying slightly from side to side in the air.

*yn* glanced down at the floor. The surgical light had been knocked over.

"Ok." She swallowed as she inched into the room. "Guess I'll need to add 'flying' to his patient chart."

"I can explain-"

Clark however, did not get a chance to explain.

The second he spoke, Dog's face jerked up. It was like Clark's voice were smelling salts, shocking him into consciousness.

*yn* noticed that one of his ears was permanently flapped up.

A ball of white shot across the room. *yn* yelped, jumping out of the way before he could crash into her. Clark however, wasn't so lucky.

Dog barrelled into him, knocking him clean off his feet. He landed with a loud thud on his back. *yn* twisted around to see Dog jumping up and down on Clark's chest, his tail wagging so fast it was like a windshield wiper on steroids.

"Krypto - stop! Down! Down! Ow!" Clark protested, barely able to get the words out as Dog covered his face with licks.

"Krypto?" *yn* queried as she rose to her full height.

At the sound of his name, Krypto turned to look at her. He tilted his head, his big eyes locked on her. He stepped off Clark's chest and took a few steps towards her.

Luckily, that was enough of a distraction for Clark to lunge forward and scoop him up in his arms.

"Stop it, hey settle dog, please." Clark begged as Krypto struggled against his steel like grip.

*yn* had to do something, if he got loose she didn't want to know what kind of carnage he could wreak in here.

"Hey, it's ok." *yn* spoke calmly, closing the gap between her and Clark. If this didn't work, it was going to have to be a tranquilliser.

"I'm not going to hurt you." She reassured him. Dog stopped struggling as she slowly extended a hand out. He watched it curiously, but didn't squirm away, as it came to rest on his spine.

She began to run soothing strokes down his back. Clark felt Krypto relax in his arms.

"I know, the vet is a scary place huh?" Krypto licked her hand in acknowledgment.

Clark looked up at her in disbelief. It was pretty much impossible to control this dog, and she'd somehow managed to subdue him in less than thirty seconds.

Once she was sure that Dog, or Krypto, was calm, she fixed her attention on Clark.

"So, you wanna explain to me how you managed to get ahold of Superman's dog?"

Clark swallowed. "It's kind of a....foster situation."

*yn*'s brow quirked up, indicating that explanation wasn't going to exactly cut it.

Clark paused, debating whether or not to say anything, before finally relenting. "I know Superman, sort of. I'm a reporter for the Daily Planet."

"Oh." The name rung a bell. "You're Clark Kent?"

He nodded.

"Yeah. I know you, I've read your articles. You interview him a lot."

"Yeah, I guess I'm just lucky." He laughed awkwardly, shoving his glasses back up his nose again. "Anyway Superman is a busy guy y'know? Always out saving the day. I babysit Krypto sometimes when he's out doing all that awesome hero stuff."

Krypto looked up at him at that. He let out a small growl. Clark shot him a warning look, which *yn* luckily didn't notice.

*yn* glanced back down at Krypto. "Well, that's very kind of you." She moved her hand to scratch under his chin.

"Maybe next time you see Superman you can ask him if Krypto's up to date with all his shots. If he's not, tell him to bring him in." She glanced up at Clark through her lashes.

"If dogs from outer space even need them." She tacked on quickly. "They're a bit beyond my expertise I'm afraid. Shockingly, we didn't learn about superdogs in vet school."

Clark let out a chuckle and nodded shyly.

"I'll be sure to ask him."

“Ok, good.” She nodded. A heartbeat of silence passed between them.

"So when you said before 'that explains the dint in the wall', you actually meant the-"

"The ceiling mmhmm. Yep." Clark nodded.

He glanced down at her wet scrubs. *yn* caught his gaze before he could look away.

"Don't ask."

"Wasn't going to." His brows quirked up.

She folded her arms, "let's just say, it can be added to the list of Krypto's casualties alongside the lamp and your ceiling."

Their mouths simultaneously quivered before bursting into laughter.

A fortnight or so had gone by since the whole 'flying dog in the middle of the night' incident.

While her mind every so often wandered to thoughts of the chaotic duo, it was always quickly dragged back to the all consuming reality of her patients, customers and staff.

The longer time ticked on, the more that *yn* was starting to convince herself that the whole experience had been some sort of a hallucination as a result of severe sleep deprivation.

"Hey, you ok if I duck out and grab something to eat?"

*yn* looked up from the bandage she was currently redressing on a grumpy Persian, Tuna, to see Will standing at the door. "Yeah of course, take thirty."

It was only early evening and the start of their night shift, *yn* wasn't expecting it to pick up until a bit later on.

"Awesome, thanks *yn*."

"Oh grab me a redbull while you're out and you can make it forty!" She called out after him.

She heard him shout back an acknowledgment as she focused her attention back on Tuna who was begin to squirm in her arms. "Nearly done buddy." She muttered.

She had just placed Tuna back in his cage when she heard the shrill bell of the front door opening.

"Will, you can beg all you want but you're not getting the company card." She teased as she came out into the front area.

"Not Will, I'm afraid." A deep, amused voice answered.

Clark's gorgeous smile greeted her near the desk. She tried to ignore the way her stomach flipped.

Nope, definitely not Will the gangly freckled vet tech.

"Nice to see you coming in here conscious this time buddy." *yn*'s eyes lit up at the sight of Krypto in his arms. His tail started wagging at the sight of her.

"Not for lack of trying, believe me." Clark answered her as she closed the distance between them to give Krypto a scratch behind the ears.

*yn* seemed more excited to see Krypto than him. Clark kind of loved it.

"I hope you don't mind us dropping in. Krypto has been limping a bit on his front right leg."

Concern flashed across her features.

"I was wondering if you could take a look?"

"Yeah of course, I can take a look now."

Clark followed her through to the same consultation room. He noticed that the lamp had been fixed since they'd last been here.

Clark had only just placed Krypto down onto the table when the front door chime rang out again.

She withheld a sigh. Maybe it was going to be a long night.

"Sorry, I'll just be a moment." She shot him an apologetic look.

"No problem, take your time."

"Try not to take out the lamp again." She teased Krypto before heading back out into the corridor.

Clark's eyes followed her the whole way there.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she made her way out into the waiting area.

The very familiar yapping of a certain chihuahua filled her ears. Shit. It was indeed going to be a long night.

Sure enough, the lady from a few weeks prior stood in the middle of the room. Cupcake's yapping only increased when she spotted *yn*.

Maybe they needed to implement a 24 hour locked door protocol.

*yn* painted on a fake smile. "Hi ma'am, how can I help you?"

The lady's lips curled up into a snear.

"Exactly the vet I was hoping to see."

"Is everything alright with Cupcake?"

The lady scoffed. "Don't pretend to care about my dog now."

*yn*'s smile dropped. If she got accused of not caring about her human customers, she'd probably shrug her shoulders and agree. Humans could definitely suck.

But she always cared about the animals. Always. Even if they were misbehaved, it was always due to trauma inflicted by humans or lack of training.

"I'm sorry?"

"You heard me. I went to the other vet and when I tried to claim the bill through my insurance they told me I couldn't because I'd already come to see you."

"Ma'am it was your decision to go get a second opinion-"

"I only had to get a second opinion because you refused to help me." The lady's cheeks were going pink with anger. "The other vet was more than happy to help me."

*yn* resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She knew that vet from veterinary school. He'd do just about anything an owner asked of him if it meant it made him money, even if it wasn't in the best interests of the animal.

"And now I'm four thousand dollars out of pocket because of you."

*yn*'s eyes nearly bulged out of her head as she focused back in on the woman's ranting. Four thousand fucking dollars? She bit her tongue to stop herself from asking if he'd prescribed medication dipped in gold.

"While I'm very glad that you've found a solution for Cupcake, I'm not sure what you want from me exactly."

The woman let out a bitter laugh. "What I want is for your clinic to cover the cost. It's your incompetence that caused all of this."

*yn* gritted her teeth. It was becoming harder by the second to stay professional. "I'm afraid that's not possible ma'am."

"Well that's just not good enough. I want to speak to your manager."

*yn* cocked her head and gestured to herself. "You're speaking to her."

The woman's neck was turning a concerning shade of purple.

"Is this some kind of joke? What sort of joint are you running here? Scamming people out of there hard earned money and taking advantage of their love for their animals. It's a disgrace. You shouldn't be allowed to call yourself a vet-"

"Is everything ok out here?"

*yn* turned around at the sound of Clark's voice. He looked different. His back was stiff, his chest puffed. He somehow looked even taller than usual.

He stood beside her. His eyes ran over *yn* briefly. Assessing. He noted the way her face was taught, like she was trying to hide the impact the words were having on her.

He turned to look at the woman. His face was stony. Hard set.

Cupcake stopped barking at the lady's feet.

"Nothing that's any of your business. Although, word of advice - go to a different vet clinic while you can."

"No, I don't think I will." Clark answered, his tone clipped. "I think *yn* is an excellent vet. Probably the best in Metropolis. She cares deeply about animals and loves her job. It's a shame that you can't see that."

*yn* looked up at Clark in shock.

The lady's face soured even further. If that was possible.

"If she loved animals she would have helped Cupcake-"

"I was trying to." *yn* cut her off, the restraints around her tongue finally loosening free. "It's not my fault that you can't be bothered to train her. But hey, go ahead and drug her up with some meds that she doesn't need and might give her heart failure to make your life easier. Cause you're the one who loves her, right?"

"How dare you-"

"I think you should leave." Clark cut her off firmly. His eyes were blazing with unspoken emotions.

*yn* didn't even think it was possible for Clark to get angry. He came across so gentle. Clearly she was wrong.

The lady opened her mouth to respond but seemed to possess enough common sense realise it was a fight that she wasn't going to win.

"I will be leaving a very honest google review of this place." She snapped. "Come on Cupcake, let's go."

"Looking forward to it." *yn* shot her a sarcastic smile, watching as the lady tugged on Cupcake's leash harshly, dragging her out into the cool spring air.

*yn* released a breath that she didn’t know she was holding as the door rattled shut. She turned to Clark.

“I’m sorry about that.”

Clark looked down at her, his brow furrowed. Humans could be so strange sometimes.

“Why are you apologising? She was awful to you.”

“I’ve copped worse.” *yn* let out a somewhat strangled laugh. Her attempt to lighten the mood crashed and burned.

Clark’s frown lines deepened. “Are you ok? That was horrible. You didn't deserve that.” Clark placed a hand just above her elbow.

*yn* tried to ignore the way her skin seemed to ignite under his touch.

"Yeah I'm fine."

“I hope you know that nothing she said was true.”

She nodded. “Thank you.”

“For all the things you said.” She clarified when she saw confusion flash across his features.

“I was just telling the truth. You are an incredible vet. That lady would have been lucky to have you look after her dog.” He said it so matter-of-factly. So confidently. Like he was explaining that the sky was blue.

The compliments made her squirm. She'd never been good at taking them. She folded her arms over her torso.

"Well thank you. Really."

Clark noticed how closed off she became at his words. Did she really not see how brilliant she was?

"Although, I'm kind of glad I didn't have to. Cupcake was a bit of a nightmare."

Clark let out a throaty laugh.

"Yeah I know a thing or two about that." He glanced down the hallway to where he had left Krypto, after practically begging him to stay put.

"Speaking of, let's see if we can figure out what is wrong with that paw of his."

The mood lightened as *yn* slipped back into her comfort zone. She opened up again, both physically and emotionally as Clark followed her back into the consultation room.

Clark watched her as she picked up Krypto's paw and gently felt it with her gloved thumbs.

"Your friend is having a bit of a rough time at the moment, isn't he?" *yn* spoke after a few moments.

"My friend?"

*yn* looked up at him, her brows threaded together. "Superman?"

"Oh right." Clark blinked furiously. "Yes, him."

"I feel for him. The trolling online is fucked. Although, the hashtag supershit is kind of funny... but don't tell him I said that."

Clark's fists balled at his side. "Really? I think that one is particularly stupid."

*yn* glanced up at him at the sound of his tone. She raised a brow at the sight of his clenched jaw. "Ok, no mention of hashtag supershit, got it."

"Anyway, he's just trying to do the right thing. I don't know how anyone can have a problem with him."

Clark's annoyance melted away.

"I mean I saw him save a squirrel once for gods sake. The guy doesn't have a bad bone in his body. He's just trying to make the world a better place."

*yn* continued talking, completely unaware of the way Clark was looking at her.

"Ah, I see what's wrong." *yn* announced before Clark had to think of a response, all thoughts of Superman flying out of her head.

"It's a splinter."

"Really? I swear that was the first thing I checked for."

"It's pretty small and it's buried in the crevice of one of his paw pads. Don't worry I wouldn't have spotted it if I didn't know what I was looking for." *yn* reassured him as she crouched down, tweezers in her hand.

"And all done!" She announced seconds later, standing up to reveal a splinter the size of a small thumb tack pinched in between the arms of the tweezer.

"Try that Krypto."

At her words, Krypto tentatively placed his paw down on the surface. Testing it. His tail started to wag furiously when he realised he could put his full weight on it.

Clark couldn't ignore the disappointment that unfurled in his stomach. Not that he'd ever wish pain on Krypto, but a part of him hoped it would have taken a bit longer for *yn* to fix him.

"Now you can go back to putting dints in things." *yn* shot Clark a grin as Krypto leapt off the table and circled Clark excitedly.

He then hurled towards *yn*. He jumped up on her excitedly, his paws pressing against her torso. Not knowing his own strength, the force of him leaping up onto her made her fall back.

*yn* swore that one second Clark was across the table from her and then she blinked and his firm chest was behind her. His hands wrapped around her arms, stopped her from falling flat on her back.

His cologne invaded her senses. Lemon, violet - a hint of cedarwood. This man was going to be the death of her.

"Krypto." Clark scolded.

Krypto sat at *yn*'s feet, looking up innocently.

"Sorry." He helped her straighten up.

"It's ok." She swallowed.

He studied her. His hands lingered for a moment too long to be considered innocuous.

"At least we know his paw is ok." She laughed breathlessly.

He smiled and nodded. *yn* felt the absence of his chest against her back as he stepped away.

"*yn* I'm back! There's a redbull with your name on it in the fridge." Will's voice from the back made the pair pull away from each other.

"Thanks Will!" *yn* called back. She looked over at Clark, whose eyes were still fixed on her.

"I should get going." Clark spoke. "I won't keep you from your redbull."

"Good idea. I get real mean uncaffinated." She teased.

"Somehow, I doubt that." Clark smiled softly, which she returned. "Oh how much do I owe-

"Ah ah no." *yn* shook her head firmly. "I'm not taking your money."

"But-"

"But nothing. Superman and Krypto do so much for us. It's my way of saying thank you."

He couldn't get rid of the smile on his face, even as he accepted defeat.

If he hadn't been certain that he was in trouble already, he most definitely was now.

*yn* sat on her sofa. A half eaten pad thai was in her lap. A coke zero can was in one hand, the tv remote in the other.

She flicked through the channels. She really needed to just pay her Netflix subscription. Her finger hovered over the change channel button as she flicked onto one of the news channels.

Some sort of giant axolotl looking creature was running rampant downtown. Nothing that out of the ordinary for Metropolis. She watched as the camera zoomed in on Superman barreling towards the creature.

Her heart rate jumped when she spied a streak of white and red beside him.

She sat up, her eyes glued to the screen as she watched the pair take on the creature.

She placed the coke can down before she inevitably spilt it. Her nails dug into the couch as the creature whipped around and smacked Superman with it's tail. He went flying straight into the ground.

Somehow, the camera managed to find where he had landed. He'd created a massive path of broken concrete and bricks, leading straight to where his body lay motionless amongst the rubble.

*yn* bit the inside of her cheek as he raised his head and let out a groan. She watched as Krypto appeared, leaping on top of him. He began to jump up and down on his chest, his tail wagging, kind of like he did with Clark.

"Krypto - stop! Down! Down! Ow!" The camera picked up Superman's muffled voice.

*yn* froze. That voice. It sounded exactly like-

She continued to watch Krypto and realised the way he was jumping up and down wasn't just kind of like how he jumped on Clark. It was how he jumped on Clark.

The puzzle pieces all slotted together in her mind. The weird reaction anytime she brought up Superman, the unexplainable speed, the fact he literally had his dog.

"Holy shit."

*yn* glanced down at her coffee table. Yesterday's edition of the Daily Planet, riddled with coffee stains, was still sitting there. She gripped it tightly and flipped to the fourth page where she knew she'd find the latest article that Clark had written.

She scanned through it again. She read the parts where Superman answered Clark's questions. Superman responded to things exactly how she'd imagine Clark responding. Because he was. He was interviewing himself.

Realisation hit her. "Fuck."

She'd called him supershit to his face.

It had been a month since she'd last seen Clark and Krypto. Since she'd figured out who Clark really was.

There were some terrible things happening in Jarhanpur and Boravia, and Clark - Superman - was copping the brunt of it.

She hadn't expected to see them again for a while, maybe even ever.

That didn't stop her thinking about them. About Clark's kind eyes and soft smile. About Krypto's floppy ear and whirring tail.

So, one evening when the clinic phone rang, she got quite a shock when she heard Clark's voice on the other end.

"Clark?" "Hi." He sounded nervous. "Is everything ok? Is Krypto alright?" "Oh he's ok. I mean- it's just his paw. He's limping again. I was wondering if you had time for me to come in later and have a look?" "Yeah of course. Come in whenever. You don't need to call in advance next time, someone will always be here to help." "I know." There was a pause on the other end of the line. Like he was debating his next words. "I just wanted to make sure we saw you."

Now, here they were. Back in the same room, with *yn* examining the same paw.

Expect this time, she harboured the knowledge that the man standing across from her was the most powerful being on the planet.

She tried to relax as she looked at Kyrpto's paw. Her heart was beating firmly against her ribcage. She needed to try and act normal, but she was worried that if she tried too hard to act normal, it would be suspicious.

Should she tell Clark she knew? Maybe he already knew. Could Superman read minds? She couldn't remember.

"That lady hasn't come back has she?"

Clark's voice broke her out of her spiral. She looked up at him. His face was pinched with concern.

"The one giving you grief about Cupcake the yappy chihuahua." He must have taken her lack of response as a sign she didn't remember who he was talking about.

But of course she remembered. She was just surprised that he did.

"No, thankfully." She swallowed and glanced back down at Krypto.

He'd managed to learn to stay still while she was examining him. Like he knew she was trying to help him. It made her heart warm.

"Well let me know if she does. I can talk to my friends in the force if there's anything they can do."

His voice was laced with worry and care. She suddenly felt very stupid about being so nervous. Yes, he was Superman. But most importantly, he was Clark, the guy who'd come barraging through here in the middle of the night worried sick about his best friend. Who remembered all the little things she told him. Who wanted to make sure she was ok.

She felt herself begin to calm. "I will, thank you."

"I just want to make sure you're safe and can focus on your job."

Her cheeks turned a slight shade of pink. How was it possible for someone to be so thoughtful?

She had the sudden urge then to ask for his number. She quickly supressed it. Clark radiated kindness. Of course he'd offer to do something like that. It didn't mean he was interested in her.

She tried to push thoughts of Clark out of her mind as she looked back down at Krypto's paw.

She didn't understand. There was definitely no splinter. She'd triple checked. But he'd certainly been limping when Clark had brought him in, even worse than last time.

She pressed down on his paw, trying to identify the source of the pain. Krypto's tail thudded on the sterile surface happily.

Her frown deepened.

"Have you figured out what's wrong? Is it another splinter?" Clark asked after a few moments. She looked up at him. He was the perfect picture of concern.

She glanced down at Krypto again, who was looking up at Clark expectantly. Like he was waiting for a pat.

"I think so." She stood up as it dawned on her.

"There's no splinter." She peeled her gloves off and chucked them in the trash can.

"Then what is it?"

She glanced down at Krypto and shook her head, an amused smile on her features.

"There's something wrong with Krypto, but it's not physical."

Clark's lashes brushed the lenses of his glasses as he blinked.

"He's faking it." She explained.

Clark looked down at Krypto. "Are you sure?"

"Positive. I pressed down on his paw and he showed no sign of discomfort. And I bet you if I do this-"

She picked Krypto up and placed him on the floor. She turned around to the cabinet and grabbed a dog treat from one of the cupboards.

"Do you want a treat, Krypto?" She dangled the treat in front of him.

Sure enough, Krypto began to jump up, his jaw snapping as he tried to grab the treat. He bounced happily on all four paws.

"No limp." Clark observed.

"No limp." *yn* confirmed as she finally gave Krypto the treat, who inhaled it in a flash.

"He's figured out that if he fakes an injury he'll get attention."

"Or he knew that I wanted to see you."

*yn*'s eyes shot up to Clark's face at his words. A smirk was twisted up on his lips. Was he flirting with her?

She felt her cheeks heat up. She forced a smirk on her lips to mirror Clark's. She needed to try and act unphased.

"Or he's missing Superman." She countered.

God, she was pathetic. He'd given her the perfect opportunity there and she'd completely fumbled. No wonder she was eternally single.

"He is away a lot." Clark admitted, the smirk sliding off his lips.

Shit. Now she'd made him feel bad.

"I didn't mean to imply Superman was neglecting him." She reassured him hastily.

"He's going through a lot right now. I'm sure he's doing the best he can given the circumstances."

Clark's facade faltered.

"You think so?" His tone had softened.

"I do." She nodded. She moved around from her side of the table to lean her hip against it as she studied him.

"He made the right decision. With the whole Jarhanpur thing. He saved a lot of people." She eyed him intently.

"I hope he knows that."

His eyes were moving over her facial features. Analysing.

She'd thrown a line out, giving him an opportunity to reach out and pull her in if he wanted to. Or he could ignore it, play dumb. The choice was his.

"I don't know if he does." His voice cracked ever so slightly.

The energy had shifted in the room. It was like the whole world around them had gone quiet.

Even Krypto sat silently in between them. Watching. Waiting to see who would break first.

"He should. He's a good man. A great one, actually. The world needs more people like him."

Clark couldn't tear his eyes off her. He knew. She knew. They both knew.

Clark reached forward and grabbed the line. He tugged her in.

"How'd you figure it out?" He finally spoke, his voice was so soft that *yn* was lucky to catch it.

She cleared her throat. "I saw you on the TV the other day. Fighting some metahuman. I watched Krypto jump up and down on your chest. The way he reacted when he saw you." She shook her head.

"I just knew."

Clark nodded in understanding.

"Dog's are a pretty good judge of character." As he spoke, Krypto nuzzled into *yn*'s leg.

"Which explains why he likes you so much."

*yn* blushed, leaning down to pat Krypto affectionally. "Yeah well, feeling's mutual."

"Is it?" She looked up at him to see him studying her intently. She had a feeling that he wasn't talking about Krypto. Her heart hammered against her ribcage.

"Yeah." She nodded lightly. "It is."

The pair smiled at each other.

"I'm reserving the right to tease you later about the fact that you've been interviewing yourself this whole time, by the way."

"What can I say, it's nice not having to remind myself everything I say is on the record."

They both laughed. *yn* studied him for a few moments as they slipped back into silence.

"I hope you know that your secret is very much safe with me."

"I never had any doubts." He responded instantly, making her smile widen.

"And if you ever need a petsitter, I'm always here."

Clark winced. "I don't know if I'm ready to put you through that yet. Even I struggle to keep him contained."

"Well, in that case, I do behavioural training classes on Thursday nights at 7pm. You're welcome to come along."

It was in that moment that Krypto spotted the treat jar behind *yn*, perched up on the top shelf of the cabinet. He leapt up into the air, ready to crash straight into it.

Clark's reflexes kicked in, grabbing him by the collar before he could get more than 5 inches off the ground.

A vision of Krypto flying around in a room full of reactive dogs flashed before her. It made her feel slightly ill.

"On second thought, maybe private lessons would be better."

"I think that would be wise." Clark grimaced as he gently pushed Krypto back onto the floor. Krypto let out a whine in protest.

"Alright." *yn* sighed, turning around to grab him another treat.

"I know you're not going to let me pay for these sessions, but I want you to let me repay you in another way."

"And what way would that be?" *yn* asked as she gave Krypto another treat.

Clark sucked in a breath, working up the courage to do what he'd been wanting to do since the first time they'd met.

"Let me take you to dinner."

The blush that had never really left *yn*'s cheeks, reemerged on her face with a vengeance.

She tried to calm her nerves. If he could be confident, so could she.

"That depends." Her tone was light, teasing.

Clark raised a brow. "On?"

"Would this dinner be a-"

"A date." Clark cut her off. He exhaled a breath as he looked at her. "Definitely a date."

She smiled.

"Good. Because that was the only way I was going to say yes."

Clark couldn't wipe the grin off his face the entire time he flew to Antarctica.

He watched as the shards of ice crystallised out of the snow, shooting up towards the cloudless sky.

He whistled a tune as the S emblem split open.

"Good job boy." Clark ruffled Krypto's head for what must have been the sixth time since they'd left the vet clinic as they made their way inside.

Number four turned around from his work station, his blue robotic eye widening.

"Ah Superman! Welcome home. How did everything go?"

"Perfectly. Thank you for helping me train Krypto, number four. The little hop was an excellent touch."

"You're welcome. I thought it might add to the authenticity of it. If I had the emotional intelligence of a human, I'd have thought it was real."

Clark had always intended to ask *yn* on a date. He just needed an excuse to come and see her. To give him a chance to work up the courage to actually do it. There wasn't really anything wrong with faking Krypto's injury, was there?

Clark glanced down at Krypto. As if on cue, Krypto raised his paw and began to limp. He looked up at Clark and wagged his tail, clearly waiting for the treat that usually followed.

"Maybe we trained him too well." Clark frowned.

"Is it possible for you to untrain a dog, number four?"

"I am not sure. I will have to investigate. Or you could ask your friend that you were telling us about. The veterinarian, *yn*. She would likely know given her studies."

Clark winced. Looks like he might have some explaining to do.

I LOVED SUPERMAN SM SO HAPPY TO BE WRITING FOR BBY CLARK x As always always always, feedback is always appreciated because I thrive off praise. Please give it back here x

He turned away from her with a huff, shoulders tight and jaw clenched, as he attempted to regain control of the situation by narrating it aloud. He often found comfort in logical monologue.

“She was taken at precisely two forty-two this afternoon,” he muttered under his breath as he paced slowly behind his desk, running a hand along its edge as if that might tether him to sanity. 

“The operation was clean, coordinated, undetected. Removed directly from the schoolyard during recess. No resistance. No witnesses. The perfect plan. Superman’s child—”

“I’m not a baby,” she interrupted, not looking up from her drawing.

He froze mid-stride and glanced back at her over his shoulder, frown deepening. “You’re four.”

“I’m four and a half,” she said firmly, lifting five fingers like it was proof of her authority. Her voice clearly carried the condescension of someone who had corrected a grown-up many times before and would continue to do so with absolutely no remorse.

Lex exhaled, slowly. “Fine. Four and a half.” He turned fully to face her again, squinting. “You, the alleged daughter of Superman.”

The crayon paused. She looked up, blinking. “Who?”

He blinked back. “Your father.”

She tilted her head. “You mean my daddy?”

“Yes, Superman. Your daddy.”

A thoughtful expression settled over her face as she resumed her scribbling. “He wears glazzes and eats macaroni on Fridays and he does the laundry with music on real loud.”

“…Right.” Lex looked faintly bewildered. “And your mother?”

“Mommy.”

“No, I meant her actual name.”

Caroline frowned. “Her name’s Mommy.”

Lex stared at her for a moment, as if waiting for her to elaborate. She didn’t.

She reached into her backpack and pulled out a juice pouch with sticky fingers, holding it up toward him with the straw still sealed and her expression expectant.

“You got scissors?” she asked, as though she hadn’t just derailed his train of thought entirely. “I can’t do the pokey part.”

He was silent for a beat, before wordlessly accepting the pouch, stabbing the straw through the foil with the sharp precision of a man clinging to dignity, and handing it back to her like he was signing away his soul.

“Thanks,” she said brightly, already sipping. “You’re kinda nice for a criminal.”

He turned away again, hand pressed to his temple, muttering incoherently.

“I expected more,” he began once more, his voice rising as he tried to re-enter a rhythm of control. “I assumed Superman’s child would exhibit at least some extraordinary capabilities. Enhanced strength. Vision-based abilities, flight. Something!” He turned back to her, looking visibly frayed around the edges. “But so far all I’ve seen is—”

“I can burp the ABCs,” she said through a mouthful of juice.

He stared. “You can—”

“Wanna hear?”

“No!”

“Okay.”

She went back to her drawing. He rubbed both hands over his face like he was trying to reset reality.

“I am the most powerful mind in Metropolis,” he muttered to the air. “I built a quantum core in my garage. I developed synthetic kryptonite using nothing but scrap. I solved the fourth dimensional puzzle. And right now, my greatest obstacle is a juice-stained child with crayons and no respect for personal space.”

“I got respect,” Caroline said absently. “Mommy said I have to try.”

Lex turned slowly. “I kidnapped you.”

She blinked. “Yeah, but you got no snacks. And your house is cold. And there’s nothing to do.”

He moved to sit at his desk. His hands were shaking. “I don’t even know what I’m doing anymore.”

Caroline reached into her bag and pulled out a sparkly pink crayon. “Wanna draw?”

Lex stared at her.

She patted the marble floor beside her, completely unfazed. “You can do the sky.”

Lex did not move.

He stared at her for a long moment, his fingers twitching slightly at his sides, his eye twitch threatening to go permanent. This was not how any of this was meant to go.

She was supposed to be frightened. Or at least impressed, or useful, but instead she was asking him to colour clouds with glitter crayons and acting like he was the one being unreasonable.

“Right,” he said, voice tight. “Enough.”

Caroline looked up with wide eyes, still holding the pink crayon in her fist. “Enough what?”

He took a slow breath and crouched to her level, his knees popping in a way that made him hate everything about the situation even more. He fixed her with what he imagined was a very serious expression.

“I need you to tell me something important.”

She blinked at him, blinking slow and unbothered, clearly not understanding the gravity of the moment.

Lex clasped his hands. “You’re Superman’s daughter.”

“I’m Daddy’s daughter,” she corrected gently, like he had just made a simple maths mistake.

“Fine. Your daddy is Superman, and Superman has powers.”

She nodded vaguely. “Yeah. He do floating.”

“Yes. Floatin—floating.” He shifted forward a little. “So... do you have powers?”

Caroline tilted her head. “Like… super ears?”

“Anything! Strength, speed, flight, x-ray vision, just any indication of something abnormal!”

She frowned, clearly trying very hard to process this with her four-year-old understanding of the universe. “Um… I can eat a lot of nuggies.”

Lex closed his eyes. “I mean something more notable,” he said, his voice slowly rising.

“I can hold my breath real long!”

Lex opened his mouth before he shut it again. He rubbed his hands down his face.

“I can see in da dark sometimes,” she added, trying to be helpful. “But dat’s only when Mommy forgets da nightlight!”

He stood abruptly, and stalked away from her in a slow circle and dragged both hands through the nonexistent hair on his shiny, furious head.

“You are useless to me,” he muttered, speaking more to the air than to her. “You are the most unhelpful hostage in history. You don’t even have the decency to be frightened or aware, or—”

“You’re funny when you’re mad,” she said brightly.

He spun. “What?”

She giggled. “You go all red like an egg! Like Humfy Dumfy.”

“I am not—”

“Like a mad Humfy Dumfy!” she squealed, delighted with herself now, completely ignoring the storm of frustration gathering in the centre of the room.

“Like an eggry!”

Lex stopped cold.

“Eggry?!”

“Yeah!” she chirped, beaming at him like she had just discovered the word of the year. “You’re not mad. You’re eggry. Like… an egg that’s grumpy or angry.”

Lex’s hands dropped to his sides. He looked at the ceiling, as if begging the structural beams to collapse and spare him from this moment.

“I hate this child,” he whispered.

Caroline blinked slowly, as if deciding whether or not she should be offended.

She sat there, pink crayon still clutched in her tiny fist, juice pouch slowly tilting sideways against her leg. She blinked again.

And then, with the quiet, thoughtful gravity of someone about to ruin his entire self-esteem, she tilted her head just slightly to the right and said:

“You look like you don’t get hugged a lot.”

Lex’s entire body locked up.

There was a long, horrible pause after that.

He didn’t move and instead stared at her, completely frozen, like someone had pulled the power from the room. His eye twitched. 

Caroline, however, was already back to colouring.

“Mommy says people get mean when their hearts get squished too many times,” she went on, very casually, as she outlined his cape in purple sparkles. “Maybe that’s what happened to you. Maybe you have a squishy heart.”

Lex opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He made a sound. It was not a word. It was more like a tiny gasp from someone who had just been kicked in the chest by the world’s most innocent therapist.

“My heart is not squished,” he said, voice thin and high.

Caroline did not look up. “It feel squished, though.”

His fingers twitched at his sides again. “My heart is fully functional.”

She nodded, as if she was humouring him. “Mm-hm. That’s what Daddy says when Mommy tells him to rest and he says he doesn’t need a nap. And then he falls asleep on the couch.”

Lex took a single step back from her, as though she might say something even more damaging if he stayed too close.

His eye twitched again. It was definitely twitching now, constantly, like a short-circuiting wire.

“I do not need a nap,” he hissed.

“You need a hug,” Caroline corrected.

“I do not—”

“Okay,” she interrupted, completely unfazed, “but if you ever want one, you just gotta ask. Daddy says hugs are like vitamins. Good for your heart and your brain.”

Lex stared at her for a long moment.

And then, far too quietly, with none of the forced patience from before, he said, “Your daddy says a lot of things, doesn’t he.”

Caroline blinked. “Yeah.”

He leaned forward slightly, voice sharp and cold and low now, like he had finally decided it wasn’t worth pretending anymore. “Well, maybe if your daddy spent less time preaching about hugs and more time protecting you, you wouldn’t be here, would you.”

The room fell still.

Caroline didn’t speak right away. She just sat there, frowning down at the drawing in her lap, and finished colouring in the top corner like it was the most important thing in the world. She gave a little shrug.

“Okay,” she said softly. “That was kinda mean.”

Lex straightened up, surprised.

Caroline looked up at him with that same maddening calm, the wide-eyed clarity of someone too young to fake a reaction. “You said a bad thing ‘cause you’re mad, but it’s okay. Mommy does that too when Daddy leaves dishes in the sink.”

Lex blinked. He had not expected that. He had expected tears. Maybe more sass. Not... whatever that was.

Caroline yawned. “You got snacks?”

“No,” he said flatly.

“I’m hungry.”

“I don’t care.”

She gasped. “You’re not ‘posed to say that to kids!”

“You’re not supposed to trespass in the minds of the powerful and dismantle their dignity with crayons, but we’re past rules now, aren’t we?!”

Caroline stood up suddenly, hair flying into her face, fists clenched like she was about to launch into war. “You know what I think?”

“No,” Lex said, rubbing both hands over his face.

“I think you need a sandwich and a nap, ‘cause you’re being a meanyhead for no reason and your voice is getting squeaky.”

“My voice is not squeaky!”

“Is too!”

“I AM THE GREATEST MIND OF OUR AGE—”

“AND YOU’RE EGGRY!”

“I’M TAKING YOU HOME!”

“No need!” she said brightly, beaming at him now, all the frustration already gone from her tiny face. “My daddy’s here!”

Lex paused.

His entire body stilled.

“…What?”

The answer came instantly.

Because at that exact moment, every door in the tower’s top floor blew clean off its hinges with a shattering, ground-shaking burst of wind and fury, and Lex barely had time to register the sound before the ceiling lights flickered violently and Superman himself came storming into the room like a god made of anger and sky.

His boots hit the marble hard enough to crack it.

His cape snapped behind him like a banner in battle.

His eyes were glowing, chest heaving, expression carved from stone, and the only thing louder than the blast of his arrival was the silence that followed it, thick and seething and full of promise.

Caroline waved. “Hi, Daddy!”

Clark’s boots crunched against the shattered marble as he took one slow, deliberate step forward, eyes still burning bright with fury, and jaw tight like he was physically restraining himself from flying straight through Lex’s chest.

The wind had not settled. It still whipped faintly through the blown-out doors behind him, stirring his cape in short, angry flares.

“You kidnapped my daughter,” Clark said, his voice low, steady, and trembling with something barely contained underneath, something old and dangerous and impossible to ignore.

Lex immediately took a single, shaky step backward.

“I—technically I extracted her,” he said quickly, his words spilling like water over broken glass.

Clark’s eyes narrowed. “From her school.”

“Yes, well, I’m not proud of it.”

“She’s four!”

“She was unsupervised!”

Clark’s foot shifted forward again and Lex’s spine collided with the edge of his desk. His arms came up in pure reflex, his palms out, already defensive, already pleading.

There was no way to posture his way out of this one.

“Look,” he began, his voice climbing too high too fast, pointing toward Caroline like she was a sentient disaster. “She was fine. Completely unharmed. I didn’t touch her. I didn’t yell, well I think I did, but I gave her juice! I gave her a paper. She has my crayons, for God’s sake.”

Clark did not move. His expression remained carved from stone.

“She’s not supposed to be here,” Clark said again, this time quieter. That was worse.

Lex stumbled forward with a hand to his own chest like he was about to confess a crime. “I didn’t scare her. You think I scared her? She’s the one who scared me. She insulted my chair. She mocked my trousers. She called me eggry, do you understand what I’m saying?! She accused me of having a squished heart. She told me my house smells like sadness. She asked if I had friends.”

Clark blinked once.

Lex’s hands flailed uselessly in the air. “What took you so long?! I have been trying to get rid of her for hours. I shut off the security. I dropped the perimeter. I called your number twice. I sat her in front of a window like she was waiting for a helicopter rescue. Why did it take you this long to get here?!”

Clark tilted his head, very slightly, with a frown of utter confusion. “...You called me?”

“Yes!” Lex practically shouted now. He looked completely unhinged. “I wanted you to break down the door. I wanted the glass to shatter. I have never wanted to see your face more in my life. I needed you to come back for her before she asked me what love means or tell my staff that I need a nap. I need you to take her back before she draws eyebrows on my drones or decides to name my robots.”

Clark still looked visibly confused. “I didn’t get any messages.”

Lex ignored him completely, now half-gasping with the effort of staying upright. “Please, just take her home. Take her far, far, far, very far away from here. You win. I surrender. I do not care!”

Clark stared at him for another moment, like he had lost track of what was real. “You’re scared of her,” he said slowly, almost like he was still trying to piece it together.

“I’m not scared!” Lex snapped, too fast.

“You are actually scared.”

“I am wary.”

“You’re trembling.”

“I’ve been called eggry eight times today. I am traumatised.”

Caroline stood up and brushed her hands against her leggings with glittery palms. “You are eggry.”

Lex’s eye twitched violently.

Clark stepped forward and knelt gently to pick up his daughter. His hands were still careful, still inspecting her without making a fuss, brushing crumbs from her jumper, smoothing her hair back from her forehead. 

“Are you okay, sweetheart?” he asked, his voice soft now, still thick with worry.

“I’m good,” she said cheerfully, wrapping her arms around his neck without hesitation. “But I wanna show Mr Eggry something before we go.”

Lex flinched. “Please, no.”

Caroline shifted in her father’s arms, twisting slightly to face Lex, her tiny hands lifted out in front of her. She squinted with effort, brow furrowed, lips pressed tightly together as if she was pushing every ounce of concentration into her fingertips. 

Clark looked down at her, his brows lifting. “Sweetheart,” he said gently, “are you sure you—?”

But then, her hands shimmered.

A soft, faint pulse of golden light crackled against her skin like heat lightning in miniature. Her hair lifted slightly. The tips of Clark’s cape rustled as though brushed by wind. It was delicate and raw and completely untrained. And it only lasted for two or three seconds.

But it was enough, bvery single light in the room exploded. Screens blinked once and died. Consoles sparked. Holograms shattered into static. The temperature dropped.

Lex said nothing. He stood in the pitch black silence, eyes wide, mouth parted like he had just witnessed the universe physically tilt sideways.

Caroline giggled against Clark’s shoulder and reached over to grab her picture from the floor before tucking it under her arm like it was evidence.

“Bye-bye, Mr Eggry,” she said sweetly,waving at him.

Gi-hun has, by all accounts, had a pretty shit day.  His mom got onto him, he lost at the tracks, and now his face hurt like hell from those damn loan sharks finding him.  His mind was a swarm of shitty, self deprecating thoughts- he’s a shitty son, a shitty father, a shitty human being.  The world would be better off without him leaching from it, maybe he should just walk out in front of a damn train and make everyone’s lives easier.

“Sir?”  He’s brought from his thoughts by a kind, soothing voice.  “Are you okay?”  He glances over at her, his brown eyes looking at the young woman in disbelief.  She’s younger than him, he’s not sure of her age of course, but surely she can read the room and realize he’s definitely not okay.  She looks like she’s in her mid-20s, still able to see the good in the world, he supposes. 

“I’m fine,” he lies, his problems are his own.  He doesn’t want to vent about his issues to some woman, even if she’s looking at him with those concerned eyes of hers and acting like she could ever understand what’s on his mind.  “Don’t worry about me, okay?”

She nods to herself, pulling out her phone and scrolling on it for a bit before looking back over towards him, “are you in need of money?  I can help you out.  If- if you need it, of course.”

His eyes widen slightly- a young thing like her offering money?  It’s not unheard of or really unwelcome, but he’s not in any place to take out another loan regardless of how tempting it is with her sweet voice and pretty eyes.  “I can’t take out another loan, sorry.”  He scoots away from her just slightly, a physical manifestation of the barrier he’s putting up.

“A loan?  Sir, you misunderstand.  I’m not asking you to take out a loan, I’m just asking for your company.”

His breath catches in his throat.  What?  Is this some kind of nightmare turned dream he’s having?  Maybe he passed out in the damn train station…  “My company?”

“Mhm.  Nothing more, nothing less, really.  Just let me treat you to something.  Let me take all that stress away.”  He hates himself for finding her offer tempting, but he doesn’t outright turn her down.  He just scoots back into his original position and looks at her to see if there’s any sign of deception in her eyes, to see if any microexpression gives her away as anything but the honest woman he wants her to be.  “I promise, no trickery here.  I’ll pay you for your time, won’t do anything outside of your comfort zone; I want to take good care of you.”

“You don’t even know my name, if I’m dangerous, if I-”

“If you were dangerous, you wouldn’t hesitate to take me up on my offer.”  She interrupts, “as for your name, I figured that would naturally come out, yes?”

A beat of silence.  She has him there, if he weren’t such a stand up gentleman, he would have taken advantage of super an opportunity nearly sitting prettily on his lap.  Then he nods, his eyes ever so slightly gazing down the rest of her body before back up to her face.  She’s cute, too cute for someone like him.  “Gi-hun.  Seong Gi-hun.”

“Seong Gi-hun, hm?”  She taps the side of her head before winking, “guess that’s a name I’ll have to commit to memory.”  She then introduces herself, sticking her hand out.

He feels a flicker of a smile on his lips at her finger tapping gesture, “guess I’ll have to commit yours to memory too.”  He takes her hand.  He feels a bit self conscious as his rougher one grasps her softer one, but he shakes it off.  He’s not about to overthink this- this thing that’s happening.

She shakes his hand, a grin beaming up at him.  “We have a deal, Mr. Seong.  Come on, let’s go back to my place.”  She doesn’t release his hand, instead she stands while still holding it.  He feels his palms grow sweaty, sure he’s not some virgin who’s never been around a cute girl before but it’s been so long…  He swallows almost audibly before standing up and nodding.

“Sure, let’s go.”  He curses himself for the slight stutter in his voice, but when she doesn’t bring it up or laugh he feels relief wash through him.

The walk to her place isn’t very long.  Gi-hun can’t help but think, though… Giving his company to a young woman for money?  She talks about her likes, her dislikes, the fact she was nervous he was gonna turn her down, and how she’s never actually done anything like this before despite how practiced it all felt.  He offers some of his own likes and dislikes, trying to not overshare on what exactly would help him relax  despite the fact he knows that’s what she wants- or what she claims she wants at least.  He also admits he’s never done this either, he’s never even had an opportunity like this before.  He feels himself relax more and more, even laughing genuinely as she cracks a joke and nodding in interest when she points over to an alley where she says she’s seen stray cats before- she even says that she’s fed them on occasion.  

Her place isn’t very big, it’s a modest little thing though he knows he’s in no position to judge her or even think about her housing arrangement given his own.  She unlocks the door, shoos him inside and follows him in before locking the door.  There’s a brief moment of fear at the sound cause what’s he gonna do if some guys appear out of nowhere and demand money from him.  But when she ends up fidgeting and gesturing over to the open bedroom door, he replaces that fear with something else…  Not excitement, not quite.

Her bedroom is comfortable and her bed even more so.  Her bedding is already turned down and the curtains are drawn closed.  She stands beside him before getting on the bed herself.  She sits down, crossing her legs and looking up at him.

“So, Gi-hun,” he loves the way she says his name, “you mentioned that you like being on the bottom?  You want me to ride you?”  

He feels heat rush to his cheeks and his eyes widen, he looks away from her and then back again.  She’s so blunt, he doesn’t hate it.  He knows if he were in her position he’d be a mess so her being more straight forward is extremely welcome.  Still, to admit that he wants her to ride him is hard so he just gives a single, sharp nod.

“Words, baby.  I need to hear it.”  Fuck, her voice goes back to that soothing, calm tone that she first used.  It sends a hit of arousal straight through him.

“Yes, I want you to ride me.”  He confirms verbally, he removes his jacket, putting it on the chair near the desk.  “Please…?”  He adds, his voice much quieter than when they were talking about his likes before.  He’s not uncomfortable in a bad way, no- no… this is uncomfortable in a perfect way.

“Good boy.” She praises, patting the bed next to her.  She watches with her bottom lips tucked before her teeth as he joins her.  She crawls onto him, wasting no time in getting comfortable.  Her shorts ride up her thighs a little, Gi-hun’s eyes immediately dart down to take in the new expanse of skin regardless of how tiny it is.  He’s never been called a good boy, not in a space like this, but it’s amazing.  He can feel his cock twitch in the confines of his jeans as she settles on his lap.  One of her hands rests on his shoulder while the other goes to brush hair from his eyes.  “Such a good boy, telling me what you want.  What else do you want, hm?  Tell me.”

His mouth opens and closes, it’s hard for him to be up front about his desires but the look of care on her face as her hand cups his cheek makes him want to give her exactly what she wants- wants to tell her exactly how he wants to relax.  “I want you to ride me, praise me, and comfort me after I come.”

It’s her turn to feel flushed, sure it’s exactly what she expected but to hear it from his lips directed at her makes her feel needy.  She’s determined to focus on him rather than herself though, she wants to make him smile.  She has no reason to want him so badly, but something about him just called to her.  “I’ll do it for you, baby.  I’ll ride you until you come hard and then hold you close, all while praising you for being such a perfect man.”

Perfect man.  He loves the sound of that even if he knows he’s far from it.  “I’ll be your perfect man.”  He murmurs, leaning in slightly.  He doesn’t want her to feel cornered, doesn’t want her to feel forced to kiss him.  But when she mirrors his actions, leaning in until her nose brushes his and their breaths mix, he closes the distance.  His chapped, rough lips slant over her softer ones.  He suppresses a groan as her fingers slip into his hair, he’s so touch starved that it sets his body on fire to feel her so close to him.  Her chest presses against his, her hips give a subtle, testing movement against his lap.

“You’re so good.”  She murmurs against his lips, pulling away just enough to speak, “so deserving of this.  You deserve to feel good, baby.”

He lets out a small noise before kissing her again, his hands on her waist to hold her close.  He slowly pushes his hips upwards, humming when she gasps into the kiss.  She has him wrapped around her finger already, he wants to hear that praise more and wants to hear more noises from her.  He moves his hand to her hips and starts to push against ehr more urgently.

“You needy, baby?  Feelin’ needy for me?  Use your words, yeah?  Make me know you need me.”

“I need you.  Please, I need you.”

“Undress me then.”

His hands immediately slip under her shirt and tug it over her head.  His eyes fly over her breasts- fuck she’s perfect.  He unclasps her bra and kisses at the skin, tossing the bra over to the corner.  She arches so wonderfully, her own hands going to slide his shirt off of him.  Down boy, he tells himself to no avail, he’s too excited now.  He needs to feel her skin on his, so he holds her close.  He buries his face in her neck, kissing right below her ear and pushing himself upwards.  “Need you, need you, need you…”

She giggles, running her fingers through his hair and holding him close.  “Need you too, baby.  I want you to feel so good, feel so good ‘cause of me.”  

Fuck, fuck, fuck- he’s cock is so hard for her  He moves her from his lap, laying her back and tugging her shorts off with her panties.  “Need t’make you feel good, lemme make you feel good.  Please, please, need t’make you come for me.”

How can she deny him when he sounds so damn desperate that his words run together.  She spreads herself for him, holding her legs open as he dives in greedily.  His hips move against the bed as she moans at her taste.  His tongue laps at her slick slit, one hand holding her hip while his thumb on his free hand circles her clit.  He eats her out with fervor, smiling against ehr heat when she threads fingers through his hair and lets out a mewling call of his name.  His cock leaks in his boxers as he grinds against the bedding.  

His thumb slides over her clit in tight, quick circles as his tongue delves into her.  He could die happy right now, his face buried in her sweet cunt and her fingers pulling him even closer.  Her hips buck up against his face, chasing her pleasure.  

“That’s it, come f’me.”

“Gi-hun.”  She whimpers, “you’re such a good boy, such a good fuckin’ boy for me.”

He groans as her slick coats his tongue as she falls apart on him. So good, so fucking good.  He pushes himself closer to her drenched cunt, burying his face even harder against her.  “Good, you taste s’good.” He rumbles against her pussy.

When he pulls away, she immediately tugs him up to kiss him deeply while pushing at his pants with her free hand.  He gets the hint and pulls his pants down, palming his needy cock through his boxers.  “Get on your back.” She says against his lips, pushing him slightly away from her.  He pulls off his boxers, grunting as his cock springs free.  The cool air of the room makes it twitch, pre-cum beading up.  “You’re so perfect, Gi-hun.”

She strokes him slowly, kissing his neck as she moves to straddle him.  She rubs his sensitive head against her slick, dripping slit and bites her lip as she sinks down onto his cock.  Her walls flutter around him as he hilts within her.  Her legs tremble slightly as she starts to move, burying her face in his neck while her hands rest on his chest.

“Feels so good.”  He grunts, his hands trembling on his waist as he ruts upwards slightly.  “Not gon’ last long, sweetheart.”  Every time his balls nestle against her ass, his cock pulses with need.  Every pulse of his cock makes her gasp and moan.  Fuck, they move in perfect sync with each other.

“Don’t need you too, this is about you.  You deserve this.”  She whispers, biting softly where his neck connects to his shoulder.  The sensation causes him to hold her down on his cock as he pushes up desperately into her.  He’s not entirely focused on making her feel good in this moment as he closes in on his orgasm, but the way she’s letting out breathy whines of his name and kissing up his neck makes him feel like he’s doing something well.

“Boutta come, sweetheart, gonna come.”  He taps her hips desperately, as much as he would love to spill himself within her, he’s not ready for the commitment that comes with something like that.  She gets off of him and strokes his cock, looking deep into his eyes.  He grunts, groans, and then his cock pulses out cum.  It hits his chest and abdomen before dribbling down her still-moving hand.

He pants heavily when he’s spent, watching her with lidded eyes as she grabs one of their shirts from the grounds.  She kisses his cheek and jawline as she cleans up his cooling cum, cooing praises that echoing in his ears just barely audible through the pound of his heartbeat.

“You did so good for me.”  She murmurs, tossing the shirt aside once more and lying next to him.  “I’m so proud of you, Gi-hun.  I’m so proud.”

He hesitates before turning over and resting his head on her bare chest.  He puts an arm over her abdomen and tangles their legs together.  “Thank you.” “I’ll pay you in the morning, for now I just wanna sleep.” “That’s fine.”  A moment of comfortable silence passes between them.  “Can we maybe do this again sometime?”  He asks, kissing her neck delicately.

“Of course, I’d love that.”

He relaxes against her further, nuzzles under her ear and rubs her side lovingly.  He could get real used to something like this.  Not that he’s in any type of space to have a relationship- but it’s still something he finds himself wanting.  He wants to spend longer with her, he’s thankful she’s not kicking him out or changing up how she’s speaking to him. 

“Sleep now, Gi-hun.  You deserve it, you deserve this.  You deserve to feel good.”

He wants to disagree, wants to tell her that he’s not ready for their time to end yet, but instead he just tilts her face towards him and kisses her softly.  It’s not the deep, desperate kiss they had shared earlier, it’s a sweet one.  She kisses him back, cupping his cheek and holding him close.

“In the morning I'll fix you some breakfast and we can talk prices, but for now just rest.”

“I…”  He swallows, “I don’t want this to end.”

“I know, sweet thing, but just rest.”