#superman.

"forget conflict of interest! how did you even get them to come out their shells? let alone date them?" jimmy jumps in, swiveling his chair over to join the interrogation.

he only finds himself in this situation because you'd dropped by the illustrious daily planet to give clark some articles he'd forgotten in his rushing haze to get to work on time. you remember watching him in a flurry of panic and heartache at the sight of you crawling out of bed to help him pack his things. there's a part of him that wishes he stayed in bed just a tad bit longer as he was still late despite his rush.

it was greatly uncommon to see you anywhere outside gotham's hold for anything other than business purposes. a few months ago, you'd taken a trip to metropolis for a political conference and the daily planet was lucky enough to catch you before you'd gone back into your gothic manor of a shell.

but this visit wasn't inspired by a political conference or any other wayne-related business dealing. metropolis wasn't due for another event until next month. the shock you sent through the floor once you took your first step off the elevator rivaled the electric feeling leftover after watching the flash zoom past. there you stood, in all black attire, brown skin soaking in the sun peeking through the windows, hovering above most of the buzzing journalists in metropolis' finest newsroom.

an intern is the first to meet you out the elevator. she accidentally runs into you while trying to catch up with their supervisor's quick movements.

"oh! i'm so terribly sorry," her words tumble out of her, increasing in pitch as she realizes whose attention she's caught. "oh my goodness, i'm so sorry! please don't tell my supervisor about this!"

"it's no worries, please don't be so nervous," your reply comes with a soft smile that seems to ease her nerves enough for her to walk away with less shame and embarrassment.

your heels against the marble floors don't cause as much distraction as your face weaving through the crowd of reporters does. clark hears you coming before he sees you. he always does. and yet, he's nice enough to allow you to come to him first. it's a surprise he welcomes.

"baby, you left your drafts at home," you hum, pulling the manila folder out from your purse.

a sigh of relief comes spilling out of him as he watches you place the folder on his desk. he'd been looking for this specific stack for at least an hour and a half, even asking jimmy if he'd seen it. a flash of worry dances across his face as he remembers all the important things you had to accomplish today and how he's taken up your time by forgetting his drafts at home.

"clark," you warn, taking the chance to place yourself on top of his desk, "it is no hassle for me to come up here. my meetings can wait,"

"and i do love to see you," he huffs at your comment, welcoming the kiss you press to his cheek that's sure to leave a dark cherry stain on his skin. "and bruce told me to say hello,"

at that, lois and jimmy pause to fully take in everything they're watching. gotham's finest and most-sought after couple are in the very hands of their dorky and oddly buff coworker. the same coworker who's known for saying 'what the hay' and 'good golly' while pushing up his comically large glasses. you're calling clark kent 'baby.' bruce wayne is asking him what color he wants his new office in the wayne manor to be painted. you're asking him what he wants for dinner. it's truly baffling.

they watch as the two of you giggle and chat for a few more minutes before you bid him a goodbye with a kiss. everyone watches as clark makes sure you get to the elevator safely, a giddy smile on his face as you wave goodbye one final time before the doors close. he turns, feeling the stares on his back, and cheeses.

it brings everything back to now. lois' heavily over-sweetened coffee, jimmy's swiveling chair, and clark's sheepish smile illuminating the remains of your dark cherry lip gloss on his dimples.

"so…are we not going to talk about what just happened?" lois is, of course, the first to cut through the silence.

clark's fingers drum on his desk as he replies, "we can if you want. i don't really mind,"

lois and jimmy share a look of confusion, watching as he types away at his computer. their eyes communicate a struggle of where and how to start interrogating clark about what they just witnessed.

"do you not think it’s a conflict of interest that your boyfriend and girlfriend are the prince and heiress of gotham city?" lois starts, the best way she knows how: through questioning.

"forget conflict of interest! how did you even get them to come out their shells? let alone date them?" jimmy exclaims, waving his hands above his head in disbelief.

clark hums, turning to face the two. before he can even speak, a smile dances on his face at the feeling of your leftover gloss sticking to his skin. lois' fake heave brings him back to his senses. as a well-rounded storyteller, clark tells them everything, except for his extraterrestrial origins and the red and blue suit hidden in his briefcase.

from the gala wayne interprises had thrown, which most reporters were invited to, including jimmy and lois, to the moment it suddenly turned into the prince and heiress of gotham taking clark kent on a date gliding through gotham's nighttime.

"so the lady gotham approached you?" lois questions, eyebrow raised in suspicion. "at their gala?"

"are you surprised she did?" the hint of sass in clark's tone makes lois chuckle.

"clark, it's the lady gotham, let's not kid ourselves here," jimmy buts in, "even if she's seen more than bruce wayne, she talks even less than he does about anything personal-related and that's surprising in and of itself."

"exactly, so she just approached you?" she repeats her question, and clark sighs.

"yes? it wasn't really complicated," he admits, shifting his eyes away from the moving sun. "she asked me about a recent article i'd written and wanted to talk more about it over tea."

"tea?…at seven o'clock at night?"

"she doesn't drink alcohol."

"and bruce wayne just went with you two too?" jimmy chimes in, twirling a pen between his fingers.

"yep."

"and you don't think it's a conflict of interest?"

"i don't report on gotham city so i don't see that much of a problem here," clark replies, leaning toward his computer screen to reread a sentence he just can't seem to get right.

"even if there is a conflict, you're the first to let anyone know, lois," jimmy adds, leaning back into his chair.

lois only hums, somewhat content with jimmy's addition before rolling back to her cubicle. soon, jimmy follows suit, and clark's left marking the article on his screen with sentences he'll read over with you and bruce later tonight. he looks forward to going home and seeing you wait for him with your own set of papers to sort through, bonnet and one of their shirts on, and a cup of white tea in hand. bruce comes later in the night, possibly battered and bruised but it's nothing you or clark can't heal. it's nothing the three of you can't do together.