Vath and Isamot genuinely have the makings to be characters that people would rally around. Forced proximity enemies to friends, high tension and stress that leads to more. Standing on opposite sides of a war before they’re forced to let go of it and ending up as arguably the most important person in the other’s life. Like they very much read as one of the most popular ships in other fandoms but because they’re alien green lanterns, no one (i.e. the writers) gives a shit about them or knows about them. AND Isamot was killed off in some comic and it was just never brought up or mattered and he and Vath haven’t been seen in, idk, a few years.
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oh i can't wait to see all the times Steven randomly jumpscares Lars throughout Lars of the Stars. all the perfectly inopportune times just every possible worst situation HELLOOOO LARS MY BESTIE 😁
"You know, Henderson, the progress of true science depends not only on the cold, calculating types, but also on the adventurers and dreamers. There's a place for all of us under the sun."
Can you talk more about hurt/comfort, woobiefication, trauma and the way you write? You always seem to really sink teeth into the emotional ramifications of major experiences in ways that feel new and interesting!
Oh fuck yeah. Usual disclaimer that I haven't taken an English class since 12th grade.
What is catharsis! (I have read maybe two greek plays?)
In a theatrical sense, catharsis is the emotion felt in the audience when they watch a tragedy. Aristotle puts it as a 'purging', kind of an induced release of pent-up emotions incurred by living before modern plumbing. I think of it while writing as a 'release of tension'. Usually specifically emotional tension. It's traditionally associated with theater, but I think a lot of 'feel good' works carry an element of catharsis with them too, and basically any story that works on a heavily emotional or character driven gas.
Catharsis (and tragedy, to a lesser extent) is appealing for the same reason that crying is appealing: we live most of our lives trying not to feel these awful emotions because we have taxes to do and a mortgage to pay, and we don't give ourselves permission to wallow. When watching a sad thing and crying over it, that's permission - it's 'allowed', and socially acceptable. That's why you see dudebros admitting to crying during Pixar movies. It's OK to cry at that scene during Up, bro. Means you have a heart, bro.
When I talk about writing trauma narratives and emotional arcs, of course the nature of that narrative varies VERY highly. But I think of it as, like everything else, an arc: character basically begins the story with trauma. Something happens that forces this problem in the forefront. Their trauma responses and/or their situation create more and more and more tension, things get worse and worse, and then you get to the peak - the 'release', the popping of the bubble, the confrontation, the anagnorisis. Then the deflating and the healing begins etc.
What is H/C! (I don't read H/C?)
Hurt/comfort (and for future note, I'll be viewing H/C mostly through the terms of fanfiction although it is very much not fanfic exclusive - the relationship of traditionally 'fanfic tropes' and conventional media is really interesting though) can be interpreted as a desire for catharsis. If a little to the left - I've seen H/C interpreted by a friend as the expression of the desire to be taken care of and fussed over and paid attention to. I interpret it as aiming towards catharsis, where you get the buildup/tension of the whump and then the release of the comfort. The lead usually serves as a stand-in for your emotional desires.
It is not my thing. Which is funny considering how many cathartic narratives I write. There is never sufficient buildup for me, there is usually an over-emphasis on somebody providing the emotional resolution instead of it being a self-driven achievement and realization, and I think mostly importantly - it frames the lifecycle of whump/trauma as the creation of trauma, then the resolution of trauma. Which cuts out the entire middle of the arc there. Where the fun stuff happens. And, double importantly, because the main character has to remain a stress-relieving emotional stand-in, there is little room for them to build up a narrative 'tension' of things getting 'worse worse worse' and struggling to cope with the trauma before finally finding their equilibrium and the 'release'.
What is a Woobie! (I don't actually define these terms because I assume you also spent most of your childhood on TVTropes!)
People are just bad at giving their characters meaningful faults.
And they especially struggle with it in these trauma narratives. Because the point is the catharsis, and in that you need relatability. You need sympathy. The audience needs to be able to put themselves in this character and ride this emotional rollercoaster with them. Obviously if they're perfect people get put off, but there's a list of acceptable faults that characters in whump/HC/trauma narratives are allowed to have. There's a list of acceptable reactions. For most of them, the only person who the characters hurt is themselves. If you stray outside of that acceptability, then you run the risk of losing audience sympathy.
And the lack of realism in the H/C is nice and stress relieving, and it provides catharsis. But I believe that people connect deeper with a narrative, that they grow even more attached to it, and that it's even more cathartic, when the narrative genuinely reflects experiences that people have. Emotions they feel, struggles they've experienced. It's almost oxymoronic - though keeping a character relatable and sympathetic you're kind of taking away what makes them human.
Because trauma responses are often very, very ugly. They are frequently unsympathetic. Somebody's trauma responses can make them a bad friend, a bad partner, can make their life tailspin, and sometimes it even results in a cycle of abuse. People react in ways that don't make sense on the surface and that are maybe pretty irrational. Bad coping mechanisms abound here. From what I can tell people are especially terrible about writing 'anger' as a coping mechanisms or trauma response. Not sure why, but anger seems to be a strange taboo.
And somebody's bad coping mechanisms and problems send their life spinning out of control. And it gets worse, and worse, and worse...and then, in the trauma narrative, there comes a moment where it's very clear - you can heal, things will be okay, things will not be like this forever. It, figuratively 'ends'. And the healing starts.
That's the catharsis, because these moments don't always happen in real life. For me, I write catharsis as the moment when you realize things will be okay, even if they aren't right now. It's the exhale.
From what I can tell people struggle with this because they do not trust their skills as writers. They're afraid of alienating their characters from the readers and they don't think they can make them sympathetic and/or a hero if they're an asshole. But I think the persistent 'give your meow meows faults' issue is most important in trauma narratives because I consider serious faults and cracks in the character kind of the cornerstone of the narrative. Character faults give an insane amount of tension in stories, because they can lead to both interpersonal issues and bad decisions that make the plot spiral worse. That's the tension. If you don't blow up the balloon the balloon can't pop.
I think fiction can get pretty powerful once it connects with people and their experiences, and puts to words what they have problems saying. Part of the reason why I write about trauma so much is because of its nature as the 'unsaid' - an underlying yet unseen basis behind a surprising amount of what people do. It is an extremely powerful force that shapes who people are and what they do, but as a general rule we do pay taxes and have mortgages and we try not to talk or think about it too much. But people are kind of obsessed with their own traumas, in a weird way, so I think it can feel good to finally be allowed to walk through that trauma narrative and find the healing at the end - because a trauma narrative is, essentially, a narrative about healing.
Also stop writing disability as hurt comfort what the fuck is wrong with you stop doing that. Why are you doing that. Disability is not hurt comfort. What is wrong with you.
things my chronically offline bf does — Clark Kent
summary: clark kent thinks tiktok means the passing of time, you're a (wannabe) influencer. what could possibly happen? answer includes but isn't limited to thirst traps, using your hot bsf to go viral, online anonymous confessions, and one really old cat named bean.
word count: 15k (insane, ik)
content warning: heavy rom-com vibes, heavy on the comedy and ridiculous. heteroerotic friendship, domestic clark & reader (they see each other naked and sleep together & so much more, they're literally disgusting), size difference, reader is a (non famous) influencer but she goes viral thanks to clark not knowing what slay means, clark and reader have no notion of privacy or boundaries around each other, they're also so stupid. heavy fluff, everything is sweet and nothing hurts. an embarrassing amount of slang and memes and tiktok mention (i apologize). this is seriously just crack. oh ALSO protective clark oh em gee i swooned writing that part. lois and jimmy act like creepy twins /aff
notes: this got out of hands, guys. ty for 1k<3 i hope you enjoy! apologies for the slightly rushed ending, i was growing tired with this behemoth of a fic
It’s common knowledge that Clark Kent and technology do not mesh well. He writes all of his drafts on paper. He takes notes on his legal pad with a pencil that he keeps losing, and he uses a cassette recorder for interviews, and he uses an actual camera for pictures. He has a phone, he has a laptop, he just— doesn’t really use them. He doesn’t know how to and doesn’t need to know more than is absolutely necessary (as in how to send emails, how to use Google and how to type his final drafts for proofing).
So anything beyond that, and he’s completely out of his depth. Put him in a complete alien civilization light years away from Earth and he would still be more at ease than if you’d asked him to make a TikTok video and, God forbid, post it.
So really, it only made sense that his best friend was an influencer. You weren’t exactly popular, and you didn’t do it for fame, you just enjoyed sharing your life with the people who stick around. You were a wizard with your phone and could turn any moment into something cinematic.
The two of you were polar opposites. He was the moon, pulled into orbit around you, and it made sense he felt so good whenever he was with you. You were the sun.
He was happy to tag along with you to any of your adventures. Trying out a new restaurant, a new club, vlogging a last-minute trip, trying out PR packages you get.
You’d always been the life of the friendship, and Clark was never afraid of being in your shadow. In fact, he reveled in it. He liked being invisible to others around you, as long as he was seen by you. It was more than finding a distraction so people didn’t look at him for too long and start getting suspicious; it definitely helped, for sure, but it was never what made him want you as his best friend. He couldn’t help it. After all, he was a sunflower. And you were the sun.
Sometimes his colleagues at The Daily Planet didn’t believe him when he talked about you to them, and gave them your username. It didn’t help that he didn’t have any social media so he couldn’t show them that you followed him back. Clark didn’t really care whether they believed him or not.
“It’s not because she has less than a thousand followers doesn’t mean your lie would be more convincing,” Jimmy said with the sageness of a monk. “She’s too pretty for you.” Then, as an afterthought, he added: “No offence, Clark.”
Clark shrugged. “None taken. I know she’s pretty.”
Lois hit Jimmy on the shoulder. “Eve is too pretty for you too but you don’t see me insulting you.”
Clark frowned. “Guys, she’s my best friend, not my girlfriend.”
Jimmy looked at him with pity in his eyes. “Lying about having a best friend is so sad… I didn’t know you were so lonely, Clark. I’ve been failing as a friend.”
Clark just rolled his eyes but didn’t try to convince him, since he didn’t seem like he wanted to be convinced.
“She would love to meet you one day,” Clark added before forgetting. He kept forgetting to. Or maybe, he just wanted to have you all to himself. He’ll never tell.
Jimmy looked at him suspiciously. “Is she just going to be a printed picture of her Instagram feed on a doll?”
Lois and Clark both ignored him.
“If she’s your best friend, she must be a really good person, then. I would love to meet her,” Lois said, before pressing on the follow button. Ding! “Oh. She followed me back already.”
“She knows about you,” Clark said. “She must have recognized you.”
“That was quick,” Lois noticed.
“Yeah,” Clark replied. “She says she’s terminally sick online or something. I never understand her when she says those Internet words.”
Jimmy’s jaw dropped. “He wasn’t lying…” he whispered to himself, mind blown. Which, honestly, he should have seen it coming. Clark was the most honest person he’d ever met. He was incapable of lying to save a life. Jimmy pressed the follow button on his phone too, as if some part of him still wasn’t convinced, and watched with quiet horror as a follow back notification popped. And he couldn’t justify it as you just following back everyone, because you only followed cat and food accounts.
Clark just thought Jimmy was being his weird self again and didn’t pay it too much attention. Honestly, he just took it as a compliment to you, which made him happy. He always felt proud and happy whenever people complimented you, as if he was an extension of you.
“Great, I will call you for the details. She’s gonna love preparing something for the four of us. She’s such a good event planner.”
Of course Clark didn’t text. Not that he didn’t want to, it was just that even the biggest phone he could get was still too tiny for his hands and it made typing a pain in the butt.
“Cool, can’t wait,” Lois said. Jimmy was just staring in the horizon.
Clark smiled. He was happy all of his favorite people were going to meet.
You were waiting for Clark at the Daily Planet’s lobby. You were taking pictures of the regular cat that became an honorary reporter at the office, more exactly.
“Hi Clark,” you brightened when you saw him.
“Hey you,” Clark replied, fondness dripping from his voice until it was sticky and sweet. “How was your day?”
“It was okay, I found this new spot we absolutely have to try together,” you replied, getting on your tiptoes despite your heels to press your lips to the edge of his mouth. Clark smiled instantly, like a switch was flipped.
Some people would say you were too obsessed with image and social media, but Clark knew you better than anyone else. Even if you weren’t an influencer, even if social media and the internet didn’t exist, you would still be the same. You would still take pictures of your day, share your meals with Clark in a spot you really liked, and you would still take video diaries.
“I can’t wait,” Clark replied. “Oh by the way, Jimmy and Lois said yes.”
With his superhearing, he heard Jimmy gasp from somewhere behind. “She’s really real. Wait, I thought he said she was his best friend? Why are they kissing?” Then the unmistakable sound of Lois slapping his shoulder.
He tuned it all out. He would get over his weird crisis later.
You grabbed his hand and dragged him away.
“Oh, yeah, I saw they followed me both. I figured you talked to them.”
Clark squeezed your smaller hand in his.
“What did they think?” you asked curiously.
“Lois said you must be a good person if you’re my best friend. Jimmy… well, I think he really liked you. He said you were way too pretty for me, whatever that means,” Clark replied earnestly.
“He’s an idiot,” you replied. “I’m not too anything for you. I’m just right for you.”
Clark nodded. “Exactly. Perfect for me.”
Clark often offered to learn about internet and what you do, but you just replied, “no it’s fine, don’t worry about it <3” (you made the heart with your hands).
You appreciated his offer, but you knew how all of this made his head turn and how hopeless he was with everything that was even remotely tech-related (don’t even get her started on microwaves and Clark). And quite frankly, you found him cute just the way he was. Like an overgrown, oversized, oblivious but eager puppy.
“You’re sleeping over tonight, right?”
You were asking as if it was a planned event, when in fact Clark wasn’t aware of this until right then and there. But Clark was nothing if not adaptable (he did get adapted to an entirely new and foreign planet when he was just a baby), and nothing if not used to you, so he took it in stride and nodded.
“Mhm,” he replied. “I’ll even make dinner if you want.”
“Deal.”
Walking to your place hand in hand had become routine early on in your friendship and one of the few things Clark would never bring himself to sacrifice. It was home away from home.
“I’m going to the gym tomorrow, you’re coming with me.”
“Okay.”
“Great.”
Clark, being who he is, didn’t need a gym, or at least not one fit for humans, but you asked, so he obeyed.
“What time?”
“Six am.”
That meant you were trying again to renew yourself and to adopt better habits and hobbies. It was something you routinely went through almost every six months. First when it’s the new year, second when it’s June, when you realized you’d been slacking off and not following your new year resolutions, and Clark became your accountability partner.
That title sounded big and full of responsibilities, but Clark didn’t really do anything, really — except show up wherever you went and gently reminded you of your commitments. When it was something really important, like taking your meds, he pressed but other than that, he let you flit through life like the butterfly you were meant to be.
Clark was awake before you, unsurprised to find you pressed against his body, sleeping deeply while holding him like you were scared he was going to flee. Well, considering he was Superman, he guessed you weren’t far off the mark.
With his free hand, he grabbed your phone to check the time since the arm he wears his watch on was currently being repurposed as a body pillow and his heart felt heavy at the thought of disturbing your sleep.
5.15AM. He woke up early, but not too early. Just in time to wake you up so you could enjoy your ‘free time with Clark. That’s what you called cuddling up with him and talking about your dreams before you both had to leave the bed.
“Psst,” he whispered against the crown of your head. “Morning, sleepyhead.”
“No,” you grumbled.
He chuckled softly. “What about your free time with me?”
“Mhmhmhmmm…” you mumbled before shifting position until you were actually cuddling him. “‘m awake,” you said.
He didn’t doubt you. He just thinks that you’re also asleep at the same time.
The both of you stayed like this for half an hour, Clark rubbing his thumb mindlessly on your arm, a quiet and gentle smile on his face while he listened to you ramble about your dream.
“You dreamt I was Batman?” he asked incredulously, swallowing back the laughter that overcame him. “Sweetheart, I’m literally already my own superhero, why would you dream of me as someone else?”
“I don’t know, Clark,” you replied and he didn’t need to look at your face to know you were rolling your eyes. “I didn’t do anything. I was quite literally just a spectator. Don’t shoot the messenger and all that.”
“You’re right. How could I forget you were literally incapable of wrong doing?”
“Mhm,” you hummed. “Better not forget next time.”
You fell back to sleep at six am on the dot. Clark tried to wake you up and remind you of your plans but you declined all attempts with the smooth dexterity of a politician deflecting questions.
“Sleeping with you is its own workout anyway,” he muttered to himself.
Clark quickly left you when he heard someone call for Superman but he came back before you woke up, which didn’t actually say anything about how long he took, since your sleep schedule was as predictable as a string of letters typed by a thousand monkeys on a typewriter.
He was under the shower when you finally woke up and barged in through the bathroom without a care in the world.
“I’m sleepy,” you tell him while peeing.
“Hi sleepy, I’m Clark,” Clark replied while showering.
You chucked the entire roll of TP at him and Clark didn’t even try to avoid it, even though he definitely could have. (You loved Clark dearly, but his dad jokes when you just woke up were unforgivable.)
Morning you was the best kind of you, and it was nice to know that your grumpiness didn’t do anything to erase your lack of privacy, because invasive you was also the best kind of you.
It’s not like there’s anything you didn’t already see.
(To be fair though, you didn’t just start barging in on him when he was naked without a care for his consent, it just… happened.
First it started with you walking in on him changing boxers, dick and everything out. Then it was him accidentally walking on you under the shower (honestly, how he didn’t realize you were under there with all of his gazillion superpowers was beyond the two of you). And then again, you walk in on him because you keep forgetting that Clark’s at your place more often than not, and then after that Clark accidentally used his super vision on you because he thought you were injured.
So you sat him down one day and asked if he minded whenever either of you accidentally sees the other naked and he replied ‘no’, so you asked, ‘would you mind if it wasn’t accidental? Not exactly on purpose but just… not caring at all?’ and he said ‘no’, and you said ‘okay, by the way you have a big shlong’ and that’s basically how it started (after teaching Clark what shlong meant.
Clark only regrets his decision when it’s early in the morning and his hormones are raging and you’re changing in front of him like no one’s watching.)
He was out of the shower by the time you were brushing your teeth.
“You’re not vlogging this morning?” he asked, feeling that same rush of pride he felt whenever he used one of the words you taught him, towel wrapped around his middle. His hair was wet and curled and doing all kinds of swoopy woopy things. His chest was glistening and dripping with water.
“I wanted to but I also didn’t want you to steal my thunder with your naked cameo,” you replied with a floss string between your two front teeth. “Although you would have definitely made me go viral.”
“Ah, my bad,” he replied humorously. “I’ll try to be less… hot under the shower next time.”
You threw the used floss in the bin. “I don’t think that’s possible, unfortunately.”
Clark blushed and the redness followed him right to his neck and collarbones.
You grinned toothily at him so he could inspect your teeth. He grabbed your chin between his index and thumb, and used his thumb to push your lower lip lower. “Mhm…” he hums thoughtfully. “Perfectly flossed. You get a star. Doctors from around the world want you as their client.”
“Yay! Thanks, Clark!”
His lips broke into a happy grin. “You’re welcome. You know, it’s not too late to go to the gym now.”
“I was hoping you wouldn’t say that,” you said. “My past self was crazy. I don’t associate with the likes of her anymore.”
“I see, your past self is being cancelled. Right?”
You burst out laughing before petting the top of his head. “God, I love you Clark. Never change.”
You ended up going to the gym anyway, dressed in your “cuntiest” outfits to “serve” (to serve what? Clark thought you quit being a server a year ago), but all you did was point at things and ask Clark if he could max them all out. Of course he could, and you knew he could, but you asked for a demonstration anyway.
Then, because seeing him succeed flawlessly at every machine (and after attracting every “gym bro” in the vicinity who started asking Clark about powders and training regimen and whatnot, and lowkey looked impressed when Clark replied earnestly to the question of how he became so strong with “By being kind and respectful to everyone”), you decided he now had to do pushups with you sitting crisscross applesauce on top of him.
“But why?”
“I’ve always wanted to know what it felt like to be a barbell,” you replied.
“I think you mean plate, sweetheart.”
“Same difference,” you replied. And of course, Clark was totally convinced.
“Do you mind if I take pictures?” you asked him once you were sitting on him and he was laying on the floor, shirt off.
“You know I don’t,” he replied. He didn’t need to remind you not to post his face anywhere because he trusted you implicitly.
And then he started the pushups with complete ease, because there was no better way for him to spend his day-offs than to go to the gym with your best friend and use her as additional weight.
You took plenty of pictures; some you called aesthetically pleasing and “would do well in tumblr”, others you said were just silly and for fun.
You showed him the pictures while still on his back, your arms on each side of his neck as you scrolled through the pictures for him while he stayed in an isotonic contraction (his muscles didn’t even flail, and it took you almost fifteen minutes to show him everything because you annotated each one.)
“I really like this one,” Clark said, lifting a hand from the floor to point at a picture, still lifting your weight with only one arm.
The picture he picked was one where he looked at the mirror in front of you, and he was obviously looking at you, while you were making a silly face that wasn’t really silly, because it made you look devastatingly pretty. You were also flexing your left arm, winking and tugging your tongue at the camera.
“Solid choice,” you replied, tapping something on the screen. “Definitely one of my favorites too.”
He smiled happily, and then remembered they were in public and he shouldn’t be showing off his strength so much, as much as he wanted to impress you.
So, he pretended to have his muscles locking and asked you to get off, in case anyone was watching. You were always up for a bit of acting with him. You said it made you feel like the sidekick of a hot spy in a film noir.
Clark hung in the side while you took a video of yourself rambling to the camera — he was tall enough that he didn’t worry about his face being caught on camera, but the camera could still pick up your interlaced hands from the angle you held the camera. People would only be able to see his arm swinging and the beginning of his legs.
You were talking about going to the gym and how you earned a big meal after it (though if you asked Clark, he would say you should never feel like you have to earn a meal, and that you could eat anything anytime you wanted if it made you happy).
You set up the phone against the wall so it could take a video of you and the table. Clark was sat across from you, and again, wasn’t visible at all. Not even your face fully showed. Just the bottom half of your face. Your hands did most of the talking as you animated your stories with a floating burger.
The camera captured Clark’s hand across the table, wiping the side of your mouth with a thumb, and your pleased, bashful smile after.
It captured you stealing fries from Clark’s plate, and then Clark sharing half of his fries with you.
It captured your laughter, and then your lips as they moved to form the words: I love you, Clark.
(When you finally uploaded the video to YouTube a while later, people commented:
‘am I the only one who felt like a third wheel throughout the video? I loved it though. Always wanted to be the third to a hot couple’
‘God I see the things you do for others’
‘Guys ik she said he was just her best friend but I’m seriously having doubts rn. Maybe she meant it as in best boyfriend?’
‘You’re so pretty!!!!!! And your bf looks so hot too. Definitely my fav power couple of youtube’
Which then pushed your videos to more people.
You read all of the comments to Clark while he was writing down notes for his next article. His thoughts? “I think they really liked the video. I’m happy for you, sweetheart.”)
You picked a nice coffee shop downtown for your first meeting with Lois and Jimmy. Jimmy couldn’t look you in the eyes in shame.
“I’m so sorry I doubted Clark’s ability to have pretty friends,” he said, before getting elbowed by Lois in the ribs.
“Excuse my friend. He’s a dumbass.”
You took it in stride. You loved them and they loved you. Jimmy helped you take the perfect pictures for your picture dump, Lois and you talked about fashion, and Clark was happy to just step back and watch as three of his five favorite people get along so well.
“How did you guys meet?” Lois asked curiously. She’d been eyeing the way you were both sitting so close to each other it bordered on lap sitting.
“He mistook me for a scarecrow,” you replied.
“We were childhood friends.”
“Clark I love you, but for a journalist you’re really bad at hooking people in,” Lois said. “As for your best friend, she was clearly made to hook people in.”
Clark was too happy to even feel offended, and just let you tell the story. The insult flew right over his head.
It wasn’t anything grand. Clark was in the fields with his parents when he noticed a figure almost his height in the distance, and ran towards it. It was you, standing still with your arms outstretched.
He ran back to his parents and asked if they put a new scarecrow in the fields that looked like a little girl.
Jo and Ma looked at each other concerned before setting off to find this little scarecrow girl.
And the rest was history.
“I still don’t know what you were doing,” Clark confessed at the end of your story. “You won’t tell me.”
You shrugged. “Because I am aloof and mysterious.”
“This raised more questions than it answered,” Jimmy said with a faraway look on his face.
“Good,” you and Clark said at the same time.
“Your friends are really nice. Maybe I should become a journalist too and then become your colleague. That would be so much fun,” you told him after quitting Jimmy and Lois. “What do you think?” You took a sip of your Oreo milkshake you got for take-out.
Clark smiled. “I think you just can’t get enough of me,” he said.
You squeezed his hand. “Yeah, you’re right. I won’t even try to lie.”
He laughed.
He had never realized how his friendship with you could be seen as strange until you were both in college and everyone on campus the two of you were dating. It was common knowledge around all of the campus that you and Clark were the it couple. Even in high school, you’d been both voted prom queen and king, even though you both didn’t even know you were participating. Clark didn’t regret it though, because he got to wear a crown alongside with you and dance. It was one of his fondest memories with you.
“Friends don’t act like that,” people would say. No one would ever be able to understand the bond you two have, so he doesn’t bother replying or trying to explain. Besides, what you have between the two of you was special, and he wanted to keep it that way.
But Clark supposed there was some part of truth to that. Lois and Jimmy were his best friends too, but he would never cuddle in a bed with them, as much as he loved them. He also wouldn’t even dream of letting them peck him on the lips, or, God forbid, walk in on him under the shower.
If this friendship was considered weird, then he was happy to be weird with you. Besides, nothing he could ever do would be weirder than being an actual alien pretending to be human. Or stumbling through your window into your apartment, jaw dislocated and nose bleeding.
“Clark? Is that you?” you called out from the kitchen.
He closed his eyes. Coming here was a bad idea, because he hated the thought of worrying you, but there was also nowhere else in the world he would rather be. “Yeah,” he replied, voice distorted because of his jaw. He heard you close the lid on a sauce pan and wipe your hands on a kitchen towel before hearing the soft pads of your feet walking into the living room.
“Hey, what did I say about tracking blood and mud in my apartment?”
Your words sounded mad but your voice betrayed your worry. You dropped the kitchen towel and reached him in quick strides. He was sitting on the floor against the wall, and you fell on your knees, hands hovering over his jaw, unsure whether you could touch him in this state.
“Sorry,” Clark replied. “Will remember for next time.”
“There won’t be a next time because you’re going to stop letting bad guys hit you, okay?”
He laughed, even if it hurt to. Of course you said it as if it was that easy. It wasn’t, but Clark would make it so.
“Stop laughing at me,” you chided, even as you inspected his nose. “It doesn’t look broken, so that’s good.”
“It healed on the way here. Perks of being Superman.”
“Stop acting like nothing’s wrong or I’ll break your nose myself, and I’ll make sure your healing factor is too busy to handle your nose first.”
“Wow,” he said. “Such violence coming from such a tiny little human.”
You grabbed his jaw without a warning and snapped it back into place.
“Golly, woman! Warn a guy first, will you?” he yelped indignifyingly, rubbing his smarting jaw, before moving it left and right to make sure it was still working. He didn’t need to worry because you were a professional by now, ever since you were both fourteen and you started playing nurse for a Clark who was discovering his powers and trying each day a new way to test his abilities.
“If I warned you, you would never be ready,” you replied, and Clark smiled sheepishly at that. You were right. Despite him being the strongest human on Earth, his pain tolerance was subpar, and he always chickened out before anything like that. Usually, you would at least fake a countdown. “And besides, that’s what you get for making fun of me.”
He pouted. “I’m sorry baby,” he said, batting his eyelashes at you.
“Ugh! This is so unfair,” you groaned, before bending at his height and pressing your lips against his pout in a quick peck. “I hate you.”
“I love you too,” Clark replied, not in the least bit remorseful for guilt-tripping you, basking in the bliss of the feeling of your lips against his, as fleeting as it was.
You pinched his bruised nose and stood back up.
“Ow, ow, ow!”
“Don’t even try to talk to me for the next five minutes. I’ll be too busy hating you.”
He was behind you before the five minutes even were up, wrapping his arms around your waist, still pouting. “Why are you so mean to me?” he asked, cheek pressed against the top of your head. He was still in his dirty Superman suit; he hadn’t even taken off his boots yet.
You were trying really hard to ignore him. It was funny, and Clark couldn’t keep up the wounded act any longer. His shoulders were shaking with barely suppressed mirth.
“Message received, baby. I’ll let you be for five minutes. In fact, I’ll let you be for thirty minutes.”
He used that time to clean up the mess he’d left behind (superheroing wasn’t a clean job) and finally take a shower. He tried not to notice how you kept pretending you forgot something in the bathroom while he was showering. First, it was your glasses, which you hadn’t even found, then you had to check a pimple on your face, and then it was your makeup, which you needed to retouch.
“You know,” he said, voice barely heard over the sound of the stream of water. “I’m starting to think you’re just finding any excuses to come check on me.”
You shot him a dark look. “You said you weren’t going to bother me for thirty minutes.”
“I’m not bothering you, but you are bothering me.”
He realized his mistake before the words even finished leaving his mouth. You gasped.
“See if I ever bother you again,” you said, turning on your heels.
Clark groaned, before shutting the water off and grabbing a towel to wrap around his hips and chased after you, dripping water everywhere but unable to care because he just wanted to catch before you locked yourself in your room (and coincidentally blocking him from getting his clothes) and started listening to heartbreak songs at full volume.
“Nooo,” he whined, “you know I love it when you bother me! Please don’t ever stop!”
“Nuh uh,” you replied, escaping his hand narrowly.
“Oh come on, are you really going to sulk at me for that? And why were you so mean to me anyway? Ever since I got here, you were being grumpy, which, don’t get me wrong, I love it, but I don’t understand why, did I do something wrong?”
“Oh I don’t know, maybe it’s the fact that you were injured again as Superman, you don’t take it seriously when I’m worried, you make fun of me when I tell you to be more careful, and you tracked blood everywhere! You know I hate blood! Stupid blood! And your blood isn’t even normal, it’s alien blood!”
You still didn’t stop walking but now the two of you were walking in circles until you were the one chasing him now. It was a ridiculous sight, but it wasn’t an unusual occurrence at your household.
“Wait, what do you mean by alien blood?”
“Your blood doesn’t come off easily, you know that! Remember when I was trying to scrub your blood out of the rug and I kept mixing any chemicals I could find and accidentally made chloroform?”
Clark felt silly for entertaining for even one second the terrifying thought that you thought of him differently, and his shoulders dropped. He stopped walking. And he did remember that time. Of course he did. He’d been sick with worry his muscles had locked in place for a few seconds before he finally spurred into action and got you to a safe place with fresh air and threw away everything else before it did more damage.
He’d made you sleep over at his place for a week to make sure the smell had completely left the apartment.
“Baby, I’m sorry, I know you hate blood, but I really wasn’t thinking straight, and I just wanted to see you, and it made everything else disappear. It’s not an excuse however, and I apologize for it. And I’m also sorry for not taking you seriously when you’re worried about me, it’s just… I’m not laughing at you, it’s just… it’s really sweet how you’re always so worried about me, and you always get so endearing when you lecture me, I just can’t help myself.”
You sniffed. “Okay, fine. I forgive you. And I’m sorry for being so mean to you today. It’s not really because of you. I’m just so irritated these days and lashing out makes me feel better, even though I shouldn’t.”
Clark’s heart instantly broke at your small voice, and gathered you in his arms. “No need to apologize, sweetheart. I gave you a good reason to get annoyed at me, it was my fault.”
“It’s always your fault,” you mumbled, voice muffled by his chest.
He snorted through his nose, unable to help himself. “Yes, baby. It’s always my fault, and I’m sorry.”
“Mhm, and you’re taking me out tonight.”
“Okay, baby. Anything you want.”
There was a comfortable silence before you said, “I think your towel just fell.”
Clark couldn’t look at you for the rest of the day without going as red as his cape in the face and you laughing at him every single time.
“It was time it happened, you know? It’s just the natural course of events.”
You pretended it was fine, but Clark could tell you were embarrassed a little too and that knowledge comforted him a little.
You were laughing at him again. Because he just took out his pocket notebook from his backpocket so he could make a note out of something he wanted to look up later. And he had a tiny pencil that came with it.
“You’re so—” you shook your head.
“An old soul?” Clark offered helpfully as he closed his notebook and slid it back in his pocket.
“Chronically offline, I was going to say, and it’s crazy how even your words reflect how chronically offline you are.”
Clark smiled. He liked it when you teased him, because it meant you liked him, even if he had ten billion other proofs that you liked him.
“I’m going to say words and you’re going to say the first thing that comes to mind, okay?”
“Let’s do it.”
He moved his upper body so that he could fully face you, giving you all of his attention.
“Serve.”
“Tennis.”
“Eat.”
“Food.”
“Slay.”
“Dragons.”
“Flop.”
“Flip flop.”
“Tik Tok.”
“Clock.”
Your face got progressively red as you tried not to burst out laughing.
“Do you know what rizz means?”
“Uh… not really, but I remember Lois telling Jimmy she didn’t understand how he got so much rizz. Is it… freckles? He has a lot of freckles.”
You broke into laughter. “Oh you’re so cute, Clark. I just want to eat you up. In a soup. Like wonton soup but it’s Clark soup.”
“Thank… you?”
“You’re welcome, babe.”
Clark Kent was a mild-mannered, soft-spoken, respectful young man. It’s a truth universally acknowledged. Despite his stature and his size, no one had ever seen him use it in a way to cause harm rather than help. Sure, they’d seen him climb on top of a tree to save a kitten, help lift things from one floor to another, but they’d never seen him use that strength against someone else.
And no one ever will. Not even you. Clark takes great mesures to make sure that it stays that way. He’ll do anything to protect you from anything that could upset you and if it’s truly important, he won’t tell you about it. Why would he ruin your day when he was perfectly capable of handling everything? He was happy to handle everything else while you were busy enjoying yourself, like now.
You weren’t even drunk — you hated alcohol and besides, Clark couldn’t get drunk either so it wouldn’t be fun for him to be the only one sober — but you were feeling the music, and talking to someone, looking gorgeous and in your element in your dress. You looked stunning. Not just because your dress was pretty — though it was — but because you were radiating with joy. You loved going out and having fun and dancing to a music that reverberated deep in your ribcage.
“Hi Clark!” you screamed over the music, even if he could have easily heard you mumble it ten feet away in the middle of fireworks. “You having fun?”
“I am,” he called back.
You grabbed him by his hands and tugged him against you. “Come on, let’s dance.”
“Oh, no, you know I don’t do any of that.”
You snorted. “If it’s just because you’re embarrassed of your dance moves, I won’t judge, I promise. I’ve already seen them all anyway.”
“It’s not that…” he countered weakly. It was exactly that. His gracefulness as Superman unfortunately did not translate to when he was Clark Kent, and coupled with his height and size, he was an actual public hazard. He didn’t want to accidentally bump into someone or, God forbid, step on your feet. He knew you wouldn’t care, but he did, and it made him feel bad.
You huffed. “Fine. I’m gonna go dance with that hot guy over there, then. He’s been trying to talk to me for like an hour but since I thought you were going to dance with me… anyway, it’s his lucky day, bye Clarkie,” you said, before sauntering over to the guy who, Clark had to admit, was attractive.
He watched you talk with him with an unnamed feeling in the pit of his stomach, and he forced himself to take a sip of his water. Maybe he should have gone with you.
But then you were back already, not even ten minutes later. You said you just didn’t “vibe” with him, but Clark suspected it was because you missed him.
“Let’s go home,” he whispered against the crown of your head. “I was getting tired anyway.”
“Bollocks,” you replied in a fake posh accent. “You never get tired.”
He hummed. “True. I just wanted to go home with you.”
“Then let’s go home.”
The streets of Metropolis were half-lit. It was a Friday night in the summer so everyone was still out, despite the late hour. He had your hand in his and you were skipping on the pavement, heels clicking, arm swinging.
He loved you best when you were like this. Happy and blissful and totally unaware of the rest of the world, because you trusted him to have your back, even if you weren’t entirely aware of the many ways he’s had your back.
“I hate the subway,” you muttered, scanning your metro card against the reader.
“Well, you refuse to fly you home, and also walk home so,” Clark replied patiently.
“Should have taken a taxi.”
“And complain about how it’s expensive all the way home?”
“You know, Clark, I don’t think I appreciate how much you know me. Maybe it’s time we start putting some distance between the two of us.”
Clark didn’t need to reply, he merely looked down at the way you were literally pressed against him until there was not a single inch of space left between the two of you.
“Shut up,” you grumbled.
The subway was full despite the late hour so the both of you had to keep standing. Well, Clark had to, but you leaned against him, putting most of your weight against him. He loved it.
It happened when there were only five stops left.
You were rambling to Clark about something even you wasn’t sure about it, when Clark noticed the man behind you who had been trying to get closer for the past five minutes.
His reaction was swift but controlled. Making sure your attention was elsewhere, namely fixating on the bright lights announcing the stations left, he grabbed the man’s wrist in a tight enough grip that it was uncomfortable, but not tight enough to break anything — yet.
“Hey, baby, can you explain to me what Instagram again?” he asked you, voice soft and sweet.
“Again?! You do realize it’s been—“
He tuned you out, not out of malice, just so he could focus his energy into the man who thought sticking his phone underneath your skirt was a good idea.
The man’s eyes looked up in unwarranted anger, ready to yell at whoever dared touch him, but it quickly switched into fear once he saw the stony expression on Clark’s face — and the height and muscle he had on him.
Clark knew he shouldn’t, but he squeezed his grip tighter until his super hearing could pick up the sound of his joints creasing against each other.
“Are you even listening to me, Clark? This is your problem, because you say you want to understand but then you always zone out even before I even start.”
“Sorry darling, there’s just a… bug that’s been bothering me.”
“Silly, just swat it away, and then give me your full attention.”
Clark grinned, and twisted the man’s wrist until it sprained. Just enough to make him second guess himself next time he tried to pull this stunt again — to you or any other unsuspecting girl who may not have Superman by their side. The phone dropped and Clark ‘accidentally’ stepped on it.
“Perfect idea, my smart girl.”
The rest of the ride home went without any other problem, but Clark still couldn’t for the life of him understand what Instagram was.
You passed out in bed before Clark even took off his pants.
He sighed at the sight, but without any real annoyance. He supposed your clothes were comfortable enough to sleep in, but he gathered your makeup wipes from the bathroom.
You mumbled something intelligible when the mattress dipped underneath his weight as he crossed a leg on the bed and sat down, and he smiled. Even unconscious, you were endearing.
He poured some product in the cotton before he wiped your face with it gently. He did the same with another cotton wipe and focused on your eyes this time, removing the mascara and eyeliner he loved so much that made your eyes look even bigger and shinier.
He threw everything away and then got into bed behind you. Sleep had never felt sweeter than when he slept with you in his arms.
Things my chronically offline bsf does
“What’s this?” Clark asked, blinking at the screen you just shoved in his face as if you were afraid he was going to somehow miss the glowing bright box. He was drinking his glass of milk when you walked in the kitchen in a flurry of excitement.
“It’s an idea for a TikTok,” you explained. It probably explained it for most people, but it only left Clark even more puzzled. He knows you explained it to him, multiple times, but he keeps forgetting.
“What’s bee-ess-eff?”
“Best friend. It’s you. You’re my chronically offline best friend. I think the world needs to know about this.”
“Uh… sure?” He wasn’t sure why the world needed to know the things he did, but he wasn’t one to not show you support whenever he can, so he went along with it. “What sort of things do I do?”
“Take notes on an actual notepad.”
“That’s normal, why would they care?”
“You use physical maps.”
“They’re fabricated for a reason!”
You ignored him again. “You print recipes instead of following them on your laptop. Wait, let me correct that. You ask me to print you the recipes because you still haven’t figured it out.”
He blushed at that. “But it’s just so much easier that way! I like having everything I need right in front of me. I don’t want to have to scroll or zoom in or whatever else it is.”
“Mhm,” you replied, unconvinced. “I still think it makes for a really funny TikTok video, so. I’m posting it.”
“Well… okay. Sure. Maybe someone in the comment section will explain to me why it’s so funny.”
You snorted. “I love you, Clark.”
He brightened up, confusion leaving his face. This, he knew. This, he was used to. “I love you, sweetheart. Let me know when you upload it. I want to read comments with you.”
The TikTok was forgotten for a bit. Life got in the way, you got distracted by other shinier, newer, better things, and it was deadline season for Clark, and crime seemed to have multiplied overnight.
So, it wasn’t long before he and you finally got to reading the comments.
“Clark, you’re a famous man,” you preamble.
He paused mid-slurp of his chicken noodles. “Huh?”
“The video blew up.”
Clark instantly looked concerned. “What? Are you okay?”
“Yes, silly. It means the video went viral.”
“It went where?”
“Ugh! Whatever. You’re famous. I got like 35k comments.”
Clark knew what going viral meant. He was just being a little jerk, and you were so used to him being actually that obtuse that the joke flew right over your head.
But the number made him pause. “That many? Where do these people come from?”
“All around the world. Do you want me to read the comments for you or not?”
Clark placed his chopsticks down and stapled his fingers, as if he was getting ready for an important meeting. “Let’s hear it.”
You cleared your throat, readying yourself to start reading some sort of royal decree. “Him having the actual notepad from old iPhone noteapp is taking me out.”
Clark was frowning, not upset, just trying to understand. “Okay, but where is my notepad taking them out?”
“Do you actually want to know or do you prefer living in bliss?”
“Uh… is it bad?”
“No, I just don’t know if you want to preserve your ignorance.”
“Oh. Explain this one. I’m intrigued.”
You did, and he cracked a smile when he finally got it. You kept reading him some comments, explaining them when needed.
“Someone said, this is the only person who would probably survive a nuclear fallout.”
You snorted at that one, knowing that the commenter couldn’t possibly realize just how close to the truth they were.
“How did they know?”
“It’s a figure of speech, honey.”
“Oh. Okay, next one.”
“I am lowkey jealous of him. I bet he is happy and healthy and has clear skin.”
“Could you reply to them?”
“Yeah. What do you want to say?”
“Tell them that if they have questions about how I live, they can ask me. Or I guess, direct message you.”
“If I do that, everyone will flood my DMs but fine. The things I do for you… okay, done. Next. Bet he pays all his bills by check too with a crying emoji.”
Clark frowned. “Why are they sad? Did I make them sad?”
“A crying emoji is basically laughter, don’t worry.”
“Weird. Next.”
“This guy’s got the world’s cleanest internet footprint. Even rainbolt wouldn’t be able to find him.”
“Who’s rainbolt?”
“A dude who’s really good at finding locations in the world with the tiniest picture.”
“Oh.”
Sometime between the first comment and the last one, you’d ended up on his lap, and he’d leaned back against his chair to give you more space.
“What is this one?”
“I hope he knows he’s iconic,” you read out loud.
“Oh. That’s really sweet. I am iconic, thank you. But so are you.”
You smiled, pleased before bursting into laughter. “Oh you’re gonna hate this.”
“Uh oh. Lay it on me.”
“Chronically offline but chronically FINE,” you said, barely able to read it with a straight face. “I should have known people were going to lose their mind over you.”
“I’m fine? As in, nice to look at?”
“Yes, honey. They’re saying you’re hot.”
“Oh. How many of them?”
“That comment alone got fifty thousand likes.”
“Gosh. The Internet is a scary place.”
You kept reading comments, giggling to yourself.
He can write me a letter any time.
I would learn how to use a rotary phone for him.
I’m getting a pigeon just so he can start sending me letters.
“Unlucky for them, you’re all mine.”
Clark smiled, pleased and smug. That’s right. He was yours.
You started including him more in your TikToks, partly because people demanded more of him, but mostly because you enjoyed doing things with him.
You posted another one:
things my bsf does for me because he’s just built like that
Ever since they met, Clark had just felt more inclined to do things for you. He was raised that way, yeah, but it was more than that.
Clark didn’t think there was any door he’d let you open when he was around. Paying for you had always been second nature to him, just like kissing your forehead whenever he was happy. Holding your hands started out because you wanted to hold his hand, but he kept the habit. Now he couldn’t go anywhere with you without holding your hand.
If anyone asked why, he wasn’t sure he would be able to explain why. He just felt like it. Just like walking on the side of the road, or gently guiding you with a hand to the small of your back.
He didn’t see anything out of the ordinary in the things you picked, but somehow the internet had a lot of things to say about it. Surprisingly, they were all nice.
May this kind of friendship kidnap me (What?!)
Is someone going to tell them? (Tell them what?)
I don’t think they’re aware they’re dating. (Clark would like to believe that he would know whether he was dating someone or not.)
THEY SLEEP TOGETHER?!? (Yeah? How else would they cuddle then?)
I feel so bad for their partners. (Clark and you haven’t dated anyone ever, so the worry was appreciated but unwarranted.)
I’m struggling to find a good bf because girls like her are hoarding the good men (What?)
Girl you’re living the life. Where can I find me a man like that? (In corn fields.)
THAT SHOULD BE ME… holding your hand (Oh! Clark recognizes that song.)
Clark didn’t say anything as you wedged your head between his arm and forearm, using it as a sort of prop, only watched in confusion as you took a picture of it using the reflection on the train’s windows.
“It’s for my collection,” you helpfully added.
Your collection of pictures of the two of you. Picture of your hand against his, another one of you flexing your arm next to his relaxed biceps, his hand wrapped around your waist. He never really understood why, but he didn’t need to understand it to feel a sort of understated satisfaction and pride at the sight of the two of you together, your difference in size so pronounced. When asked about it, you merely said ‘Tumblr’s gonna go crazy’ as if it explained everything.
Clark didn’t know who Tumblr was, but he felt bad for them.
But like anything else that you did or said, Clark didn’t need to understand it to support it.
During lunch break, Clark was swamped by Lois and Jimmy who stood over his desk like two very nosy sentinels.
“Did you see your best friend’s new post?”
Clark clicked out of a tab before peering up at his two other best friends through his thick glasses. “Uh… she didn’t show me anything, so I wasn’t aware she uploaded something new. Why? Did she?”
“Oh no,” Lois said, way too normally. “We, uh, we were just wondering if she was going to post something soon.”
“Yeah, we became huge fans. We can’t get enough of her posts,” Jimmy supplied.
Clark beamed. “Oh, that’s really sweet. She’s going to be so happy hearing that. I’ll definitely let you guys know if she ever wants to post something new on the TikTok.”
“Cool, cool,” Jimmy said in his usual shifty way.
“Wanna go out for lunch with us?” Lois asked.
“Uh… sure,” Clark replied with a nod. You were busy that day, so it wasn’t like he had anything planned with you.
Clark wasn’t much of a talker. Around his loved ones, he preferred listening. He couldn’t get enough of it.
Jimmy was talking about his latest date with Eve, a really sweet girl who kind of reminded Clark of you, because she was an influencer too.
Lois talked about her latest investigation against Luthorcorp. You could take her out of the office but you couldn’t take the journalism out of Lois. It’s how Lois and him had become friends when Clark first joined the Daily Planet.
“How are things with her?” she asked once the conversation trailed off and Clark smiled, always happy to talk about you.
“Good, we’re actually going to the movies tonight. I can’t wait.”
Lois slurped loudly on her Oreo milkshake.
“The new horror movie?” Jimmy asked. “Eve and I went to see it last week. It was really good but I think Eve forgot she had her own seat.” He rolled his eyes.
“Eve deserves so much better,” Lois sighed longingly.
“Hey! You said you weren’t gonna say stuff like that to me!”
Lois shrugged. “I lied.”
Clark watched them bicker happily. Weirdly enough, it reminded him of his own parents bickering together.
Clark raised a brow at your look. “Lazy night tonight?”
You were dressed in Clark’s old hoodie that still hung loosely on you and a pair of sweatpants (not his, unfortunately), and your hair was tied haphazardly into a bun. “Mhm,” you grunted. “I looked at my closet and it looked back at me and then I stared back and I realized I was way too lazy tonight to dress up properly. So, you get this.”
“Well, not that you asked, but I still think you’re gorgeous like this. Actually, I think I like you better like this, wearing my shirt.”
“Possessive much, huh?”
Clark rubbed the back of his hand with a sheepish smile. “Ah, well…”
Clark liked going to the cinema with you. He liked buying you overpriced snacks just because you loved them, and he loved it when you inevitably get tired mid-showing and lay your head against his shoulder. Or when you grow bored with the movie and start playing with his hand instead, sending shivers down his spine when you caress the back of his hand with a feather-light touch.
“This movie is so lame,” you grumbled, hand digging into Clark’s popcorn.
Most of all, he just loved you. Even when you were being a harsh critic.
Clark’s eyes crinkled as he laughed. “It’s a children’s movie, sweetheart. What did you expect?” he whispered back.
“Even kids deserve quality! They need to watch good movies at the earliest so that they learn to appreciate good cinema.”
Clark snorted. He usually tried not to be so noisy in the cinema but the room was filled with approximately twenty children who were all screaming or crying or making some sort of noise. His snort flew under the radar.
“Have you always been this passionate about children movie?”
“I was a child once too, Clark. This is very important to me.”
Clark barely resisted the urge to grab your hand, buttery and salty, and press a kiss to it.
Clark cannot exist without you, but Clark thinks that you could exist without him, you just choose not to.
“Clark,” you said one day, phone in one hand and Clark’s arm in the other. “My favorite bubble tea shop is offering free drinks for couples on Valentine’s day. We have to go.”
Clark knew that bubble tea was your favorite, so it was easy to agree. “I’m not sure they count best friends as couples, though.”
“Oh Clark, you dummy. We’re going to go there as a couple. I got us matching outfits. We’re going to be the cutest couple ever.”
Clark heard matching outfits and his heart hammered inside his chest. He was no stranger to matching outfits. It was you, after all, who introduced them to him.
It had started out small: friendship bracelets, then necklaces, then clay rings they made together.
Then one day you’d come across matching beanies and bought them on an impulse, because they made you think of him. Clark had really loved the beanie. His was red and blue, because of course it was. Yours had been pink and black.
From then on, there were no more limits to what you would consider matching. You’d even made him exchange sim cards holders so that yours became black and his pink.
A full matching outfit had always been the next natural course of action.
“Wouldn’t that be… lying?” he said, smiling sheepishly. As much as he loved the idea of wearing matching outfits with you and helping you get free boba, he wasn’t so sure he wanted to help you commit fraud.
“Clark, think about it. We regularly go on date together. Your toothbrush is next to mine in my bathroom. We celebrate anniversaries. We sleep in the same bed. These are all things couples do.”
“Yeah? But we’re not a couple.”
“They don’t have to know that! We’ll just let the facts speak for themselves.”
“Well…”
Clark Kent was about to commit fraud in the name of love friendship.
You got your free drinks because nothing could stand in the way between you and your favorite drinks with pearl shaped tapioca inside.
“Hey, Kat,” you said, greeting the cashier by name as if you guys were long lost friends. “Can you help me out?”
Kat had a confused smile, but she also looked intrigued. “Sure?”
You hook a thumb towards Clark. “He’s been sleeping in my bed for close to a year now, and he makes me breakfast every day, but he refuses to believe we’re dating.”
Clark’s entire face went beet red with sheer embarrassment. “H-Hey!”
Your grin could put to shame the Cheshire cat’s smile.
Kat snickered. “Oh boy, he’s got it bad, isn’t he?”
You showed her your matching clay rings. “Look at this. We made them together ten years ago. And now because he refuses to admit we’re together, I won’t be able to get my free drink.”
Kat’s eyes went big, before looking at Clark like he was really dumb. “Is he blind?” she asked you while looking at him.
“Well, they do say that love makes you blind.”
Oh you were good, and you were such a menace, and Clark wasn’t sure his face was ever going to be able to go back to a normal shade after this.
“Was this really necessary?”
“No, not really,” you admitted, taking a large sip from your straw. Your drink was pink, because of course it was. It’s Valentine’s day, after all. “But it was fun. And I technically didn’t say lie.”
“You’re going to be the death of me,” he whimpered.
“You love me.”
“I do. Unfortunately for me.”
“What was that?”
“Nothing, sweetheart. Enjoy your drinks. They’re tainted with the taste of my mortification.”
“Yummy. Extra delicious.”
Contrary to popular belief, Clark Kent was a menace too. He just hid it really well, and only let it show around you.
It was stupid, really. He came across a joke store and he went inside for some reason. He thought he would find something silly or cute for you. Maybe matching disguises.
But then he found a disturbingly realistic cockroach and before he knew it, he was out of the store with a bag and three dollars missing from his wallet.
He already felt so guilty, but also very excited.
Clark was pretty humans all over the globe, metahuman or not, had been able to hear your scream when you noticed the cockroach right next to your eyes.
“Clark!”
Your first scream was one of fear.
Another thing about Clark Kent was that he had a terrible poker face. It’s why you loved playing poker against him.
But it also meant that he was the worst at playing pranks, because guilt always showed on his face. Ergo, you knew instantly.
“Clark!”
Your second one was of anger and Clark smiled, ducking his head to the side. “Good morning?”
“Oh Clark, I hate you.”
But Clark didn’t need his enhanced vision to see the way your lips quirked up as you struggled to not smile.
“Are you free Friday night?” you asked him, peeking your head inside the bathroom where Clark was showering. Thankfully he was only showering and not doing anything else.
“Uh, sweetheart, you know I’m always free Friday nights,” he said, wiping a hand over his face to see you better.
You snorted. “Oh yeah. Forgot you were such a nerd. Oh well, consider yourself not free anymore. You know, you look really cute with your hair pushed back.”
He flushed.
“You blush down there too. Interesting.”
You closed the door behind you and he let his forehead bump against the wall with a dull thud. Oh, he was in so much trouble.
If Clark Kent stopped being dishonest with himself, he would finally let himself admit that he liked you more than normal friends, and more than their own brand of friendship.
His feelings for you ran as deep as the ocean, as old as the birth of his civilization. From the day he thought you were a scarecrow, to his first kiss. His first kiss was with you, of course. It was your first too. You said you wanted to know what the fuss was all about.
Fireworks had erupted the moment your lips touched his, and never stopped once whenever he saw you.
Clark Kent was really in love. With his first kiss, his first friend, his first love, you.
And it wasn’t as scary as people made it out to be, honestly. Nothing was scary when you were there.
When he first started getting his powers, it was scary but you were there. You made it not scary.
When Pa Kent had a health scare, it was really scary, but you were there. You made it not so scary.
Point was, Clark wasn’t afraid of the depth of his feelings for you, because he had blind trust in you. (And something told him that you felt the same.)
Even if you dragged him to random parties on a random Friday after work. It felt weird to spend eight hours cooped up behind his laptop and then find himself in a nightclub that same night, wearing clothes that were way too fitted.
“I need you to wear something good,” you told him before dragging him into an impromptu shopping spree. It was planned for you, but it was a surprise for him. Really, who was he to tell you no?
Your whistling and happiness were worth wearing something out of his zone of comfort.
“You never leave your drink unattended, okay?” you warned him seriously.
Clark only nodded sagely, even though he was fighting the stupid grin that was threatening to break on his face. It was cute how you worried for him, even though drugs literally had no effect on him.
“No drinks left unattended, got it. And I don’t talk to strangers. Unless they’re cute.”
“Don’t sass me, young man. I’m doing this for you.”
His smile turned softer. “I know. Thank you, sweetheart.”
It was a regular nightclub, like any other. You wanted to taste their drinks, take pictures, have fun. Clark was used to these nights. You were there for the fun, he was there for you.
He didn’t usually dance but there was something different about tonight. He remembered the way he felt when you went to dance with someone else, and he didn’t want to make the same mistake twice.
He waited until you finished your drink to ask, “Can I have this dance?”
You looked at him with eyes wide like saucers. “Oh em gee!” you shrieked. “I thought you would never ask!”
If he’d known how happy it would make you, he wouldn’t have kept refusing you.
He wasn’t really used to dancing, and the only thing that came to mind when he thought of dancing was slow dancing. So that’s what he had in mind when he asked you. But then you finished his glass in one go and pressed yourself to him until there was no more space left, and the rest of the world disappeared.
He could feel everything. The press of the swell of your breasts against his chest, your hands gliding along his waist, the intoxicating smell of your lavender perfume.
Oh yes. This was a nightclub. This was how people danced. He swallowed thickly. Maybe he chose the wrong time to ask for a dance.
Your hands are now caressing your neck, up to your hair, your head turned to the side. You were one with the song, and Clark was frozen in place, hands hovering in the air, suddenly unsure whether he was allowed to touch you.
“Aw, Clarkie, getting shy on me now?” you teased him when you noticed him unmoving. You grabbed his hands and placed them on each side of your waist. “Just follow the music. Sway from one side to the other.”
He tried, but God did he feel stiff and watching you in your element didn’t help. The friction of your dancing body against him was doing something to his nerves.
“Look at how the man are dancing with the girls,” you whispered. “Try doing the same.”
He looked, and immediately averted his eyes. “I can’t do that,” he whispered in panic. “It’s… borderline graphic!”
You laughed. “Oh Clark. You’re adorable. I’m gonna grind on you,” you said with that same look on your face that said you were up to no good, and that Clark couldn’t even dream of surviving you.
“Please don’t,” he whimpered in a tiny voice. “At least not here, where everyone can see.”
You paused at that, your teasing smile frozen in place, and Clark watched with barely muted satisfaction at how he’d so easily rendered you speechless.
But then your eyes turned mischievous, and Clark realized his mistake. “I like the sound of that.”
He groaned, throwing his head back. You used that moment of weakness to press your lips along the lines of his neck. Not a kiss, not a bite. Just the soft press of your lips against his neck.
And then you screamed when your favorite song came on, and it was like that moment never even happened.
“This is my song!” you squealed excitedly.
You were so drunk.
Clark Kent didn’t mind taking care of you when drunk. He would like to say it was because he always wants to take care of you, but the truth was a little more selfish than that.
Sure, drunk you was a menace, but when you got tired and sleepy and drunk, you were always so sweet. So clingy, so desperately needy and Clark absolutely loved to take care of you in that state. You were already clingy on a normal day, but drunk and sleepy was a whole other level. If he didn’t have his Superman strength, he would never be able to extricate you from his body. You turned into an oversized, drunk, needy koala. Clark leaving for just one minute to bring you water was enough to send you into an inconsolable state, so he learned to improvise. Again, he was thankful for his superstrength allowing him to lift you with one arm while he took care of things.
Tonight was no different. By the time you both reached your apartment, you were already dozing off to sleep but fighting it, your entire chest wrapped around Clark’s arm.
“Clark, you’re staying the night, right?” you asked, voice muffled and words slurred.
“Yes,” he replied, fighting hard a smile, turning his own copy of your keys in the lock.
“And you’re staying with me, right?”
“Yes,” he replied. This time he couldn’t help the smile. He helped you walk inside.
Your bottom lip quivered, tears already forming in your eyes. You let go of him. “You hate me!”
Clark’s eyes went wide. “What? Where the heck did that come from? I just said I was staying with you.”
“Yes, but you sounded like you hated me when you said it,” you replied, voice already watery.
“Gosh no, what? I could never love you. I love you. Always have, always will.”
“So why did you stop calling me petnames? You hate me!”
You broke into tears in the middle of your living room and for the first time since ever, Clark felt utterly helpless. He hadn’t even noticed that he’d stopped.
“Oh baby, is this what it’s about?” he cooed, and his heart broke when you nodded pitifully. “Come here sweetheart.”
He opened his arms and you launched yourself into them. He closed his hold around you, his arms wide enough so he could hide all of you, and protect you. Your shoulders shook with the strength of your sob, and once again he found himself wondering how such a tiny little thing could have so much feelings inside of her.
“I love you baby, I could never hate you. Forgive me?”
“Okay,” you said, sniffing. A second later, he felt you wipe your snotty nose against the really nice shirt you got him earlier. He suppressed a small laugh. “I love you too. Even if you’re mean sometimes.” A pause. “Okay, you’re never mean. But still.”
“Thank you sweetheart.”
He kissed the crown of your head and you didn’t move for so long he thought you’d fallen asleep, but your heartbeat was still strong and rapid.
“Let’s get ready for bed, okay?”
“Okay.” But you still didn’t move.
No matter, Clark thought. He had superstrength for a reason. He easily lifted you with one arm, and his heart swelled inside his chest at your giggle. You were such a strange girl.
“Open up,” he said with a tap of his finger on your chin after he placed you on top of the bathroom counter, standing between your open legs, and pouring toothpaste on your toothbrush.
“Aaaah.”
“Good girl,” he praised, and started brushing your front teeth in gentle circular motions.
You had your right index finger hooked inside his pants. You always needed to feel him around, even when he was literally brushing your teeth.
Your mascara had run across your cheeks — unable to support a drunken night of dancing and singing and crying; your eyes were slightly red and your undereyes were swollen, and yet you were still the prettiest sight he’d ever laid eyes upon. Your lipstick was smeared across your lips, and Clark wanted to run his thumb across so badly, just to smear it even more.
You were patient while he meticulously brushed your teeth because you’d gotten used to him brushing them for two minutes exactly as prescribed by dentists. He was thorough in his cleaning, making sure you were properly clean before he makes you gargle and then spit in the sink. He didn’t give you water to rinse it off because he’d seen that you shouldn’t do that.
Then, with movements honed with years of practice, he grabbed your cotton pads and miscellar water from your skin care product self.
“Can you close your eyes for me, sweetheart?”
The effect was instant. You pouted. “But I wanna see you.”
“I’ll be quick, I promise.”
“Okay.”
You closed your eyes and he started with them, gently wiping your makeup with the cotton pad. “Almost done,” he whispered. Your fingers tugged at his pants.
Then, it was your lips’ turn, and Clark imagined it was his thumb wiping them.
“Yucky. Doesn’t taste so good,” you mumbled.
He laughed. “Oh baby, you shouldn’t taste it.”
You pouted again.
He used a fourth pad for your entire face, just to remove dirt and threw everything in the bin.
You grinned at him, all sleepy and mellowed out and looking like the angel you were. You were still in your outside clothes — Clark hadn’t gotten to that — and the juxtaposition of your sweet and innocent smile and your clothing was endearing. You could do both so well, and he loved them both a lot, but he always preferred the side of you that felt more like his, the one with no pretenses, no walls put up. Just you and your unfiltered love.
“All cleaned up, baby. Now we just need to get you into some comfortable clothes and we can go to sleep.”
You looked proud of yourself, even if all you’d done was lean sleepily against his chest and made his job a lot harder than it should.
Neither of you blushed when he helped you take off your clothes. You were drunk and sleepy, and Clark would never take advantage of you in this state. His eyes didn’t look anywhere he wasn’t supposed to, and his movements were clinical. His hands didn’t linger, didn’t stray.
He loved you and that meant he would never hurt you.
Then, finally, when you were both dressed and in bed, he gathered you in his arms and listened to your heartbeat until it slowed down. It never took too long, when he held you and you were drunk. You were always out like a light when he cuddled you close to his chest.
Clark got the idea the next day, when you were under the showers and he saw your phone light up with a notification while he was still in bed. It was a notification from TikTok — he recognized that logo.
He grabbed his own phone and downloaded the app himself, and struggled for close to thirty minutes just to create an account. Most of that time was spent figuring out a username (in the end he kept the default one TikTok gave every user).
Then you came out of the shower and Clark forgot about it.
“Wanna go grab brunch?” you asked him, still dripping on the floor, towel around you.
“Sure. Bubby’s?”
“God yes.”
Bubby’s was your go-to restaurant whenever you were hangover — or just particularly hungry.
Clark didn’t waste a second and stood up from his bed, his phone completely forgotten.
It was only a month later, when he received a notification from the app (that confused him for a good ten seconds until he remembered how he’d downloaded the app) inviting him to join a random person’s LIVE, that he remembered the really stupid idea he had.
He spent one hour learning how to use TikTok and another one trying to make a video. He kept accidentally deleting everything with his stupidly big thumbs and he tried five times before he finally finished.
It was nothing big — it wasn’t even a video. Just a static picture and some text, but he did it himself. He even managed to change the color of the words and add a gif (because he thought that was really cute and like something you would love).
He felt silly for how proud of himself he felt. He just hoped he didn’t do anything wrong, and then pressed on the post button.
He wasn’t quite sure what hashtags were or even if they were needed, but he added one just in case — the first one that popped up.
And then he deleted the app, promptly forgetting about it and going back to his usual life. It was either the stupidest idea he’d ever had, or the greatest one. In any case, he was already onto the next thing. Namely, taking you out to dinner in a near future.
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You woke up to your phone absolutely blowing up. Clark was at work and had been for a few hours already.
It was strange, you thought as you looked at the hundreds of notifications showing up on your lockscreen. You hadn’t posted anything on there in so long, and definitely nothing about Clark (apparently your videos about him always did crazy well).
Oh no, you thought to yourself. Were you getting cancelled?
Half of your notifications were mentions to a random video from an account with no name and no picture, and only one post.
IS THIS THE BSF?!?!
I KNEW IT!!!!
omg i ship them so bad
Is this @pinkbubbles’s bsf?!?! The girl in the picture looks so much like her
@pinkbubbles GIRL LOOK
LMAO i literally just saw the other pov of this, tiktok knows what its doing
You clicked on the video. It was silent. It was just a picture, one that you recognized. It was you. A few years ago, when you’d traveled to the beach with Clark and he invited you to diner that night. He’d taken a picture of you, and he wanted to be subtle so your entire face didn’t show. Just your smile and your arms.
The caption read: she doesn’t know i am so in love with her.
This had to be Clark. The username and picture matched, and only him had access to that picture.
You burst out laughing when your read the caption and it was just ‘i hope she loves me back #charlidamelio’. But your heart was still hammering inside your ribcage like a crazed horse who wanted to break free.
Clark was in love with you. And he confessed through TikTok. Of all the places. It was so him and so unlike him at the same time, that you didn’t know whether you should laugh or cry or burst inside his office.
Honestly, the crazier thing was that you had posted something exactly like it a few months ago. It was just a video of Clark, not showing his face, and the caption ‘he doesn’t know i am in love with him’. The only difference was that you’d used an actual song, and you didn’t use any hashtags. It wasn’t meant to go viral. It was just… a letter inside a bottle thrown to the sea. A way not to explode while holding onto what felt like your biggest secret.
And Clark had the same idea, it seemed. A few months later, but still. You wondered when was it—what had pushed him to publish something like that. More importantly, how he’d even been able to do this, when Instagram as a concept itself broke him.
Oh God. He was in love with you, and his confession had gone viral. It was such a strange thing to say. Clark, going viral. Clark who only had an iPhone so that he could use iMessage with you and match lockscreens and sim card holders. Clark who thought TikTok was a song and not an app.
You think you’re going crazy. Clark Kent was going to be the death of you.
He was acting like nothing was wrong when you met up with him after work. He had that dopey smile on his face, the one that meant that nothing was wrong and that the world was a beautiful and perfect place to be. He usually had a terrible poker face — just that one time he bought a fake cockroach to scare you and the guilt was written all over his face like face paint for children. One look at him and you realized that the monstrosity you woke up next to was fake, and none other than Clark’s latest childish stunt.
Now
So how did the man who couldn’t even keep a surprise secret without blubbering and stuttering over his words look so serene? As if he didn’t just break the Internet and turn upside down your heart in the same night.
“Hey, baby,” he said, head tilted to the side like a confused little puppy who doesn’t understand why his owner wasn’t acting like normal? “How was your day?”
“Uh… um… it was okay. Thanks! How are yours?”
He raised an eyebrow with a teasing tilt of his lips. “How are mine? Mine what?”
You’d meant to ask how his day was, but at the same time how he was, and your tongue twisted. Oh God. He was usually the awkward one out of the two of you. Not you. Never you. You didn’t even feel that awkward when you’d hugged him once and he felt your stupidly perk and hard nipples. Admittedly, that was because Clark had done something worse just the day before and by comparison nothing you could ever do could ever be worse.
“I hate you,” you grumbled, slamming a weak fist against his chest.
Why did it have to be you who found out? What even were you supposed to be doing with information like this? Kiss him? Offer him a ring?
Clark didn’t look particularly offended by that. His hand merely found its place on top of yours and squeezed. “Come on, let’s go. Where are you taking me tonight?”
Your mind blanked. “Uh. Home?”
“Then let’s go,” he replied, his hand finding its natural position at the back of your neck, warm and present and guiding without being oppressive. He’d done that particular gesture a thousand times and you’d never particularly reacted. But tonight, it was different. Tonight, you were being held by the neck with the knowledge that he loved you. That he was in love with you as well, and that maybe had always been.
Well, if you were being honest with yourself, you would realize that this wasn’t supposed to be surprising. Clark was Clark and you were you, and the pair of you had always been like this — and your weird heteroerotic friendship had always been this way probably because you were both desperately and pathetically in love with each other.
But panicking about required love was more dramatic.
“Clark.”
“That’s my name, yes.”
“Smartass.”
He smiled in reply.
He was being so weirdly normal. As if he hadn’t posted his confession for possibly millions to see last night.
What if that wasn’t even him? What if someone hacked his phone and got his pictures of her? Poor Clark was definitely the kind of person who would fall for a phishing scam. There was a 33% chance of him actually being hacked. This was serious. You had to talk to him about it.
But… not now.
Now, you were going home with your best friend of almost thirty years and you were going to make him make dinner and you’re going to light candles and then you’re going to make him take pictures of you.
It was a regular night for the two of you. Except for the glaringly obvious and impossibly unavoidable fact that made every moment, every look, every touch a thousand times more… charged. More intimate. More…
You were running out of adjectives.
“This pasta is wonderful,” you told him and appreciated the way his ears still turned pink every time you praised his cooking.
“Ah, well, thank you, sweetheart. I wanted to make them from scratch but I didn’t have time.”
“Another time,” you replied. His homemade pasta was to die for, and he always made the best shapes ever. (One time you stole dough from him and made a penis shaped pasta. He couldn’t look you in the eyes without bursting into laughter for the rest of the evening.)
“Another time,” he confirmed.
Silence fell. The flames were still flickering, unbothered and swaying to the dancing of the air. It cast a particularly romantic light to the whole scene. Which was fitting, considering the two of you were apparently in love with each other, and probably have been for the past two decades.
Oh no. Have you guys wasted two decades for nothing when you could have been happily dating and in love? Perhaps you’d have even been married by now. Yeah, definitely married by now.
“Clark.”
His fork stilled mid-twirl and looked up to you, his entire attention riveted on you.
“Could you pass me the salt?”
His sauce was perfectly seasoned but it wasn’t your fault you chickened out right at the last minute.
“Sure thing,” he replied, standing without a complaint and getting it from the kitchen.
You were going to talk about the marriage thing another date. Well, you figured you should talk about the confession thing first.
You can do this.
You should also do something about those really nosy followers of yours who demanded an update quite literally every hour.
You really missed life back when you only had one follower — Clark’s account before he forgot the password and gave up on having an online presence.
You couldn’t post a single story of a cute cat you saw without getting swarmed with messages and comments, and not one of them was about the cute feline.
“Hey Clark, look at this cute cat I saw earlier.”
When in doubt (read: lacking attention), always turn to Clark.
“Oh look at that little fella,” he replied, genuinely excited to see him. You could always trust him to say the right thing. “Was he on your way to work?”
“Uh-huh,” you replied. “He was sooo cute. Almost adopted him.”
“Why didn’t you?”
Oh, yeah. He was perfect.
“Well we hadn’t talked beforehand about bringing a child into this life so I didn’t want to presume.”
“Next time, then.”
“Next time,” you confirmed.
As easy as that. He’d agreed to adopt a child, so the marriage talk would be easier than anticipated.
Naturally, you found yourselves at a rescue center, trying to find the perfect fit for them. Clark wanted a dog, you wanted a cat, so you compromised and got a really old cat who’d been waiting for a forever home for fifteen years.
Her name was Bean (you let Clark pick) and she was both the loveliest and saddest creature you both had ever seen. Her favorite spot to sleep was between the two of you, and she got sad whenever Clark wasn’t staying over the night, so Clark officially moved in. For Bean, of course.
Clark was, much to your dismay, her favorite, but you understood her. Clark was your favorite as well.
“You know,” Clark said one day while Bean was busy purring up a storm on top of his large chest (oh how you were jealous), “she really reminds me of you. She always meows outside the bathroom door whenever I take a shower, and she recently learnt how to open the door. Just to stare at me.”
You snorted. “That does sound like something I would do.”
Clark scratched behind Bean’s ears subconsciously. “It’s not just that. It’s… well, she’s quite clingy.”
“I am not clingy,” you refuted automatically, but it was more of a knee-jerk reaction than anything.
Bean meowed in displeasure too.
“Sweetheart, you’re currently using my arm as a body pillow.”
“Doesn’t mean anything.” Bean meowed. “See? She agrees. We aren’t clingy.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He scratched the top of your head, and you think he meant to scratch Bean’s head, not yours, but you found that you absolutely didn’t mind.
“Meow,” you said, just to really sell it in case he suspected something.
───────── ౨ৎ ─────────
Clark was pleasantly surprised when Lois told him that she wanted to see you again. Jimmy, of course, heard it and was promptly standing guard at Clark’s desk.
“I want to see her too,” he said. As always, he was expertly (read: awkwardly) avoiding the looks a coworker had been giving him for the past three days.
“Uh…” he pushed his glasses up his nose. “Sure. She would love that. And I would love that too.”
“It’s weird, we thought you would be more ecstatic than this,” Jimmy said.
“You guys talk about me behind my back?”
“Duh,” Lois replied. “What else are we supposed to do when you randomly and suspiciously disappear at random intervals during a work day?”
He blushed. “Fair enough. But why did you think I would be happier than this?”
Lois and Jimmy shared a look. “How can he be so big yet so dense?” Lois asked.
“Hey!”
“Honestly, I just want to know what went through his brain at that moment,” Jimmy said, like he was discussing the weather. “Was he held at gun point? Did his phone become conscious on its own? How did he even know how to use the app?”
“I couldn’t have asked better questions myself,” Lois said, nodding wisely as she took a sip from her monstrous drink. “Clark, would you be up for an interview later?”
Clark frowned. “What… what is going on?”
They shared a look.
“I don’t think he knows that we know.”
“Or that the entire Internet knows,” Lois added.
“Or that she knows,” Jimmy appended.
“He thinks he’s sleek with it,” Lois commented.
“Stop talking like creepy twins!” he shrieked. His dignity was never left intact around those two. “What is going on? No, I don’t wanna know. I need to take a break.”
“Should we tell him?”
“Yes. I mean, they adopted a cat together. I don’t think he knows the implications of it.”
“What does Bean have anything to do with any of this?”
“Bean is your child. You’re the father, your best friend is the mother. You guys have moved in together, you co-parent a child, and you’re both in love.”
He finally blushed. “No we’re not.”
“Yes, you are. You confessed to her and she confessed to you.”
“Wait… when did she confess?”
“Oh great heavens.”
Taking an impromptu coffee break, they dragged Clark to the break room where they sat him down (he was going to need it) and showed him his video on Jimmy’s phone and her video on Lois’ phone.
“Who are you and what have you done with our Clark Kent?”
“The Clark I know would have never confessed like this. Granted, it’s cute, but it’s not something Clark would do.”
“He can barely use the selfie mode on his phone!”
Clark Kent really felt like a hostage being interrogated, with the two of them looming over him like menacing journalists who wanted to get to the bottom of this. The only thing missing was the table and a threatening lamp projected right in his face, blinding him. He could very well see Lois with a foot up on her chair, elbow on her knee as she stared him down so menacingly he had half a mind to confess to things he didn’t even do, just to make her stop.
His face was impossibly red, and the only thing he was thinking about wasn’t about how millions of people saw his video, but that you must have seen it, because everyone was tagging you in the comments, and this was definitely not the way he expected to confess to you.
Beneath it all though, his chest was rumbling with pleasure at the confirmation — finally — that you felt the same. Knowing it was different from being clearly told.
“Stop grinning like an idiot, this is making me wanna puke.”
“Gross. Maybe we shouldn’t have shown him this. His face is making a very disturbing and off putting expression.”
“I’m just happy and mortified! Can’t I be happy and mortified in peace?” Clark whined.
“No,” came their reply in unison.
“Guys, something came up. I have to go. Tell Perry I’ll work from home.”
He doesn’t wait a second for their answer. Quite frankly, he didn’t care much at the moment. He had a girl waiting for him at home to kiss her senseless.
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You've been waiting for literal decades to hear if that spaceship you sent out with three comatose astronauts (one of whom you kidnapped and drugged and wiped his memory to force him to go along) have figured out anything that could possibly help save the earth. The probes finally splash down and are successfully retrieved. Inside are canisters labeled "Taumoeba Farm"
The fuck is a "taumoeba"? you think, and very carefully hand it off to some scientists, because you're not some idiot that would unscrew a strange capsule from outer space in a nonsecure environment. That shit could be full of ammonia or toxic gases!
So, you boot up the video diary, hoping it will explain what to do, and, hey! It's your favorite little science guy (whom you kidapped and drugged and forced onto a suicide mission). He survived! At least for a while, since he's certainly dead now. The other two crew members did not survive. Oh dear. So it's up to this amnesiac scientist who can't fly a spaceship to save the planet. At least he hasn't remembered that he doesn't want to be there yet. Perhaps you should warn those scientists not to open the "taumoeba farm" in case this is the scientist's idea of revenge. But so far he seems to be doing well, figuring out the mission, locating the Petrova line...
"So, I met an alien."
And at this point you're really regretting giving him all those drugs, because they've clearly had some adverse affects. He's hallucinating. The Earth is doomed.
Your favorite science guy keeps going on about his new little alien buddy and puppet shows and clearly this is an elaborate delusion his brain has cooked up to keep him from facing the reality of slow, lonely death in space and—
"I have a new roommate"
Your favorite little science guy whom you led like a lamb to the slaughter is whispering and the alien has apparently invaded his spaceship and he doesn't seem nearly as alarmed by this as he should be if it were real. And then you hear a robotic voice answering him from offscreen and you think oh, Grace, you really programmed the ship's technology to feed into this delusion? You can't believe you're going to be court-marshaled and jailed because you did so many crimes just to get this scientist into space just for him to blow it all because he's so lonely that he made up an imaginary friend!
And then the camera pans and in the background you see—
Holy shit.
That's an alien.
That's an alien.
There is sentient life elsewhere in the galaxy. Humanity is not alone. Ryland Grace is apparently perfectly sane...
You barely have time to process this before the video ends and the next video diary starts up.
SUMMARY, Neteyam HATES being called bro — after all, does a bro do the things he does to you?
╰┈➤ WARNINGS, kinda established relationship/lots of touching/kissing/suggestive/Neteyam being very possessive over reader😫/bit of fluff
❥ requested by an anon, hope you like it doll <𝟑
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── ───
You’ve been hanging out with Spider and Lo’ak a lot recently, and I mean alott — so much so that you had started to pick up on their vocabulary and that included some of the sky people slang that they used.
The relationship you had with the two boys was interesting because you would have never spoken to them in the first place if it hadn’t been for your kinda boyfriend, Neteyam, one day suggesting that you should spend the day with his brother and his friend to keep yourself from dying of boredom while he fulfilled his future olo’eyktan duties.
Ever since that day, speaking to them became a part of your daily routine — Neteyam who would normally get very jealous, didn’t seem to mind your close friendship though. In fact, he liked that his future mate got along well with the other people he cared about.
As of now your trio was sat messing around in the lab, occasionally helping out from time to time. You only wished that Neteyam had more time for you guys — you missed his company dearly despite seeing him merely a few hours ago.
During the hangout you couldn’t help but notice that almost every conversation between Lo’ak and Spider consisted of foreign words that they called “slang”. It was always “cuz” this and “bro” that. It started to get to the point that you began to feel a bit left out because you had no idea what any of these words meant — so you decided to ask them to teach you a bit of their strange vocabulary.
“Bro?” You repeated with a frown, looking at spider for reassurance that you were pronouncing it correctly.
“Yes, bro, it’s short for brother but you can say it to everyone, see bro?” Lo’ak explained, now pointing at Norm who had been eavesdropping on your conversation for the past half an hour — using him as an example to prove that the term could refer to whoever you wished.
“Wait so technically anyone is my bro?”
You were trying your best to grasp the concept of this but none of it made any sense. All this alien terminology was so unusual to you.
Lo’ak and Spider and their slang man, you thought to yourself.
Oh man — another phrase that the boys taught you a while back, this one was even stranger because “man” was the word for a male but was also often used in a sentence whenever someone wanted to express their dissatisfaction for something. When you first heard this, you laughed — who knew the sky people could actually be funny when they weren’t busy trying to colonise your planet.
“Yes, anyone can be your bro.” Lo’ak rolled his eyes at you, speaking extra slowly as if he was explaining to a baby. He had stopped himself from calling you a skxawng many times now because even though you were one of his closest friends, you were still Neteyam’s girl and the mighty warrior was a quite overprotective when it came to you.
Fuck that, he was certain that his brother would kill him in his sleep if you did as much as flutter your eyelashes at him and ask him to politely.
Although you and Neteyam had never properly established your relationship, everyone in the clan knew you belonged to him and that the two of you were bound to become mates sooner or later, actually you pretty sure that many people thought you were bonded already.
It may of had something to do with the fact that you could always be spotted clinging onto him — and if you weren’t, his body would end up finding a way to touch yours, whether it was holding your hand or grabbing onto your waist whenever he saw a man look in your direction.
Before he became busy with his duties, you would spend almost every day together — it was never one without the other. Even though now the two of you didn’t have as many opportunities to see each other, it was like nothing had changed because of how strong your bond was.
Neytiri actually happened to be very fond of you and Neteyam as a pair because she knew of how rare it was for a future leader to find a true love match — she herself was once promised to someone she did not love. When Neteyam was younger, Neytiri would pray that her first born son would be blessed by the great mother to find someone that would see him beyond his title and the second you stepped into the Sully’s lives, she knew that her prayers had been heard.
“Alright so now that we’ve taught her how to say bro, we may as well teach her ‘cuz’. ”
This time it was the blonde with the dreadlocks speaking — you silently hoped that he’d be a better teacher than Lo’ak because that boy seemed to lose his temper every time you made a mistake.
── .✦
If you had known that it would take them till the evening to go through all the weird sky people vocabulary, you wouldn’t have asked them to explain it to you in the first place. Not that you didn’t appreciate their effort — it was just that it really started to itch your brain after twenty minutes.
Thank Eywa you were finally free — you, Spider and Lo’ak made the decision to part ways about an hour ago and even more luckily for you, Neteyam should be starting to head back from training as by now it would usually finish. You couldn’t wait to see him and even more so — impress him with your new terminology.
As you waitied for him to magically appear, you walked around the village, softly humming to yourself. You must have been deep in your thoughts because of how loudly you shrieked when you felt a hand on your shoulder.
Spinning around, your frightened expression turned into one of relief when you saw the man you had been missing alll day!!
A wide smile broke across your face as you practically threw yourself at him “Neteyam!—”
He let out a surprised laugh, catching you easily, his arms wrapping around you in a strong, familiar embrace.
“Someone missed me” he chuckled — burying his face in your neck as one of his hands stroked your long braided hair, twirling a small piece of it around his finger. This type of behaviour was very common for you and Neteyam but this still didn’t stop Kiri from shouting at the two of you to ‘get a room’ every time she encountered you like this.
You relaxed into the hug without thinking, leaning into his muscular toned chest as you continued smiling to yourself like a little girl who just saw her crush wave at her for the first time.
“Bro, I missed you.”
At hearing your words Neteyam’s whole body instantly stiffened. His arms loosened around your waist as he gently took steps back — his amber eyes searching your face to see if you had any idea what you had just called him.
“Bro?”
The sharpness in his voice was like a dagger, although what he said sounded like a question, you knew better to answer it. What have you done wrong? Lo’ak did say that anyone could be your bro and surely that also included Neteyam, right?
“I’m not your bro, tanhi.”
You opened your mouth slightly to speak, but the frightening look in his eyes made you close it again. As a chill crept down your spine — you looked away from the mighty warrior, afraid to hold his gaze. Neteyam rarely ever got mad at you, your arguments were always over the silliest of stuff and so his reaction scared you.
You were also insanely confused.
“Tell me yawne, do you let all your bros touch you like this?”
With every word, he took one step forward, right until his lips were only centimetres away from yours and you could feel his warm breath down your neck. His hands sneaked back onto your waist but don’t stop there — they started to explore your whole body.
You were too stunned at his bold movements to respond. This was not like Neteyam whose touch was always gentle — no, this time it felt possessive.
“Answer me.”
“N—No Nete only you.”
Your words came out in a stutter, your once confident tone gone.
“Good girl, that’s what I thought.” He murmured while his greedy hands travelled further down your body, now settling on your lower back which made your ears perk up. “Tayem what are you—”
“Quiet doll.”
His voice was stern and commanding, as if daring you to go against what he said. He took your silence as a sign of obedience and began placing kisses on your cheek before moving down to your neck, trying to find your most sensitive spot — sucking on it when he finally found it. You gasped as your back slightly arched, the way he was kissing your skin and touching you was driving you crazy. He has never done this before.
“Mhm” you moaned as the muscular na’vi’s hands left your backside and worked their way up to your chest — once reaching your sensitive breasts that were covered with his beads, he gave them a small squeeze, “o—ow!”
This was definitely not the Nete you knew.
After tending to every part of your upper body, he finally smashed his lips onto yours. The mighty warrior kissed you with a fierce, claiming intensity as if you he couldn’t hold back his desires for a second longer. The kiss was deep and consuming, filled with every emotion that he’s ever felt for you.
“Am I still your bro, yawne?” he murmured against your lips, never pulling away.
If you’d known all it would take was calling him ‘bro’ you would’ve done this ages ago.
“No Nete, I-It was Lo’ak and Spider who taught me it” you answered him, now breaking the kiss because of how out of breath you were, a thin string of saliva connecting the two of you for a moment.
His eyes immediately darkened at your words, “those skxawangs did what?”
His voice was low, almost a growl as he fixed his gaze on you. Oh, now he was angry.
“No, no it’s fine, it’s just they told me that I could use it on anyone so I just assumed—”
You rambled, attempting to pull him back by his muscular arm as he tried to make his way to his kelku (home) where knew the two idiots would be.
In which Ryland fingers you while telling you about his day.
AU: No astrophage
Pairing: Ryland Grace x Fem!Reader
Word count: 1.3k
Warnings: MDNI!!! Smut. Vaginal fingering. Smacking/impact play. Name calling (whore). Casual conversation. Dirty talk. Domestic kinda. Dom! Ryland Grace. A little bit of praise. Small ref to another Gosling movie perhaps… The Walking Dead and Dungeon Crawler Carl mentioned. Ryland goes to the gym.
Notes: inspired by a tiktok. NEED this!!!!
Sundays are for cuddles. That’s Ryland’s rule.
Slow, quiet days where you barely leave bed and he can’t seem to keep his hands off you. You wake up to him rolling over, one strong arm settling around your waist, and fall asleep with him holding you close.
After a long day of doing absolutely nothing, you’ve eaten dinner and now you’re back in bed. He’s leaning against the headboard, half-watching The Walking Dead. You’ve both watched it before, so your full attention isn’t exactly mandatory.
You’re tucked between his legs, back pressed against his chest.
Neither of you bothered with shirts, or pants, so it’s just bare skin and underwear. Nobody is around to see you anyway. Plus, you love the feeling of his skin against yours.
One of his hands rests gently on your head, fingers idly threading through your hair, while the other traces slow, steady circles over your stomach.
You giggle at the scene playing out -Daryl and Rick chasing Jesus- and he smiles against your hair, pressing a soft kiss there.
“I think Jesus might be one of my favourite characters,” he murmurs. “He deserves more screentime.”
You nod in agreement, shifting your position to get more comfortable.
“He got a criminally low amount of screentime for such a good character.”
“Mmm,” Ryland’s hand drifts lower, fingers grazing your skin with clear intent. “You know, I never told you what I did yesterday while you were out with your mom.”
“You didn’t,” you breathe. “What did you do?”
“Well,” his fingertips brush over the waistband of your panties. “After you left, I read my new book.”
“The, uh, Dungeon Crawler Carl one, yeah?”
“Right,” he murmurs, still lazily tracing the fabric as he speaks. “I’m enjoying it so far. It’s completely ridiculous, but in a good way.”
“What’s it about?” You’re struggling to focus, already feeling the heat pooling in your lower belly.
“Well, it’s about this guy called Carl, obviously,” he says, finally sliding his hand beneath your panties. His fingers glide through your slick folds without hesitation. “And his cat, Princess Donut the Queen Anne Chonk… or just Princess Donut.”
“Okay,” you spread your legs instinctively. “Where does the dungeon crawler part come into it?”
“Basically, aliens come along and flatten earth,” he continues casually, voice low and steady while his middle finger finds your clit and starts rubbing in slow, lazy circles. “It kills most humans immediately, but the survivors are forced into this galaxy-wide gameshow.”
A soft, needy sound escapes past your lips as he presses a little harder.
“It takes place in an eighteen-level dungeon. Carl only survived because he was outside trying to find Princess Donut after she escaped,” Ryland adds, dipping two fingers lower to tease your dripping entrance, “and he was sent to the dungeon in nothing but boxers, a leather jacket and pink crocs.”
“O-Kay,” you say, forcing your voice to stay steady. “What else happens?”
“Well, there’s a system AI that’s kind of obsessed with Carl’s feet,” he says, gathering your slick on his fingers. “I only got about seven chapters in, but it was great.”
Your breath hitches at his touch. “Wh-what did you do after that?”
“I went to the gym for an hour,” he answers calmly, still half-watching the TV as he drags your slick back up and starts rubbing tight, firm circles over your throbbing clit. “Then got coffee with one of the guys I’m friendly with.”
“That sounds- ah- nice,” you gasp, digging your nails into his thighs. “That Colt dude again?”
“Yep,” he hums as he dips down again, pressing two fingers deep into your soaked cunt and curling them slowly. “I didn’t know until today that he’s a stuntman.”
You bite back a moan, pussy fluttering and squeezing around the intrusion. “Re-really? That’s so cool. Has he been in anything we’ve seen?”
“I don’t actually know. Didn’t get the chance to ask because he got a call and had to run.”
He starts pumping his fingers faster, plunging them deep into your pussy. “Anyway, after that I went to Dog Eared Books.”
“Again? You literally just- ngh- started reading a new one.”
“I know,” he chuckles, curling his fingers hard into that perfect spot inside you that makes your vision spark white. “I was just looking this time.”
You close your eyes, moaning breathlessly, completely lost for words as your hips buck against his hand.
“I found some new books to add to my list,” he carries on like nothing is happening, voice still steady and conversational. “Recursion and Children of Time. Apparently they’re both really good, I’m not sure how I hadn’t heard of them before.”
You nod weakly, too distracted by the way relentlessly fucking you with his thick fingers, stretching your cunt open with every thrust.
“But I am gonna get the other Dungeon Crawler Carl books, too,” he says, adjusting his hand so his thumb can grind against your clit.
The dual attack of sensations completely fries your brain and you just moan shamelessly in response, loud and desperate. He’s still talking, but his words are hardly registering. All you can think about is how soaked you are, the lewd sounds your pussy is making around his fingers and the overwhelming pressure on your sensitive clit.
He pauses, looking down at your wrecked expression for a moment before his free hand suddenly delivers a sharp slap across your face.
“Are you even listening to me?”
Your cunt clenches around his fingers at the impact and you can yet again only moan in response. The contrast of the still relentless sensation of his fingers inside you and the sting on your cheek is dizzying.
He frowns and curls his fingers viciously against your g-spot, smacking you harder this time.
“I asked you a question,” he murmurs. “Are you gonna answer me, or are you too busy focusing on what I’m doing to your pussy?”
“I- fuck,” you whine, reaching for words and failing.
“Oh, baby,” he coos mockingly. “Use your words and answer my question. I’m sitting here telling you about my day, and all you can do is moan like a brainless whore.”
“Yes!” You moan brokenly. “I’m list-listening, I- ngh- promise.”
“Good,” he murmurs, pumping his fingers slowly now. “You gonna keep listening?”
“Mhm,” you nod quickly. “Fuck, Ry. Please.”
He laughs and speeds up again, resuming the pressure on your clit too.
“Where was I? Oh, yeah. Books,” he says, trailing his hand down your chest. “I’m gonna try to read more this year, that’s my goal.”
“O-okay,” you grit out, grinding against his hand. You can feel your orgasm ebbing closer.
“Anyway, after the bookstore I went to the grocery store and got stuff for dinner,” he continues, tone conversational again. “Then I came home and did some cleaning.”
“Y-yeah, I did notice that- ah- you’d cleaned the kitchen,” you say, voice broken. “Thank- shit, thank you.”
“No problem,” he smiles, hand stopping to grope at one of your tits. “I didn’t really do much else, and then you came home.”
You open your mouth to respond and he moves away from your tit, pressing two fingers against your tongue.
“It’s okay, baby. I’m done now, focus on feeling good,” he mutters.
You nod and swirl your tongue around his fingers, moans muffled as you reach your peak.
“So good for me,” he breathes, removing his fingers from your mouth and using them to circle a hard nipple.
“Ry!” You cry out pathetically. “I’m gonna cum, fuck, please don’t stop- ah- just like that!”
“Wasnt planning on it,” he curls his fingers once more and you arch your back, clenching around him and soaking his hand with your juices.
“That’s it,” he breathes, not stopping until you’ve come down from your high. “Good girl.”
You press back against him, panting heavily.
He looks down at you, eyes twinkling with amusement as you tilt your head to stare at him hazily.
“There she is,” he kisses your forehead. “Was that good? I didn’t hit you too hard, right?”
“That was…” you start, and then trail off. “Hit me harder next time.”
