#i love how clark got so nervous so fast when lois asked him out when will it be my turn

[filobooster]

dallas theatre center 2010 production clois my beloved

[eartht137]

FOR THE BETTER pt. IV

Okay cuvies here is part 4. It's shorter than the other's, that's because the good stuff is coming and I couldn't wait to get started on it, so I went ahead and got this one out of the way. Oh my gosh, my stomach was in a ball writing this part. I wrote the new partner(Your/Date's/Name {y/d/n}) as they/them, just wanted to keep the possibilities open for imagination. Part 5 will posted soon, I will try my best to get on it asap. Alright, as always enjoy. Love ya MMMMMwahhhhhh!

Dark Clark Kent x Black!Plus Size Reader

Warnings: Clark Kent is a butt munch in this chapter, minor character death, fire.

You were feeling really anxious. You had picked out what you deemed the perfect dress and heels for your date. You wore minimal makeup, just enough to accent you features an your hair looked flawless, but you kept feeling nervous. You got a text from your date and walked out to meet them.

"Wow!" They said completely stunned. "You look absolutely breathtaking."

"Thanks, I'm a bit nervous, I don't dress like this often." You giggled feeling butterflies in your stomach.

"Its okay, you're safe with me." They said smiling and leading you to their car. Once you made it to the restaurant you took a deep breath to steel your nerves and went to get out, but they softly grabbed your hand. "Y/n, I promise we'll have a great time." They gave you a sweet peck on the back of your hand. "Now, let me get the door for you."

When you walked inside, you saw Clark and Lois waiting for you. Lois looked amazing and you were surprised when she hugged you. Clark looked handsome as he always did, but there was something a bit off about him that you couldn't put your finger on. Clark couldn't tear his eyes from you. He'd always wanted you to dress up for him and to finally see you so beautiful, he couldn't look away. When he saw your date place their hand on your lower back as you all walked to your table, he wanted to burn the world, his grip on Lois' hand tightened making her flinch. He eased his grip but his eyes were focused on you. After getting seated and ordering, Lois asked how you both met and things spiraled fast.

"So, Y/d/n, what do you do?" Clark said finally speaking up after spending the first part of the date silent. It caught you all off guard and an awkward silence passed before they finally spoke up.

"Okay, so I work at Lou's, the café on-"

"Madison, yeah I come there from time to time for lunch." Lois said smiling and recognizing them. "I always get the-"

"Americano, yeah, oh my gosh you're that reporter from the Daily right? Geez, my mom loves all your articles, she-"

"So what are you studying?" Clark asked cutting them off again. Your smile dropped and your stomach began to turn to knots.

"Studying? I-"

"Where are you from? Do you live here in the city? How old are you?" Clark grilled.

"Clark!" Lois said nudging him.

"What?" he said with an unbothered air. "I'm just getting to know them since they'll be dating my best friend." Clark shot at you, and you glared at him wanting to slap him for being so rude. At one point you swore you saw his eyes flash red, and you blinked a few times to make sure you weren't going crazy.

"Oh uh, well-I don't mind answering his questions-"

"It'd be best that you do." Clark warned and all you could do was stare at him like he'd grown an extra head. You could not believe how he was behaving and you didn't understand why.

"Uh, I'm going to go to the restroom." Y/d said getting up and quickly taking off towards the restroom.

When you saw them make it to the restroom, you exploded.

"Clark? Dude what the fuck is your deal?" You grit out at him, trying to keep your voice low.

"I'm not sure I know what you mean." He replied as if he did nothing wrong.

"Fucking chill dude. You're supposed to be happy for me." you said trying not to snap at him.

"Happy?" He scoffed and chuckled. "Y/n you've seen me happy and I promise you I'm far from it." He had completely shut down any hope of the night turning around. You could tell from there things would keep getting worse, and they did."

"Okay, what the hell is going on between you two? Are you sleeping with her?" Lois said face ears turning red.

"Oh god no! Lois please don't-oh my god where did you get that from?" you said really nervous because that was not what you wanted her to think of you.

"Then what is this? Huh? Why are you doing this Clark?" she asked arms crossed in front of her.

"Doing what, protecting her like I'm supposed to?" He defended. "Being here for her like I'm supposed to? Making sure she can see this is all bullshit?" He said defending his actions.

"Just tell her geez. Tell her nothing is happening." you begged wanting the whole stupid ordeal to be over.

"Nothing is happening between us." He finally droned out never breaking eye contact with you.

"But you want it to. Don't you?" She asked as if she knew the answer, but you could tell by her reaction to his silence that it was not what she truly expected. His silence was louder that the chatter in the restaurant. She got up and stormed out and all you could do, was sit and stare in disbelief. You couldn't believe him at all. All of the hard work you'd put in to be respectful to their relationship. All of the hard work of finally allowing someone in your life that you felt you could trust, was shattered in that moment. Yes, you were shocked, but it became hard to breathe when you realized he wasn't remorseful about what had happened. Your date finally emerging from the restroom caught your attention and you tried to go to them, but Clark grabbed your wrist, he gently brought your hand to his lips. He inhaled deeply and gave your palm a long kiss before linking your fingers together.

"It will be awhile, but I'll see you soon little bird." He whispered before calmly getting up and leaving. A strong sense of dread filled your chest. You could feel a big blow up happening and your brain went into survival mode trying to figure out how to avoid it. Your date made their way back to you, pulling you into a warm embrace before you could apologize for something you didn't do. You felt like it was your fault, but they assured you they still wanted to be with you. That night, they took you to their place to stay the night and decompress from everything that had transpired. They were very respectful and did everything they could to cheer you up and make you feel safe. You finally admitted that you wanted to be held and they cuddled you making you feel comfortable, but you still felt unsafe. You couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, and you couldn't shake the feeling that danger was approaching.

After all was said and done you didn't hear or see Clark for weeks and while you felt a bit better, you also missed him. You missed the friend he was to you, the fun you had with him, but no matter how much you missed him, you understood that things just weren't the same. Clark had stopped showing up for lecture and he was soon replaced with another professor. While it seemed as if he was gone, you could still smell him in our apartment from time to time and you figured it was just his cologne lingering in the fabric of you couch, at least that's what you hoped it was. You didn't want to even imagine that he was breaking into your apartment. Different times, you'd be in a deep sleep and you'd swear you could hear him talking to you as if he were really there. You'd wake up and be alone. It happened often enough that you started staying the night at your partner's place, but after awhile the same thing would happen there. You began to think you were losing it, but you finally convince yourself that you were being paranoid and there was no way he could be doing any of it.

One day, you were spending your lunch break with your partner at Lou's. The day had been pretty slow and it wasn't very crowded. You were laughing and joking around when you heard a loud thud and what sounded like metal scraping and tearing on the roof. Quicker than you could comprehend, the whole roof was torn from the building. You along with everyone else went into screams and panic. You and your partner ducked behind the counter and watched as a man in a black skin tight suit and cape descend down into the café. You were scared, but when you saw his face, you were scared shitless. You gasped and it caught his attention. He turned and saw you with your partner and his eyes glowed red before searing hot beams shot out at you two. You ran and ducked under a table for cover. You realized your partner didn't follow you and you tried to go back to them, but the beams chased you to the other side of the restaurant.

"Y/n!!!" Your partner yelled out reaching to you. You watched in terror as the he turned his attention back to your partner and used his beams to sever their hand. They screamed so loud your chest clenched. Tears streamed your face and all you could do was watch them writhe in pain holding their arm, but still looking to you.

"I've come to take you home little bird." you heard Clark say as he stalked closer to you. Your eyes flicked between him and your partner thinking of anything you could do to save them and get them help for their now missing hand. Clark stepped in front of you, blocking your view of them. He softly caressed your face, wiping your falling tears. He was so close, closer than he'd ever been outside of a hug. His furious features softened as he looked into your frightened eyes.

"Y/n." You heard your partner say weakly.

"I'll go. I will go with you, don't hurt them. Please."

Clark didn't say anything as he wrapped his strong arms around you and lifted you in the air with him. You were petrified, you hated heights. You watched as he looked back and shot beams at the café, setting the place ablaze. You screamed, watching the fire engulf the building and erase the last view of your partner. You screamed so loud your throat burned. Clark used his cape to block your vision and took off so fast everything turned black. You were thankful for the pitch black vision behind your eyes, but it was short lived as the scene flashed before your eyes causing you to whimper.

"Shh, we'll be home soon." He cooed as he flew you to where he called your home. "Its okay now, everything will be as it should be."

[supermanshield]

But not all of them, he loves

~~~

If anyone’s heart is big enough to love two people, it’s Clark’s. 

~~~

This deals with polyamory and open relationships. Clark/Lois and Clark/Bruce. The main focus of the fic is Clark/Bruce, but it’s angsty.

Words: 2,896

A/N: The timeline/continuity on this is weird, maybe. The boys are still quite young (I imagine them at the end of their 20s in this), have maybe been superheroing for a couple years max. There is a league.

Read on AO3

______________________________________________

Jimmy’s chosen the place. He’s absolutely star-struck and aware of the company he’s in, but keeps it cool as he leads their little party into a relatively quiet bar in downtown Metropolis. Barry had suggested a karaoke place in Tokyo, and Clark had to remind him that not everyone he wanted to invite would be able to fly, run, or teleport there. So, Barry is here, in civvies, and Hal with him. Behind them enters an eerily human-looking J’onn, and John Stewart, even though he’s not in the league anymore, but he tells a damn good story and Clark wouldn’t want one of his closest friends to miss his bachelor party. Pete has flown out here all the way from Smallville, just for him.

As if by miracle, Bruce has shown up too, although he keeps looking over his shoulder when they’re still out on the street, high-collared jacket and baseball cap obscuring his face. Clark is happy to see him take it off once they’re inside, but some of that fades when he notices the stiches above one of his eyebrows and makeup covering a bruise on his left cheek.

When they’re all finally settled around a large table tucked into the back of the bar – it’s quiet, even for a Friday, but you can never be too careful, and Clark is happy he let Jimmy choose the location because he obviously knows his way around Metropolis nightlife – Oliver walks in, large grin plastered onto his face. Bruce looks as if he wants to castrate him, grumbles something about discretion and leaving any society reporters at the door. The two billionaires argue back and forth a bit, Clark hears Oliver mention something about it being fine that he parked his helicopter on top of the Metropolis branch of Wayne Enterprises, and yes. They’re complete. The night of his bachelor party is underway.

Lois is with Diana, Cat, and a couple of other friends. Clark has offered to let everyone choose, they didn’t have to do the traditional men-women thing, but Diana said she would choose Lois’ bachelor party over his any day of the week. To which, of course, Lois was absolutely rub-it-in-your-face for about a week. That Wonder Woman wanted to party with her, and not with him, and somewhere, Clark can’t wait to hear what they’re getting up to right now. Everything at its time, though.

He orders everyone a round of drinks, Hal claps him on the back (which he immediately regrets and Clark is the one to apologize), there’s toasts.

“Are you nervous, man? I know I was,” Hal starts. “They say nothing changes, it’s just a piece of paper, blabla, but it does!” Everyone laughs. “I’m telling you, the moment you get back from your honeymoon, you’re knee deep in domesticity and no more going out.”

“I don’t think that will be much of a problem with Lois, Hal. Although we did have that a little bit when Jon arrived. But Lois couldn’t wait to get back out.” It’s Clark’s turn to laugh.

“If anything, she’ll start dragging you out to more things,” Jimmy adds gleefully and winks at Clark.

“Anyway,” Oliver starts, holds up his glass. “Last night as a free man!” Clark’s never really understood that. Lois has already captured him a long time ago in so many ways. All of them he loves, but he raises his half-empty glass anyway.

The table settles into a comfortable chit-chat, more jokes about Clark, stories of the early days of the league, memories and laughs. Somehow, his gathered and stray group of friends mixes surprisingly well, for which he’s grateful. Maybe this really won’t be so bad, and tomorrow will be the best day of his life (or so they say).

-

Amid the chatter, he looks at Bruce on the other side of the table, utterly out of place between their friends in a dark brown bar and jazz music playing softly. As Clark talks and laughs with the others, Bruce looks back at him. The gaze unsettles him, as it always does, makes him question things, as it always does. It shouldn’t. Not anymore.

(He’s chosen. A long time ago in fact. Lois is the one that waits for him, all the time. That doesn't turn him away. The one to make him laugh and feel at home in a city where no one knows each other. The one that holds him at night when the world has been too much. Bruce can simply never be that.)

---

“We should stop,” Bruce breathes, inch away from his mouth and the wall of the cave wet behind his cape.

“She’s okay with it.”

“To what extent?”

Clark sighs, swallows. “I don’t know, exactly.”

“That’s something you might want to consider discussing.” Bruce turns away before he can come up with a reply. The rock crumbles under his hand and Bruce tells him to leave when he reaches the computer.

---

“… and then Hal went and actually asked her for it! You should have been there!” The group’s laughter pulls him out of his thoughts and he laughs along meekly when Pete taps him on the shoulder. “You okay?”

“Yeah… yeah, I’m fine.”

“Not getting cold feet are we, Clark?” Oliver asks.

He looks at Bruce. “No.”

-

The night eventually takes them back out onto the streets, half of them already stumbling as they make their way out of the small bar, but the cool night air sobers them up. Jimmy hangs onto Clark’s shoulders, Barry tries to jump onto his back for a piggyback ride, but Clark is fast to blur away, too fast for Barry, who, despite his fast metabolism, is a little intoxicated.

“So, what now? Night’s still young.”

“That it is, Hal. If you’re on the west coast.” Oliver has his hands in his pockets, Bruce’s cap is back over his eyes.

“Hey, supes can just fly around the world and spin back the clock a little, yeah?”

“You know I can’t actually do that, right? Ask Barry.”

“Nope, not tonight. I’ll throw up.”

“Not to mention you’ll mess up big time.”

“Any other good joints around here, Jimmy?” John asks.

“Plenty. What do you say, Clark? Another bar? Something more adventurous?”

“I have an apartment close to here,” Bruce cuts in. “Bar’s fully stocked.”

“Of course you do.”

“Don’t you?” Bruce raises an eyebrow at Oliver. “Comes in handy when I have to keep an eye on a certain Superguy around here.”

The small crowd looks at Clark, awaiting answer. “Sure,” he shrugs. “It has a nice view.”

---

Lois is pregnant at home on the couch and he’s in an unfamiliar bed, away from her. The apartment feels cold, not kept by Alfred, and only illuminated by a bright moon streaming through the sheer curtains draped across large windows. The bed sheets are white, the walls light, and the corners angular, modern. A bigger contrast with Bruce’s bedroom at the manor is near impossible.

“I don’t know what you want anymore, Clark,” Bruce says as he rolls away from him, sits up. “Don’t you like this place?”

“Bruce. You bought a penthouse in downtown Metropolis. For what? To be closer?”

“It seemed convenient.”

“Don’t talk to me about convenience when I could fly to Gotham in less than a minute.”

“You know what I mean.” When the baby arrives.

“Bruce,” he starts again. But gets stuck, because what does that mean? He swallows, makes a decision in the span of a second. “I won’t be here. He’s going to need a dad. Lois needs me.”

“Okay. That’s clear.” Bruce gets up. “Okay,” he says again as he walks to the bathroom.

Yet after that, there’s the bed, cold and warmed up by their bodies on a chance night, or a take-out dinner on the couch, a documentary running quietly on the large flatscreen TV while they talk. Lois never asks, but only because she knows. Jon grows healthily, strong, Lois falls asleep in Clark’s arms, and he feeds Jon in the middle of the night.

---

Now, the apartment smells clean, the fridge is empty but the pantry fully stocked. And the bar, as Bruce said. Two couches face each other in front of large windows, Clark knows which door leads to the bedroom. He doesn’t look at it.

Bruce switches on all the lights, it floods the place in yellow. It’s bright in a way Clark’s never seen it, he realizes. He pulls out a couple of bottles, asks the others what they want. A mirror of Brucie Wayne, host and not how Clark has ever seen him, here.

“You been here before, Clark?” Jimmy asks.

“Yes,” he admits.

“Sweet place.”

The group gets comfortable on the couches, Bruce suggests they could play pool, and Clark has a hard time imagining Bruce doing anything so casual. He wonders if he’s good at it, if he’s played here before, with anyone else. The pool table is new.  

John draws up some kind of a tournament, teams are formed and bets are placed. Clark sits on one of the couches next to Bruce, watching the others play, another beer in hand and Bruce has started a glass of whiskey. He’s savouring it, clearly enjoying the flavour and laughs at Barry’s jokes, J’onn’s overly serious tactics at the pool table. Clark can’t get a grasp on how normal Bruce looks, how calm, as if nothing will change tomorrow. Here, of all places and it’s somehow not fake.

He realizes, Bruce brought them here to abandon the illusion that were those slow, quiet nights. It’s a normal apartment, he says with this. It will be, now. After tomorrow. A comforting thought as much as a terrifying one.

The cashmere of Bruce’s turtleneck is soft under his fingers when he reaches out to him and there’s a glint in his eyes that Clark is unable to read, hasn’t seen in a long time.

“Can I try a glass of that too?”

“I didn’t know you were into whiskey.”

“Hey, it’s my bachelor night. I got taste buds.”

Bruce smiles. “Sure.”

Clark leans against the large island counter as Bruce reaches for a whiskey glass that he could have easily found himself.

“It doesn’t have to end,” he says to Bruce’s back.

“Doesn’t it.”

The soft kitchen light hits Bruce’s shoulders just so, accentuates his jaw, and makes him yearn for simpler times. Bruce on one of the bar stools, humming as he tastes the food Clark’s cooked for him, same light, same cashmere sweater. Who was the one to complicate it anyway? Briefly, Clark wonders if he’s made a mistake by asking Lois to marry him, but no. Bruce is the mistake. Clark was just the one to make it.

“I mean,” he starts. “I don’t know. What difference does marriage make, anyway?” Clark laughs. It comes out hollow.

“This ended a while ago, Clark. Tonight is merely closure.”

Bruce is right, of course. “Okay.”

Bruce hands him the glass, their fingers touch, and that’s it. He sends him a look, one that says are you, though? but Clark doesn’t know how to respond to that, so he just walks back to the living room. It’s his turn at pool.

-

Not an hour later Clark finds himself on the bed, the carpet in front of him only illuminated by the faint light reflected off the clouds over Metropolis. Raindrops stick to the large windows as they trickle down, and isn’t that ironic? Rain in Metropolis the night before Superman gets married.

“Thought I might find you here.” Laughter and yelling drift into the room before Bruce quietly shuts the door again.

“I just needed a minute to come to terms with the fact that we just... broke up, I think?”

Bruce stays in the middle of the room. “You knew that would happen. You chose.”

“I did.”

“Then stop with the guilt. I’ll be fine." His expresssion softens. "I have a kid to take care of now, too.”

“He’s great,” Clark smiles. “I know you will be.”

“Worried about yourself then?”

“I think I’ll just miss you. Miss this.”

Clark gets up and walks past Bruce. The glass of the window is cold under his touch, the street far below them. Bruce's fingertips white, his palm pressed flat again the glass, same view. He kisses Bruce's neck, tells him he loves him. He chooses those moments carefully, when it barely registers, when Bruce is almost physically unable to respond. But he makes sure he knows, anyway.

“Me too.” Bruce’s hand is on his arm now, turning Clark towards him. Bruce has captured him too, in many ways. But not all of them he loves.

(It’s hard to love Bruce Wayne. It’s hard not to love him.)

A tentative smile forms on Bruce’s face. “Last night as a free man, right?” Bruce’s offer is tempting, they’re already crowding each other’s space, heartbeats loud and it won’t take much more now. But that will only make it harder. Clark shakes his head. Still, he hugs Bruce closer, caresses his temple, mindful of the stitches on his brow. Bruce leans into the touch.

“Why does it feel so wrong to love two people, Bruce?”

Bruce huffs. “Society. Most people don’t have a big enough heart. Plus, partners cannot deal with the jealousy.”

“But you do.”

“I’m not Lois, nor is she me.”

They could never replace one another. Clark’s breathing feels restricted, his throat thick, in spite of Bruce’s comforting presence. “What if I don’t want to choose?”

“Then don’t.” Bruce’s hand moves up along Clark’s arm. “Then don’t.”

He isn’t sure who starts the kiss, but their noses touch, breathing the same air, lips brush. There’s no tongue. It’s not a start, not tonight. It’s an end.

“I’m sorry.” Sorry for loving you. Sorry for choosing Lois. Sorry for everything we did together.

“Don’t be.” Bruce is the one to make sure there is some breathing room between them again, his hand lingers. “You and I both know I've always been number two. And I... was okay with that. It was enough. In fact,” he chuckles. “It was almost too much.”

The cave is only illuminated by the blue light of the computer monitor as Clark lifts Bruce out of his chair, already fast asleep. Alfred watches from a distance and thanks Clark for arriving so fast. On those night, he sleeps next to Bruce, just to keep him in bed. On nights that Bruce pushes him away, stuck in a case and his anger almost palpable, even Superman admits defeat. Clark waits for him upstairs and eventually leaves through the window before dawn to go back to Metropolis, bed unslept in.

He’ll make sure Bruce is fine without him. Alfred knows who to call.

“I want to move out to the farm with them. Jon needs room to grow. Rao knows I did.” He smiles at the memories of Kansas, yellow fields and endless sky where he learnt to fly, where he could be himself.

“Stubborn. Thinking you can take Lois out of the city.” Bruce doesn’t know they’ve already talked about it. “But that’s good. I’ll make sure to visit with Dick and Alfred.”

“We can play baseball.” Outside, the rain has stopped, the sky slowly turning lighter.

Bruce throws him something as he walks back to the door. The key to the apartment. “Stay here tonight.”

“It’s morning.”

“Whatever. I’m going home, I’ll see you at the wedding.”

“Catch some sleep,” Clark tries before Bruce opens the door, but he’s already gone.

In the living room, the others are in various states of consciousness. John and J’onn, back in his alien form, are still wrapped up in their game of pool, Barry and Hal asleep on the couch and Jimmy and Pete passed out on the other. The coffee table between them is littered with beers and glasses. Oliver has his forehead on the cool marble of the kitchen island. He turns his face to Clark.

“Bruce just left without saying anything. What happened?”

Clark thinks, shrugs. “Not important. He gave me the key, we can stay here until we’re ready to go to the wedding in a couple hours.”

“A couple hours…” Oliver groans.

“Is that an early wedding gift, Clark?” John asks from over by the pool table.

Clark looks at the key in his hand. “No,” he chuckles. “I’m pretty sure he’ll want it back.”

“I’ll never understand the guy.”

“Don’t even try. That’s what we have Clark for,” Oliver says to the marble counter.

“I mean, I like to think I’ve got a pretty good grasp of him, but he surprises me too.” His soft insides contrasted by a hard shell, blackened by trauma and the night. His cryptic language that is like a puzzle for Clark to unfold, understand, reciprocate. They’ll still have that, have friendship. And the memories of time spent together.

In the distance, he hears Bruce’s heartbeat speeding back to Gotham. With him, doubt that leaves Clark, replaced with a light and excitement. He looks out the window up at the blue sky over the city. He’s getting married today.

He regards his friends, a bunch of gathered individuals, outcasts like himself who have found each other through Clark, through the purpose of trying to do good. “Who wants breakfast? I’ll go get eggs.”

[singeramg]

Midnight: Chapter 4

A/n: I bet you thought I was going to make you wait. Honestly I couldn’t apparently I have the patience of a Gnat. I hate waiting and seeing as i’m ready for Clark to show up here it is. I will say this mostly follows Justice League, but of course with the addition of my OFC. As always you guys are awesome! 

Warnings: Mild Violence, Language, Slow Burn

Pairing: Clark Kent- Superman/ Metahuman! Black!OFC

Rating: Eventual M

In case you are behind: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Midnight: Chapter 4

*Flashback * Just about 4 years ago

I could hear people screaming, I was moving as fast as I could. 

Buildings and cars burned as people ran away screaming, crying as their lives crumbled in front of their eyes. I was doing my best to try and save the innocent people all needing my help. Lex Luther had created a monster. Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman were all fighting. It would make no sense for me to go up there yet, not when so many lives are held in the balance, not when Clark basically forbade me to go. 

 I was helping the last of the families in a 6 story building get out, when the energy in the atmosphere changed. More specifically, Clark’s energy had shifted. He normally radiated an enormous amount of power that I could feel from anywhere in the state, and it made my powers increase by proxy, but something was wrong, it was going down, and I could feel my own power decreasing. 

I took off, pushing myself to the limit, leaping from building to building trying to get to him. I landed on the building across the street just as Clark flew himself into the monster, pushing some sort of spear into himself. The glowing green tip clearly infected with the one type of element that would weaken him. I cried out feeling his energy fade as Batman and Lois surrounded him.

I pushed as much of the energy I could, but it did no good. I was getting ready to jump to the next building, but when I felt his energy die out, it was pointless.

I screamed in agony, the windows nearby shattering in distress, Batman took a look around at my voice, but wasted no time taking off, Woman in tow, leaving Lois to cry over Clark’s body. I leaped, landing on the roof. Lois looked at me, tears running down her face. I knew I had to look similar. I dropped to my knees next to him. Grasping his hand, pushing energy again, but it was not returned. 

He was gone. 

The realization just allowed for new flood or tears as I dropped my head to his still chest for the man I considered a friend. I cried for what we could have been. Openly sobbing for Clark leaving this world thinking I hated him. I was weeping for the loss of Clark Kent, the man I had fallen in love with despite knowing he would never love me back…

*End Flashback*

I wiped a few stray tears that had fallen down my cheek as I remembered the night Clark had passed. He never had any clue I was pregnant and neither did I. I had no clue that my son would also lose the opportunity to know how great his father was. If I were being honest with myself I didn’t know if I would have told him. If this plan of Bruce Wayne’s worked, and Clark didn’t come back as a shadow of himself, I still wanted to stay far away. I had been doing a great job of raising Kalen by myself. I wouldn’t run the risk of Superman deciding I wasn’t worthy and taking my son. 

No I wouldn’t tell him. I couldn’t...

Bruce agreed to let me come back to meet the team to revive Clark tomorrow, but only after Kalen woke up. Ms. Alphonse was more than okay with watching Kalen for me and while I didn’t tell her where I was going she understood. I didn’t expect to be gone more than a day at worst. I made Kalen breakfast, and when he woke up he seemed to feel much better.

 “Mommy I’m hungry!” He says excitedly. 

He is strong enough to get himself into the kitchen chair, where I sat his paw patrol place mat and eventually the matching  plate with his food on it. I let him get about halfway done, before he got too full and fidgety to listen.

 “Alright baby so when you are done eating I’m going to take you over to Ms. A’s house. Mama has to go away overnight, so you get to have a fun sleepover with her okay.”

Tears welled up in his eyes as the fork clanged on the plastic plate.

 “I wanna go, Plwease??”

  “You can’t come with mommy this time, but I promise when I get back tomorrow we will have a fun day together, just you and me.”

He begins to cry harder and I pull him into my arms. Even at three he was getting to big for me to hold, but I would hold him until I couldn’t anymore. 

  “I think Ms. A is gonna be really sad if you don’t go with her. I need you to be a big boy for me. Help protect her for me please?”

I said wiping tears off of his face he sniffs into my neck, and I grab a paper towel wiping his nose. 

He finally calms down enough for me to get him dressed and down the hall. I left my extra key with Ms. Alphonse. Dressed in a pair of jeans, a dark blue half shirt and black leather jacket with matching rider boots. My hair sat in a messy bun on the top of my head so I couldn’t have to bother with it if I needed to shift my outfit. I leaned down to his height, kissing his cheeks and hugging him, tickling him around his sides and stomach, making him laugh in glee. 

  “Kalen Joseph Smith I love you very much. You be good for Ms. A and if I get a good report I will take you for some ice cream when I get home.” Excited he began jumping around.

  “Kalen be good and strong and brave.” He says to me in a small voice.

I didn’t want to leave him even if I would only be gone that day. 

   “Mommy loves you. Gimme a hug!”

He jumps into my arms with the biggest hug he could manage.

I said my goodbyes and looked at my phone where Bruce texted me that he had sent a car for me and it was waiting downstairs...

*Later*

Man as if I wasn’t already in pain from leaving my son, I was about to lose my shit. I had serious reservations about this rag tag team Bruce Wayne put together. They could hate me and if things went south with Clark then I would be the next target, by affiliation. I sighed, and sat back as the driver navigated various turns until I found myself back in Metropolis. I was guided to Star Labs, a place I knew did phenomenal work in various fields. If life had planned out differently for me then I could have fancied myself as a scientist or something, but it was not in the cards for me. I came into the large chamber not truly prepared by the on-slot of eyes on me also that everyone would be in uniform. I waved my hand, my outfit melting into my suit and mask.

  “Bruce, who is this?” Asked Wonder Woman and everyone else was on the defensive ready to attack me. I rolled my eyes, then used them to glare at the man in the bat suit.

  “Damn it Bruce. If you are going to call a girl in at least make sure you tell folks. I prefer not to have my ass handed to me by Wonder Woman.”

I smiled at her and she seemed to relax some. Bruce came over to stand next to me handing me a comm, and watched me as I put it in.

  “She is here for backup only. A little insurance for those of us that are skeptical about Clark’s return to the world. This is Midnight.”

I smiled at everyone, and took a seat on some nearby steps of the craft, leaning back on the steps behind me. I had a shield up already if any of them tried anything. 

  “You seem really relaxed for the situation we are in.” Said a young boy in a red suit, clearly unsure of me, but not willing to go against the grain. He had a lot of nervous energy and as for everyone else it was much of the same and Aquaman had only relaxed a fraction since I showed up. He was very powerful as well. I shrugged in a nonchalant way which annoyed Aquaman and amused the half Cyborg and The Red-suit. 

   “I am only here to make sure he doesn’t kill anyone. More specifically, any of you. He wakes up and I’m gone like I was never here.”

   “Let’s get this show on the road.” Bruce says and the team seems to get on board. They explain the plan as it’s modified to where the boy in the suit says he can generate enough energy to start the machine. The plan went into action and I shifted the light fields around me to become invisible. A skill I picked up after Clark’s death. Honestly I thought it was a subconscious way to disappear because I wanted so badly to do so. Now it was a valuable defensive skill.

As the cube touches the water, time seems to slow down for me but in reality it doesn’t. Seconds later Clark shoots out of the water, busting a hole through the alien spacecraft. The sudden return of his energy to my immediate vicinity caught me completely off guard. It had been a long time since I felt energy like this course though me. I dropped to my knees, coughing a  fit, trying to adjust was painful. Batman came over to me, knowing where I was due to the heat signature in his mask.

  “Are you okay Midnight?”

  “I am *cough* fine. Clark just has an enormous amount of energy. I will be fine in a few moments, just go make sure he is okay. I’ll join you guys soon.”

We heard the sounds of a fight starting above and Batman left me. I coughed again and scrambled to my feet. A quick scan told me Clark’s energy was all over the place and he was confused. I knew it would not turn out good for anyone the longer I stayed down. I leaped out the same hole Clark had created with my newfound energy, and if I were being honest with myself it was like breathing again. Actually with all of them in the same area as me, I had never felt more powerful. 

I landed just as Clark hovered over Wonder Woman, ready to actually hurt her. I tossed up a shield just as Batman appeared.

  “I know you.” Clark says leaving from in front of her to fly to Bruce before I could toss a shield. He had him lifted in the air by his face after kicking his ass. 

                    “You won’t let me live, you won’t let me die.”

He growls and I could feel Bruce panicking although he wouldn’t outwardly admit it. I tried to formulate a shield between the two of them. It would be the equivalent of standing between them and pushing at Clark’s chest. 

It got Clark's attention but not in the way I wanted. He tossed Batman like a rag doll, I tossed some sort of shield his way to soften the blow of the ground, but because it was so hasty I was sure I would hurt. Meanwhile I had no time to prepare myself for Clark slamming into me, then reach up and grab me by the neck. 

  “I may not be able to see you, but it won’t stop me from killing you.”

He growled in my face and I grasped at my neck, trying to pull him off of me. I could have blasted him back, I was strong enough to do that, but that would hurt him, maybe even irreparably. I couldn’t hurt this man even if I tried.

      “Clark Please Don't.”

I choked out and recognition in his eyes as The Clark we all knew returned and I could feel my visibility returning as my oxygen levels depleted.

  “CLARK!”

We both heard and his head whipped behind him. He didn’t toss me as he had done to Batman. He sat me down gently as I coughed and he ran to Lois, it was always her. It would always be her. 

It didn’t hurt any less for him to fly away with her in his arms. 

I wiped the blood from my nosebleed caused by the choking. I shifted back into full visibility as Bruce groaned from where he landed behind me.

               “Oh something is definitely bleeding.”

I don’t know why but that was hilarious to me and I started laughing even though it hurt my throat.

    “Yeah I told you Clark was gonna beat your ass on sight.”

He actually laughed with me as the team came over. The joy of laughter quickly ended as a major shift of energy happened and suddenly this horned figure appeared. Taking the cube looking thing, I shot a blast of electric type energy it it’s direction but it still managed to get away.

     “Steppenwolf has the third box.”

I dropped my head back on the grass in frustration...

A/n: So here is Clark... I once again I am excited about this story!

[sweetwriting]

TimKon Week 2020 Day 4: Happy Birthday to You!

Category: Gen or Pre-slash

Genre: Angst/Fluff, mostly fluff

Fandoms: DC Comics, Teamverse

Continuity: Post-Crisis/Pre-Flashpoint Future AU

Summary:  What kind of birthday party do you give a kid who was abused by her parents when your own birthdays were already outside of the norm?

Word Count: 1840

AN:  Hola everyone. This was inspired by an old WIP of mine. it's kind of a plot bunny of a different fic. Anyway enjoy

Prompt:  Raising A Child - Fluff

Can be read on AO3

October 16th

It was Helena’s first birthday with them. Tim didn’t know what to do. To be fair he wasn’t familiar with children’s birthdays. Most of his had been spent with his parents being brought to shows he liked or that they’d thought he’d like. And then they forgot it one year and the next they were out of commission.

Helena came from an abusive home and he didn’t want to overwhelm her too much as she had been prone to having panic attacks when he didn’t pay attention and did something that was apparently outrageously nice. So he wanted her to have a great birthday but not so outrageous she’d faint.

Conner had made fun of him because he was apparently over worrying over “normal stuff”, but Conner was the last person allowed to talk to him about that. Partly because he hadn’t celebrated a normal birthday of his….ever, but also because the only kid’s birthdays he had gone to were Traya’s and Jon’s.

Still Conner had been there since the beginning so he kind of had a say in what they’d be doing for her birthday.

Speaking of which, they were supposed to meet for lunch for that exact purpose and Conner was late. For the 3rd time this week. It was getting real annoying real fast.

He looked at his phone to see if he had received any new message. And he had. Apparently Conner was late because he was walking with a classmate of his and couldn’t use his powers. So Tim waited.

Ten minutes later, Conner finally appeared around the corner. With a very pretty girl on his arm. Tim couldn’t believe Conner was late because he was flirting...Actually he could…He probably would have been too if he were in his place…If it was just a normal lunch but they were supposed to talk about Helena’s birthday! It was not a normal lunch.

Conner waved goodbye after the pretty girl kissed his cheek and then “sprinted” toward Tim who was crossing his arms in annoyance. As he arrived next to him Conner looked sheepish.

“Look I know what it looked like but she started talking about a school project at first and I couldn’t blow her off and then she said we were walking in the same direction so I had to….and then I used the opportunity, I wasn’t gonna miss that but still!”

Tim raised an eyebrow, just to mess with him but Conner saw right through him, untangled his arms by taking one of his hand and dragging him toward the restaurant Tim had been waiting in front of.

They settled down and started having their lunch when Tim received a new email notification. Which he showed to Conner. Now that could be a nice present.

- - - - - - - -

October 21st

Helena had had a fairly good day so far. Tim and Kon had woke her up with a cup of sweet tea and croissant while wishing her a happy birthday, Kon had even decided to accompany her alongside Tim this morning (even if he was gonna be late to class). Ana and Alois had also wished her a happy birthday and none of their teachers had given them any test.

Now it was time to go home and wait for Tim and Kon to come back home (well…Technically Kon already had his own apartment but he was there so rarely she hadn’t known about it for 7 months, when he talked about being with his girlfriend which had brought a new surprise as she had also thought he was in love with Tim. Even if they had told her immediately they weren’t).

Whatever. She hoped her da they wouldn’t be too long to get home as she usually was one her own for about three hours on her own before Kon would be there. And it had been so nice up until now.

But when she got out of the school, both Tim and Kon were waiting for her? Along with Bart, Cassie, Rose and Kiran.

She ran toward them and hugged Tim and Kon at the same time…kind of, she was way too small to manage but she tried and she considered that it was what mattered. She then went to hug the other four. Apparently they were gonna celebrate her birthday together. The only things missing were her Tim and Kon’s families. And a few others. Granted too many of them might be a bit too much for her. Family dinners at Wayne Manor were already too much even if there was never the full family roster at once.

When they arrived home however Anita and Cissie were waiting for them along with Donald and Oshi who lived with Anita and Cissie’s parents. Helena liked them, well…mostly Oshi. Most of the time Donald was not fun. They were a bit older than her but always nice.

They all ate very small pieces of cake (but her par Tim and Kon prevented her from eating more than two small pieces) and celebrated (with presents and everything). However at 4:30PM they had to leave though Bart promised he’d come back later. Only to be replaced by Jon, Ma, Lois and Clark. Who celebrated with a different, but still small, cake. At 6PM, they left too, only to be replaced by Dick, Alfred, Barbara, Bruce and Cass. With another cake. Now she understood why Tim and Kon had refused to let her eat more than two pieces every time.

So far this was the best birthday ever!

Her fath Tim and Kon had basically allowed her to celebrate her birthday with her favorite people without getting overwhelmed. She was getting tired though and nodding off on Dick’s lap. That was their cue to start leaving. Though Cass was staying with them for the night as would Bart.

Once they were all gone Tim and Kon had asked Cass if they could leave them alone. Once they did, they all sat down on the carpet. They both looked pretty serious. Oh no. She should have known it was too good to be true. But she had started getting used to this life. Was this whole birthday thing just there to butter her up? They were never this serious with her unless they were talking about her parents and her stay here with her foster dad, Tim.

Oh nononononononono. Did her parents get the right to get her back? No. Last she’d seen them they were trash talking the Court assigned parenting classes they were supposed to take. They shouldn’t be able to take her back.

Suddenly she felt a familiar weight on her shoulders and she heard Tim say “it’s okay, it’s not bad news, it’s simply important”.

The next few minutes were spent with Kon tracing circles against her back and Tim guiding her breathing until she calmed down.

Once that was done she was slowly being glided on Kon’s lap, probably by the hands on her shoulders, even if she felt like she was in a warm cocoon, she loved his TTK so much. Kon kept tracing small circles on her back while Tim was patting her head slowly.

That was actually rather nice. The only good part about her panicking way too easily.  

But then Tim pulled away and got papers out of his bag. That was the cue to return to the conversation that hadn’t even started yet.

Tim took a big gulp of air. He seemed nervous. Which was making her nervous, but then Kon was hugging her and she felt better. She felt him nod against her.

“Ok so, it’s been a bit more than a year since you were found in the street and we hadn’t been able to celebrate your birthday back then aside from getting you actual clothes and furniture and a cake, so I wasn’t sure how to do this but I think up until now we managed pretty well. Now since your parents never made an effort to go to the court mandated parenting classes during that time, It’s actually possible for you to be adopted as of last week.”

She could feel her heart start shrinking. They were going to make her go away.

“Which is why I sent a form as soon as I was allowed to do so. Now of course it’ll depend on whether or not you also want to become officially my kid. I merely sent the form so that I could have the papers ready when we talked about it so here goes.

Helena, would you like to officially become my child and live with me until you decide you’re too good for me and move out to live your life even if you’ll always have a room here ? We had already kind of talked about it but it always seemed too soon for that. It’s nothing to feel pressurized about. I won’t be mad if you don’t want to and we just won’t sign the papers. It won’t change the fact that I love you and you’ll always have a home here if you want to”

Helena froze. She had been staying here for a year. Tim and Kon had taken care of her so much. But what if it was like with her previous adopted parents? They had loved her very much before her dad decided to close his shop. On the other hand Tim and Kon had Cass and Bart and Dick and everyone else also looking after her. She knew she could talk to them and be listened to. At least Bart and Cass would listen to her (Dick tended to be a bit blind about Tim’s shortcomings which was pretty cute most of the time but could be irritating at others). She could feel her eyes start to well up when she heard a voice from behind her.

“Maybe it was too much. We should probably wait before telling her the other news”.

She turned to Kon and asked him in the most polite way she could muster what he meant.

“What? What is it? Kon? You can’t just say that and not tell me! That’s no fair!”

He looked above her head at Tim and he probably received a positive answer because he smiled and explained.

“Tim and I signed a Co-Parenting agreement. Of course it’s only if you accept his adoption and want me to be involved too but…yeah, I’d like to be your official parent too”.

She was crying now.

They wanted her too.

They really did.

It wasn’t just wishful thinking. It wasn’t them just being nice to her because she was sad. It’s not like they had never told her they loved her but it was always so hard to believe, even if they showed it every day.

“As if I’d say no to that !”

And she launched herself at Tim with Kon right behind him who scooped them in a hug.

This was the best birthday ever.

AN:    - Alright so here Donald and Oshi are Anita's parents who returned to an infant state in YJ. As such they’re like a couple years older than Helena.

- Helena is, in fact, Helena Kyle (her favorite color is obviously Red, that's why she imprinted on Tim). Basically her parents were nice at first but life became hard and they ended up moving to try their chance in Cali and it didn't work out so they took it on her. Red Robin now Flamebird found her right after she ran away and took her to the emergencies where she met Conner who was waiting for them (Tim had called on the way) so Tim could disappear and change. So until she learned their secret IDs, she thought the first one she had met was Conner even if only by a few minutes. Also she calls him Kon 'cause she doesn't like Conner as a name. She writes it "Con" to people who don't know about the secret (because that's how she wrote it when she thought it was just a nickname). She just turned 8 - Jon was born a year after Canon ended for the Pre Flashpoint universe so he's a year and a half - two years younger than Helena. - Bart, Conner and Cass have their own room because of how often they come. - Tim and Kon live in California. They moved there a couple of months before finding Helena. Kon needs sun ok. Tim's working fo the police station as a civilian working his way up so he can have his two years of work in law enforcement so he can open his detective agency with KOn. Kon's a double major of Law and Psychology (with a minor in international Law)

[fourthwingingit]

Two

Edit: tumblr didnt post my edits from my original post (like you know when you save something as a draft and go oh wait there are some errors like no header and awkward phrasing lemme fix them) so im gonna repost this eventually but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Edit 2: tumblr sucks and never lets me put the thing so... This is for the anon who requested a fic of touch starved clark and conner with the prompts 'nobodys ever done that to me before' and 'i just want to be held' sorry it got angstier then i ment it to.... hope you like hurt comfort

Clark hovered awkwardly outside the door to conners room. He was nervous about seeing the teen with everything between them and what he wanted to ask him.

He took a breath. Conner almost certainly knew he was there already. But that didnt matter.

Ma always said that manners matter

He knocked.

From inside came a muffled, annoyed, and clipped

"What is it clark?"

Taking that as the best invitation he was going to get he opened the door and went in.

He looked at conner. The kid was on his bed, facedown on top of the covers like an angsty teen in a movie.

Clark thought he looked too small for the position he was in. Like he was waiting for some blow that was going to take a part of him with it to land... or like it already had and he was cradling a hole

Clark shook off the disturbing thought and steeled himself. He swiftly walked to Conner's bedside, and said, eloquently,

"Well. I... you see...... uh... lois- i mean to say..... uhh"

Lord this was already going to hell in a handbasket.

Conner turned his head enough to raise one eyebrow

"What the hell was that?"

He sat down a respectful distance away (as far away as he could) and tried again

"Hmm... you see i uhh- hmm you know how uhh.... things umm. Sometimes.... uhh"

Conner slowly turned his head the rest of the way to clark, confusion now written in every line in his body. great.

Clarks back bowed fast. Like his head gained 20 pounds in a half a second, his arms planted themselves on his knees and he gave up trying... he'd try again some other day. Maybe tomorrow. Or maybe lois should do it.... Kal-el you coward.

"I... i dont know, ive got nothing."

But now he was scrambling, he needed a reason for being here. And what came out was;

"Ma told me shes uhh, seen you acting in a... less than..... ideal...... kind of.... way.?"

"Wow."

"No yeah i heard it"

"That was some next level awkward," and there was some distinct venom in that voice shoot. "if its that hard to be around me then you can find the door. I certainly dont need your pity handouts anyway."

Well.... shit

"No thats not.... im.... i wanted to ask- uh... whats been bothering you..... sport."

He now had what bruces kids called The Awkward White Man Smile... great.

Suprisingly, Conner chuckled.

Maybe a small part of Clark's brain said its not hopeless?

"Right now? Your social skills."

Banter! He hung around batman! He could do banter.

"Aww man and here i was thinking i was handing out winning lines."

"Oh no, youve gone senile a little early, well... maybe not early... good thing you've got Kara."

There was a small smirk playing at conners lips and an actual opportunity. God was real and he loved Clark Kent.

"At least I know I have two good boys to pick me up after im down." He looked away fast.

Silence stretched on

.......

Awkwardly

Oh lord he messed up the moment

He presumed too much and their only friendly interaction in over a month is ruined

"Two?"

The voice Conner used was so painfully soft and small. Like it didnt dare to hope anymore and had stopped trying a long time ago.

Clark never was good at leaving voices like that alone. And he was always more comfortable when something needed doing anyways.

Superman courage steadied him enough to take a risk.

He reached out his hand, and ruffled Conner's hair, trailing his fingers down after to rest on the shoulder closest to him and said.

"I have two kids dont i?"

More silence

Conner was frozen beneath his fingertips

He panicked

Oh god

He had fucked it up

He had fucked up enough times that conner didn't want anything to do with him

Okay damage control

"That is...." Conner stiffened further "if i haven't been so horrible to my eldist that he doesnt want anything to do with me"

The silence was now so deep he could hear the dust motes brushing against everything

He heard a tiny sniffle

And then he telltale sound of tears hitting bedsheets.

His head whipped around, his glasses flew off somewhere into the room. He barely noticed.

Shocked, he started to speak but Conner cut him off before he could finish the first syllable.

"You know when i was in Hawaii i used to watch families. Specifically parents and children. I'd be so jealous of-"

Conner cut himself off.

"Nobody's ever- i mean...... parents do that to their kids.... the hair touching thing.... Nobody's ever-" his voice broke, he cleared it. "Nobody's ever even tried to touch my hair if we werent kissing."

He gave a pitiful, watery laugh and, after a breif, stunned, pause, started rambling about how "of course i get it cut, like, the barber touches it and stuff..."

And it all hit clark.

Somehow it had never occured to Clark, that even though Conner looked like he was so much older than Jon, he wasnt.

He wondered who raised him

Who fed him

Who hugged him through nightmares

Clarks heart broke

Because he was certain the answer to most of those kinds of questions was 'Conner' and none of them were "Kal-el" or "Clark Kent"

Clark turned a bit and ran his hand over Conner's back softly, cutting off his rambling and said in a voice that was somehoe warm but still felt guilty and mourning;

"What do you want? What can I do?"

Conner was stunned. Kal had never given him anything like this. So he kept talking to give his brain time to catch up.

"I don.... i- i used to watch families... in- in Hawaii, and I'd get jealous of the kids, that they got to have families. Got to have parents. I dont..."

Clark turned a little to properly face his son and grabbed his hand.

"What can i do Conner?"

One day ago Conner would have asked for a lot. To never see Kal again, the superman title, his spot in the JL, even some time with Jon. But now?

Conner shifted, he sat up as best he could. And guided Kals hand to the side of his face, through tear tracks, held it there for a second, and then slid it into his hair. All thr while leaning into it like it was the only support he needed.

"I just want to be held.... without expectations..... without titles or rules or anything in return."

Connor wouldnt meet his eyes, or look up from the bedspread during his request.

For the second time that day Clark's heart broke. But now he had something he could do.

He reached out with his other hand, guiding his son into his arms, and gently layed them down

He kept one hand on the back of Conner's head, stroking the strands there. And one hand on Conner's back slowly moving back and forth.

From the first point of contact, Conner's world narrowed to the hand Kal had put on him. And now, there was more. Now he was allowed to reach out. He wanted to get closer. To bury his face in Kals chest and curl up small. To let the world fall away around them. Until nothing existed but them. Holding each other forever.

Kal seemed to read his mind, and guided his head to tuck itself under his chin and pressed them closer together.

No promises, no strings, no obligations after.

He could leave whenever he wanted.

He wanted to stay forever.

Conner wondered breifly what was like to be held by a father. If it felt as nice as this. Like everything crashed in on him, but it was okay.

Maybe, he thought.

They had a maybe.

And this maybe was a lot of ground to stand on.

[superanimenatural]

Steve Rogers X Reader

A cute little one shot.

Warnings: Alcohol. Drunken stupidity. 

I sat in the gym watching Steve working out. I wasn't sure why he had to? But he seemed to like doing it. Trying not to stare as Steve was on the pull up bar, I punched the bag in front of me and tried to remove any naughty thoughts of Steve from my mind, but Lord it wasn't working. He was a friend! A good friend. He had told me so many times, friendzoned was an understatement. I couldn't take it any more. Punching the bag once more I walked out to take a shower, change and go out for the night with other friends. At least my friend was a female and she would sit and listen to me talk about Steve all night. Mostly as she bought drink after drink. In the club the music was loud and the drinks were coming thick and fast. My friend sat and sighed as once again as I talked of Steve and about his training. She gave me more and more to drink, maybe to shut me up, but I became more talkative, to the point that I was always ready to go up to Steve and tell him exactly how I felt! "I am going ladies!" I shouted over the music and she nodded. I staggered to my feet and made my way through the crowd of people. It was annoying how many people were between me and the bathroom. To the point I was shoving people out of the way. I made it to the bathroom and it felt as though I had gone deaf once the door closed. In here I could take a breather. My reflection was awful, my cheeks were red and my eyes looked bloodshot. I really should call it a night. I opened the door and winced at the loud music, yep time to go home. I made it out to the main room and again I was trying to push past people to get through back to my table. "(Y,N)" someone close by called my name and I frowned and looked around but then tried to carry on. Then there was a hand on my arm and I turned to see who was pulling me back. Then I looked up and up, Steve was looking down at me and he didn't look happy. Uhhh Ohhh! He looked pissed, but he lowered his hand from me. I preferred when he smiled at me. "Hey," I smiled and tried to stand as still as I could. "Your friend called and told me to come and get you." He shouted at me and I pouted. "I am not ready to go home just yet." I frowned and tried to walk backwards, but I bumped into someone and Steve managed to grab the top of my arm again and started pulling me towards the exit. I knew there was no changing his mind, so it looked like I was going home. The car was waiting and I was placed into the passenger seat and he slammed the door and my head thumped with it. He got in the other side and drove me home, along the way he would give me side glances and shake his head. "What?" I finally asked and he just gave me that disappointed look. "Oh just because you're a good boy and don't get drunk." I slurred. 

 "I should put you over my knee." He snapped out and I started giggling and I could’t stop. "Is that a promise?" I chuckled and he looked shocked as he realised what he had said. "You need to sleep that off." He didn't look at me again and I turned to look out of the window as I was trying to keep my drink down. The car stopped and I went to climb out, or should that be fall out. But Steve was there helping me to my feet. As I nearly lost it the third time he sighed and moved to my side and picked me up, "Wheee," I kicked my legs and his grip had to tighten. There was a few looks and smirks as he carried me through to the apartment. He didn't stop until we were outside my door and he placed me onto my feet. I managed to find my key but trying to put it into the lock was a whole different task. Steve finally took them from me and put it in and unlocked the door. "Well goodnight then." He said and I nodded and gave him a salute. He rolled his eyes and went to walk away but then I almost fell into my room. I heard him mutter something and he came back and picked me up again. "I can walk!" I said stiffly. "Sure you can." He walked into my room and over to the bedroom, placing me down he moved to take my shoes off me. "Hey want to know a secret?" I sat up and grabbed his arm and pulled him further up. He sat on the edge of the bed and sighed "And what would that be?" he asked  

"I love Captain America!  But I am in love with Steve." I put my finger to my lips and shushed him. "Don't say anything." I managed again. I fell back to the pillows and frowned then I sat up, my head started spinning but there was something I needed to know and I grabbed his arm again, "Do you think that's how Lois Lane feels about Superman and Clark Kent? She loves Clark but she’s in love with Superman?" I frowned now trying to think.

  "That isn't real. Only in those comics you read," he said and I looked up to him,  "But what if it was? Superman.....a ...and Clark would be stronger than Captain." I gasped and then laughed. He went to stand and I grabbed him again.  "Who do you think would win in a fight? Our Hulk or Superman?" Thoughts ran through my mind and he just looked at me. "That would be a good fight!" I nodded. "Then I would say our Hulk would win," He stood up and I shook my head "Nope....I don't think so!" I waved my hand for him to come closer, and he did. "A kiss goodnight," I whispered and leaned in, he was so close, but then I scrambled out of bed and ran for the bathroom, where everything came up. I felt his hand on my back, then he pulled my hair out of the way. "Hope you are going to learn from this!" He said as he rubbed my back and I nodded. "I am. Maybe you need glasses when you go out, like Clark." I giggled and then threw up again. When I was finished and ready to fall asleep he picked me up and carried me to bed. I didn't feel anything after that.

When I woke Steve was sitting on my bed, still dressed leaning against the head board,  "Why are you here?" I mumbled  

"Because someone had to make sure you didn't choke in your sleep," he pushed himself off the bed and stood at the end. "I was fine." I groaned and turned away as he moved to the window and pulled open the curtains. Sunlight filled the room and I wanted to pull the covers over my head. "Up! I will see you in the training room," he pulled the covers off me and I shook my head. "Please not today," I pulled the pillow over my head. "One hour (Y/N)" he tapped the back of my leg and I groaned even louder but he wasn't listening. Finally I dragged myself for a shower and stood under the spray. "Oh God," I snapped my eyes open as I remembered what I said last night, "No, please don't say I said that out loud?" I tried to fight past the fog in my head. If I had told him I loved him he wouldn't of stayed. He would of ran a mile, maybe this was why he wanted me in the training room....Punishment. I managed a coffee and a little bit of toast, then I headed down and he was already there, running laps round the room. He stopped when I walked in and came over to me. "Ready?" he asked and I shook my head "No, can I just go back to bed?" I looked to the mats and hoped I could just fall asleep on there, "No. A good workout is what you need to clear your head," he pushed me to running a lap and I wanted to throw up with every step.  "Please stop," I stopped and had to take deep breaths. I was about to see breakfast again. He came to stand in front of me "Combat then," he moved onto the nearest mat and I rolled my eyes and sighed. I was ready to cry. "Is this punishment because I got drunk?" I finally snapped my hands moved to my hips,  "Yes," he stared at me and I nodded "Great lets get this over with," I walked up to him and went for him, with a hip toss I was on the floor. He helped me up and then I was on the floor again.  After another five times I stayed down. He offered me his hand and I slapped it away. He dropped down beside me and just stared at me "Did you mean what you said last night?" he asked and he looked so serious and I nodded "Yep....Superman could so beat Hulk in a fight." I looked straight at him and as he just looked at me with confusion then I burst out laughing.  "You said you were in love with me."  He leaned over me placing his hand beside my hip and the laughter died. "Is this where I get a lecture with you telling me that I only have a crush and I will get over it and I should go out and meet other men?" I didn't want to be here anymore, but since he was now leaning further over me. "No, this is where I tell you I love you to and have for a while..." he looked so nervous now, but I shuffled up so I was sitting. Now I was the one that was confused. "What about all that friend thing?" I tried to make sense of it. "That was more for me. I was trying to convince myself that you were only a friend. That’s what I thought you wanted. I tried to stop myself from being hurt." He moved closer and I smiled. Then he smiled and my heart melted. I loved that smile. We both leaned in and my heart burst as his lips touched mine. It was brief and it was sweet. He moved back slightly and lifted his hand to brush back my hair tucking it behind my ear "Now what?" I asked my hand running up and down his arm, I might never get tired of touching him,  "I’ll court you....," he said and I chuckled  "I mean date you. We could go out for a meal or the pictures? I want it to be special." He leaned in and kissed me again. "Good plan, but for now I am going to bed and I am going to sleep."  As I moved back he looked a little disappointed. "Unless you want to skip all the dates and go straight to bed?" I whispered and now he was a little surprised but it changed to a large smile and he stood up and held his hand out to me and I took it. This time when he carried me to my room I knew it wasn't to watch me sleep. 

@zomtompham

[miraculoussideblog]

Operation Lovebirds Chapter 2

Here is the next chapter of @insanitysbloomings‘ (aka @insanitysscribblings) birthday fic. Enjoy

Summary: Fed up with her friends refusing to confess their feeling for each other, Alya enlist the help of Nino to bring them together. The plan? Fake a relationship. What could possibly go wrong? (hint: everything)   

Chapters: [1] [You are Here]

[AO3]

Chapter Two

“I don’t think I can do this anymore,” Nino said over the phone as he paced back and forth in his living room. School turned out to be very difficult to navigate once the plan set into motion. Alya was everywhere he turned, so whenever Adrien or Marinette were around he had to keep up the nervous act. She didn’t make it any easier all the flirting. He kept telling himself none of it was real and disappointment followed. There was only so much he could handle.

“Dude you have nothing to worry about, it’s Alya.” Adrien replied.

“That’s just it man, I can’t screw up this time.”

He glanced over at Alya sitting on the couch, scribbling something down in her notebook. Alya’s head snapped up, lifting her notebook. “Stick to the script,” it read.  Nino sighed. Alya insisted on being present when he made to call to change their date into a double. She coached him with possible responses and reactions. He had to admit she was committed.  

Nino pinched the bridge of his nose. “Anyway, I need your help.”

“I’m not hiding in the bushes again.”

“No nothing like that. I’m just too nervous to do this alone, do you think you can join us?”

“On your date? I don’t want to be a third wheel.”

“Then let’s add a fourth.” Nino cringed when the words came out of his mouth. Alya was a great writer, but dialogue was not her strong suit. “We could ask Marinette.”

“The four of us hang out all the time.”

“Please, for me. You can chill with her, and keep an eye on me. Just to make sure I don’t make a fool of myself.”

There was a brief silence before Adrien answered. “Fine, I’ll do it.”

“Thanks bro.” Nino gave Alya a thumbs up. “You invite Marinette, I’ll let Alya know.”

“All right, I’ll see you tomorrow,”

“Great, let’s meets up outside Marinette’s place around noon.”

“Got it, see you then.”

“Bye.” Nino hung up his phone and flopped down on the couch next to Alya. “It’s done. Phase three complete.”

“Not quite. Five, four, three, two one.” She lifted up her phone, Marinette’s face popped up on the screen. Alya pressed accept and pulled the phone from her ear.

“ALYA! ADRIEN JUST ASKED ME IF I WANTED TO JOIN HIM, YOU AND NINO ON YOUR PICNIC DATE! OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD WHAT DO I DO?”

“Calm down, I just talked to Nino about it, you’re going to be fine.”

Nino watched as Alya tactfully calmed down her best friend. He had to admire her loyalty,  she and Marinette have been inseparable for years. Back then he’d been in love with Marinette for God knows how long. Until a certain superhero locked him in a cage with Alya all day…

“We’d better ditch this place.” Nino said to Marinette. He sprinted as fast as he could, away from the herd of zoo animal that followed close behind. “Are you keeping up?” He glanced over his shoulder to see if Marinette was close by, but she was nowhere to be seen. This was just not his day, first he acts like complete fool on his date, tells her that he likes her best friend and then loses her to a mob of angry animals.

The Universe: 1 Nino: 0

He couldn’t turn around at this point, the herd was right on his tail. If anything, she ran in the opposite direction away from the dangers. He had to believe that she was okay.

Nino sensed a body closing in on him. Out of the corner of his eye, Alya appeared at his side. Where did she even come from? The two ran side by side without a word, trying to shake off the herd. It was no use, he and Alya were about to be trampled to death by zoo animals.

What a hell of a way to go.

“Hey.” Something tugged on the back of his shirt, pulling him away from the animals. Nino looked up, Ladybug dragged him and Alya to a nearby cage. “What the–”

“Stay put and you’ll be safe.” Ladybug slammed the cage shut.

Nino glanced over at Alya, who was just as confused as he was. “Uh…hey what’s up?” he pointed finger guns in her direction.

“Ugh,” Alya sighed in exasperation. “This is not happening.”

“Are you all right?” Nino tried to place his hand on her shoulder to console her, but she backed away. “Sorry.”

“There has to be a way out of here,” Alya pushed on the cage door, but it wouldn’t budge. “Give me a hand would you.”

Nino placed his hands on the door, pushing with all his might next to Alya with no avail. “It’s no use, we’re stuck here until someone lets us out.”

“Let me call my dad.” she put her phone to her ear. “Straight to voicemail, he must busy trying to get the animals back in their cages. Ugh, there’s an Akuma attack happening right now and I can’t film it for the Ladyblog.”

“You don’t have to film every battle.”

“Yes I do.” She banged on the glass wall. “I mean, yes, I don’t have to film, but I just want to be there, a part of the action.”

“Why?”

“Ever since I was a little girl I dreamed of being a superhero. Now that Paris has to full fledged heroes, I can’t help but be a little jealous. If I could put on a mask and fight akumas I would in a heartbeat. But I can’t, I’m powerless. The best thing I could do is arm myself with my phone and film.”

“So what if you’re not a Clark Kent, Lois Lane was just as badass.” Nino smirked. He never really saw this side of Alya before. She’s always been fierce, determined and very scary, but admitting she had a weakness humanized her a bit. “Alya I–”

Alya’s phone rang, she help up one finger in front of his face and answered it.  “Hello Max? What’s up?” As the voice on the the other end spoke, the color drained from her face. “Thanks for letting me know,” she said weakly. Her arm dropped to her side as she hung up.

“Alya what’s wrong?”

“The…the akuma…is my dad,” she muttered.

“What?”

She sank down to her knees. “Max said Kim was taunting him about racing his new panther a while ago. A talking panther appeared a couple minutes later and Max swore it was my father’s voice. Ladybug and Chat Noir are trying to stop him now.”

“Are you okay?”

“Please not now Nino,” she said softly. “There has to be some footage somewhere. I have to see for myself.”

Nino sat silently as she searched her phone for a live feed. He could tell she was holding back tears.  

“Alya…” Nino couldn’t think of what to say. The only way he could communicate with was through music. He scrolled through his phone and put on his favorite playlist. He sat down next to Alya, handing her his headphones. “Here.”

“Are you sure?”

Nino nodded and flipped the speakers. Alya leaned in to listen to the music. He smiled softly as she bobbed her head softly to the beat.

“Earth to Nino,” Alya waved her hand over his face. “Where did you go?”

“Sorry, I just spaced out for a moment.” He tried to shake off the memory of the cage, the day he started seeing Alya more than just a friend. He couldn’t think like that. Not not of all times, this plan was about Adrien and Marinette. Their happiness came first.

“It’s all right, Marinette finally calmed down and agreed to go out with us. Phase three is now complete. On to phase four.”

Alya walked into The Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie a little after eleven-thirty the next day. Her mom had packed sandwiches and other goodies for the four of them and Marinette promised them baked goods. Mrs. Cheng stood behind the counter finishing up checking out a customer.  

“Hi Mrs. Cheng,” she said when the customer left. “where’s Marinette?”

“Upstairs. Have fun on your picnic.”

“We will.” Alya walked up to Marinette’s room on the top floor. She peaked through the trapdoor. Marinette scrambled around the room tossing clothes everywhere. She didn’t notice Alya as she came in.

“I can’t find them Tikki.”

“Who’s Tikki?” Alya said.

Marinette jumped in shock. “Tikki is…uh…my imaginary friend.”

Alya shook her head, her friend wasn’t the best liar. “Aren’t you a little old for an imaginary friend?”

“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” Marinette dug through her drawer. “Ah ha! Found them.” She pulled out a pair of pink and white polka dot socks.

“Your lucky socks?”

Marinette nodded. “Wow Alya, you look great, by the way.”

“Thanks girl.” Alya decided she needed to step up her game if she wanted to convince Marinette she and Nino were on a date. Gone were her jeans and plaid shirts, today she opted for a simple yellow sundress with white flowers. Her mother added a white rose to her hair before she walked out the door.

“My dad made a fresh batch of cookies for us. They’re in the kitchen.” Marinette finished putting on her socks. “Are you sure you want me there?”

“It’s fine, Nino just nervous, he’ll feel more comfortable with Adrien around.”

“At least we know he won’t be talking in his ear,” Marinette laughed.

Alya frowned. She didn’t want to think about Marinette’s “date” with Nino right now. A trip down memory lane was not on the agenda for today. No, she needed to stay focused. “Right, well your job is too keep Adrien occupied. And at any moment if you think Nino and I could use some privacy, please by all means give us some space.“

“Got it,” she nodded. “I just hope I don’t screw this up for you.”

“You’ll be fine, I promise.”

The two girls went downstairs to grab the cookies and meet the boys outside the bakery. Nino and Adrien stood outside talking. The second she locked eyes with him, Alya’s heart speed up a bit.

Nino looked good. He refused to let her pick out his date outfit, saying he had to draw the line somewhere. He wore skinny jeans, a baby blue button up shirt with a red bowtie and red sneakers. For once, he didn’t wear his signature baseball cap. His hair was neatly pick out into a small afro.

Nino smiled. “You look amazing. These are for you.” He thrust his arm out to hand her something. Oh, right, the flowers. Yellow tulips. She forgot she picked these out the other day.

“Thank you,” she accepted the flowers. “Shall we get going?” Alya took hold of Nino’s hands and locked their fingers together. Was his hands always this warm? They’ve held hands before, once or twice when they were fifteen. But she couldn’t recall them being this nice.

 The two stayed a few paces ahead of Marinette and Adrien. Neither of them could speak. Alya was so damn focused on how soft Nino’s hand was, she barely noticed where she was when they reached park.

The four set up their picnic under a tree. Marinette placed the basket in the middle of the blanket. “Alya’s mom made us sandwiches and my dad baked cookies.”

“I love your mom’s cooking,” Nino smiled. Alya handed him a sandwich. Their fingers touched briefly, Nino’s fingers involuntarily pulled back at the contact back before taking the food from her hands. “Thanks.” He glanced down at his hands.  

They had to stick to the plan or this would get awkward real quick. They rehearsed small talk for the date. Topics like music, the Ladyblog, the weather, anything really, but Alya couldn’t form words. Why was this so different from rehearsal?

“I like your dress,” Nino finally said. Thank God, someone had to break the ice.

“Thank you,” she smiled. “My mom got it for me a couple years ago. I don’t wear it much.”

“Yellow is a nice color on you.”

“You clean up nice yourself.” Alya felt a little more at ease. Hopefully more of the conversation would come natural.

“When your best friend is a model, you pick up a thing or two,” Nino gave Adrien a thumbs up.

Oh right, they were still here. Adrien and Marinette observed the two silently eating their meal. The conversation shifted to the topic of school and they began finally get into the grove. She forgot how easy it was to talk to Nino. The whole fake dating scenario tried to screw with her perception of him. They worked better together without all of the silly planning and preparation. This way Marinette and Adrien could see them as a couple.  

“I really don’t think this is going to work,” Nino whispered. “They’re just watching us.”

Great, she’d been too focused on making her and Nino’s relationship believable, that she forgot to check up on the other lovebirds. Everyone’s phones beeped at the same time. Alya picked up her phone to check to see what was going on. An akuma attack at The Louvre. This was perfect, she could slip out and finally leave those two alone.

“I have to go,” Marinette and Adrien said at the same time.

Nino gave them a puzzled look. “There’s an akuma attack across town, I don’t think any of us should leave in case the battle moves to the closer.”

“Uh, my mom needs me to come into the bakery, we just got swamped with a giant order, it’s an all hands on deck sort of thing. I’ll be safe I promise.” Marinette stood up. “Please post lots of pictures for me okay? Bye.” Marinette sprinted off in the direction of the bakery.

“Yeah, I have to go too, sorry. Nathalie just booked me an audition for a commercial, I can’t pass up this opportunity. I’m so sorry Nino. We’ll talk Monday, don’t leave out a single detail.” Adrien dashed off away from his friends.

“Well that was a bust,” Nino sighed. Alya began packing up the picnic food. “What are you doing?”

“I’m going to The Louvre, the akuma attack remember?”

“It’s to far away, there’s no way you can make it in time,” Nino stretched out on the blanket. “Let’s relax and finish the picnic. It’s a gorgeous day.”

“But Ladybug and Chat Noir will be there.”

“I know you want to help out, but it’s too dangerous. The report said the akuma is transporting people into paintings. I don’t want you getting hurt.” Nino’s tone was serious. Alya glanced over at the boy, his happy go lucky smile was gone, he genuinely looked concerned.

“Ladybug has her Miraculous Cure, I’ll be fine no matter what happens.”

“But what if Ladybug fails.”

“She won’t fail, she’s Ladybug.” Alya had been akumatized, almost sacrificed, turn into lord knows what by a wide variety of supervillains. But every time, Ladybug and Chat Noir saved the day. She trusted the heroes of Paris with her life, why wouldn’t Nino understand. “You know, you’re uncharacteristically grim right now.”

“Just sit this one out okay,” Nino sat up. “Let’s take a bunch of selfie for social media and finish off these cookies.”

“You still want to go through with Operation Lovebirds?”

“Of course,” he smiled. “Adrien was so excited to hang out with Marinette. I know he doesn’t say it, but I do think he’s in love with her. He’s always talking about how awesome and kind she is, sometimes I catch him staring at her when she’s not looking. It’s frustrating, at times I just want to tell him about Marinette’s crush.” Nino paused. “Wait, why don’t we just do that.”

“Oh sweet summer child,”  Alya patted his head. “You know as well as I do, that the minute someone tells him about the crush the more awkward our group dynamic would be.”

“Fine,” he sighed. “So, what’s phase five?”