#nobody who just wants to date Superman deserves to date Clark Kent

[bombusbombus]

It's always SO GOOD when Bruce really enjoys the company of the meek little reporter. Like YEAH. That IS Clark's good side. Clark Kent IS more sexy than Superman. Get yourself a man who uses prose to eviscerate corrupt power structures! Get yourself a man whose glasses are never straight! Get yourself a man who's kind when nobody is looking! Romanticise the unglamorous! Fuck!

[robinrequiems]

hey any1 want some superman jon and batman Damian hcs? too bad cause you’re getting them

• damian realized why no one wanted to be batman when he turned 18 and Bruce decided to give him batman when he was 22.

• jon realized why jon didn’t want to be superman when he also turned 18

• oh and right, by gave, I mean bruce sorta can’t be batman anymore. medical reasons…

• damian sorta uh. persuaded clark into giving jon superman.

Damian: look. I don’t wanna be worlds finest with you, old man.

Clark: im- im not old—

Damian: listen here, jon and i? we are gonna surpass you and my dad. so give it to jon and let me prove it.

Clark: this doesn’t seem like a good idea— you aren’t ready— neither is jon

Damian: wait- wait, you don’t believe in your son and i??? wow. WOOOW. okay. i see.

Clark: that’s not it!-

Damian: sure. sure. don’t worry. I see now.

Clark: wait I do!

Damian: no, no you don’t.. it’s— it’s okay, I get it, it’s me, huh?

Clark: no!

Damian: I get it

Clark: please i do! I’ll - oh my rao, you’re playing me

Damian: i am. i cant do this without jon though. please, Clark.

Clark: *sigh, how did he get manipulated by a kid he used to babysit* okay.

• okay so now jon may be a little overwhelmed because one day he’s flamebird, the next, he’s becoming superman? huH. it’s extremely uh. worrying. and really just? wow.

• does Damian feel bad? oh yeah. he does. so bad. but he really can’t do it alone. they always dreamed of being their parents. or being better than them. but they grew up and realized that they really didn’t want to be their parents.

• but here they were, getting fitted for their suits and adding their own details to it.

jon: hey, you look hot

damian: please. shut up.

• they could do this. they could do this. shoot they can’t do this.

• damians own anxiety was going 50 mph. look, okay? remember before heretic when Bruce thought that Damian would become a satanic batman and basically rain hell all over gotham? yeah. that’s what is going on in damians mind.

• he doesn’t want to be that. ( “you won’t be like that, cmon, d, we’re gonna be better.” ) and how Damian wants to believe jon so bad..

• he doesn’t want to become obsessed with Batman like his father did, he still wants to have a life. he doesn’t want to isolate himself away and adopt kids as a coping mechanism. that’s why he needs jon to be superman. jon helps him, he helps him not go off into his own little world and stay there. he believes that with Jon, he’ll be okay. he has to be. maybe he uses jon as his own coping mechanism, but that isn’t the point.

• together, they will outshine their parents. the supersons can do this. they are the next generation, and it’s not like they are alone. they have so many other people to help them. they’ll be okay.

• they have been preparing for this their whole life, but they both feel like they got it too soon. they thought they had more time. Damian does feel guilty when he hears jon talking about how stressed he is about superman and not living up to whatever the hell he has to live up to, but Damian does fear what would. or could. have happened if he didn’t have jon with him. becoming batman took a lot out of him, more than he would like to admit. he just got constant flashbacks to heretic and that whole fiasco he thought he put behind him a loong time ago.

Jon: are you sure you’re okay?

Damian: yes idiot, quit worrying.

Jon: I’ll always worry about, d.

• jon somehow becomes MORE sappier when he becomes superman.

• okay, also, funny story. ( Clark and Bruce don’t find it funny AT ALL ) superman and batman? yeah they sorta kissed after an almost alien invasion. in their suits. uh. in front of an alien who they were arresting for the green lanterns. most people believe that when people say it, it’s a lie, kidding. no they don’t. there were pictures.

bruce: you want to explain this?

damian: not really, no.

• the public knows there’s a new Batman and Superman since yk. Jon’s face is public and was seen as superboy flamebird and now superman, and batman was slightly smaller and had some different moves

• but here’s their main line up: batman ( dami wamie, obvi ), superman ( jonnyboy kent ), nobody ( maya:)) ), green lantern ( tai pham, my baby boy ), lace ( wallace west 2, he goes by lace instead of flash because i said so. ), and shazam ( billy b ).

• fun fact, they have a den mother even though they are all in their 20s. poor dinah.. yeah black canary is their den mother. ( stole it from from yj )

• dinah makes sure they get their injuries checked out, train regularly, and you know. don’t blow up a building.

• again.

• ( when damian and jon were younger, in their teen years, they stupidly accidentally blowed up a building. in their defense, the building was owned by the penguin. and there were no civilians in the area. but they also got a lot of men sent after them.. oops. )

• they are very chaotic. they are the definition of dumbass energy sometimes.

• damian tries to keep the pda down whenever he’s batman, BUT JON DOESNT KNOW HOW TO DO THAT

• hence the amount of photos of jon hugging Damian or kissing him

• damian has never once initiated one in suits

• ( that one time jon almost died does not count )

Damian: thought you were gonna be batman.

Tim: nah, i don’t wanna be bruce. i saw what it did to dick. I would’ve became just like him.

Damian: am i like him??

Tim: god no, bruce would never kiss superman or date him or spray paint the new justice league logo— nice logo, by the way— onto villains bases

Damian: is that a good or bad thing?

Tim; good, that means you probably won’t be a total emotional stunted person using crime fighting as an outlet for unresolved childhood trauma.

Damian: you do realize why i became Robin right

Tim: .. not the point im trying to make. I mean now, brat.

• sometimes you can see some of the heroes dropping by to surprise kids, they heard that their old mentors used to go to children’s hospitals to visit sick kids, so they did that too. on a rare day where there isn’t any crime, which is really rare, they go to a school and talk if it’s a weekday, or they drop by an orphanage to hang out with kids.

• they have gotten into a lot of trouble though. they’re still learning how to work as a team. jon and damian are used to being solo and working with each other, Tai had tagged along a few times when they were younger and knows how they work, along with maya, but billy and Wallace do not.

• they often all get into arguments.

• damian lacks a filter and will criticize everyone if they mess up. and he often goes off alone or is too blunt.

• it takes a long time before they all realize that Damian is just: Damian, he doesnt mean to be mean. ( surprisingly )

• billy is used to being the big kid stuck at the kids table, it’s funny that he’s actually the second oldest when he used to be the youngest. ( lace is like.. 27? shazam is 25.. nobody 24. & the supersons 22. pulled all those ages outta my ass. you’re welcome. )

• dinah is also their therapist. poor dinah.

• like really giving pity to dinah. but dinah loves those kids, she has known some since they were kids. she used to take damian out for ice cream and train with him, and also babysit him. ( AUNT DINAH IS MY FAVORITE GOODBYE ). and she did the same with Jon.

• dinah actually does help a lot of them get over their trauma, not completely, but most have finally spoken about it. they began talking after they all got hit with fear gas.

• that was a bad night.

• they had almost disbanded before when they thought lace had died by the hands of captain cold. they had been arguing all day, and if they didn’t, they might’ve saved him:

• but turns out he wasn’t dead.

• but the argument was still there, and it was strong. it took a while for them to actually work together without dinah forcing them.

• then soon came another new member after maya left to go do some undercover mission for the justice league regarding some alien tech being distributed some place. it was a sad goodbye, but she would be back and she would have a place here.

• welcoming: yara flor. yara was a bit headstrong and wild. damian has screamed at her a lot and almost got into a fist fight with her before being dragged off by his boyfriend 💋

• but she settled in fine. minus the fact damian really wanted to shove a batarang up— anyways. she just had to learn teamwork and shit, she was used to being a solo and she was somewhat new. so they helped her out and she became a solid member of the team.

• sometimes damian and jon just go and sit on a rooftop like they did as kids togeyher. just alone with each other. thinking about how their life changed so quickly.

Damian: i thought we’d ruin our fathers’ legacies and plummet to the ground.

Jon: *he coughed* ..what?

Damian: yeah. i didn’t think we’d get this far, but here we are.

Jon: of course we got this far, and we’re gonna get further.

Damian: i know.

• oh yeah. so. superman. fucking proposed after they defeated darkseid. ( the battle was long, so many people were left injured and on the brick of death, Damian and jon had been separated when it all started. Damian had stayed on earth at first before going to apokolips. Damn he hadn’t seen it since he got resurrected.

Darkseid: oh. I remember you.

Damian: mhm?

Darkseid: ah yes, the little boy who was resurrected here.. the chaos share, your father used it on you.

Damian: i know. i remember what happened. I was there afterall.

Darkseid: I wonder if you are as smart as the original batman.

Damian: i am.

• damian was buying time. he was waiting for reinforcements, namely the people who had powers and could take him down. damian wasn’t stupid. he realized darkseid liked to talk. his friends were fighting off the female furys or whatever they were called. he just had to wait and entertain.

Darkseid: quite the ego there.

Damian: i saved the justice league when i was 13, i deserve to have an ego.

Darkseid: oh, you are by far more talkative than the original.

Damian: thanks.

Darkseid: not a compliment, you fool.

• yeah so. darkseid tried to kill damian, with a beam thing. Damian was about to flip away like the baddie he is, but. jon. went out and yk. took the hit. dumbass.

Damian: you have such a big hero complex.

Jon: wow I just saved you and that’s what you say?????

Damian: yes.

• anyways, after they defeat darkseid, jon pops out a ring from his pocket and asks damian to marry him on apokolips.

Damian: you seriously couldn’t wait til we got on earth?

Jon: dames you almost died. what if- what if something happens, I’ve been putting this off for so long. cmon please?

Damian: you’re seriously asking me to marry you here where, I’m pretty sure, a lot of shit happened to our parents here.

Jon: no time like the present.

Damian: fair. okay.

Jon: just okay???

Damian: im sorry, do you want me to cry or something?

Jon: ughh, you can be so extra and petty sometimes.

Damian: i am not being petty.

Jon: just because I ask you to marry me here you wanna be like “okay” and that’s it

Damian: you’re so dramatic. I’ll marry you. I wanna marry you. Better?

Jon: yeah:)

[thekryptonianandthecitygirl]

The plan, as it often was in those situations, was supposed to be simple: keep it a secret as long as possible.

They knew it would come out eventually, of course: after all, they did work in a room full of professionnal reporters. And it wasn't that any of them was ashamed of it or anything, really, but they simply didn't particularly want their relationship to be public knowledge, keeping it their own (other) personal secret for a little while longer.

There was already so much that was completely out of their control – having this, no matter for how short a time, only to themselves, was also a way to maintain some kind of hold on that Super ride that had become their life.

Plus, there was also the fact that a month ago, Perry, Lombard, Jenny and a dozen other people saw Lois kiss Superman, and that it would look pretty odd if she immediately started dating Clark Kent (who hey! isn't that weird?, looked a lot like him), right after he arrived, when she wasn't supposed to know him at all.

And so, they both decided to keep it lowkey for as they long as they could ("Plus, letting everyone know that you're taken would break a lot of hearts around the office - trust me," and he had rolled his eyes. "Right.").

And they managed it: for almost eight months, nobody knew – or at least, nobody knew for sure.

Of course, they had come close to being exposed a few times. There was the time where Jenny walked into a café where they were sitting together, and they had stopped their make-out session just in time. The time she answered Clark's phone by mistake when Perry called him, and she had to improvise an explanation as to why she was with him at ten on a Sunday morning. The time he casually bent over to kiss her hello as he walked in the Christmas office party, forgetting about the whole secrecy thing for a second (she had laughed at his eyes growing wide with horror as he realised what he just did, whispering that it was okay, that nobody saw, squeezing his hand briefly before pulling away).

In the end though, they managed it.

That is, until the day a maniac decides to hold the Daily Planet hostage, of course.

Wrongful accusations, he keeps yelling. "Bullshit! All you wrote about me was bullshit, nothing but fucking lies, and now you've ruined my life!" Lois hitches to tell him that he had managed that all by himself when he decided to let himself get paid off, but simply rolls her eyes instead.

Given that there's about thirty members of the staff in, it wouldn't be a problem, if he had been alone. But of course, he had thought it through and brought along three of his equally stupid and corrupted friends, who, much like him, had nothing left to lose.

All in all, an ideal situation.

It doesn't really help either that she knows for sure that Superman won't show up, given that, well, she's currently standing alongside him.

Three persons to her left, to be exact, but she can still see his mind racing as his gaze is fixed on the floor, eyebrows furrowed. He has glanced at her a couple of times, silently asking her if she was alright, but it's been almost an hour now, and no one had come yet, and the idiots – the armed idiots - are getting cagey and reckless.

Now, he's thinking of taking the four maniacs down, she knows it- and that's what truly terrifies her.

And he does. Of course he does, because that's just him: putting everyone else's safety first, even if it means revealing his identity to the world, even if it means saying goodbye to the normal life he's always wanted, to the stability and peace and balance he's finally found after all these years.

He looks at her for a few seconds, and she begs him, begs him with her eyes not to do it, because he just can't. He can't do that, he has waited so long, he's so good, he deserves so, so much more –

But despite all of that, he simply smiles at her, as reassuringly as he can, and despite her silent pleads, Clark starts to step up as she knew he would.

After that, everything goes fast - so fast.

Turning his attention back on the situation, he takes a step towards the closest assaillant. The man panicks, and points his gun at his chest. Lois' heart skyrockets. Perry yells something in the background, but she can't figure out what. Her eyes never leave Clark. His fly to her again, confused, then scared. Rightfully so, probably, because of course, that causes the maniac to panick again.

He fires. Had the bullet hit him, Clark's entire life – their life - would have been turned upside down again.

It doesn't.

The first thing she's aware of when she regains consciousness is how dry her mouth is. Her head kind of hurts, too, now that she thinks of it, her legs are sort of numb. She's thirsty, and pain's shooting through her side, and God, is she having trouble opening her eyes – when did that become a hard thing to do? After two or three fails, she finally manages to, and the world is blurry for a few seconds.

She can ear the sounds of the city outside as she takes in the medium sized room she's in. It's mostly dark, only a weak lamp throwing a dim light on the sofa on the other side of the room, her small bed and Clark, asleep on her right side in what seems to be a very uncomfortable chair.

Slowly, Lois starts putting the pieces back together, and suddenly, she gets it.

Oh, hospital. Right.

It's all very fuzzy, but she remembers enough to understand the pain – the pain, and the dark circles under his eyes, his two days beard and the frown he's still wearing, even in his sleep. He looks miserable, and a pang of guilt hits her as she realizes that in the year she's known him, she's never seen him like that. Her heart aches. As fine as she feels now – well, considering – she knows that it will take a long time to soothe him down, after something like that.

She'd have to remember to kick those self-improvised hostage takers' asses.

He's close enough for her to touch, and so, wincing as she moves to reach him, she brings her hand to his pale face, thumb on his temple and fingers travelling on his cheek. "Clark?"

As she predicted, he jolts awake instantly, eyes unfocused for a second before they land on her. The second they do, he straightens right up, and she gives him a smile.

"Lois," he says in a whisper, as if not quite believing it, and before she can add anything, he's up, eyes franctic and hands everywhere, anxiously making sure she's really okay.

Making sure she's really here, safe and sound and alive, she knows. "Are you okay?," he asks, voice hoarse, and Lois nods, fingers threading in his tousled curls to make him focus on her as he swallows, mind visibly still not at ease.

"I'm fine," she says soothingly. "Hey." Holding his face in place to make him look at her, she smiles again, "I'm fine." It takes him a few seconds, but she holds his gaze, and then chuckles slightly when he burries his face in her neck, and finally breathes again. Breathes her in, she realizes.

Heart swelling with tenderness, she runs her hand from his hair to his nape, nuzzling him and whispering sweet nothings to calm him down.

"It's alright, honey. I swear, I'm okay. I mean, I could probably use a drink," she smirks against the top of his head. "But otherwise, it's all good."

He pulls away, eventually, face inches away as he strokes her cheek, and she's pretty sure she's never seen so much worry in his eyes – which, for him, is saying something. She hates herself for doing that to him.

He closes the space between them and kisses her, and, even if he's as gentle as ever, she can feel the urgency, the fear, the relief.

"Hi there," she smiles when they separate, trying to make his sad expression disappear. She's a bit relieved when he smiles back, even if it doesn't fully reach his eyes.

"Hey."

She pushes his rebellious curls away from his face, fingers traveling down and lingering on his jaw. "So, that's what it takes for you to cave and finally go with the sexy beard look again, huh?", and he chuckles a little.

"Yeah, well, I'll leave it if you like it so much, but let's not do that again."

She grins, but it quickly turns into a pained wince, and his smile falls. "I'm going to get a doctor," he says, but she grabs his hand before he can go.

"No, stay," and she can see the protest already forming on his lips. "Just a minute – I swear I'm okay." Clearly torned, Clark glances towards the door again, and, smirking, she weakly pulls on his fingers. "Come on: I've just been shot."

"Which is exactly why I should call your doctor," he comments reprimandly, but Lois beams at him when he stays anyway. "And I can't believe you're already playing that card," he shakes his head, half bemused, half chuckling, to her statisfaction. Baby steps.

Doing everything she can not to wince again – and wow, did that thing hurt – Lois tries to sit up, thankful when he comes to her rescue. Making sure she's comfortable, Clark then sits down again, dragging his chair even closer to her bed.

"So: what have you been up to, these days?," she tries to joke, playing innocent when he shakes his head at her again.

"Well, I still haven't finish my article, if you were wondering. But on the other hand, I had time to make friends with your nurses, so there's that."

"I've been out that long, huh?"

"Two days. Three in a couple of hours," he adds, taking a look at the clock before his eyes settle on her again. Exhausted, still sad. Guilt creeping in again, she reaches to run the tip of her fingers on the side of his face.

"What happened? I mean, after - " She doesn't dare to end her sentence, but he does it for her.

"After you lost consciousness, and I almost lost my mind?" There's no anger in his tone, and she can tell he's not trying to guilt her even more. It just - comes out.

Most likely because that's exactly what happened.

Shaking his head slightly, he focuses back again, and looks at her, a gentle smile he has trouble mustering on his face. "The attackers panicked when the shot was fired, so Perry and some others took the opportunity to disarm them. It all went fast...Nobody else was hurt, and we got you into the hospital quickly. In time."

She wants to ask him, of course. Ask him if the ambulance took her there, or if Superman did - if, despite everything, his identity's been revealed.

He seems to read her thoughts. "I didn't fly you here," he explains, and she releases a small sigh of relief. "I almost did, but the paramedics arrived quickly, and I saw that I didn't need to intervene or fly to get there faster. If anything, I think moving you the wrong way and flying you without support would have been worse."

By the look on his face, she knows how much it cost him not to be able to do anything, how helpless he felt. Probably still does.

On instinct, her fingers move down to interlace with his, and she squeezes before putting up a smile again.

"And I did make it. I told you I was tough, Kent. Plus, at least Perry will have to stop yelling at me for a while, now," and he snorts, amused.

"I wouldn't count on that, if I were you. He's been here a lot, and I caught him mumbling how he was going to give you some piece of his mind quite often – you're in for an earful," he warns, and she makes a face.

"Great. Well, at least I'm sure - "

"Yeah, I think my mom will make you pies, but you're not going to get away with her, either. She's pretty mad." Dropping her head on her pillow in defeat, Lois growls, and he drops a soft kiss on her skin. "She's at the apartment, by the way."

That gets her to open her eyes again.

"Really? She's come all this way?"

"Yeah. She arrived the day after," he explains. "I told her to go get a few hours of sleep."

Smiling gently down at him, her fingers leave his hand to travel on his face again, brushing his worried brow, the contour of his tired eyes, his cheeks, less warm than usual.

"When did you got any sleep?"

"I was taking a nap when you woke up," he simply shrugs, acting casual. She's not fooled.

"I mean really sleep, Clark," and he drops her gaze.

"I'm fine."

Before she can argue (and she wants to, because he looks so exhausted right now, and doesn't look like he's been eating, or recharching, or even seen the outside of this room for as long as she had), a nurse comes in.

A giant smile makes her way on the woman's face when she sees them.

"Hey, look who's up!" she laughs. Clark gets up to give her some room, and smiles when she happily shakes his shoulder. "See? I told you it wouldn't be long, handsome. So, how are you feeling?"

After that, the doctor comes to examine her. They ask him to leave the room for that, which he not so willingly does, and he goes to call everyone to tell them she's okay. By the time her doctor leaves, telling her that everything's fine and that she should be out in a couple of days, Lois is exhausted.

"This is ridiculous," she scowls, well aware she sounds like a complaining nine year-old. "I've barely been up for half an hour, and it feels like I haven't slept for days – which is all I did," she rolls her eyes.

"That's completely normal, " the nurse – Karen – reassures her. "You did take a damn bullet in your side, honey," she reminds her, eyebrows rising, and Lois growls. "Your body needs time to heal, pretty face."

Her grin is contagious, and greatful, Lois smiles. "Duly noted."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure of that," Clark promises, and they both turn to see him walk back inside.

"I know you will. And don't do that again: you scared that boy to death, you know," she turns back to Lois, gesturing towards Clark behind her. "I thought the poor man was going insane."

As Karen gathers her pad and other other hospital things Lois can't name, he's still smiling at her, but it doesn't reach his eyes, and, even if she would do it all over again, she feels guilty about making him live through something like that.

Of course, she knows how it must have felt. It's written all over his face – and, even if it wasn't, she could guess just by imagining what she would have felt had their situation been reversed.

Insane, indeed.

Karen leaves them, biding them goodnight and threatening to make her eat that disgusting hospital rice they have is she doesn't get some sleep. Clark silently takes his place back at her side.

"You're mad at me," she states more than asks.

She knows he is, because of course he would be. Because it's Clark, and Clark would never – will never – be okay with anyone risking their life for his. Least of all her, she knows.

He's mad, and Lois can see it a little in his eyes, in the way he shakes his head after a few seconds, smiling up at her as he tries to hide it.

"We can talk about that later. You need to rest."

She reaches for him, fingers grazing his cheek and jaw. "It's okay - I know you are. And I'm really sorry I scared you."

"But you don't regret it," he immediately adds. She can feel the resentment there, only outgrown by the helplessness, the pain.

Smiling gently up at him, Lois opts for the truth.

"I don't." His jaw clenches at that, every part of him hating what he's hearing, but she won't lie to him. He wouldn't like that either, anyway. "And for the hundreth time, I'm fine, sweetie, so we can - "

"You're not fine, Lois," he cuts, a million emotions on his face. "You got shot."

"And in two days, I'll be back home, good as new."

"That's not the point."

"It kind of is."

"You can't risk your life like that. Not for this." Sliding down to his shoulders, her fingers hold on to his shirt, and she smiles again, tone as soft as she can.

"I love you, but you can't tell me what I can or can't do, Clark. And if by "this" you mean your life, then I'm sorry, but it's worth it. Completely."

Shaking his head, he sighs, frustrated. Tired. Scared.

"That bullet would never have killed me – you know that." He pauses, the words almost painful. "It could have killed you."

"It would have ruin your - "

"My life doesn't mean anything if you're not in it, Lo." His tone is almost hard now, his voice leaving no place for argument. He's not doing a grand declaration, he's not proclaiming his love. He's simply stating a fact.

Firmly settled on hers, his eyes soften slightly as he continues. "I can deal with people knowing who I am. I can deal with the consequences of that, I can deal with living through all I did growing up again, but – you can't do this to me." Swallowing down, he pauses for just a second. "Please."

And Lois wants to argue. She does, because it kills her than even now, he still doesn't understand that his life is worth as much at everyone else's, that he doesn't always have to be the one doing the rescue, that he's not the only one willing to give everything for the ones he loves. She does, and yet -

She messed up. Even if she doesn't regret it, and even though she'd probably do it again, she knows that he would never be able to live with himself if she had died, knows that would have probably had destroyed him. She knows he'll never, ever consider his secret worth her life. Maybe it isn't.

She doesn't know, really.

All she knows is that for two days, he lost sleep and appetite, never left her side once (almost like his whole world had been on pause, Karen had added) and that right now, he's pleading her not to make him live through that again.

Messed up real good there, Lane.

Hand moving from his hair to his face once more, Lois smiles at him. Defeated, it would seem – another thing she only let happen with him, and nobody else's. Kryptonian privilege only.

"Alright, Smallville: you win," and she sees his shoulders start to relax at that. "As much fun as it is – and really, I'm loving it right now," she ironically rolls her eyes to make him smile, and is glad when he does, "I promise: I won't put myself in danger like that anymore."

She's not a fan of that particular promise, but it's worth it when she sees the relief in his eyes, the way the corners of his lips slowly quirk up.

"Thank you."

"Although in my defense, it was more a reflex thing than anything," she argues jokinly as he takes her hand between his, and presses his lips against it (although to be honest, it was sort of a reflex). "So technically, I shouldn't get blame, or yelled at by Perry or your Mom."

"Somehow, I doubt that will stop them." She squints her eyes to his sparkling ones.

"And somehow, I think that you're enjoying that it won't," and he has the audacity to smirk.

"Of course not. Oh, and you lost the bet, by the way." It takes her a minute to get what he's saying. And then -

"Oh, for God's – Come on, it wasn't really me per say," she whines, knowing full well she's not going to win that one. Damn it.

"Nuh-uh," he resists, firm. Pursuing his lips not to laugh, she knows. "You were the one playing hero to save me, so technically, we got made because of you."

She pouts, and he beams. "Secret's out, miss Lane."

[thekryptonianandthecitygirl]

Alfred

She gets in first. She doesn't look up at him, of course.

Instead, he watches as her trembling hands reach for him, her deep blue eyes filled with sadness, with distress, with pain – so much pain. She settles on the backseat, and immediately, the Bat and the Invincible Woman gently lay his body on her lap.

He didn't know him, not really, but the sight of him, the sight of them, the fallen hero and the shaterred heart he leaves behind, is enough to make his own ache.

Bruce closes the door, but once again, she doesn't care. She craddles his face, shaking fingers tenderly running on his now cold skin, so softly, with so much care. Tears roll down her darkened cheeks, but she doesn't wipe them away. She doesn't, and, her chest shaken by silent sobs, she simply leans down and kisses his forehead, one of her hands reaching for his unresponsive one.

Feeling like an intruder in such an intimate moment, Alfred pulls up the thick glass between the passenger and the driver's sides, and starts the car.

Right before it fully closes, he hears Lois Lane whisper her love to Superman one last time.

Diana

She goes to see her.

With what Bruce told her, they'll have to talk to her, eventually, but this time, it's not about that. She goes to see her, not as a soldier trying to prepare for war, not as a warrior trying to figure out what makes her the 'key' to the future of Metropolis – possibily of the world. None of that.

She goes to see her as a sister. As someone who's lived through what she's living, who suffered what she's suffering.

Diana can see she's surprised to find her at her door. Of course she is. She's mefiant at first, doesn't talk much. The Amazon guesses the woman is not one to open up easily, anyway. It comes as no surprise that she's not keen on doing so regarding that particular subject, either.

But eventually, she tells her.

She tells her about the bad dreams, which after weeks are still there, and about the times when she wakes up, and forgets he's not here anymore. She tells her about how when she reaches and his side of the bed is empty, she wants to die.

She tells her that for the first time in her life, she started thinking about having kids. Not because he wanted to, even though she knew he did, or because she felt obligated to or some bullshit like that – but just because she wanted that. She was the first to be surprised, but she really did - with him, she wanted a family, a lifetime and far more. "Talk about an ironic turn of events."

She tells her about the guilt. She should have figure it out faster, should have known about Lex's plans to create his abomination and stop it in time. She should have been there for him, she shoudn't have let him go and isolate himself. She should have stop him from going to his death, because he didn't deserve it. She hates herself.

Not just herself, though. Everything. Everyone.

She hates Luthor, his sidekicks, all the ones, from the politicians to the wealthy and the poor, who worshipped him. She hates the world, for making him think he was unfair and hated and a fraud. She hates them, Diana and Bruce, for surviving when he didn't. She hates him, for sacrificing himself like that and leaving her all alone.

(Then again, him, she can't never hate for long.)

She tells her about all those damn feelings and how they never, ever leave her alone and it's a constant hell, a living nightmare she can't wake up from. Diana wishes she could tell her it would eventually stop, that eventually, it would be alright. She doesn't.

Lois is far too clever to believe her lie, anyway.

Perry

It's been one year today.

It's hard to forget. He disappeared the same night Superman did, and the city – the whole damn world – is publically grieving, through social medias, in the streets, on the radio. The news won't shut up about it.

Part of him – the cynical one – can't help but think that some of them are just hypocrites, but then the other part of him knows that most of them mean it, most of them are sorry, most of them regret. He certainly does. He knows it won't change much - too little, too late - but he hopes that wherever he is, the poor guy can see it.

Of course, it's impossible to forget the date of his death because of Superman, but even if there hadn't been that, he wouldn't have forgotten.

How could he.

For all the hard time he gave him, he liked the boy. A good kid – a really good one, as annoying as he could get. Gone too young, far too soon. Even now, and particularly today, the thought still wears him down. Shitty life it was.

She hadn't been the same since that day. He didn't expect her to – nobody did. Nobody that knew her, least of all those that knew them. Between those two, it was as fast and unexpected as it was true, he knew.

She put up a good face, of course. She was tough, always had been. According to his wife, that even why she was his favorite ("The only person as butt-headed and thick skinned as you.") But this time, she took a hit, a real one.

The worst life could have dropped on her, and shit, how it did.

All the habits pre-Kent came back, only amplified by a million: the working all day long, sometimes all night long, the unhealthy amount of coffee – and sometimes, he knew, of alcool. Her damn tendency to not feed herself. He could have killed them for the number of stupid lovesick looks they used to throw at each other all day, not to mention the few times they arrived late – from lunch or in the morning - with equally happy stupid expressions, but at least, it put a smile on her face. Always did.

Now, he couldn't remember the last time he had seen one of those on her.

He looks up to see her exit the elevator, lips tighten and eyes betraying that her thoughts aren't here despite her confident walk towards her desk. She's pale. As she drops her bag, he sees her gaze catch with the diamand on her left hand, and he sighs, his old ticker tightening at the look that crosses her features.

She quickly turns and gets back to work.

That day, he can see her stopping herself from turning towards what used to be his desk. Taking the corruptions investigation as an excuse, he takes her to help him out on the field, cursing the sky that that's the only damn thing he can do.

Bruce

When he comes back, she's at their door before they even have the time to reach for her, an unreadable face and a firm and demanding 'What's the plan?' the only greeting they get.

(She barely spares him a glance, and won't do so unless she absolutely has to, in the days that follow. Not that he can blame her.)

She's here night and day, focus never wavering as they search for him, try to find a way to get to him, make him see sense. Deliver him from whatever hold Darkseid has on him, and that made him forget everything he stands for, everything he is.

Sometimes, they see a slight flutter, the pain crossing her blue eyes as she looks up at the screens and doesn't see the man she's fallen for, not yet, right before she averts her eyes and looks away, regaining her neutral expression as quickly as it disappeared.

It lasts for a few days, and seems like an eternity. It does, and at times, it almost seems impossible. But they continue, because they have too, and because they can't let the Kryptonian hero down – not again. Besides, there's hope.

After all, there's one thing he knows Clark didn't forget. Not really.

Looking up as her hurried steps come closer, her engaged in an intense conversation with Diana, Arthur and Alfred, the words come back to him again. She's the key.

As it turns out, she is.

Martha

She lights up again.

Whenever she used to come to the farm, during that terrible year, she'd always try and put up a good face. She did her best to be of enjoyable company, tried to put some enthusiasm in her stories as she told her about work and her on going investigations, fought to dig up some true and sincere smiles. And sometimes, they did manage genuine laughs.

Sometimes, for just a moment, the pain felt a little less, and it seemed that they were able to properly breath again. It never lasted very long, but at least being with each other granded them those few moments of temporary relief.

It did, and even when it didn't, Lois tried – she really tried to be strong. She was strong. But her smiles weren't as bright, and they rarely reached her eyes anymore. Martha would often find her glancing at the photographs of his own smile, at his old cap hanging near the door. More than once, she came out of his room on the mornings with eyes and cheeks redden by wiped tears Martha pretended not to notice.

(She'd just squeeze her hand, and she'd squeeze back, and they both would go on, because they both knew that was what he would have wanted.)

But when he comes back, she lights up again.

She's not like before, not really - never will be. Sometimes, Martha can still see the ghost of it all in her eyes when she looks at him, the inevitable fear that it might happen again never far. There's also the way that in the first days, she's constantly alert, always reaching for him. There's the mistrust mixed with the gratitude he sees and tells Martha about, when the League comes by their apartment that first week to fill him in on some important hero, saviors of the world stuff that can't really wait.

But despite all that, there's also the smiles that come back, the real ones. The vivacity, the witiness, the back and forths with him that leave her eyes sparkling. The bags under them start disappearing as sleep comes back, her cheeks regain their colors. She starts laughing again, and Martha realizes how long it's been since she's heard her done that.

That day, they're on the couch when she gets back in the house, her wrinckled hands dirty from her gardening. The TV is on, and they're watching some action movie. At least she's kind of watching, because Clark is just laying there, back to her chest, dozzing of as her fingers gently go back and forth in his dark curls. As the hero on the screen starts running towards his car, he catches one of her hands and brings their joined ones to his stomach, and, lips brushing his forehead, Lois tightens her hold.