Chapter Text
Outside of the bar, Clark exhaled in relief.
“You’re not really a bar kind of guy, are you?” Gwen giggled.
“No,” he chuckled, “I just tag along with my friends so they have someone to make sure they're safe. No one really messes with them when people see me towering behind them.”
“That’s very kind of you,” she smiled, linking her arm with his and leaning into him, “You like to take care of people, don’t you?”
“It’s what I feel like I'm here for,” Clark shrugged, “Keeping as many people safe as I can.”
“Then, I’m one protected lady tonight,” Gwen beamed up at him, making him soften and smile down at her.
“Without a doubt, beautiful.”
It was practically instinctive the way Clark led Gwen toward the night market going on just a few blocks away. There were food trucks and street vendors crowding a block in the middle of Metropolis. Gwen’s eyes widened and sparkled under the sunset, her heart soaring with nostalgia. The market reminded her of home, with the way vendors always fought for her attention as she walked down the streets of New York City. Clark was the only difference, the way hanging on his arm made her feel untouchable, even more so in a new city than she did back home.
“Hungry?” Clark asked her with a smile, which widened when she gave him an enthusiastic nod in return.
He let Gwen drag him around with her hand clasped around his wrist, his throat dry at the way her fingers didn’t even wrap all the way around. Clark waited slightly behind her while they waited in line for fresh falafel, one hand resting on her hip as he listened to her talk about her work as a research assistant. Gwen studied biochemistry and conducted biomedical research to develop cures for diseases. Given that she was noticeably younger than Clark, he was very impressed by her accomplishments and obvious passion for her work. It was obvious that she was very intelligent, but he was impressed by Gwen’s dedication to something so noble.
“And you?” she asked after she’d finished her thorough summary of a project she’d started earlier in the week, “What do you do, Clark? Do you always walk around dressed so professionally?”
“I do,” Clark chuckled with a blush as she straightened his tie, “It’s important for me to make good impressions. I’m a reporter for The Daily Planet. I chase leads and write articles. Telling stories that otherwise wouldn’t be told can make a difference if it’s done properly, so I try to always do my best.”
“You must be really good at your job, then,” Gwen smiled, “You made an amazing impression on me.”
“That’s a relief,” he sighed, “I was convinced I would blow it.”
“Why?”
“You make me nervous,” Clark admitted bashfully, “I’ve never done well with pretty girls.”
“Well, I like that underlying nervousness,” she smirked, pulling him down from his tie to brush her lips against his chin, “Makes me think you really like me.”
“I do,” he nodded breathlessly, “Very much.”
Before Clark could lean in and steal a kiss, it was their turn to order food. Gwen pulled away with a giggle and tugged him forward. They ordered a decent spread to try, and Clark got Gwen settled at a nearby picnic table with their drinks and some hummus, letting her feed him a bite before he smiled and got up to collect their food. When he returned with steaming plates of shawarma and falafel, Gwen bounced in excitement, which pulled a chuckle from him. He slid in to sit beside her and presented the food with a flourish, making her giggle.
“It looks incredible, Clark,” she beamed, snagging a bite of falafel, “God, I miss the food in New York so much, but this is amazing.”
“What’s your favorite thing to eat in New York?” he asked with an amused grin.
“Italian food,” Gwen nodded, “I just love pasta so much. But, oh my goodness, the Chinese food there is also on another level.”
Gwen and Clark ate a good amount of food between the two of them, given the latter’s metabolism. The blonde was chewing and looking at him thoughtfully as he easily ate the cherry tomato slices she had picked off her shawarma. He looked over at her questioningly, but hadn’t swallowed the food in his mouth in time to ask her what was up before she said anything. After a long sip of her soda, she spoke.
“You feeding me this means we’re not having sex tonight,” Gwen said, almost warningly.
“Wasn’t planning on it,” he responded honestly with a shrug, “I told you, I’m old-fashioned.”
“You don’t put out on a first date?” she teased with a wicked grin.
“Not usually,” Clark shook his head, “I try not to… The few times I have… it pretty much always ended after that first date.”
“And you really aren’t into casual sex?” Gwen perked up, surprised.
“Not particularly,” he said with another shake of his head, “I mean… It’s fine… I just don’t put a huge emphasis on sex in my life. Relationships mean a lot more to me than that.”
“I could still suck you off,” she offered plainly, making Clark instantly burn bright red and sputter in response, which made her giggle, “But we can wait… I want to do this your way, Clark. Maybe I like old-fashioned. If I could learn to like it with anyone, I’m sure it would be with you.”
“But you have to promise me,” Clark began with a warm smile and a hand on her knee under the table, “That you will tell me whenever I’m… dropping the ball. We’ll have to communicate to get this right and, golly, I really want to get this right.”
“Golly?” Gwen cooed and brushed a knuckle against his cheek, “You are the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. If you want to keep me from jumping your bones, you’re gonna have to be less adorable.”
“That’s what does it for you?” he laughed, making her lean in and kiss his cheek.
“You do it for me, handsome,” she practically purred with her glossy lips ghosting along his jaw for a moment, “But I like the concept of saving it. It’ll feel more special when the time comes.”
“I think so too.”
After they finished eating, Clark led Gwen to a gelato shop not too far away. When she couldn’t choose between two flavors, he offered to get one while she got the other so she could try both. Gwen had tried to refuse politely, but Clark was insistent. He just wanted to see her smile; he had made that clear. So, with a grateful grin, she accepted and got onto the tips of her toes to kiss his cheek again. The feeling of her weight pressed against him with his arm slung around her waist, and her finger hooked onto his belt loop was more than enough for him. Clark walked her to a booth and slid in after her so they could feed one another gelato between quiet conversation and hushed laughter.
“I’m really enjoying this, Clark,” Gwen said to him after their laughter quieted down and their gelato cups were empty, “You’re a really great guy.”
“That’s good to hear, sweetheart,” he beamed as he gently took her delicate hand into his much bigger one, “I’m quite fond of you myself.”
“Thank you,” she smiled at him, “For making me feel this way. Sometimes I rush into things because I want to stake a claim, but I already feel like I don’t have to do that with you.”
“You definitely don’t,” Clark promised with a thumb brushing her knuckles, “Once you’ve caught my eye, I’m all in. You’ve done that and more.”
“Good,” Gwen nodded, grabbing his chin and pulling him closer, “Because I want you all to myself.”
“All yours, darlin’,” he vowed, leaning in and sealing it with a sweet kiss.
Gwen hummed against his lips, clutching the collar of his shirt. Clark couldn’t help but smile when she pulled back, leaning in and kissing her again. She giggled, which he smothered with his lips. Now it was his turn to cup her face with his hands. He poured so much affection into the kiss that Gwen couldn’t help but sigh happily against him. When they finally parted, Clark’s dimpled grin made Gwen beam up at him. It was impossible to hide the way he made her feel.
“Let me take you out again,” Clark began gently, his hand taking hers again, “I can’t get enough of seeing you smile.”
“I’d love that,” she agreed easily, “You’re a dream come true.”
That night, Clark was good on his word. He walked Gwen back to his truck, helped her up into the passenger seat, and drove her home. She looked at her phone and saw that her friends had texted in the group chat to let her know they had grabbed dinner and were heading home early. Knowing Clark would worry, Gwen passively passed the information on to him in case he wanted to contact his own friends. Looking over at her made his heart stutter. Her pretty, plump lips sparkled underneath the harsh light of her phone screen against the darkness of the truck. Most of her sweet lip gloss had wiped off either onto a napkin or stained Clark’s warm skin. With a quiet thanks, Clark fished his phone out of his pocket and texted Jimmy to remind him that he could pick them up if they needed him to. The photo of Lois and Cat drunkenly spooning on Cat’s bed with their work clothes still on that Jimmy sent in return made Clark chuckle, tilting the phone to show Gwen when she looked over curiously.
“Your friends seem so fun,” Gwen beamed, dumping her phone into her bag, “I only got to get to know the girls, but they were really sweet.”
“Yeah, they’re great.” Clark nodded, started the car, and handed her his phone with the music app open, so she could DJ on the drive to her apartment. “We all work at the Planet together, and they help me let loose when I really need to.”
“Good.” The blonde nodded approvingly just as early 2000s pop began to filter from the truck’s speakers. “It’s good to have friends like that. The ladies I went out with tonight are very much the same. We don’t work together, we’re not even in the same fields… But I know to call them if I ever need to let my hair down and have a good time.”
“How’d you meet them, then?” He asked as he pulled out of the parking space and the greater garage.
Gwen got to gush about her friends, a few other queer women she had met over the years. It was pure luck that a few girl friends from college, her postgrad internships, and her minimum-wage jobs ended up in the same city as her after her big move. Harley, the tall brunette in fur who had approached Clark, had been Gwen’s best friend since the latter’s first day working at a coffee shop near the MiT campus. The two of them got along like a house fire and always stayed in touch, even while Harley’s tech career took her to California for a few years. When it came time for Gwen to seek out the right university to work under after finishing her master's, MetU stood out to her since Harley had moved to Metropolis herself just a year before.
It helped that MetU also had a doctoral program that seemed like a no-brainer for the budding biologist. She had always wanted to be the best at everything she did, and she was set on exceeding every expectation ever put on her. Then, when Gwen went shopping with Harley to grab some stuff for her new townhouse, she ran into her old friends Nova and Indy, who had been in a STEM internship back in New York that Gwen also attended. Her luck was already hard to believe, being able to reconnect with old friends and seemingly start again in a new city with them. Meeting Clark almost felt too good to be true on top of it all. When he pulled up in front of her charming townhouse by the river, trailing through the city, the truck fell silent for a bit. The red brick was nice, and Clark was relieved to see that Gwen lived in a safe neighborhood. But it was obvious Gwen had something else on her mind.
“Did you…” She began nervously as Clark paused for a moment. “Want to come in? You can meet my son, Sully Bear. I hope you’re okay with big dogs. He’s not big yet per se, but he’s a puppy, so he’s going to get huge… Fast… So, he’s kind of figuring out his actual strength.”
He couldn’t help but chuckle. If only she knew the kind of dogs he was used to. The feeling of knowing she didn’t want the night to end just yet, either, made him feel like he was floating. Clark was already reminding himself not to start actively floating with joy.
“I’m great with big dogs,” Clark promised and cut the engine, already getting out of the truck so he could open her door, “I’d love to meet him.”
From there, Clark helped Gwen down from the truck and followed closely behind her as she led him into her house. Her dainty hand stayed in his until she swung the door open and heard the distinct sounds of her puppy German Shepherd excitedly yipping in his crate. Clark couldn’t help his grin as Gwen squealed and rushed over to unlatch the crate door, immediately crouching down to allow her beloved pup to shower her in kisses.
“I was only gone a few hours, baby.” Gwen giggled at his desperation, her manicured nails scratching him behind his floppy ears. “You were such a good boy by yourself, weren’t you?”
“You said his name was Sully?” Clark piped up from behind her as he shut her door behind himself. “He’s cute.”
“This is my baby boy, Sully Bear!” Gwen introduced him with a beaming smile and beckoned Clark over for a proper greeting. “Sully, this is Mommy’s good friend Clark. I think you’ll be seeing a lot of him in the future.”
“Hey, bud,” The man smiled as he crouched beside Gwen and offered his hands for Sully to sniff, chuckling when the pup attacked him with his wet nose and sloppy kisses. “Oh, wow. You’re a loving little guy, huh?”
“I felt so bad leaving him home alone,” she pouted, making Clark lean in and kiss her cheek. “I was here just a few hours ago getting ready, and he sat in my lap while I did my makeup… He looked up at me with his puppy dog eyes… I almost flaked on my friends.”
“Aw.” Clark chuckled through a coo, his hands busy as he gave Sully some satisfying pets and head scratches. “You gotta let your Mommy leave the house every now and then, dude. A star like her needs to shine out there.”
“Well, now that you’ve been over…” Gwen began with a coy smile. “We could hang out here sometimes… Maybe go on walks, just the three of us?”
“I would love that, Gwen.” He nodded. “As long as it’s with you, I don’t care what we do. I’m a ‘movies on the couch’ kind of guy most days myself. I’ll never turn down a walk in the park or around town, though.”
“Perfect,” she giggled and gave him a peck on the lips. “You’ll fit in here just fine.”
Clark got comfortable on Gwen’s plush couch as she slipped into more appropriate nightwear, the sound of Sully’s little paws trailing around after her echoing through the townhouse. She had handed him the TV remote and told him to find something to watch for a little while. He was already torn between staying the night and leaving her home alone after an amazing evening together. When Gwen returned to the room barefoot, in soft cotton shorts and an oversized MiT t-shirt with folded clothes in her hands, Sully was still intently following right at her heels.
“My brother’s quite tall…” she began, nervously toying with the clothes in her hands. “But, he’s not… big… like you… You can still try these on if you want to get more comfortable…”
“You have a brother?” Clark asked with a charming smile, wordlessly taking the clothes from her.
“I have three, actually.” Gwen chuckled and tucked some hair behind her ear. “Philip’s my twin, but I’m like an hour older. Then we have two younger brothers: Howie and Simon. Howie's the tall one; he just randomly started growing like a weed in high school.”
“Ah,” he nodded as he tugged his tie off with ease, not acknowledging the way she ogled him, “Oldest daughter. Makes sense. You’re smart, independent, headstrong.”
“And you?” she asked, plopping onto the couch beside him and mindlessly petting Sully when he hopped up and lay in her lap. “Do you have any siblings?”
“No.” Clark shook his head and unbuttoned his dress shirt. “My parents took me in when I was an infant. They never had any other children. I presume I was a big enough handful.”
“I can’t imagine you were a bad kid.” Gwen smiled. “You definitely don’t give off the impression of a spoiled only child. It’s obvious that they loved you enough to keep you grounded and mindful of others.”
“I try my best to show the world what great parents they’ve always been to me.” He explained as he meticulously folded his dress shirt, and Gwen’s eyes locked in on his arms and shoulders straining against his undershirt. “I would hate to misrepresent the way they raised me.”
Gwen watched as he tugged the old NYPD shirt over his head, and her eyes almost glazed over the way the sleeves struggled to contain his biceps, and his chest looked more appealing than ever. He looked over the shorts and gave her a hesitant look.
“These, I’m not sure about,” Clark admitted.
“This barely fits you anyway.” Gwen giggled and tugged the hem of the shirt a little lower despite the way her hand rested on the softness of his tummy. “Feel free to dress a little slutty in my house.”
“Are you objectifying me?” he teased as he stood to undo his belt buckle, chuckling as Gwen’s eyes followed him up from her spot on the couch, and her mouth hung open at the sight. “You’re so bad.”
“Me?!” she gasped in exasperation, “Here you are, riling me up with your little strip show.”
“I’m not a piece of meat, young lady.”
When Gwen peered at him with a cheeky look on her face, Clark stared back. He fought a smile as he pretended to be disappointed, but his dimples always gave him away.
“Don’t.”
Now, Clark didn’t bother trying to find his chuckle when Gwen tipped her head back and laughed. Her nose scrunched adorably, practically forcing Clark to pull her in closer and kiss her cheek again. His big, warm hands carded through her hair before cupping her face, and he leaned in to kiss her again on her lips this time.
“You don’t mind that I’m being a pervert?” Gwen asked quietly, a tiny, tentative smile on her lips as her fingers lightly dragged up and down his abdomen. “You’re just so gorgeous, I can hardly help myself.”
“Not at all.” Clark exhaled and kissed her once more. “You’ve got me questioning my own morals here, darlin’.”
“Oh yeah?” she teased with a wicked grin, which immediately made Clark’s cheeks burn bright red, “You already want to fuck me?”
“You know, good and well, I wouldn’t put it that way.” He groaned, making Gwen giggle again, and cupped his cheeks with her dainty hands. “That’s vulgar.”
“How would you put it then, handsome?”
“Makin’ you feel good,” Clark murmured against the soft skin of her neck, pressing light kisses along the column of her throat. “Takin’ care of my girl, perhaps.”
“You’re such a romantic.” Gwen hummed as he peppered her with affection, her fingers tugging through his raven curls. “Are you gonna let me make you feel good?”
“I’m thinkin’ about it…”
Another kiss made the thinking stop for a while. It was hot and desperate, all tongue and teeth. Gwen squeaked against his mouth as his hands crept to wrap around her waist and pull her closer to him. Sully looked up from his spot on the couch before letting out a little bark, almost disapprovingly. When his call wasn’t acknowledged, the pup huffed and plopped down from the couch to pad over to his plush doggy bed in the corner, where a few chew toys sat. The sounds of Sully making the toys squeak didn’t even make it to Clark and Gwen’s ears. They were wrapped up in another, almost frantic to drink each other in. As much as they discussed taking things slowly, their attraction to one another was too prominent to dismiss. Old-fashioned values be damned.