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There they went again, right into the wolf’s den. Sometimes you envied Clark and Lois: their close relationship, their adventurous investigations and their skill to write such compelling articles. Other times, like this one, you were glad you could stay behind at the Planet with Jimmy and Perry while they faced Al Capone, Bonnie and Clyde. The fact that those three were alive was far too much for you to handle, not to mention face them and investigate them closely.
“You look great” You told them as they prepared their things to go. “Will fit right in”
“Are you saying we look like criminals?” Clark joked, with that bright smile of his that always lit up your bad days.
“No, silly” You fixed his tie, feeling that familiar anxiety spreading from your chest down to your stomach. “I’m saying you look handsome”
Your friend chuckled, although his smile slowly faded. His hand gently fell over yours, stopping you from anxiously fixing his tie still.
“Don’t worry” He reassured you, noticing your distress. “It’s just another lead”
“I know. Besides…” You paused to look up at him and show him a smile. “You two have a guardian angel”
“We do?”
“Yes, we call him Superman”
Surprised, Clark giggled at your comment. You patted his chest and flattened his tie with your palm.
“Hey, don’t distract him” Lois’ voice startled you a little. “I need him focused”
“You look great too, Lois” You grinned, knowing she was slightly jealous of the attention.
“Thank you” She humbly shrugged, but her smirk seemed satisfied.
Lois finally grabbed her shawl, which matched her beautiful red dress, and headed for the elevator. Clark followed in tow.
“Guys” You called them, about to dedicate them the same words you always did before they ventured out to follow a lead. They turned to you. “Be careful, both of you”
“Always are” Clark winked at you as he followed Lois.
“It’s okay, Y/N” Lois smirked wider. “We’re professionals”
The elevator dinged almost as soon as she pressed the button, and they got inside. Clark cutely waved goodbye at you, and you reciprocated the gesture as the doors closed.
When they were gone, the office seemed to grow louder with busy noise, as though trying to replace their absence. You knew they would be okay, like they always were, but you couldn’t help but to worry.
“Hey, Y/N” An arm fell over your shoulders, and you smiled at the thought that Jimmy had once again come to your rescue. “Can you check these for me?”
“Why me?” You humored him, taking the photos from his hand and giving him a playful look. “You’re a photographer too”
“You have a good eye, better than me” He playfully shook you around. “You’re the best photographer in the Daily Planet”
“Flattery will get you everywhere, Olsen” You laughed, walking with him to sit down and take a closer look at those photos.
_
It was getting late, you could tell because exhaustion was starting to weigh down on you. Jimmy had complained a couple of times because you kept infecting him with your yawning.
“No, that one has a better angle” You pointed at the picture, resting your head on his shoulder as your eyes started closing.
“Think that’s the one I should give the boss?” He leaned his head down to look at you.
“Mm-hm”
“Hey, don’t fall asleep!”
“I’m tired, Jimmy”
“They why don’t you go home?”
You knew the answer, even if you didn’t want to admit it. Even if it usually was the case, saying you enjoyed spending time with him this time wouldn’t be entirely true because, while you did love being around Jimmy, you had stayed because you needed to make sure that Lois and Clark returned safe and sound from yet another one of their dangerous investigations.
Just then, the elevator dinged. Jimmy’s shoulders grew tense, and you yourself moved away from him to glance in that direction. The doors opened to reveal Lois, making you sigh in relief.
“There they…” Jimmy started saying, although he suddenly grew silent. You felt a nasty feeling in the pit of your stomach when you realized why.
“Lois!” You quickly jumped to your feet, with Jimmy doing the same, when you watched her as she approached.
The reporter looked up in a daze, almost seeming to realize just then where she was. Her eyes fell on you two, but she didn’t seem to register the fact that you had called her. Lois’ hair was disheveled, nothing like its usual neat style. Her red dress was crooked, and one of the straps had fallen off her shoulder. Her eyes were red and puffy.
“What happened?” Jimmy uttered in a shaky voice.
“Where’s Clark?” You asked as well, not seeing him anywhere.
“He’s…” Lois leaned on the closest table, breaking into sobs. “Gone”
Somehow, although you knew what she meant, her words didn’t make any sense. Clark couldn’t be gone. He was young and strong, and brave. Bad things didn’t happen to people like him. Clark Kent was too kind to have such a tragic end.
The office completely came to a halt. Everyone stared at Lois in shock. Jimmy next to you plopped down in the couch you had been sitting with him a moment ago. You slowly joined him when you felt your legs shaking.
“What’s going on here?” Perry suddenly exited his office, startling you with the sudden movement. “Why did everyone stop working? This is… Wait, Lois… Are you alright?”
“Perry…” She absently walked closer to the boss. “Clark is… dead… they shot him”
A lump had formed on your throat, but hearing those words made your heart hurt. Disconsolate, you threw yourself to the comfort of Jimmy’s chest. He was so in shock that it took him several seconds to hug you and only did when he heard you loudly weeping.
_
A party… Perry wanted to still celebrate that party with everything that was happening?
Your eyes, that you realized were on the elevator, were inundating in tears again. Frustrated, you averted your gaze from that spot, knowing he wouldn’t come back. You had to accept that. Instead, your gaze fell over the photos in Jimmy’s desk, long forgotten. You wished you could return to that moment where you were carelessly and cheerfully checking the photos out, joking and laughing with Jimmy before you learned the terrible news that filled you with pain with each passing second.
“Lois?” You asked when you saw her, surprised that she wasn’t home. “What are you doing here?”
“You know…” She shrugged, lacking her usual liveliness. It broke your heart to see her like that, but you could relate to her deep sorrow. “Being alone at home was torture”
“I get it…” You patted her back, not really knowing what to do to help. Lois wasn’t the type of person to cry on people’s shoulders. “Try to take it easy, though, okay?”
Her eyes were watery, but she nodded her head. In a futile attempt to ease your worry, she showed you a pathetic smile. You had never seen her so defeated.
“I’m here if you need to talk” Was all you said before you gave her some space.
Crestfallen, you walked away and hid in the supply room. There, you were away from everyone as well as the deafening noise that made you feel inadequate. You sat down on the floor and hugged your knees. Silence was almost as bad.
You couldn’t stop thinking about that moment, when you learned that you would never see Clark again. The Daily Planet had lost a great reporter, and Metropolis had lost a compassionate and polite citizen. You had lost a dear friend, an inspiration, a part of your heart. How could you live knowing you would never see his bright smile again, or hear his light-hearted jokes or just… be with him? It was too hard to accept that.
“I knew I’d find you here” Jimmy’s voice startled you out of your thoughts.
“Hey” You glanced up to see him standing there at the door, watching you.
“Mind if I come in?” His voice was still low and hesitant as it had been ever since that dreaded moment.
“No” You averted your gaze as he approached you, feeling embarrassingly vulnerable.
Jimmy stopped for a moment, towering over you, before slowly settling on the ground next to you. Even then, it took him a few more seconds to speak up.
“I talked to the chief about the party”
“What did he say?”
“He still wants to celebrate it” He let out a trembling sigh. “And maybe he’s right, maybe we need to distract ourselves from…”
“C-Clark’s death” You uttered, feeling helpless when the tears arrived to your eyes yet again. It felt like you did nothing but cry, and you couldn’t help it.
“Oh, Y/N…” Jimmy scooted closer to you until your sides were touching. “Don’t cry, please…”
“I know it’s useless, and I know it won’t bring him back, but…”
“No, I meant…” He sniffed through his noise. “If you cry then I’ll cry, and if I start I don’t think I’ll be able to stop”
Like it wasn’t bad enough not to have Clark, his absence was heavily weighing on your friends too. Lois was devastated and Jimmy had lost his smile. You had the urge to hug him, but you were too afraid that it would trigger him crying too. Instead, you linked your arm with his and rested your head on his shoulder. He sighed and leaned his head atop of yours.
“Have I…” Jimmy’s voice seemed to get caught in his throat, and so he cleared it before he continued. “Have I told you about that time C.K. pranked me?”
“Clark pranked you?” You took your head off his shoulder, amazed by his words.
“Yeah” You saw a hint of a smile on his lips. “It was an accident, but still…”
“When was that?”
“Before you started working here”
“What happened?”
“Well, he went out to bring us coffee” A small smile finally showed up on his mouth, even if it was a nostalgic one. “And he gave me Lois’ black coffee by mistake. It was so bitter that I spit it out and almost choked on it”
“I wish I could have seen your face” You muttered, feeling the weight of loss lessening slightly when the life returned to his eyes even if for a moment.
“Yeah, C.K. apologized profusely and tried to hide it, but…” He chuckled. “He was laughing really hard”
“Good old Clark” You returned to your spot resting on Jimmy’s shoulder, clinging on to his arm just as you clung on to that sweet story. “Always smiling”
“Yeah, I miss him”
“Me too…”
You sighed in the unison, knowing that even if you had lost Clark, at least you still had each other.
_
Everything was dull without Clark, and you knew it would be for a long time. You appreciated the sentiment, but you didn’t have the energy to be in that party and you were honestly looking forward for it to end. Rather than being there, you much preferred returning to the supply room with Jimmy and listening to all those stories from before you joined the Planet. To make matters worse, someone had erupted into the party: the very people that killed Clark. Luckily, Superman had jumped in to save the day.
When the police arrived, you found yourself sitting in Clark’s empty desk. You felt Jimmy’s quick glances your direction, but this time you needed some space, even from him.
“C.K.!” You suddenly heard him exclaim, making you look up in his direction.
He was hugging someone, and your mind didn’t quite register who it was for a moment. You only saw Lois, who seemed to have just returned from one of her many messy shenanigans. She was wearing a black suit jacket, tied around her body with a belt to make it seem almost like a dress. Seeing the garment, something clicked in your head.
Your gaze fell over the person that Jimmy had now stopped hugging, a man wearing a blue dress shirt with no jacket. Your heart skipped a beat at the familiar sight.
“Clark?!” You shouted, causing all heads to turn to you.
Standing up, you approached him in a daze. For a moment, you thought you were seeing things, but everyone was looking at him too. And they were smiling.
“It’s him, Y/N” Jimmy laughed in utter happiness. “It’s really him, he’s here”
You stood before Clark in shock, still not believing he was alive. How could it be?
“Hi” He smiled at you, a sight that filled all your emptiness with warmth.
“Go on, kid” Perry laughed too. “Hug him”
Jimmy pushed a hand against the small of your back, which brought you out of your daze. You threw yourself to hug Clark with so much force that he staggered a little. Still, he laughed as he wrapped his arms around you.
“Clark, you’re alive” You broke down, crying against his shoulder and holding him as tight as you could. “You’re here, you’re okay! You’re back!”
“I am all of those things” He said, chuckling against your ear. It seemed like the most wonderful sound in the world.
“Now, Y/N” Perry said behind you. “You can let go of him, let him breathe”
“No!” All of that anguish had finally vanished like magic, and you refused to abandon the comforting effect of that embrace.
“I still know your weakness” He playfully said, squeezing your side to tickle you. In response, you shrunk over yourself and let go of him.
“I’ve missed you, Kent” You laughed in the end, playfully tugging on his tie.
“Kent, huh?” He lingered on his bright smile. “Are you mad at me?”
“A little, for scaring us like that”
“I’m sorry”
“We’re just glad you’re okay, C.K.”
When Jimmy wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you to his side, also letting Lois get close to Clark again, you heaved a sigh of relief. Your head calmly leaned on his shoulder like it had done so many times. This time it was different, it wasn’t only cozy and comforting, it was also soothing. It was a celebration that Clark was back, and that everything was okay.