Work Text:
Clumsy
Jon rolled his eyes as he watched his dad fumble with his wallet, he shifted the bag of take-out in his arms to hide his smirk. Jordan likewise hid his embarrassment behind his bag.
“Oh, there it is!” Clark exclaimed as he pulled out his credit card. “Sorry about that.” He smiled awkwardly pushing his glasses up his nose.
Jon had to suppress a snort, the guy who spoke every language on earth pretending to be flummoxed by a misplaced credit card.
“C’mon boys let’s get this back to your Mom huh?” he smiled leading them out of the diner. Clark shifted the bag he was carrying, deliberately wobbling the tray of drinks but not spilling a single drop.
“Need a hand with that Dad?” Jon smirked playfully.
“Very funny.” Clark frowned. “Just get in the truck”. He sighed, handing what he was carrying to the boys, and climbing behind the wheel. “You know, all this is for you and your Mom right?” He said pointedly. “I don’t particularly enjoy making a fool out of myself on a regular basis but I do it to protect you guys.” He said seriously.
“I know, I’m just kidding Dad.” Jon smiled.
“When did you start doing all that anyway?” Jordan asked as they headed home, taking a sip from his drink. “Y’know being clumsy and stuff.”
“Well it actually started in elementary school.”
“Seriously?” Jordan frowned.
“It took a while to master my powers, to learn control, but to everyone else it just looked like I was clumsy. When I broke something because I held it too tight or tripped over my own feet because they were moving faster than the rest of my body. My father taught me to use that to my advantage and how to cover up any mistakes, even as I got older.”
“So that’s how you knew it would work?” Jon frowned.
“Yes, I knew I’d have to play it up even more once I became Superman, but part of me really was that clumsy. The part that had to adjust and recalibrate every time I touched something or ran somewhere. The part that gave awkward air hugs for a year because I was scared I’d crush someone, the part that broke almost 2 dozen eggs before I learnt to crack one like a normal person does.”
“I never though of it like that.” Jon said seriously.
“It got easier as I got older, by the time I moved to metropolis I had a handle on my powers, and now it seems second nature to me. Though there were times in my life when that changed.” Clark smiled.
“Like when?” Jordan tilted his head interested.
“Well when you two were born for one.” He smiled. “I’d not spent a whole lot of time around newborns or even children so I was in new territory.” He glanced at his boys. “I was so scared I’d accidentally hurt you. For the first few months all your mother and I wanted to do was hold you close, make you feel safe. But I was terrified I’d hug you too tightly, make your baths too hot or do your diapers up too tight.” he sighed. “Your mother would joke that I could face down criminals and fight forest fires but a dirty diaper had me flummoxed.” He chuckled. “So not all of that awkwardness you saw growing up was for show.” He smiled. “You remember the first time I fell off the ladder putting up the Christmas tree? Well the ladder slipped unexpectedly, probably because I put too much weight on it, and instead of falling forward and snapping the tree in half, I decided to “fall” backwards onto my backside. Both of you were watching and thought it was hilarious. So it just became something I did to make you smile. A lot of those clumsy moments while you were growing up were the same, I guess I liked that I could make you laugh like that.”
Jordan and Jon smiled back softly, happy to know the man they had known growing up really was their dad, a nervous father who wanted to make his kids happy, just like any other.
“And of course there were the times when I was genuinely clumsy but not because of my powers.” he smirked. “That started the day I met your mother.” He smiled softly.
“Right.” Jon smiled. “Mom said you acted like you didn’t know where your feet were.” He laughed.
“Oh no no no, it wasn’t an act. The moment I laid eyes on her I was a goner.” He smiled dreamily. “My heart was beating 20 miles a minute and when she stopped in front of me suddenly I just ran right into her. I have super-speed but It was like I’d forgotten how to walk, how to form a basic sentence.” He chuckled. “I barely remembered my own name! I kept rambling on about my 1st grade teacher!”
“Smooth dad.” Jon chuckled and Jordan couldn’t help the snort of laughter that escaped.
“The first time I asked her out, I’d never been so nervous, but she said yes before I could even finish asking and suddenly everything changed.” He smiled. “She became the one person I felt I could truly be myself around, and It’s been that way ever since.”
The boys smiled back, they may not admit it but both of them admired how in love their parents were and hoped to find that themselves one day.
“Well now we know where Jordan gets it from.” Jon smirked. His brother wasn't exactly smooth either when it came to asking girls out. Jordan just rolled his eyes in response.
They pulled up into the drive. Lois was waiting on the patio for them.
“There’s my boys.” she smiled. “Did they have pie left?”
“Yep.” Jordan smiled. “Got a whole one.” he said pointing to his bag.
“Dad’s just been telling us about when you met.” Jon smirked.
“Has he now.” Lois smiled knowingly.
“I was just telling the boys that my clumsy awkwardness isn’t always an act, that sometimes I really am that clumsy and awkward.” Clark smiled.
“Oh, like how you almost stepped on my feet when we first met? Or the time you pretended you had to get home to eat frozen chicken nuggets and watch Seinfeld re-runs.” Lois looked at him pointedly.
“I actually did do that.” He argued. “After I put out a forest fire.” he smiled.
Lois smiled back warmly.
“I fell in love with your adorkable butt long before I knew you were Superman.” she grinned, reaching up to kiss him, she deepened the kiss and immediately heard a groan from their children.
“Come on guys. Dinner’s gonna be cold.” Jon sighed. He normally didn’t mind his parents PDA too much, he was used to it, but he had his limits.
Lois simply smiled softly, gave Clark's backside a playful squeeze before winking and heading up the steps. Clark grinned back with a soft, far off smile on his face before promptly tripping up the porch steps, almost dropping the bag in his arms.
“Yep, she’s still got it.” Clark breathed out softly, and the boys just burst into laughter.