Chapter Text
It was very good, Clark Kent thought, to go back to his normal life after everything that had happened over the last couple of months. He very much needed this: to just walk around Metropolis while his biggest concerns were what article Perry would ask him to write and in what way he would stop Lois from trying to cook tonight and potentially blowing up the kitchen.
He entered the convenience store, only to be immediately greeted by a loud and warm, “Clark!”
“Hello, Mrs. Gonzalez.”
The short lady behind the counter was all smiles, and Clark was sure he had missed her too. She immediately climbed up a stepladder, then stood at the counter, and Clark quickly walked up to her, she shouldn’t be doing this anymore!
It had been a while since the last time he had been here, but this was one of his favorite places in the whole city. Back when he first moved here, way before meeting Lois and when Jimmy and he had just started sharing an apartment, he could always count on Mrs. Gonzalez for a cup of warm coffee to start the day or one of her delicious homemade meals if he didn’t have the energy to cook anything for dinner.
Now, he was back here again, and as always she was standing on her tiptoes over the counter, squeezing his cheeks while she told him how tall and strong he looked.
“I was here three months ago!” he said.
“You look different, Clark, happier!” she said, grinning. “And I was surprised by your order! Five dozen donuts this time? It’s good to know you haven’t lost your appetite, my boy!”
“They are not all for me!” he explained, blushing awkwardly.
She paid no attention to that. Now she was holding his right hand, and Clark turned an even brighter shade of red because, damn, she was still so good at noticing things.
“What is this?” she questioned, pressing the golden ring on his finger.
“You’re kinda responsible for this,” he said, and she looked at him, completely confused by that. Before he could explain, the store’s door opened and his fiancée walked in, frantically typing on her phone.
“Hello, Mrs. Gonzalez,” she said politely, then immediately switched into reporter mode as she asked, “Clark, tell me again the name of that giant stupid alien bee that tried to kidnap me until Superman saved me last night?”
“Swarmeur,” he said, shuddering. Lois had never been in any danger, but still, that had to count as one of the weirdest fights of his life. Also, he would have liked it if Lois didn’t mention Superman in front of other people; he didn’t really need more civilians to know his secret!
“How do you even write that?” she asked.
“S-w-a-r-m-e-u-r,” he spelled it, chuckling when she muttered, “the stupid Swarmeur, with his stupid pollen-based gifts and his stupid giant flowers.”
“So, this is the lucky lady!” Mrs. Gonzalez interrupted them. Clark nodded several times, just as Lois said:
“Did you give her the invite?”
“I was just about to,” he replied, pulling out an envelope and handing it to the lady as he explained, “we would really love it if you and your husband came to the wedding. After all, this is the place where Lois and I first met, and I can tell you I have fallen for her more and more ever since then.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful to hear! Of course we will be there! You and your wife enjoy these five dozen donuts, they’re on the house!”
“Oh, of course not,” Clark replied, quickly pulling out his wallet as he repeated that they weren’t all for them.
“Kal-El!”
The door opened again and Kara came flying in, dressed as Supergirl and carrying a very blushing, very stiff Jimmy Olsen on her shoulders. Clark shook his head at her attitude; whatever hope he had of her taking his advice about getting a secret identity had been lost months ago.
“Kal-El,” she repeated, exchanging looks between her cousin and the man clinging atop her, “please tell Jimmy Olsen to stop squirming mid-flight.”
“I’m holding on for dear life all by myself here!”
“Because I need my hands and arms for the very important task of holding the box of pastries that belongs to us, Jimmy Flamebird,” she explained, grabbing one of the five boxes and playfully slapping Jimmy’s hand away when he tried to open it.
“I recognize your pal Jimmy,” Mrs. Gonzalez commented, “and Supergirl too! She has a great appetite, much like you, Clark.”
The Kryptonian warrior nodded proudly at that, and the woman added:
“But since when do you hang out with her?”
“Since always! I am her cousin, after all. By the way, many appreciations for your delicious box of glazed ring-cakes, Camila Gonzalez!”
The woman simply gave her a small smile while Clark threw his cousin a nasty look. Just because she didn’t want to have a secret identity, it didn’t mean she could blow up his. Now Mrs. Gonzalez was looking at him, obviously suspicious, and he prayed for a miracle to avoid explaining all this.
“Hey, Farm Boy!”
Phew!
Steve Lombard entered the shop, ruffled Clark’s hair, and took one of his precious boxes of donuts (the one Clark had promised to take personally to the Daily Planet to celebrate his engagement with their co-workers). He laughed boisterously as he ruffled Clark's hair again and immediately headed out, shouting:
“Lane, Cat says she’s beating you to the punch with that alien bee story!”
Lois fumed at that.
“No she’s not! I told Perry I would cover it!”
“Ha! Good luck with that! Cat is in my passenger seat; we’ll get to the Planet in fifteen minutes or less!”
“Really, how can she survive the smell of cheap deodorant and frozen burritos?” Lois replied, immediately staring at Clark. He understood the message perfectly: They’re gonna be there in fifteen minutes, so as soon as we’re done here, you’re gonna take me flying to the Planet so I can beat Cat, okay?
He gave her an intense nod, and Mrs. Gonzalez said:
“I’ve seen your articles in the newspaper, Clark. You have become such a professional!”
“Thank you, I…”
“And all your stories about Superman are great! You know him so well, you must be good friends with him too!”
“Well, in fact, Superman…”
“Mom! Dad!”
Why did I decide it would be a good idea to bring them along? Clark thought, just as the door opened yet again. Jon and Lara came in flying, not walking, like he had explicitly told them to do when visiting the city with him.
They had learnt this from Kara, their aunt, amazing as she was, was also a terrible influence on his future children.
They were both complaining about a stupid game they had been playing on the handheld console their uncle Jimmy had bought for them. Even with his supersenses, Clark had trouble understanding what the heck they were talking about because they were using way too many weird expressions and being very blunt about the fact that the future they came from didn’t have this sort of thing.
Well, at least their major crisis was some silly game and not the destruction of the planet, Clark thought happily, though he still failed whenever he tried to understand how time travel worked with his two children.
“Clark, did those teenagers call you ‘Dad’?” Mrs. Gonzalez questioned.
Lara, obviously mortified, immediately dropped back to the ground. Realizing her mistake, she shook her head as she tried to explain:
“No, no, no! Actually, it’s just… a term of endearment! Yes, you see, Mom and Dad, I mean, no, Lois and Clark, they are…”
Her brother, on the other hand, rolled his eyes at her attempt, grabbed a box of donuts, shouted, “Mine!” and flew away so fast that even Clark and Kara almost missed his movements. Lara frowned, shouted, “Get back here, you!” and gave chase. She also flew, generating a sonic boom that rattled the shelves around them and made several objects fall to the floor.
The other Kryptonian in the store reacted quickly, moving left and right to clean up the place while Jimmy let out shrieks of fear because he was about to fall.
Once Kara was done, she gave them a little salute and said:
“Thank you for the treats, Camila Gonzalez. Kal-El, Lois Lane, we will see you at the celebration later. In the meantime, my not-boyfriend and I will spend the day at the park eating these donuts!”
“I told you to stop calling me that, Kara,” the human complained.
“And I told you I’ll keep calling you that until you win that title, Jimmy Flamebird,” she replied. Their banter was obviously playful, judging by the way they blushed every time they heard each other talk. Jimmy barely managed to let out a “bye” before the echo of his voice got lost as Kara flew out of the store at top speed.
Clark, at this point, had accepted that hiding who he really was when so many people in his life had the ability to fly was a losing battle and in the meantime, he noticed the confusion on Mrs. Gonzalez's face was evident.
The little bell above the store’s door rang, and the reporter let out a relieved breath when he saw his parents. Both of them were trying to control Krypto while the dog was barking happily with his tongue out, at least neither of his parents, nor his pet had superpowers!
“Clark! Your doggie smelled the donuts and…”
And that was all Ma managed to say before the dog broke his leash and practically jumped at the counter, fine, maybe he was powerless, but he was impossible to control sometimes! Clark reacted quickly, hugging his pet while Krypto kept sniffing the treats and suddenly, he felt him bite his arm.
He stopped, realizing all eyes were on him. He was supposed to be a normal human; he had to react in a normal way after a dog bite!
“Ouchie,” he simply said and he could hear Lois facepalming behind him.
“Oh, will you look at the time?” she said, pushing her fiancé and their dog away. Krypto kept struggling, desperately trying to eat one of the sweets he could smell in the box Clark was still holding. “We have to rush! Ma, Pa, see you later! Mrs. Gonzalez, we’ll see you at the wedding! Bye!”
The store owner chuckled when, right before the door closed, she saw Lois punching Clark’s arm as she said:
“Ouchie, really? That’s everything you could come up with, Smallville?”
All the humans in the room smiled at them and once Mrs. Gonzalez assumed Clark couldn’t hear her anymore, she commented:
“It’s so cute that little Clark still tries to hide that he’s Superman from me.”
“Since when did you know?” Pa asked.
“Around the fourth or fifth time he broke the front door.”
“Tell me about it!” Ma said, laughing. “We had to deal with that at the farm for…”
“Thirteen and a half years and counting,” Pa completed, and they both cackled as they grabbed the last box of donuts.
“Before you leave, if you could get a message to Clark... we will be at the wedding, of course, but I would like him to know I’m happy for him. He’s been through a lot, and now he looks…” Mrs. Gonzales said.
“Just as happy as we are to have him in our lives,” Ma said, and the other woman nodded in agreement.
The Kents waved goodbye, promising they would deliver the message. The door closed just as Mrs. Gonzalez’s husband came out from the back room and asked what all that ruckus was about.
“Oh, Clark and all his friends were here. Also, his parents and… his children, I think?” She still didn't fully grasp that part.
“Good man, that Superman,” he said, and she laughed again.