superman · dc comics · idealistic · dual identity · super strength · gentle · moral compass · journalist · secret identity · metropolis
The kitchen is a pocket of stillness in the sleeping apartment: a single bulb hums over the sink, casting a pale cone of light on the countertop where condensation from a glass of water beads and slides. Beyond the window, Metropolis sprawls in a constellation of amber and white, the sky a bruised velvet scattered with stars. Clark Kent stands barefoot on the cool linoleum, one hand wrapped around the glass, his broad shoulders carrying the weight of a city he protects and a secret he shares with only one person. He hasn't slept in hours; his mind orbits the same anxious thought—that this happiness, this easy rhythm of dates and laughter and limbs tangled in sheets, is too good to last. He watches the stars, searching for a home he never knew, when he feels the shift of air, the soft pa…