"Your boyfriend is back!" Lois sing songs as she breezes past Clark's desk.

"What?"

Clark straightens up and looks around the office haphazardly until his gaze comes to rest on the young, raven-haired spaz, known only as Barry Allen, that frequently visited him at the Daily Planet. Their gazes lock and Clark immediately turns back to his computer, but it's too late to play it off. It's not that Clark disliked Barry, he actually thought the kid was funny and a tad bit awkward in an endearing way, but this was getting a little out of hand.

"That's the fifth time this week," Clark groans to himself, sneaking a hand up under his glasses to rub at his eyes.

"Hi, Clark!" Barry beams, grinning from ear to ear.

"Hello, Barry," Clark greets, spinning around in his chair to face the boy.

He offers Barry a small smile of his own, trying to be polite even though this was starting to get old. It was obvious to Clark that the kid had a major crush on him, but every excuse Barry made to see him was getting flimsier and flimsier each time. Such gems included article ideas from conspiracy theories to alligators in the sewers, which Barry swears he's seen.

"What is it today, Barry?" Clark sighs, preparing himself for the onslaught of Barry's rambling. "Has someone finally come forward proclaiming they're pregnant with Bigfoot's baby? Or is this about leaked nudes of Superman?"

"Why? Are there nudes of Superman?" Barry gushes with excitement, face lighting up.

"What I'm saying is that you don't have to make up excuses to come see me, Barry," Clark informs, blushing from Barry's enthusiasm.

"Excuses? Me?" Barry laughs nervously, looking incredulous at the object of his affection. "I only have totally legit reasons for being here."

"Which are..?" Clark inquires, trailing off.

"Well… I mean, I probably had one on the way over, but I've completely forgot," Barry offers lamely, reaching a new low even by Clark's standards for excuses. "How awkward…"

"Barry, you can't just pop in every day for no reason," Clark scolds lightly, frowning because he really hates to hurt the boy's feelings. "I have work to do and I can seriously get in trouble…"

"I have a reason, and it's a good one, but I can't precisely say it out loud," Barry admits, making micro expressions as he gestures around nervously.

"Barry..." Clark warns with a firm tone.

"Okay! Okay! Fine!" Barry relents, holding his hands up hastily. "I came by because I wanted to ask you a question."

"What is it?" Clark asks, a little curious now.

Barry clasps his hands together, looking down at Clark with a more earnest expression than his usually relaxed, carefree demeanor. Clark is staring up at Barry as the kid takes a seat at the edge of his desk. Clark pushes himself away from Barry slightly when the boy unexpectedly invades his space. It's not entirely unwelcome, but Clark can't help but feel put on the spot with all his co-workers around.

"Clark, I really like you," Barry admits, easing into the one burning question he's been dying to ask for quite sometime.

"Really? I had no idea," Clark almost says sarcastically, but it completely flies over Barry's head.

"Anyway, there's something I've wanted to ask you since the first time I saw you," Barry finishes, sighing deeply.

"Yes, Barry, I'll go out with you," Clark agrees before Barry can even ask his question.

"What? Really?" Barry stammers, taken aback by Clark's response. He quickly switches gears and tries to play off his nerves by seeming indifferent. "I mean… Cool."

"You have to promise me something, though," Clark adds.

"Anything!" Barry gushes, reaching out to clasp Clark's hands in his.

"You gotta stop barging in here every other day. My boss breathes down my neck enough as it is," Clark tells him honestly, noticing the shift in Barry's demeanor as he flushes bashfully. "I'm not gonna lie, it's really cute that you like me so much Barry, but you have to cool it a little, alright?"

"I understand," Barry relents, grinning like a dumb idiot when Clark flashes him a smile and squeezes his hands in return. Barry bites his bottom lip and scoots closer to Clark. "So… you think I'm cute, huh?"

"I said I'd go out with you, Barry. Don't let it go to your head," Clark chides, blushing despite his best efforts.

"Okay! I get it," Barry concedes, letting go of Clark's hands as he sits back and rubs his clammy palms over his jeans nervously. "You're pretty cute too. But, you probably already knew that."

"I don't know what I'm gonna do with you," Clark groans mostly to himself, rubbing at the bridge of his nose.

"I can definitely think of a few things you can do with me," Barry teases, licking his lips suggestively. Clark shoots him a dirty look and Barry hops off of Clark's desk with a laugh. "Alright, I'm going! I'll leave you to your work, Mr. Kent."

Barry goes to make his exit, knowing when he needs to quit while he's ahead, but Clark jumps out of his chair to grab Barry by his thin wrist. Barry turns around abruptly to see Clark looking all sorts of flushed and adorable. Clark pulls Barry's hand towards him and turns it palm up, scribbling his number in pen on the boy's delicate skin.

"Shoot me a text later and we can make arrangements for that date," Clark murmurs, giving Barry a wink. "Now, seriously, get outta here before I change my mind."

"Don't act like you're not secretly excited, Clark," Barry purrs back, nudging Clark playfully with his elbow before turning to leave.

Clark blushes and watches as Barry walks away, swishing his hips as he does. He hates to admit it, but Clark actually is excited about him and Barry going on a date despite his intentions being mostly selfish in the fact that he only mentioned it to make the kid happy. Now, though, Clark was looking forward to it. Not a moment later he feels his phone vibrate in his pocket and he pulls it out with a furrowed brow. Clark swipes to unlock his phone and sees that he's received a text from an unknown number.

Hey, it's Barry! U kno, the annoying guy that always bugs u? N E way, I kno u said 2 txt l8r, but I jus wanted 2 make sure u gave me the rite #. So ya :P This my # btw.

Clark smirks to himself, finding Barry to be troublesome and endearing even through text. Clark types his response with a big dumb grin on his face.

Yes, Barry, I gave you the right number. And would it kill you to use proper spelling and grammar? You're triggering me.

Clark clicks send and gets an almost immediate response.

O no, I'm in luv with the grammar police! :O

Clark rolls his eyes. Suddenly, he regrets giving his number to Barry, let alone agreeing to go on a date with him. Clark hates that Barry's so cute and charismatic in that he has a way of getting under your skin in the best way possible. He lets out a heavy sigh, wondering what he got himself into and taps on his mini keyboard.

Barry, I swear…

:P