AN: Hey guys! There have been so many stories posted lately on here and I haven't even caught up with them! But I loved the "Super Fun Guys" episode and I wanted to write something based on that adorable Clark/Lois conversation. Enjoy it and have a great day!
I guess with great responsibility comes great loneliness.
Walter tried not to let Sylvester see how much those words affected him. Years ago, before Scorpion and Cabe and Homeland were involved, Walter thought of loneliness as an asset. More time alone with his thoughts. More time to work on his projects. Fewer distractions in his pursuit of scientific knowledge and advancement. Less pain.
But things had changed. Pushing Cabe away after he revealed the truth behind the Baghdad incident was difficult. Thinking about the possibility of losing Megan was…unbearable. And when Paige had left the night before to pick up Ralph, Walter wished, not for the first or last time, that she would stay.
Sometimes the genius thought it might be better to go scorched earth—leave everyone and everything behind, burn it to the ground, start over. It was too late for that, though. Walter was different now…the team was a part of him, and there was no going back.
"Are you reading a comic book?"
Paige's voice snapped Walter out of his reverie and he dropped the reading material on his desk, straightening up and running his hands over his crumpled shirt. The liaison stared at him with an amused expression. "It's, uh, research."
"Mmhmm," she hummed, setting down her purse and flipping through the comic's crisp pages. "Are we consulting Superman for crime-fighting ideas now?"
"Superman is, um, an alien," he replied, trying to sound less flustered. "We use science to fix problems, not magic."
"Sometimes, it all seems the same to me," Paige sighed before placing the book back down in front of him and heading toward her desk. "Do you want me to make some coffee? You look like you had a late night," she called over her shoulder.
Walter's throat made a strangled noise and he covered it unconvincingly with a cough. "I had a lot on my mind. Coffee would be great. Um, thank you."
"Sure." She flashed him a smile before disappearing into the kitchen, and Walter slumped forward in his seat, letting out a deep breath. He imagined another reality where Scorpion worked in a regular office, and instead of stopping deadly viruses and defusing bombs, they would just spend their days making spreadsheets and sitting in on conference calls. There would be no risk—no danger in his relationship with Paige—but they would probably die of boredom.
He started to lose himself further in his thoughts, and when Paige arrived back more quickly than expected with two cups of coffee, he was startled all over again. "Where did you get that, anyway? Did Sylvester give it to you?" she asked, taking a sip from her cup and making a face to indicate that it was too hot. Walter suppressed a smile. She did it every morning and he'd given up trying to warn her.
"I borrowed it from Ray. He has an extensive collection," the genius said before reaching over to grab his coffee.
Paige rolled her eyes. "Why am I not surprised?"
"You said I needed friends that were more human," Walter reminded her, shrugging his shoulders and glancing over at the trailer where "the lunatic," as most of the team referred to him, had taken up residence.
"Yes I did," she said in a clipped voice, shaking her head. "Anyway. What kind of research were you doing?"
Walter felt an alarm go off in his head. He hadn't thought about how he would explain his sudden interest in caped superheroes; detonating a nuclear weapon while dressed as one should have been enough exposure. "I, um, wanted to see…"
He trailed off, and Paige looked at him expectantly. There were a thousand innocent ways to end the sentence, but for the first time since he'd met Paige, they were following a pattern of mostly open communication. Walter didn't want to be the one to end it. The genius tapped his fingers on the cover and exhaled. "You said last night that I was, um, the real-life equivalent of a superhero," he said without looking at her. "But heroes…never get everything they want. They can save the world or they can have meaningful connections, but they can't…have both."
For a moment, the only sound in the garage was Paige setting down her mug. He kept his eyes trained on the book, which seemed to be mocking him as he started to regret opening it at all. "Oh," she said quietly, and the genius looked up just high enough to watch her long fingers trace the edge of her cup. "Are you talking about us?"
Walter wasn't sure what it would sound like if he spoke, so he just nodded.
After a beat of silence, Paige pushed a stack of books to the side and sat down on the edge of Walter's desk. He directed his eyes back to his hand, struggling to look at her the way he wanted to when they were having such an honest conversation. "I was just joking last night. You're not actually Clark Kent, Walter. And I'm not actually Lois Lane. You know that, right?"
"I know," he answered hesitantly, folding the edges of the pages with his fingers. "But the fact is that we are constantly in danger. Yesterday could have been, um, pretty close. And if we are heroes, then everything I know about them confirms my previous theory, that I can't have this and…you."
Walter glanced at her from the corner of his eye to gauge her reaction. "I, um..." Paige started, clearly unsure how to respond. The genius tried to quiet his emerging panic. "I said that I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize Scorpion. The team means a lot to me too."
"Exactly." He knew he could end the conversation right there and save himself from the immense discomfort he felt opening up to her, but he found himself incredibly disappointed by her response.
"But…" Paige continued, surprising him. Tentatively, she reached out and placed her palm over his hand, watching him even though he still refused to make eye contact. "Look, I've said a lot of things about…us, and I guess I haven't made it clear where I stand. I should have. I care about you, Walter, and I know that this isn't the easiest situation to figure out, but I think we could. If you want to…I want to."
The genius was frozen, the thoughts in his head all but drowned out by the electricity running below his skin. They couldn't hide behind transparent lies or veiled flirtation anymore—she was taking a leap and asking Walter to jump with her.
"Paige," he said lightly. Logic dictated that he should let go of her hand before their conversation became too serious, but instead he found himself wrapping his fingers around her palm. "I don't know how to do both. Superman saves the world, but it always comes at the cost of Lois. I'm not sure I would be able to make that decision."
The liaison dipped her head until she was at eye level with Walter, forcing him to look at her. "You've already made that decision. The cruise ship, trading yourself for me? That barn in Mexico? When I had a gun pointed at my head yesterday, I wasn't afraid. Because I trust you, I trust you and the team and you have never let anything happen to me before. No matter how bad the situation is, you save everybody. Including me." The corner of her mouth turned up. "I guess that makes you better at your job than Superman."
Walter couldn't hold back the small chuckle that escaped him, and he subconsciously tightened his grip on her. "Do you ever wish that we'd met under different circumstances?"
Her eyebrows furrowed. "Like what? I'm a teacher and you're a chemist, and we meet at a coffee shop?"
"Something like that," he answered with another laugh.
"Hey." Walter felt overwhelmed by how close she was, how intensely she seemed to be studying him. "You are who you are, and I don't ever need you to be anything other than that. Besides, did it ever occur to you that maybe I like saving the world too?"
The genius raised an eyebrow but didn't respond. Paige bit back a smile. "I don't go into dangerous situations because it's my job, Walter. I do it because it's worth it. Working with Scorpion…I never thought I would do anything more meaningful at work than serving tuna sandwiches, and now I get to do these amazing things every day. And, sure, I worry about your safety just like you worry about mine. But there will be always be times when we're in danger and I think…I think that we deserve to enjoy the moments that we're not."
Walter glanced at their intertwined hands. Her palm seemed so small and soft next to his, but it didn't represent how strong she could be—stronger than him in some ways. Maybe it was time to trust her…trust that she could hold things together even when he couldn't. "Like now?" he asked, a crooked grin reaching his face.
"Exactly," Paige answered, and he could hear the smile in her voice.
Much like their first kiss, he wasn't sure who initiated it, but suddenly her lips were pressed against his and his hands were tangled up in her hair. It was slower than last time, and Walter felt a strange sense of freedom—no more lies, no more holding back, no more pretending they were indifferent because it was easier.
And when Paige finally pulled back, face flushed, and giggled, Walter knew they could start their own story.
They could be the new heroes.