Chapter: Seventeen: Smoothies and Ice-Cream
The freezing chill blew right through Silvia's blankets and she bowed her head to one side, closing lashes weighed down with wet snowflakes to keep out the salty sting. The dampness of the snow was making its way though her sleeping bag and she hugged her knees close. Her hair fell loose about her face, tousled, tangled.
If this wasn't enough to keep her awake, Lois' constant shivering was. It had gotten so intolerable that Silvia, when she thought everyone else was asleep, grabbed the majority of her own blankets and tossed them over Lois' trembling figure. It took a few minutes but finally the reporters shivering started to quiet down... only to be replaced by her own.
That night had been the worst she'd ever suffered through. Clark had woken up and insisted she take a few of his blankets, but when she refused, he shuffled closer to her to share them instead. He obviously knew that she'd never agree to taking them from him. Silvia had tried to argue this closeness but Clark had mastered the art of ignoring her.
Truth be told, this part of the night wasn't so bad... the blankets helped but nothing compared to Clark himself. Even with a small distance between them (only enough so that they weren't touching under the blankets), Clark was like a personal heater.
Waking up was awkward though, especially with Jimmy grinning down on them like the situation was a lot more complicated than it actually was. He stared at them both like they had been doing unspeakable things during the night, and this look continued the whole way back to Metropolis. It was so incredibly annoying that Silvia was barely bothered by the flight itself.
However, the thing that stuck out most about the end of the trip wasn't any of that... It was when Clark walked her to the bus stop talking about his hometown (he stood up as they waited so that her and an elderly woman could take the seats), and how he had passed her a few pieces of paper. They were folded up so she couldn't see what it was but when she got back and looked at them she realised that he had written the article for her.
He was the kindest person Silvia had ever met, a hero in his own right. In fact, to her, he was better than any powered up metahuman because he didn't need any special abilities to try and help people.
Silvia had always hidden the thought. She was becoming too attached to him, such opinions were only going to make it harder to push him away. It almost seemed too late now.
A few days had passed when she went to the Daily Planet. It was a large building crowded with employees at smooth wooden desks. She passed Jimmy who gave an energetic wave, and Lois who avoided looking at her altogether.
When she entered the office of Perry White the first thing she noticed were the posters hanging on each wall. They were shots of Elvis Presley in concert, some were even signed and so old he had to frame them to keep them intact.
"You must be Silvia Stone." An unsteady yet familiar voice spoke. "Clark's told me all about you."
From a chair perched at the back of the room an older man stood, hair grey and wrinkles crinkling around his eyes. He was the same man she had met during the attack... the one that had informed her that Clark hadn't arrived at work.
"He has?" Silvia gulped.
"Of course. I expect that you've got an amazing article ready for me." He said, walking over and holding his hand out. "Kent said that you're as good as he is, maybe better."
"H-He did?" Silvia stared down at the papers held securely in her hands and sighed. She knew Clark wanted her to take credit for it, and maybe a few months ago she could have, but now she was more uncertain about herself than ever... She simply couldn't do it.
Silvia passed the papers to Perry who skimmed through the paragraphs with a growing grin. "Fantastic. This will definitely start a buzz."
"Thank you..." These words felt foreign on her lips but she forced them out regardless. "But I'm not the one that wrote it."
The man glanced up from beneath the pages curiously.
"It's Clark you should be thanking. I was unable to complete the article so he did it instead. I was merely here to drop it off."
Perry frowned. "Well that complicates matters. He's the one that suggested you in the first place."
"I know, but he's also realised his mistake and fixed it. Please don't go too hard on him... He was just trying to help me."
"That doesn't concern me, and how I punish my staff doesn't concern you either." Perry's tone was harsh but something told her that he'd go easy on Clark. "I don't think that I need to state whether you've got the job or not."
"No, I'm well aware that I'm not cut out for journalism." Silvia quickly replied with a smirk, turning to walk out of the door with a wave. "Try not to kiss Superman's ass too much in this issue."
She could sense Perry tense in the background and glare up at her, much like Lois did when she walked back passed her to exit the Daily Planet.
Silvia hadn't seen Clark that day, nor the day after. In fact, it had been two weeks since she last spoke to him. This should have been cause for celebration. She was usually incredibly eager to get rid of him... but this time she couldn't help but feel a little lonely. Silvia missed his company.
The kitchen counter was chipped and wobbly as she slumped against it. There was nothing for her to do so early in the afternoon. She had to wait for the shadows of night to begin lurking before she even considered leaving the house.
Her mind wandered to that night in the snow and she still couldn't believe how warm Clark had been. He was definitely... something special. A bang tore Silvia from her thoughts. It wasn't loud like a gunshot, but it was audible enough to make her jump.
Her gaze whipped towards her window... it was open and standing in front of it was Starfire. Silvia groaned. She knew she had been bored but that didn't mean she was happy to see her.
"Silvia, hello!" Kori chimed deafeningly.
The blonde flinched at the volume and rolled her eyes. "What the hell do you want?"
"I have come for the 'girl talk'!" Starfire hovered into the air and landed on the couch with a gigantic smile.
"I don't want to talk." Silvia sighed. "Besides, didn't you say last time that I was, and I quote, 'not a very nice person'?"
Kori suddenly looked much too upset. Her green eyes glazed over and their glow dimmed in regret. "Oh... yes. I was very worried about Nightwing. I did not mean to be so horrible to you."
"You weren't being horrible, you were right. Can you go now?" Silvia tried to say but couldn't speak over Starfire's ramblings. She didn't even know why she bothered anymore... She might as well have no voice at all when it came to Kori.
"I went to visit him and he is okay!" Starfire continued as if Silvia hadn't spoken at all. "He has many bruises though, and a broken wrist, and fractures in his hands and arms."
"He got off easy..." Silvia huffed and this time Kori seemed to hear her.
"Oh yes! Batman was in much worse shape."
A smirk quirked onto Silvia's face, pride welling up in her stomach. With how badly she had been hurt it was always good to hear that she had returned the favour.
"I also told Nightwing that you find him aesthetically pleasing!" Kori added, smile widening to a grin.
"You did what?!" Silvia suddenly screeched.
"I told him that you find him 'hot', but not in the sense of him being on fire." Starfire giggled. "He said that he hasn't seen your face but he finds your body and voice very attractive as well."
Silvia felt like smashing her own head against the kitchen counter, and she might have if she wasn't busy cringing.
"Are you alright? Oh, this does not offend you, does it?" Kori asked obliviously. "In Tamaran this would be considered a great compliment!"
Silvia glared up at the girl. "He didn't offend me, but you're getting close to it." She hissed.
"That is a relief!" Kori replied stupidly and Silvia couldn't help but gape at her in disbelief. How could anyone be so clueless?... Kori reached into her cleavage and pulled out two tickets, having no room for a pocket in the revealing outfit she always wore. "I was hoping you'd go to the Aquarium with me! I have many friends there, including a very large sea turtle."
Silvia was still staring at her in surprise, not because she could fit the tickets down her shirt - Starfire's chest was massive enough to fit a small continent down there, but that she had done it so openly without any thought to Silvia seeing.
"They're not your friends... they're animals... next minute you're going to tell me that you can speak to them." Silvia said sarcastically, but Kori didn't seem to take the hint.
Starfire nodded with a large smile still plastered on her face. "I can! My people learn languages through lip contact. The animals here are very kind but hate being trapped in those glass cages."
Silvia knew that she should have been shocked by the fact that Kori could talk to animals, but all she could manage to mutter out was "You... kissed a turtle?..."
Starfire looked about ready to reply before something stopped her. She pressed her finger against her ear as if listening intently to something before pouting over at Silvia. "We will have to visit the Aquarium another time."
Not even a second later Kori had disappeared out of the window with little to no explanation. As pleased as Silvia was that she had gone, she found herself worrying when she heard sirens a few minutes later.
The blonde was contemplating getting suited up and running down the street to see what the commotion was before a knock came at her door. She should have been use to it by now but the sound was still odd to her. Still, there was only one person that was polite enough to knock and the thought had a smile threatening to break onto her face.
It was exactly who she thought it was. Clark stood tall in the doorway adjusting his glasses with hair a little messier than usual.
"Hey, Clark." Silvia said, still fighting against the smile. "Here for more questions?"
"N-No, actually I've already finished the article." He replied honestly, stepping into the familiar apartment and finding even more things wrong with it than before.
"O-Oh... I suppose you didn't use any of my real answers?"
"None whatsoever." Clark smiled, glancing back at her through thick lenses.
Though Silvia managed to return the expression, the silence that followed could not have been more deafening. Silvia felt a very prominent need to break it. "So... what are you doing here then?"
"I just... umm..." Clark mumbled, clearing his throat and straightening his posture. "I was wondering if you'd like to go get coffee?"
"Coffee?..." Silvia froze. "L-Like a date?"
Clark shoved his hands into his pockets and his smile widened. "Is that what you want it to be?"
Her breath hitched. The air around her thinned and she felt as if she might choke on it. Yes - that's what her brain screamed at her... but Silvia was too proud to say it outright. "I-I... don't really like coffee." She splattered out nervously.
Clark's confident smile weakened but never disappeared. He took a deep inhale and nodded. "That's okay... I understand." He said politely but lowly, sauntering back toward the door. "I guess I'll just-"
"I like smoothies though..." Silvia quickly said before he had the chance to leave. "A-And ice cream."
Not even a second later Clark had whipped around again in astonishment. He blinked at her. Then blinked again. It seemed like he was waiting for her to admit that she was joking but when she kept quiet his mouth stretched into a smile once more. "I know a place." He said, confidence leaking back into his tone.
Silvia grabbed her handbag and walked right passed him, patting his shoulder playfully. "Good. Only if you're paying."
One step out of her apartment and she could already smell the smoke that lingered around Southside. The incoherent yelling of drug addicts on the streets was somehow tuned out by Clark's chuckle though. Her mind was more interested in him than anything that rundown street had to offer.