Chapter Three
Jemma looked back towards Clark as she gently swung open the door of the motel room she had been renting the past four months. "Tada! It's not much, but for now it's home." She told him with a smile, watching as his eyes quickly took in the room in front of him. It wasn't completely horrible for a cheap motel, She thought. It was clean for one thing, and bug free, the worst part about it was the terrible retro décor that Jemma wasn't entirely sure was ever in fashion. "Make yourself right at home, Clark." She said walking through the doorway. The very first room was the largest and had a double bed and small living space with a bathroom in a room of its right, and a kitchen in a room of its left. Clark thought it looked rather cozy and slowly followed Jemma, closing the door behind him and placing his rucksack on the floor against the wall. Jemma was over by the window, pulling the curtains across and locking the latch. It wasn't until she turned around to find Clark standing in the centre of the room looking positively lost that she smiled faintly again. "Hey, if you want to take a shower, go right a head or if you want to go to sleep, the beds all yours." She told him, making her way into the kitchen, beginning to feel a little dizzy from the lack of food since her break early in the day. Clark seemed to snap out of his daze at her words and ran a hand through his hair. "A shower would be great, actually. Where are the towels kept?" He asked. Jemma popped out from behind the kitchen wall, stirring a bowl of what smelled to him like tomato soup, the fake kind though.
"Ugh, left cupboard under the sink I think, if not, the right." Clark nodded and thanked her again for the use of her temporary home before disappearing into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind him.
Jemma watched as he left the room and raised her spoon to her mouth, taking another sip of her god awful canned soup. "Clark is so strange." She thought. "One moment he comes across stoic and almost hardened and the next he's like a good little farm boy who always says please and thank you." Eating one last spoonful of her dinner, Jemma made a face and walked to the sink, tipping it out. It really was terrible. She didn't need to guess why it was 99c. Rinsing her bowl out and placing it in the sink, the young woman made her way back into the living/bedroom and quickly began changing into her sleepwear; she was too tired and couldn't be bothered doing much else that night. Jemma had just finished pulling her long sleeved skivvy over her torso when she heard the bathroom door unlocking and looked up, as Clark existed, almost shrieking with shock as she quickly turned the other way. Clark exited the room with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist, having completely forgotten his clothes in the living area. Although he pretended not to notice Jemma's rather amusing reaction to seeing him shirtless and practically naked, it didn't make him feel any less embarrassed and he cleared his throat as he quickly grabbed his bag from the other side of the room.
"Sorry, I don't mean to make you uncomfortable, I forgot my clothes." He apologized and he could hear Jemma make a funny noise in her throat as she turned back around. He didn't fail to notice the couple second glance she took at his chest. "Ugh, no sorry it's fine." Jemma said clearing her throat as they both could hear her voice had raised an octave. "I mean I just wasn't expecting…" She trailed off as she gestured to him and Clark smiled entering the bathroom once more, nodding and closing the door behind him as he removed his towel and begun to dress himself in slacks and a singlet shirt. He was used to sleeping shirtless, but seeing how Jemma had reacted and the fact that there was only one bed and no couch, he didn't think it was entirely a good idea. His own heart did a little jump in his chest as the image of Jemma looking at his body flashed through his mind and Clark frowned. Not only was that barely appropriate, he barely knew her and he wasn't exactly sure why the thought made him a little more positive about, well… everything.
Shaking his head once more, expelling any left over droplets of water that hadn't dried yet, the man opened the door once more, and stepped out. This time Jemma was sitting against the headboard of the bed, having turned the TV on and was very tired following the screen with her eyes.
"Where do you want me to sleep?" he asked softly and Jemma seemed to snap out of her little daze. "Uh, the bed is fine. It's big enough for two people. Besides we're both adults…" She shrugged and pattered the spot next to her, yawning. Clark nodded once. It wasn't that he was uncomfortable with sharing the bed; it was just that he had the tendency to throw his arm over or around any other occupants. He smiled softly at her as she maneuvered under the covers and the man walked over to 'his' side of the bed, pulling up the blanket and settling him self in. The light was already off, the room being lit by the TV which Jemma leant over and turned off via remote, shrouding the room in instant silence and darkness. Clark waited for a moment, feeling a little awkward in sharing a bed with someone he'd met all of thrice. "Good night Clark. Sleep well." Jemma called over her shoulder. Clark smiled. "Good night, Jemma."
A/N: Thanks for reading! I have been asked why my chapters a pretty short and honestly my only reason is that I prefer to write shorter chapters... Any questions or comments just let me know ^^
Special thanks to for their review! :)
R&R :D