It was yet another day at Martha's Delights.
Evelyn was feeling particularly down today. It had been exactly three months to the day since The Incident had taken place, and her heart was feeling heavy. She tried not to remember everything she'd witnessed on that day, or how awful it made her feel, or the emotional, physical and psychological pain she went through - but it was almost impossible. Social media was on fire with the viral 'In Memory Of…' graphics, the #PrayForMetropolis and #WeWillRemember hashtags were trending, and all victims were reminiscing their stories to any radio or TV station that would take them.
There was no escape - so all she could do was busy herself around the coffee shop.
Martha had briefly popped out to fetch more supplies to stock, as there was another mid-morning customer lull, leaving Evelyn to essentially man the cafe by herself. She was humming along to the music playing out on their little speakers, bopping her head to the beat - but was quickly interrupted by the cafe bell ringing. A new customer had finally entered the premises.
She quickly glanced up from where she was polishing the bar surface to see the most beautiful, rugged, dark haired man stroll through, pushing his thick black glasses higher up his nose with every bold but relaxed step he took. He was dressed in a blue flannel top and jeans, with a laptop bag swinging off his broad shoulders, and he immediately settled himself in a quiet corner of the cafe.
Worryingly, Evelyn found that she couldn't physically tear her eyes away from him, due to how incredibly striking he was. His overall demeanour was quiet, the aura surrounding him was calm - but he, himself, was utterly breathtaking.
The gentleman glanced up whilst he reached into his bag to pull out his laptop, before lowering his gaze again to prop open the lid with a slight clearing of the throat. Evelyn's heart skipped several beats as soon as they made eye contact, albeit brief. He shot her a small smile before going back to what he was doing, sparking Evelyn straight into action.
She grabbed her trusty notepad and pen before slipping her way over to him, with her dazzling customer-ready smile plastered onto her face. He looked up at her expectantly once again. He appeared to be a little taken aback by her, leaning back in his chair slightly as he soaked in all her features.
Those sultry sweet hazel eyes, her plump link lips poised in a smile, the loose auburn curls framing her face as a complimentary fringe as the rest of her hair was pulled into a high ponytail.
She was beautiful - he knew that much as true.
"Good morning, my name's Evelyn and I'll be your server today - can I get you a drink to start off with?" she offered with a shy smile.
"Oh - pleasure to meet you, Evelyn," the man nodded politely. His voice was soft, like warm melted butter.
Evelyn herself could've melted, in fact.
"Could I just have one of your frothy coffees, please?"
"Of course you can," Evelyn smiled, scribbling it down within seconds. "Can I get anything to eat for you? We got some fresh homemade bagels in the back?"
"Oooh…a bagel would actually be fantastic," the man nodded a little over enthusiastically. Evelyn bit back a little giggle covered her face with her notepad, making the man duck his head with a wince and scratch the back of his neck awkwardly. "That was…kinda embarrassing, right?"
"No no," Evelyn laughed as she lowered her notepad from her face again. "If bagels are fantastic to you, bagels are even more fantastic to me! After all, my fantastic self baked 'em." The man chuckled and shook his head, just as the bell rang again. This time it was Martha with a bunch of stock in her arms. The produce looked incredibly heavy for her small frame - Evelyn couldn't be sure that she wouldn't topple over.
She gasped and immediately put down her notepad to help, but the gentleman that was sat in front of her was much swifter.
"Here, Mom, I got it," he murmured out as he lifted the boxes from her arms with ease. Martha glanced up in pleasant surprise, having not expected to see him there - but nobody was as surprised as Evelyn.
"Clark, what are you doing here?" Martha was the first to laugh lightly, reaching up to kiss his cheek.
"'Mom'?!" Evelyn gasped, leading them both to look over at her in confusion. Her eyes widened as she realised the volume of her voice, and she smothered her face again in embarrassment. Both Clark and Martha shared amused smirks. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound so stunned, I just- Martha, you-"
"I…what? I've mentioned him once or twice, no?" Martha giggled, as Clark excused himself to carry the goods into the pantry.
"I mean yeah, literally once," Evelyn stated as if it were obvious, picking back up her notepad and following her into the kitchen too. "But you never told me what he looked like." Martha stopped walking and spun back around, startling Evelyn once more.
"What would what he looked like have to do about anything?" she asked curiously, raising a suspicious eyebrow.
"I-I could've charged him by accident!" Evelyn spluttered back with her arms outstretched dramatically.
"Oh please," Martha smirked before spinning back around again. "Clark, has the lovely Evelyn been treating you well so far?" she trilled out to her son, who just so happened to be emerging from the pantry whilst dusting his hands on his thick, firm thighs.
His enticing eyes rested on Evelyn once again and her cheeks tinged pink.
"Oh, yeah, she's been…just…" Clark trailed off, before both he and Evelyn smirked at each other, the two of them knowing exactly what was coming.
"…fantastic," they both answered through their peals of childish laughter.
Martha's eyebrows to shot up in surprise, her amusedly suspicious eyes darting between them both.
"Okay, I have no idea what's going on here, but you're both absolutely adorable," she hummed before going to unpack the groceries.
"I'll get that bagel for you, Clark," Evelyn finished giggling, trying to stop an even hotter blush from crawling onto her cheeks at the way Clark's gaze was still fixated on her.
"Thanks, Evelyn," he smiled slightly. As soon as Evelyn spun around and headed back into the little kitchen to get started, Clark returned back to where he was seated but with his mother following suit.
"Well, I haven't seen this smile in quite some time," Martha launched into conversation with him cheekily, settling herself down in the chair opposite his. Clark raised a brow and shrugged.
"To be honest there hasn't really been much to smile about recently," he murmured, his crystal blue eyes flying up to meet hers. Strangely enough, it was the first time that day that his mother could recognise the pain in his face, where she could so easily identify every element of grief that he was secretly hanging onto. "I…I got the job at the Daily Planet."
"Well done, son!" Martha gasped, reaching out to squeeze his hand.
"Ma, it's a miracle that I even got through the door. The selection process was awful. Everyone's struggling to make ends meet in Metropolis after…after I-"
"Clark, for the last time, it wasn't your fault - you did what you could to save who you could. Trust me, some already understand that and, in time, everyone will," Martha whispered as discreetly as possible. Clark's eyes fell heavy and he shook his head glumly, unable to bear the thought of it anymore. "So! You get along well with Evelyn, huh? Want me to see if she's seeing anyone? Although I'm pretty sure the answer is no…?" Martha suddenly changed the subject with a cheeky smile, desperate to get his happiness back.
Clark glanced back up at her with a little embarrassed grimace.
"Mom, I literally just met her. Already fumbled my cool once - please don't be weird," he winced.
"I'm not! She's pretty, Clark - and such a sweet girl," Martha whispered encouragingly. "And to be honest, just by looking, the two of you-"
"Shhh, she's coming!" Clark hissed with wide eyes as he spotted Evelyn making her way over to them both with the bagels and newly brewed coffee. Her eyes immediately fixed themselves on Clark, who was staring at her in a daze, unbeknownst to himself.
But Evelyn didn't mind. There was something so endearing about him that she couldn't help but play into those flirtatious little feelings, no matter how foreign they felt to her.
Martha glanced between the two of them once again, slightly lost at their seemingly comfortable silence, but somewhat warming to it all the same.
"Your coffee and one fantastic bagel, straight out of the oven," Evelyn cleared her throat as she placed the meal down on the table in front of him. "Served with a side of fresh salted butter and cream cheese."
"Thank you so much, Evelyn," Clark nodded back with a matching smile. Martha's eyes lit up as she stood to her feet and pulled her chair out further.
"Here, Ev, why don't you take a seat and take your lunch break now?" she suggested, her eyes twinkling. Now it was time for Clark's cheeks to flush red whilst Evelyn blinked a couple of times and frowned.
"Well there's no need, I-"
"No no, I insist! I'm sure my son would love the company, wouldn't you Clark?" Martha trilled. Evelyn glanced over at Clark in uncertainty, but was rather surprised to see him shrug.
"Sure! Company sounds good," he agreed a little awkwardly. Evelyn grimaced and untied her apron before settling in the chair opposite him. She fiddled with her slender fingers uncomfortably whilst Martha swept away to go and sort out some more bits in the kitchen, leaving them to it.
"Well it's…uh…nice to officially meet you, Clark," Evelyn finally smiled after a couple more moments of silence between them.
"You too! How long have you been working here?" Clark asked casually before taking a sip of his smooth coffee.
"A little over a month now. I was job hunting like crazy after The Incident and your mom took me in almost immediately," Evelyn explained with a pleased smile. She was still so thankful to Martha for giving her the opportunity. Sometimes it didn't feel real.
"O-oh, I see. Did you have a job before this one?" Clark frowned. "Before…you know…?"
"I did, but after it all…yeah, my old place was pretty much completely destroyed. It's somewhere in the rubble… so now I'm earning money to build it all back up again," Evelyn shrugged, trying not to look too bothered but also somewhat failing at the same time.
To her, talking about her beloved cafe was the equivalent of talking about the loss of a loved one. It was painful, and she understood that nobody else would get that aside from her. But what she absolutely didn't expect was the way that Clark's face crumpled and pretty much fell at this revelation.
Evelyn frowned at him apologetically, assuming she had said something triggering.
"S-s-sorry, did you lose someone in The Incident too?" she murmured to Clark in genuine concern.
"I…" Clark began to explain - but it didn't really matter.
Within the next few moments, it was as if Evelyn suddenly couldn't hear him anymore. Her hands were getting sweaty, and her chest was starting to heave even heavier than it had ever heaved before.
It was coming, right in front of Clark, completely unprovoked.
"Evelyn?" Clark frowned nervously, reaching out for her hand. But she snatched it away as if it was hot coal, placing it on her chest and attempting to breathe - but suddenly struggling to remember how to.
"C-could you tell Martha that I've…I h-have…" she suddenly gasped for air, clutching her chest.
"Woah, Evelyn," Clark leapt up and rushed around to her side of the table to hold her shoulders firmly. "Mom?!" Martha appeared within seconds, equally shocked to find Evelyn in the state that she was in.
"What's happening to her?!" she gasped in surprise. Clark shrugged as Martha held Evelyn's face as the tears of panic started to stream out of her eyes. "Evelyn? Sweetheart, can you hear us? Clark, what happened to her?!"
"I don't know," Clark blinked hollowly. "I…I have no idea-"