It had now been a total of five months since The Incident.
So much had changed in Evelyn's life since that godforsaken day. The moment the heel of her foot had first left the hospital grounds, she'd immediately morphed into someone who avoided people, including her own family and therapist, refused to travel the city out of sheer terror, and remained comfortably unemployed whilst battling with severe anxiety and PTSD.
But now…she was happier.
She was in a beautiful, relatively relaxed job that had her interacting with customers every day, she was attempting to travel the city little by little, her PTSD symptoms were certainly improving and, of course, Clark was in her life now - seemingly not budging. It had been a week since their passionate embrace right there on Evelyn's doorstep, and so far they'd spoken to each other every day, but oddly hadn't seen each other since. Clark claimed that he'd been sent on an off-site reporting job for work, and therefore didn't have the time.
Regardless, there was no doubt about it, Evelyn missed him terribly already. But she was trying hard not to put all her feelings onto this one, unsuspecting, yet so comfortably familiar man. She knew all too well how life worked, that everything could change in a split second - so she never wanted to put all her hope in one situation ever again.
This morning in particular she was back at work with Martha, having relentlessly served customers non stop all morning. There was quite a rush today, which helped keep Evelyn busy from Clark's odd absence. "It's been crazy today, huh?" Martha panted once they'd finally had a moment to themselves again.
"It absolutely has been, yes," Evelyn breathed, running her fingers through her long curls and fanning herself with her little handheld contraption - a little laminated menu. "Barely even stopped for air and now I'm absolutely starving!"
"Well then make yourself a sandwich, sweetie - it's all part of the beauty of having food at our disposal, remember?" Martha reminded her with a scoff as she took a sip of water.
"So true. Going for a roast beef number - lots of gherkins, sauce and jalapeños," Evelyn gasped, already reaching for the sourdough bread in the bread-bin and whacking the fridge open for the salted butter.
But then a thought crossed her mind.
"Hey, Martha?"
"Yes honey?"
"Have…have you seen Clark recently?" she decided to take the plunge and ask awkwardly.
Martha's head immediately snapped up to stare at her in surprise, trying her hardest to bite back the smile threatening to form on her lips.
"As in…my son? I've…I've heard from him here and there but from what I understand, he's away on a work trip," she answered smoothly, without so much as missing a beat.
Then her amused eyes lit up even further.
"…Why, Evelyn?"
"No reason at all! I just know he always hangs around here and haven't seen him in a while, so I wanted to make sure that he was…you know…doing…okay," Evelyn lied hurriedly, her eyes widening with unease. She was unsure of why she wasn't just telling Martha that she just missed him dearly, but was also trusting her better judgement at this stage.
"Well! That's mighty kind of you to worry," Martha hummed, cocking her head to the side in interest. "But I really wouldn't worry, he does this often…oho actually, he's right there at the door!" Evelyn's mouth dropped open as she spun around to watch Clark stroll into the cafe in a suit, clearly having come from work on his lunch break. He really did look beautiful, the tight fabric of his suit complimenting his muscles in the best way, and the dark materials matching those soft black locks of his but making his enticing blue eyes pop even further. Naturally, Evelyn couldn't stop the blush of what felt like relief crawling onto her cheeks as they swiftly locked eyes again. "Well would you look at that! Dreams do come true. I'll serve this customer, you can serve the boy you've been dying to see all day," Martha whispered with a knowing smile onto her face and drifting away.
Weirdly, and seemingly out of nowhere, Evelyn suddenly found herself feeling nervous as Clark walked up, fiddling with her slender fingers as a distraction.
"Morning Ev," he hummed politely once he'd finally reached her.
"Good morning Clark," Evelyn nodded back calmly, shooting him a smile. "Hate to sound like that person, but where the heck have you been?!" Clark blinked a couple of times in genuine confusion.
"Away for work, like I told you…" he answered slowly. But hen the expression on his face shifted from baffled into something more playful, with a sprinkling of cheekiness added in. "Why, did ya miss me?" he found himself smirking.
"No!" Evelyn blushed, ducking her head and busying herself by wiping the crumbs from the bar surface. She lowered her voice and darted her eyes up again. "But you can't just kiss me like you did and then disappear into thin air-"
"But I didn't disappear into thin air, Ev!" Clark chuckled lightly as he saw her crack a reluctant smile back. "I spoke to you every single day and even said I'd be back this week - and here I am…back this week!"
Evelyn rolled her eyes playfully and shook her head, chucking down the dishcloth again.
"Anyways, what can I get ya before the queue starts to increase again?" she ended up asking instead, leaning on her palms.
"Could I just get a black coffee and a breakfast burrito to go, please?" Clark requested politely. Evelyn nodded and got straight to it, grabbing the burrito and popping it into the oven behind her before switching on the coffee machine. "And Ev, if you missed me kissing you, all you had to do was say," he suddenly spoke again, quietly enough for Evelyn to spin around in surprise.
"I didn't say I missed you kissing me!" she hissed - before noticing him bite back another cheeky smile. He was having far too much fun, and it was as clear as day. "Oh I see, you're just here to get on my nerves today. I'd rather you have just stayed on your extra long work trip, honestly-" But Clark chuckled and leant on the bar, watching her make the order with those intense eyes of his.
"Look, I know that I need to make my silence up to you - so, are you busy tonight?" he asked as casually as possible.
That was when Evelyn looked up again.
"I might be, I might not be. I know that Lois is meant to be coming home at some point but I haven't heard anything yet. Why, Mr Kent?" she hummed cooly, although she was internally excited to hear what he had planned.
"Well, I'm being sent to another grand opening of a restaurant tonight, 'White Flag', and wanted to know if you wanted to come along," Clark stated simply, taking the coffee whilst she wrapped up the burrito.
"Oh! Are all our dates going to revolve around what the Daily Planet send you to do on their company credit card?" she teased.
"I mean, it is the perk of the job," Clark pointed out lightly.
"You're right - yeah, I'd love to come along tonight," Evelyn smiled, finally wrapping up the burrito and handing it over.
"Great - need me to pick you up?" Clark offered.
"No no, I got it - it's not far from me at all," Evelyn hummed, her pretty feline-like eyes darting from his lips and back to his eyes flirtatiously. Clark spotted her movements and bit back another smile, a small blush tinging on his own cheeks. "Now, you can get back to work. I'd kiss you goodbye but, you know - I think I want to miss your kisses for a little longer."
Clark chuckled to himself and paid for the meal before grabbing the bag off the counter.
"See you at 8, Ev!" he called out before spinning on his heel and leaving the coffee shop. Evelyn watched him go, lost in a little in a daze, before hearing Martha clear her throat from beside her - making her almost jump out of her skin.
"So! Do I need to get my wedding hat ready?" was all she asked with a troublemaking grin.
"Martha," Evelyn groaned, trying her best to bite back her laughter. "I'll let you know the moment I'm sure myself, okay? For now, we have more paninis to fill!"
…
Evelyn knew that she was probably overdressed for the night, but she didn't care. Her was wearing a black bodycon dress that clung onto her in all the right places, paired with her very best black heels that she only saved for special occasions. This time, she actually decided to straighten her beloved loose curls so that her hair cascaded over her shoulders as a soft, comforting curtain. "Brucey Bruce!" she called out to her beloved cat as she grabbed her purse and jacket from the coat hook.
Her cat glanced up from where he was lazily lounging on the sofa, barely blinking his curious deep green eyes.
"I'll be back soon, okay? Pray for me - I like this guy and I don't wanna mess this up with a panic attack!" Bruce let out a soft 'meow' and stared at her for a little while longer, before suddenly going back to licking his paw again. Evelyn simply rolled her eyes and stepped out the apartment, locked it behind her and made her way down town.
The evening sky in Metropolis was beautiful, but she was already regretting declining Clark's offer of walking her, considering this restaurant was in the heart of the city. She would've so appreciated his bulky arm of sturdiness to prevent her nerves from going haywire. The pressure was on - she couldn't have a panic attack tonight, she really couldn't. She just wanted one interaction with Clark that didn't centre around the fact that her heart couldn't take the stress, so that he didn't have spend his time struggling to help her, despite how willing he was.
So Evelyn simply kept her head down, refusing to look at what used to be the local pet shop and what used to be the school full of kids - the one her sister was in when she was hit by the blasts. She refused to look at what used to be the store that she bought her food from every week, and what used to be the skyscrapers that held the bustling bankers.
She point blank refused, keeping her eyes firmly fixed on the pavement underneath her until she finally reached the venue. A tall, glass building, towered over her and rudely blocked out the setting sun. It was newly refurbished, almost sparkling clean, with a queue of buzzing people outside and paparazzi dotted around.
But her thoughts were soon interrupted by a light tap on her right shoulder, causing her to spin around. She was taken aback to see Clark standing there - dressed in a stunning black tux, complimenting him even more than his regular work suit.
So she felt nowhere near as dressed up as she could've been.
"Wow," Evelyn couldn't help but breathe once she'd lay eyes on him. "Hellooooo 007!"
"Wow yourself," Clark hummed, placing his hands on her curved waist. "You look…incredible, Ev." His tone was almost bordering on wistful, and it made Evelyn giggle shyly as she turned away from his gaze.
"Thanks - so do you! We clearly took the idea of overpriced steak very seriously," she joked lightly. Clark laughed back and shook his head. "I mean look at you - giving Bruce Wayne a run for his money."
"Oh ha ha," Clark drawled with a roll of his eyes. "What is your obsession with that guy? First your cat now me?"
"Hey now, don't be jealous - you're still my number one," Evelyn smiled, pulling his head down to finally place a sweet kiss onto his lips, filling the want she'd been craving for the best part of the week. After a few seconds she broke apart from him again and swiped away the gloss that lingered on his lips with her thumb. Clark smiled against the pad of her finger, watching her intently. "So? Should we actually go in or do we just stay here and make out all night?" Evelyn eventually hummed.
"I meaaan…I like option two, but let's head inside before all the good food goes," Clark agreed with a wink. Without hesitation he held out his arm, as always, and Evelyn took it, as always. He led her up the polished stone steps to where a moody looking security guard stood with his checklist in front of the doors. "Good evening, sir. Reservation for two please - Clark Kent plus one?" The security guard glanced down at his list and spotted their names within seconds.
"Welcome to the White Flag! Floor 18, you'll be on table 12," he nodded, lifting the rope and letting them straight through. Clark thanked him and led Evelyn through the posh revolving doors and then straight into the extremely expensive looking elevator.
As soon as the glass doors shut, Evelyn couldn't help but turn to Clark cheekily, her eyes already twinkling.
"Clark Kent plus one, eh? Aren't I lucky?" she whistled, crossing her arms amusedly. Clark chuckled to himself and pressed the floor number.
"I mean…what would you prefer?" he asked fairly. "Wouldn't the word 'girlfriend' freak you out a little so soon?"
"I mean, only because we've never even mentioned the word yet, so telling it to some security guard before me would definitely be a 'woah' moment!" Evelyn poked his broad shoulder sweetly. "And don't get me wrong Clark, I'm really not high maintenance but-"
"Oh no no, never would I have thought that to be true," Clark grinned as they stopped at the right floor. "Come on 'plus one'. We're on…Table 12."
"Shut up," Evelyn giggled as she followed him out.
Table 12 was right beside the huge, polished glass windows that overlooked the entire city, lit up in the beautiful night sky. Clark quickly rushed to the chair that Evelyn was hovering behind in order to pull it out before settling down opposite her.
A waiter approached them within seconds carrying two bottles of white wine in icy coolers and leaving them with menus.
"Wow, these prices are no joke," Evelyn hummed to herself as her eyes flickered across the fancy words on the laminated card.
"Company card, Ev," Clark interrupted her mumbling thoughts without glancing up. Evelyn smirked amusedly before letting her eyes drift to the scenery outside, letting out a little sigh.
"Tell me what you're thinking," came Clark's calm voice, breaking through her daydream.
"Nothing major, it's just…it's nice to see businesses getting themselves back up on their feet again," Evelyn whispered, more to herself than to him. "I don't even remember what this area of the city used to look like. I felt like it's all so familiar to me, b-but-"
And then it made sense.
Within seconds, her eyes fixated on one of the demolished spots a couple of streets down, which was still cordoned off. It was nothing but an abandoned pile of rubble.
But it was a familiar pile of rubble. Truthfully, she knew it like the palm of her hand - she just had no idea the street was so close.
"Sh*t. That's…that's my cafe," was all she managed to croak out, causing Clark to look up in surprise and follow her gaze.
"You're kidding," he groaned, internally kicking himself. Maybe Metropolis was just a terrible place for them to spend their date nights - every single thing seemed to be a trigger for the girl he was slowly falling for.
Evelyn let out a deep breath and managed to tear her eyes away from the devastating sight, feeling that panic rise up once more. But she wanted to treat it differently this time. She wanted to beat it.
"Clark," she spoke shakily, squeezing her eyes shut. "I-I'm starting to freak out a-a-again."
But this time, Clark had never been so speedy. He got up from his seat and immediately crouched in front of Evelyn's chair, rubbing her thighs again in soothing motions.
He didn't care who could see them, he was totally focussed on her wellbeing right now.
"It's okay Ev, we've been through this before," he reminded her softly, causing Evelyn to open her eyes and stare at him immediately. "You're safe. You're safe, I'm here. Just breathe with me. In and out. Breathe with me, Ev? Can you do that?" Evelyn nodded hurriedly and did just that, following his breathing pattern the best she could, focussing on his chest so that she could force herself to copy his pace. "There we go, Ev. See? You got it," he finally smiled proudly, stopping the rubbing motions so that he could get ready to stand up straight again once she was clearly calm.
"You…wanna head home?" he asked quietly.
"No!" Evelyn croaked out, much to Clark's complete surprise. His dark brows shot up and he leaned back slightly.
"You…don't?"
"No, I wanna stay here. It's a perfect date spot, why would I waste it?" she smiled weakly. Clark chuckled and pressed a kiss to her knuckles one last time before finally getting up to sit back down in his chair again. "Thank you, Clark."
"Don't mention it, Ev," Clark hummed, overly proud of how quickly she managed to move on.
The rest of the night was full of conversation, laughter and general bliss between them. They had managed to completely avoid all talk of The Incident altogether, successfully this time, and their little moments of bonding were definitely going to be remembered.
Now, once again, Clark was walking Evelyn through the dimly lit streets of Metropolis, and had ended up back on the doorstep of her apartment. "Thank you so much for tonight, Clark," she beamed, dangling his arms over her shoulders.
"No, thank you," Clark murmured back softly. He tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear before leaning in and kissing her tenderly, his large hands supporting the back her head as if she were a precious artefact. He was always so romantic with his movements, so gentle - and Evelyn wouldn't change it for the world.
"Woah. I really did miss kissing you," she breathed as they broke apart briefly. Clark smirked and hummed in agreement before going for it again, their kisses becoming a little more passionate as their tongues sought to explore, leaving them to melt into one another's mouths like butter on hot toast. Whilst tangled in the moment, Evelyn found herself being hoisted up so that she was straddling Clark's sturdy torso without breaking the kiss, her hair cascading over their faces and her hands clasping his sculpted cheeks to keep their sweet rhythm going.
They both came up for air a few seconds later.
"D-do you wanna come inside?" Evelyn panted against his lips, causing Clark to nod hurriedly and shuffle her into the apartment. He backed her all the up against the hallway wall so that their intense make-out session could continue, the soft and pleasured hums between them both ringing through the air - then Clark froze, suddenly breaking apart from her.
His senses were going haywire, and he immediately knew that he had to keep Evelyn from danger first.
"Did you get someone in here to look after Bruce whilst we were away?" he was the first to ask her quietly, trying not to shudder as she started to trail gentle kisses behind his ear and down his neck. At his question she froze as well, shaking her head in confusion - before suddenly hearing exactly what he heard.
Her TV was on.
"Who the hell-" she muttered shakily, jumping down from Clark and making her way to the source of the sound.
"Wait Ev, allow me," Clark murmured, taking her waist and pulling her behind him to enter the living room, just to see-
"Lois?!"
Clark quickly stepped back behind the wall again, as Lois looked up from where she was casually sat on Evelyn's sofa watching Family Guy reruns. Her face broke out into an excited grin as soon she set eyes on her best friend, leaping up to rush over to her for a scooped up hug.
"EV! I've missed you so much!" Lois squealed, rocking Evelyn from side to side excitedly.
"I missed you more Lo," Evelyn laughed as they finally let each other go again, checking each other out as they always did. "Wow, that tan! You know, you were always insanely pretty to me, but somehow you look even more beautiful than before!"
"Oh no, you look hotter," Lois scoffed, twirling her around so that she could see the full outfit. "Woah sexy lady! Did you just come back from a date?!"
"I did, and I kinda brought him back with me so you've kinda cock-blocked," Evelyn muttered through gritted teeth as she maintained the smile.
Lois' eyes widened.
"WHAT?!"
"Ya! This was actually the worst time possible for you to let yourself into my home," Evelyn hissed, her eyes twinkling.
"Why?! Who is it? Do I know them?" Lois giggled excitedly, craning her neck to glance behind her. Naturally Clark took this as his time to shine, stepping back out into the living room again with an embarrassed wince.
Lois' eyes widened even further and she chucked her head back, bursting into peals laughter. "I KNEW IT! I KNEW YOU'D END UP WITH JOURNO BOY!" she teased Evelyn excitedly.
"'Journo boy'?" Clark frowned as Evelyn stood beside him with her arms folded, biting back a smile. "Why does that feel derogatory considering we work for the same company-"
"I know but I've been working there longer so…journo boy holds up," Lois whispered cheekily before turning back to her best friend. "So, you two? You two are…?!"
"Dating," Evelyn finished off, gaining an amused glance out of the corner of her eye from Clark. "Yes, we are. So please Lo, don't make it weird."
"Wow. I am feeling good about my damn self," Lois smirked.
"How was your holiday, Lois?" Clark asked smoothly, knowing that Evelyn would want to move away from this conversation as soon as she could.
He knew her so well already.
A look of surprise fell onto Lois' face as if she had just remembered something, and she stuck her left hand out so that it was in their view. Both Evelyn and Clark squinted at it confusion before it became clear.
A beautiful pear shaped diamond ring on display.
"YOU'RE ENGAGED?!" Evelyn suddenly screamed, jumping up and down as if she were on a little pogo stick as the excitement rippled through her body.
"Oh!" Clark gasped, his eyes now fixated on the ring glistening under the living room light. "Woah, congrats Lois!"
"Thank you," Lois beamed gratefully, her hand trembling slightly.
"Am I gonna be a bridesmaid?" Evelyn sniffed, feeling her eyes well up with tears of anticipation.
"No?" Lois scoffed as if it were obvious. Clark winced an eye shut, feeling the pain on his girlfriend's behalf, before Lois corrected her, "you are gonna be my maid of honour!"
Evelyn finally burst into excited tears and grabbed Lois into her arms for another tight hug, the two of them now sobbing away together. Clark watched them in confusion for a few more lingering seconds before he cleared his throat slightly, not wanting to interrupt their happy moments by his presence.
"Uh, Ev, I'm gonna leave you guys to it," he announced awkwardly but politely over their squeals. The women broke their sisterly embrace and wiped each other's eyes with their palms, still giggling at how much of a mess they each were. Evelyn finally sniffed and turned around to face him apologetically, about to agree to see him later, when Lois suddenly interrupted,
"No no Clark, I'll go," she smiled with a shaky nod.
"You sure?" Clark frowned in concern. "It's no big deal honestly, I can just come back another time-"
"No don't be silly! I don't wanna infringe on your lil date - I'm the one that turned up to Ev's house out of nowhere. But I do think it might be worth us four all hanging out? Me, you two and Matt - how about Saturday night?" Evelyn glanced up at Clark questionably, who looked back down at her with a single nod.
"Sounds great," Evelyn smiled back at her best friend.
"Amazing! Then let me leave - don't let me get in your way," Lois whispered loudly as she started to tiptoe back out of the apartment again, blowing them both kisses. "Stay safe, you guys! I hardly think a baby this soon is a great idea-"
"Goodbye, Lois," Evelyn groaned loudly, practically pushing her best friend out the front door and shutting it behind her. She took a deep breath once she had left, placing a surprised hand on her chest as the emotions continued to shred through her.
Her best friend getting married to a man that, to be fair, loved her a lot, was such a beautiful thing to hear.
She could barely believe that they were both growing up so quickly.
Whilst she was lost in her thoughts, Clark came to stand in the hallway with her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and stood behind her, leaning his chin on the top of her head. "That best friend of mine has absolutely killed the mood, hasn't she?" Evelyn was the first to grumble as she relaxed completely in his grip.
"Eh, kinda," Clark grinned as Evelyn huffed and crossed her arms miserably. He grinned down at her and stroked her arms smoothly. "It's getting late anyway, I should be getting back. Got work bright 'n early tomorrow."
"Mmkay," Evelyn sighed, leaning to the side and looking up to meet his lips for a kiss. Clark met her lips softly, tenderly cupping her jaw to support her head. They broke apart after a few long seconds, smiling at each other in a mini moment of bliss. "Wanna come and pick me up from the cafe on Saturday, and we can go to Lois and Matt's together?"
"Sounds good to me," Clark murmured against her temple before pressing a loving kiss to the top of her head.