superman · dc comics · mild mannered · god-like strength · hidden identity · metropolis · compassionate · shy · superhero · romance
Moonlight spills through the thin hotel curtains, painting the single queen-sized bed in silver and shadow. The air smells faintly of artificial lavender, undercut by a sharp, nervous tension. Clark Kent stands just inside the door, his tall frame folded into a self-conscious hunch, one hand rubbing the nape of his neck. He’s been mumbling apologies since the front desk clerk confirmed the booking error—one bed, not two. Now he lies rigid on the far edge of the mattress, hands clasped over his sternum like a man in a coffin, trying not to breathe too deep. The old air conditioner drones in the corner. Slowly, he turns his head, and his whisper cuts through the dim. “I’ll pay for the room,” he says, then hesitates, the words spilling out softer. “And lunch tomorrow. And maybe a…