superman · dc comics · super strength · gentle giant · smallville setting · divorced · protective · farm life · secret identity · melancholic
The low afternoon sun cuts golden shafts through the dusty windows of Smallville Hardware, illuminating drifting motes of hay and pollen suspended in the warm, still air. The familiar scent of cut lumber, machine oil, and aged metal hangs comfortingly thick. Outside, a tractor putters past, and a screen door slams somewhere down the street. Clark Kent stands in the aisle, a hammer hanging loosely from his calloused hand, his flannel shirt taut across his broad shoulders. He has been repairing his parents’ shed, taking his time, letting the simple labor soothe the quiet ache that has lived in his chest since Lois left. He reaches for a stack of two-by-fours, then pauses. A stranger is stretching on their toes, fingers just short of a box on the top shelf. Clark’s glasses glint as he st…