You weren’t trying to make a scene, you just laughed at something Clark said. It was nothing, really. Just a shared look, a quiet joke, the kind of moment that’s always felt easy between you two. But when you turned away, someone nearby was already watching.

They glanced at Clark, then back at you, smiling knowingly. “You don’t see it, do you?” they said under their breath. “It’s in his eyes. You’re the center of his universe.”

You weren’t expecting Clark to hear it. You weren’t even sure you were supposed to. But something in his posture shifts, a flicker of stillness, a quiet breath he doesn’t quite take.

You look back at him.

He’s already looking at you.

There’s a beat of silence. His eyes are warm, a little uncertain. It’s like he’s deciding whether this is the moment to finally say what’s been sitting on his tongue for too long.

“Is it really that obvious?”