From all the people on Earth—or, reducing the number to the 11 million residents of Metropolis—you had to fall for the one man who came from another planet.

You had been dating Clark Kent for a few months now. Enough for him to trust you with his past and his present as the one and only Superman, enough for you to trust him with the keys to your apartment. You wouldn’t hand him full power over the keys to your whole heart, yet.

“I just wanted to help—”

He was a great man, really. You’d seen superheroes before. Arrogant bastards who believed that for saving the day, they were worthy of high praise and adoration. But Clark wasn’t like that. He would fight for the most seemingly insignificant being. If it meant protecting a life, he would do anything in his power to ensure everyone and anyone’s well-being.

In your case, it was starting to feel suffocating.

It was endearing, at first—how he’d always be there to save you from your own clumsiness, how he’d make sure you’d eaten and slept properly, how he'd buy you things you had casually mentioned liking or just glanced at while passing by, how he would take care of you over and over again as if you were the only one thing he could never allow himself to lose.

That made you feel like a possession, somehow. All this time, all you thought you needed was the one person to be there for you, to share with you the love you had to offer. But having him right there in front of you, treating you like some puppy that needed constant reassurance made you realize that you valued your self-sufficiency way too much to simply ignore it.

“I don’t need you to save me, Clark!” And that was, in your relationship, the first time you raised your voice at him. The first time you felt that he couldn’t hear you otherwise. “I know it’s what you do, but you don’t have to do it with me. I’ve been taking care of myself all this time, and I don’t want to… I don’t want to get used to you being there for me all the time. Because, what will happen when you’re not here anymore?”

He was staring now, the smallest frown in between his eyebrows as he tried his best to understand you, he really wanted to. He swallowed, his head tilting just slightly as he breathed before speaking in a deep, yet gentle voice.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Well, if you…” You shrugged, a huff or air escaping through your mouth as you looked around for a moment. “If you are out of town, or… if we—” your voice lowered, a shiver running down your spine as you reluctantly finished your thought. “—fall apart. That could happen.”

His jaw clenched, his head bouncing softly with a long nod—something he typically did when deep in thought, arranging his words carefully before speaking them aloud.

“I know it could. That’s why I’m trying to be good for you while I have you.”

Your expression softened even further. A sigh reminded your body that it was safe to move, so you did. It took you a few steps to approach him, your eyes looking up into the cerulean in his, a sky that would always remain clear even after the darkest of storms.

“You are good. I don’t need you to be anyone else but the man I’m in love with. And I do love the way you take care of me, because I know that’s your way of saying you love me just as much. I just get scared, sometimes.”

Your hand reached for his, his rough fingers intertwining with your thinner ones like a second nature.

“I do love you,” his hand moved to cradle your cheek, warm and soft against his digits. “More than anything.”