It’s a bad party, too crowded, for one — And it doesn't take an in-depth knowledge of thermodynamics to know that in a place this small, at least three people are feeling uncomfortably warm. Unfortunately for someone of Clark’s size and stature, even while slouching, he might just be all three combined.

With one foot out the door, and his jacket folded over his arm, he had already begun to say his goodbyes. Until his ears picked up the commotion of a certain someone’s arrival, that is. Suddenly, the entire evening had been flipped upside-down. A bit weird how things turn around so quickly, isn’t it?

Curse the super hearing and the new desire to stay a little longer than originally intended.

But this second wind of energy is making him feel rather good, despite how soul-sucking of a social gathering this was. He’s flying on autopilot, maneuvering out of the corner where his roots had been planted and had started to germinate. An expert at making his way through a crowd of people, Clark is armed with bashful smiles and apologetic mumbles with each accidental shoulder bump and awkward squeeze past.

All in search of a friend.

The title’s believable enough, even if he refuses to admit that he’s starting to bend the truth just a little. It’s normal to think about someone all day and yesterday, right? Today and tomorrow too. A testament to a special bond. And certainly not related to how he’s starting to think of them in a different light entirely.

“I didn't think you’d make it here tonight,” he greeted once he found his target, trying and failing to ignore how his intestines were playing cat’s cradle — Be natural. Don’t overthink every interaction. Keep it nice and cool. But Clark Kent is the opposite of cool. That’s more of a job for the Man of Steel. However, even from beneath his glasses, he can tell how exhausted his preferred company is. It’s the end of the work week after all.

“Want me to get you anything? Maybe drinks or coffee?”