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It was a lazy morning at Asteroid Comics. Clark was on cash-register duty that day, which was honestly so much fun. He loved judging all these nerds based on their purchases. The number of times he had to restock those comics with the shirtless Nightwing cover was criminal. To complain would be hypocritical of Prime, though, since he owns Red Hood and The Outlaws #20 for the same naughty reasons. Yes, that’s the one with Red Hood man-spreading on the couch. Sue him.
Overall, working in a comic book store was really fun, and not as hard as whatever job Lois would’ve probably gotten for Clark would’ve been. His coworkers were nice, and they always ate up his excuses when he had to sneak out to do Superman stuff. He got paid… okay-ish. Not much, but enough to get by. Solid ten out of ten job.
He liked his life in this universe. Thank you, Joshua Williamson, Prime thinks.
He keeps flipping through the pages of the last Absolute Batman issue when he hears the ‘ding!’ of the door being opened. He doesn't look up from the comic as he greets the customer, putting on his practiced customer service voice.
"Hey! Welcome to Asteroid Comics. Let me know if I can help with anything!" Clark flips the page and finally lifts his gaze to look at the customer. He almost rips the pages of the comic he’s holding when he realizes who it is.
“Hmn,” is all the man says. The man, being Jason Todd, standing in the middle of Asteroid Comics, looking at their ‘World’s Finest’ display.
Shit.
Prime has never seen him other than in comics, and right now, he can't bring himself to stop staring. Big arms hidden under his leather jacket, raven black hair that turned white where it met his forehead, scars peppered across his face and neck. Prime was going to combust. The comics didn't do Jason justice.
Of course, Jason didn't know Prime knew who he was. Why would this random cashier know who Jason Todd was or that Jason Todd was the Red Hood? And Jason obviously didn't know Clark was Superman. (He also didn’t know Prime was the one who brought him back to life, but that's a whole different can of worms.)
Clark is trying to be incredibly normal about this. But how can you be normal about anything when your comic book crush is standing right in front of you!? Prime had been waiting for this collab ever since he landed back in this universe. He wanted this almost as bad as the fans did. World’s Foulest had such a nice ring to it.
His eyes follow Jason as he moves through the store, stomping in his heavy, sexy boots. Shit, focus, Clark.
Jason finishes browsing through the shelves and drops his comic of choice on the counter in front of Clark. Clark gulps and tries to remember how to do his job.
“Batman fan?” Ironic. Clark chuckles nervously, taking the Batman comic from the counter. Jason raises an eyebrow at him.
“No,” Jason replies. Clark gives him a confused look while he scans the code. “Uh, it’s a gift,” Jason clarifies.
“Ohh… Not a comic reader then?” Clark slides the comic into the plastic.
“I mean, what’s the point? We have the real thing. I can just, I don't know, watch the news? Look outside?” Jason comments.
“Hah, yeah. Uh, what do you think of the new Superman guy? Pretty cool, right?” Clark says, putting Jason’s comic in a bag. This is his master plan to find out what the Red Hood thinks of him.
“There’s another one?” Jason grumbles.
“Yeah, heard he’s pretty awesome. They still haven’t written about him, but I’m sure they will come up with his first issue soon! People say he’s hot.” Fuck why did he say that? “I- I guess! I wouldn’t know! That- that’s what I’ve heard-”
“Right…”
“Your total is 4.99!” Clark smiles awkwardly and hands the bag over to Jason. Jason takes the bag and slides a five-dollar bill towards Clark. “Cool jacket by the way.” This is embarrassing.
How did Clark drop the ball so quickly? He slides the money into the cash register and hands Jason a penny. It's so over.
“Thanks…” Jason takes the penny and steps back, almost as if he’s going to leave, but hesitates. “I’m Jason, by the way."
“I’m CK.” Clark smiles and shakes his hand. We're so back. Everything was going according to plan. Well, it’s not like he really had a plan to begin with. He was just doing his best not to scare Jason off.
“Well, that’s a stupid name,” Jason grins. He was flirting, oh god, he was probably flirting. Prime’s skin was buzzing, but he remained as calm, cool, and collected as ever. He leans forward on the counter, looking up at Jason.
“It’s a nickname, doofus. Guess you’ll have to find out what it stands for,” he winks. Maybe Clark is reading this all wrong, and he is fumbling his one chance with the Jason Todd. But Jason is smirking back at him.
“At what time do you get off?” Jason asks, taking a step forward closer to the counter.
“We close at eight,” Clark replies. He is doing his absolute best to be nonchalant. There is no way this is actually happening.
“Maybe I can take you out for a drink? If you’d like.” Oh, it’s absolutely happening. The readers were gonna love this.
Yes, yes, yes, a million times yes.
“Sure,” is what Clark replies instead with a shrug.
“Can I get your number then?”
“Take a look inside, hot stuff,” Clark says, pointing at the bag.
Jason reaches inside his Asteroid Comics bag. On the plastic cover of his Batman comic was a blue sticky note with ‘call me :)’ written below Clark’s phone number. Clark pats himself on the back for that one. It would’ve been incredibly embarrassing if he didn’t have a phone. Luckily, Lois agreed that he does need a phone and gave Clark her old phone. It was a shitty old phone, but it worked just fine. And now it was going to have Jason's number in it, which made it even better.
“Clever,” Jason chuckles. “See you tonight then?”
“See you tonight,” Clark smiles.
He stares at Jason as he leaves. Watching him walk all the way to his motorcycle using his X-Ray vision to look through the walls, resting his head on his palm.
“This is a love story,” he sighs dreamily.
This was a detective story. Well, it was for Jason. A new meta appears in Metropolis, claiming to be Superman? Yeah, he’s curious. Bruce told him not to worry much about it; the Justice League had an eye on the guy. But Jason didn’t trust the JL like that; he wanted to draw his own conclusions.
He took a single glance at the files the Watchtower had on this 'Superman Prime' and decided he had to take a look for himself.
He had been observing the guy from the sidelines. So far, Jason had concluded he was cocky, reckless, and nothing like the Superman before him. His suit was a little too much for Jason's taste. But overall, he wasn't doing a bad job, considering he was saving people. Jason even saw him save a cat from a tree. That's like, textbook Superman behaviour.
Jason did have some errands to run in Metropolis anyway; he wanted to buy a stupid gag gift for Bruce. So what better place to find out what people think about this ‘Superman’ than the comic book store?
Instead of any valuable information, he got some hot guy’s number.
This wasn’t the kind of thing Jason would normally do, not at all. However, that tournament from hell bullshit had really messed with him. He needed a breather. He deserved to take some random pretty boy to a bar and perhaps get laid, no strings attached.
That’s how he ended up in a crowded bar, laughing at CK’s stupid jokes. This CK guy was really pretty, too. He talked too much, but in an almost endearing way. He had dark hair and icy-blue eyes that looked huge behind dorky, round glasses. He was still wearing the same clothes he had on earlier that day: a big red hoodie and oversized jeans. It would look dumb on anyone else, but it honestly suits him.
Jason gestures to the bartender for another round of beers.
“So you are actually a comic nerd? It’s not just your job?” Jason asks.
“Ha ha, very funny," CK laughs sarcastically. "I've been a huge Superman fan since I was a kid, so yeah, I love comics.” He takes a big gulp of his beer.
“Well, you are hot for a nerd,” Jason points out.
“And you are handsome for an idiot, cheers to that." They clink their bottles together and laugh. "Although your gift choice sucks, Batman is so overrated," CK adds.
"Hey, we can agree on that," Jason nods, taking a sip of his beer.
They drink in silence for a moment until Jason realises CK is staring at him, looking at the back of his neck. CK brings a hand up and lets his fingers graze a particularly thick scar. Jason tenses for a second.
"You were grazed by a bullet here," CK whispers.
"Are you a doctor now?" Jason jokes, but honestly, CK has no business recognizing what kind of wound that was. CK leans away nervously. Jason can't help but miss the closeness a little.
"Uhh, I watch a lot of true crime documentaries?" He doesn't even sound sure about it. If Jason were in detective mode right now, he'd find that suspicious. But he isn't. It's his night off, remember?
"Well, I was grazed by a bullet there. Like I told you, I live in Gotham. It's tough out there," Jason says. CK just hums in response. They had been hanging out at the bar, getting to know each other for at least two hours. Jason, however, wanted to get to know Clark in a more private setting. Way more private. "D'you wanna get out of here?"
CK smiles widely at him, and Jason takes that as a yes. He pays the bartender and lets CK take his hand, leading them through the crowded establishment, muttering, "Sorry! Excuse me!" every five seconds.
They both stumble together through the door and into the dark streets of Metropolis. Jason grabs CK by the front of his hoodie, leading him to a secluded alleyway, giggling. If this were Gotham, that would be a very bad idea. But this is Metropolis, so who cares? Clearly not Jason. And to be fair, he's had a few beers. He can hold his alcohol pretty well, but he’s on the edge of being almost tipsy. If anything happens, the new Superman can swoop in and come save them, right? Not like Jason would need any saving, but still.
He pushes CK against a wall and closes the distance between them, letting their mouths move together in unison. He doesn’t miss the way the guy immediately moans and brings his hands to Jason’s face, pulling him impossibly closer. Jason anchors his hands on CK’s waist, slipping below his hoodie.
“It’s Clark, by the way,” CK mumbles against his lips.
“Hm?” Jason hums in question, nosing the man's jaw.
“The C, it, ah-" He takes a shaky breath as Jason kisses up to his ear. "It stands for Clark.”
“Clark,” Jason echoes.
It should be a little weird considering the only other Clark he knows is the former Superman, but Jason can’t bring himself to care right now. He makes his way to Clark’s throat, pressing open-mouthed kisses against it and sucking at the base of his neck. One of Clark's hands is nestled in his hair, pulling lightly. He pulls away for a second to look up at the breathless man in front of him. Jason is tall, but he's always liked his partners taller.
“What does a guy have to do for you to take him home, hm?” Jason says, raking his nails up and down Clark’s sides, kissing all over his jaw.
“Um, ah- Jason, I-” He pulls Jason off to stare at him. “We can’t go back to my place. Can’t we go to yours?”
Jason stares at him, confused.
“I live in Gotham,” he says flatly. Even if they were in Gotham, taking some stranger to his place was a safety violation to his vigilante identity.
“The drive is not that long,” Clark tries, giving him an awkward smile.
“Are you like homeless or something?” Jason narrowed his eyes at Clark. Did he live in the back of the comic book store?
“No! I-” He buries his face on Jason’s shoulder. “I just moved in. It’s very embarrassing. I really want to fuck you, but I also y’know-”
Jason can't help but chuckle a little at the man's bluntness.
“I don’t care, Clark." He strokes Clark's hair reassuringly. "Let’s just go. Please?”
“Since you asked so nicely,” Clark whines in defeat.
Jason plants a final kiss on Clark’s lips and takes his hand.
“Lead the way.”
How bad could his apartment be anyway?
This was even worse than Jason could have ever expected.
“You… live like this?”
“It’s a work in progress!” Clark said, throwing his arms up defensively.
Jason was standing at the door, looking at a lonely lightbulb lighting up the tiny ass room, a single table, at least ten boxes of comics, clothes scattered everywhere, and a single mattress on the floor. Not even a pillow. Maybe Clark was a serial killer or something.
Clark picks a pair of pants from the floor and tosses them in one of the boxes. Yeah, Jason might as well turn around and head back home.
“We don’t have to fuck, I have a Switch somewhere around here, if you want to just hang out or something,” Clark calls out.
“You are telling me you bought a Nintendo Switch before you bought a bedframe?!” Jason pinches the bridge of his nose. He usually isn't the judgy type, but this is something else.
Clark just shrugs and starts digging through boxes for his Switch.
“Yeah, we are not fucking on that mattress,” Jason says. He's about to come up with some lame excuse to get the hell out of there when the sound of Clark chucking off his shoes startles him.
He turns his eyes to Clark. He is taking off that ridiculously oversized hoodie, and Jason feels his jaw go slack.
Clark is ripped. Superhero levels of ripped. In what world does a comic book nerd look like that? Jason feels like a feral animal. The fact that Clark was wearing the tightest shirt Jason has ever seen under that hoodie is not helping either. It accentuates the sculpted muscles of his back and those huge shoulders and… Jason wants to take a bite out of those biceps.
“I think we can make this work,” Jason blurts out.
Clark turns around to face him, tilting his head and giving him a crooked smile. He looks like a puppy who just heard the word ‘treat’. Now that he's facing him, Jason can't tear his eyes off his chest, and how it stretches that shirt obscenely.
“Can I keep my shirt on, though? And my glasses,” Clark asks, fidgety.
Jason groans loudly, moving to sit on the stupid fucking mattress on the floor.
“You’ve got to be the worst, most complicated hookup in the world,” Jason says, face buried in his own hands.
“I’m shy?”
Jason gives him an unimpressed look. Less than twenty minutes ago, they were making out and rutting against each other all the way up the stairs of Clark's apartment building, where anyone could have seen them.
“Shy, my ass,” Jason snaps back.
“Okay, fine! I’m… horribly scarred!”
Jason takes off his shirt to reveal his own set of gnarly scars. Clark’s eyes get really big, his face turns red, and he covers his face with his hands. This guy is impossible; maybe Jason should've left.
“You are not making this any easier…” Clark takes a deep breath and runs a hand through his hair. Jason is incredibly confused, to say the least. “I’m gonna tell you something, and you can’t freak out, okay? Please?”
“What…?”
Clark takes off his glasses and then his shirt, revealing a branded 'S' on his skin. Not any 'S', Superman’s crest, actually.
It was him. The files he'd gotten on Prime from the Watchtower… 'Branded crest of the house of El onto his own chest. Reason: Unknown.'
If only Jason had been thinking with his brain and not his dick. They even looked a little similar, now that his glasses were off. Jason stood up to face Prime eye to eye. The Kryptonian looked a little uncomfortable under Jason's puzzled stare.
“CK, Clark Kent. He even has the same name?” Jason mutters to himself, looking him up and down.
“Yeah," Ah, of course, he heard that. Clark scratches the back of his neck sheepishly. "I also know you are Red Hood by the way.”
Of course he did. Jason groans and turns around to face a wall. He was just looking for a very normal, casual hookup. But someone out there must be praying for his downfall, because it was working. Clark takes a step closer to him, his chest almost pressing against Jason's back.
"Does this ruin it? I do like you. I wasn’t trying to trick you. Please don't go,” Clark whispers.
For a so-called 'Superman', he was pathetic. Jason felt Prime's lips press against the scar he had caressed earlier that night, sending shivers down his spine. This was a very bad idea.
He turns around.
Jason brings a hand to the back of Clark’s neck and brings him in for a bruising kiss. He’s aware that this is so unbelievably stupid. This is Superman, who he’s making out with right here. Not any Superman, but the Superman that, according to the files in the Watchtower, was 'possibly psychotic and a mass murderer'. However, at some point, Jason's file also said the same thing. So, who cares really?
He brings his fingers to Clark’s hair, pulling hard. Jason knows Clark is strong enough to resist his grip if he wanted to, but he lets his head be pulled back anyway. Jason just stares.
"Jason…"
It sounds like a whine. Clark's eyes are half-lidded, and he looks so… needy, Jason thinks, for lack of a better word. Jason drags a thumb across Clark's lower lip. This guy's adorable. According to his file, he has ripped limbs off people. That's funny, considering Jason has him eating from the palm of his hand right now.
Clark Kent, Superman, Kal-El of Earth Prime, drops to his knees, pressing his face against Jason’s clothed crotch. His eyes never leave Jason's, and Jason's hand never leaves Prime's hair. Jason was starting to understand what the Kryptonian hype was all about.
Prime grabs another slice of pizza while staring at his Switch’s tiny screen.
“Shy Guy? Really?” he chuckles.
“Shut the fuck up, you are playing as Waluigi,” Jason replies, chewing through a mouthful of pizza.
They were both sitting in nothing but their boxers, pizza box on the floor beside them, Mario Kart on the Switch.
"I hope the readers weren't confused by that time-skip," Clark mentions with a yawn.
"I'm choosing to ignore you," Jason mutters. After revealing his identity yesterday, Prime stopped holding back on his 'strange fucking comments' (Jason's words, not his).
They woke up sweaty, naked, and pressed against each other on Clark’s shitty mattress. Clark didn't have to go to work today, and he didn't want this to end just yet. Whatever this was. So he suggested pizza for breakfast, and Jason sleepily agreed. So now, Prime is getting his ass beat in Mario Kart.
“I’m guessing the Big Bat won't be happy you went investigating the new Supes and ended up having sex with him instead,” Clark says.
“What he doesn't know won't hurt him,” Jason shrugs. He steers, bumping into Clark's kart, taking the lead. “Next time, my place. I’m never coming over again.”
Prime finds it ironic that Jason would be so judgmental, considering he has had even worse living conditions. However, it's something else he said that makes Clark's head perk up.
“Next time?” Clark grins.
“Don't get too excited,” Jason rolls his eyes.
Clark keeps grinning. It's wonderful what a charming personality and a big dick can do for you. They keep playing in silence, shoulder to shoulder.
"We should team up outside of this," Prime says, making Jason groan in annoyance. "Hear me out! The fans would love us! We're both the black sheep of our respective families-" Jason throws a red shell at him in the game, snickering beside him. Clark chooses to ignore that. "Nobody really trusts us, so it'd be really funny if you think about it."
"I guess," Jason says. "How do I know I can trust you, though?"
"I don't know," Clark shrugs. "But I trust you. And you kinda have to trust the guy that didn't bite your dick off last night. I could have, by the way, Kryptonian strength and all-"
"Okay, yeah, I get it," Jason cuts him off.
Even if he did get it, Jason had no idea how careful Clark had been last night. Kryptonian strength was no joke, and Clark had done his very, very best to be careful with him. Jason was no delicate flower, but Clark could crush every bone in his body if he wanted to. He doesn't want to. Prime had squeezed and touched with enough strength and pressure to be pleasurable, but always a little nervous about going overboard.
"Your file on the Watchtower said 'has killed by accident due to inexperience with own powers'-" Jason says, interrupting Clark's overthinking.
"Rude."
"-but you didn't kill me or hurt me last night. In fact, you haven't done anything to harm me in general." Jason's kart slips on a banana peel, making the little Shy Guy on the screen wobble and spin. Clark giggles. "You are just incredibly annoying."
Clark gives him a huge smile and lays his head on Jason's shoulder.
"Yeah, sure, we can team up, Prime," Jason finally decides. Clark cheers and lands a wet kiss on Jason's cheek. "I'm going to regret this, aren't I?"
"I'll make sure you don't!" Clark turns his head to look at Jason and smiles even wider. Big mistake. Jason takes advantage of his distraction and wins the race. He raises his arms in victory.
"Hah! I remain undefeated!" Jason grabs a victory slice of pizza, and Clark shoots his heat vision, turning it into ash before it reaches Jason's mouth. Jason wipes a handful of ash on Clark's shitty mattress and frowns at him. "Did you really have to do that?"
"Yeah."
"You are so lucky you are bulletproof," Jason says through gritted teeth.
"Aww, are you flirting with me?" Clark bats his lashes innocently.
"I'm saying I want to shoot you," Jason spits, shooting Prime a nasty look.
"Yeah," Clark smiles dreamily. If this were a cartoon, there'd be little hearts floating above his head. Jason looks at him incredulously.
"You are so fucking weird."