Archive of Our Own ^beta

Charlie Spring was a brilliant journalist. 

This was, in part, due to the fact that he was very observant. He noticed things others tended to ignore or brush over. He honed in on small details that seemed mysterious or perplexing, and dug deeper. He chased those oddities, big or small, even when they ended up being just that: oddities. Outliers. But more often then not, Charlie’s instincts were right, and there was a story buried there, just waiting for him to pick up all the small pieces and put them together. 

Nicholas Nelson was his current story. 

He had been working at The Daily Planet for a few months now, and Charlie was skeptical of the guy. He came in with his golden-retriever energy and rugby-lad looks and charmed half the office in seconds. He was nerdy, a bit scruffy and stupidly clumsy, yes, but it was in an endearing sort of way. He had as light accent, having grown up on a literal farm in the country, and often showed coworkers pictures of various cows and chickens his mum had. Plus he baked - elaborate pastries and desserts for the entire office, at least once a week. What journalist has time to bake?

So sure, maybe, the fact that Nick was basically his dream man added to Charlie’s suspicion that he was hiding something. A guy could not be that perfect. He had to have some secret, some big red flag that he was hiding. And no, it wasn't really a chore to spend some time watching Nick. I mean look at him. 

The more Charlie watched, the more he proved himself right: something was off about Nicholas Nelson. 

1. 

The office microwave had broken this morning, which was pretty annoying. Jimmy, who used it last, claimed they didn’t do anything, but Charlie had a sneaking suspicion they had. How one broke a microwave, Charlie did not know, but he was pretty sure if anyone was capable of it, it was Jimmy. 

The lack of microwave didn’t effect Charlie much, but he knew a few people at the Planet were avid reheaters of their forgotten coffee and teas, Nick included. Charlie swore he had at least 5 cups of each a day, with the number of times he was heading over to the kitchen.

It was near the end of the day, and Charlie was looking over some photos Tao had taken when he noticed Nick stand up, mug in hand, and head towards the kitchen. Nick looked stupidly good today, his t-shirt clinging to his fit figure and his hair charmingly disheveled.  Charlie let his eyes drift from the photos to Nick for just a moment, before flicking back to the prints. He wrote down the numbers of the photos he liked best and started to draft an email for the layout department. But his eyes quickly wandered again as Nick came back towards his desk, his mug steaming visibly. 

Charlie tilted his head. He knew the coffee pot was empty—no one made a pot this late in the afternoon—and hadn’t heard the telltale hum of the kettle.  “How’d you do that, Smallville?” Charlie had taken to calling him by the name of the tiny town he grew up in. Nick pretended to hate it but Charlie could tell he secretly liked having a nickname.

Nick swiveled on his feet towards him. “Hmm?”

“Your coffee is hot. The microwave’s broken.”

“Oh - it, uh, worked for me,” Nick said casually, sitting down and gettin back to his work. Charlie stared at him for a moment longer, eyes flicking to the steam rising from his coffee, before glancing back over his shoulder to the kitchenette. “Huh,” he said. Maybe someone had fixed it in the time since this morning? Or even replaced it? Not likely, considering the Planet’s track record with things like this, but not entirely out of the realm of possibility. Singh was pretty handy—maybe she managed to fix a faulty wire or something. 

Charlie moved on, needing to focus on his draft, and forgot about the incident till the end of the day. He packed up his bag and headed to the kitchen to grab his lunch leftovers from the fridge. He took note of the microwave on the counter and noticed that it was very clearly unplugged. Why would someone unplug the microwave if it was working again? Or why would Nick lie about it working? And how did he get his coffee warmed up if it was broken? 

Charlie tried to figure out a plausible solution, but was stumped. He couldn’t start interrogating Nick about a microwave without seeming clinically insane, so he filed this little oddity away in his brain for later. 

2.

Nick was out of the office a lot. Charlie didn’t really understand it — most of his pieces didn’t require an insane amount of field work — but maybe Nick had a different process. Maybe he liked to sit outside while he wrote, or go to different coffee shops for ambience? The odd thing was he didn’t bring his computer half the time he left. Just his little briefcase he always carried around, like he was living in the 1950’s. Maybe he just wrote stuff in a notebook, though, or recorded voice notes on his phone. Charlie did see him with headphones on while writing a lot of the time. 

It wasn’t Charlie’s place to question it, but he did find it odd. On one Tuesday, Nick had left the office on four separate occasions. “Why does he even bother coming in if he’s just going to keep leaving?” Charlie wondered aloud over lunch one day with Tao and Elle. 

Elle just shrugged. “Maybe he needs the routine? Having someplace to ‘clock in’ each day.”

“Maybe he’s having an affair,” Tao said with a sly grin. 

“He’s not dating anyone, so it wouldn’t be an affair, Tao.” 

“He could be the other guy. He can only meet his lover at weird hours of the day at Midtown hotels,” Elle said, playing along with a teasing smile. 

“He’s meeting his lover four times a day?” 

“No, maybe half of these are actual work things,” Tao  smirked. 

“Your really think Farm Boy Nicholas Nelson is having a secret relationship with someone and meeting them multiple times a day to have sex?” Charlie said, brows lowered in disbelief. 

“No, Charlie.” Tao rolled his eyes. “I’m just messing with you. I think he’s just not an office person and likes fresh air and walking breaks, or what not.”

“Hmm,” Charlie nodded. It was the most logical explanation. Some people truly were not meant to sit at a desk all day. “But why does he always bring his briefcase?”

Elle raised her eyebrows, agreeing that was a good point. “Maybe it’s his lucky charm? Or he’s just really worried about someone stealing it.” 

Charlie just shook his head. “So weird.” 

Elle just smiled at him. “I think you pay a bit too much attention to Nelson, Charlie.” 

Charlie felt his cheeks warm. “No, I don’t — I just — I don’t want someone with secrets working with us. What if he’s hiding some sort of dark past? What if he’s a double agent? What if—“

“Charlie,” Tao said. “I say this with love, but you sound crazy. I’m not even that big of a fan of Nick but I can tell he’s just . . . a normal guy. I think you’re looking for a problem where there isn’t one.” 

“I have to agree, babe. I think . . . I think you’re trying to find something wrong with him so your crush might go away.”

Tao raised his eyebrows, as if he didn’t expect Elle to be so blunt. Charlie opened his mouth to defend himself, but found he couldn’t. Elle was right. Maybe that’s what all his observation had really been about. “That wash harsh but . . . you’re probably right.” 

 “You’ll get over him eventually,” Elle said then stood up, putting her empty lunch tupperware into her bag.  “Come on, let’s get some ice cream before we head upstairs, yeah?”

3.

On a Wednesday, Charlie was standing just outside the office on a phone call with Tori. It was Olly’s birthday this weekend and the two of them were surprising him at uni. They’d set up a big birthday lunch with all his closest friends, too, and they were both excited to see him. “I got us tickets for the 11:20 train out of Waterloo, so we should have plenty of time for error,” he told her. “The reservation isn’t until two, and Jordan said he’d make sure everyone got there early. I think it’d be fun if everyone was sitting and Olly noticed two empty seats and then we walked in, yeah?” 

They talked for a few minutes more about logistics (wrangling a bunch of twenty year old uni students while keeping it a secret from Olly was not the easiest task) and then caught up briefly. Charlie checked his watch and saw he’d be talking with her for nearly fifteen minutes. “I gotta go, Tor. Have a deadline to make. I’ll see you Saturday?” They said their goodbyes and Charlie pocketed his phone before stepping back inside. 

The office was fairly quiet: Tao was scrolling through photos, Nick was engulfed in his laptop across the aisle, and Elle was scribbling furiously in her notebook at her desk. Other reporters and staff tinkered about the office but it seemed like no one had missed him too much (thankfully). 

“Everything alright?” Tao asked as he sat down.  Charlie was not someone who typically took long personal phone calls while at work. 

“Yeah, just talking with Tori.” He sat down and got back to writing. 

Later that week on Friday, at nearly eight o’clock at night, Charlie started packing up his stuff. Most people had cleared out of the office already but Charlie had stayed a bit late to get a jump on some stuff so he wouldn’t need to work while visiting Olly. Nick was the only other person in the office, glued to his computer and typing furiously. “You gonna sleep here, Smallville?” Charlie teased.

Nick looked up, a bit frazzled. His glasses were slightly askew and there was a coffee stain on his shirt. It was horribly endearing. “Oh!” he said as he looked around the empty office, the sun setting outside. “I didn’t realize it had gotten so late.” He began gathering his own things, folding his laptop into his ever-present brown briefcase. 

“I’ve been there before,” Charlie said. He took a few steps towards the door. “Uh, well, have a good weekend, Nelson. I’ll see you on Monday.”

“You, too, Charlie,” Nick said with a warm grin. “I hope Olly’s surprise goes well!” 

“Thanks,” he replied automatically before stepping into the elevator. A moment later he processed Nick’s words — he didn’t remember telling Nick about Olly’s party. He had barely even seen Nick this week, actually; the reporter had barely been in the office, probably covering the dozens of Superman saves that happened this week. He was positive he hadn’t mentioned anything about Olly’s birthday to Nick. 

Maybe Tao or Elle had told him? Why, he couldn’t imagine. They didn’t really talk to him much, either, outside of formal pleasantries . . . 

So how did Nick know about it? It’s not like he could have overheard his phone call. 

Charlie shook his head, once again stumped by his coworker, and got on the tube, headed for home. 

4.

Charlie checked his watch again. Almost eight o’clock. Isaac should be here by now, he was going to stop by right after work. Charlie didn’t want to bother him—with his luck, he’d text Isaac right as his friend was buzzing his apartment, and then he’d feel like an asshole. But his stomach was growling and Tao had their dinner, so he had to know that his friend was at least on his way. He opened Find My Friends on his phone and saw that (luckily) Isaac seemed to only be a few stops away on the train. He let out a sigh of relief.  

He was about to close the app when something caught his eye. Nick Nelson’s name was listed above Isaac, and it said he was in Tokyo. 

“That’s so weird,” Charlie mumbled to himself. He clicked Nick’s icon and the map zoomed in to show he was in the capital of Japan. 

Nick and Charlie had been assigned to cover a huge protest in midtown earlier this week. As a precaution, the two reporters shared their locations on their phones in case they got separated in the crowd. Luckily, things had remained peaceful and the duo stuck together, collecting interviews and photographs throughout the day.  Charlie had only shared his location for 24 hours but Nick (famously known amongst the office as being a grandpa with technology) must have accidentally shared his indefinitely. 

He’d just seen Nick this afternoon at the office, right around lunch time. Charlie did the math and thought it would be a stretch for him to get to Tokyo in the time since then, but it wasn’t entirely impossible. But he hadn’t said anything about traveling this weekend. Not that him and Charlie were that close, but they talked enough. Charlie would even say they were friends, not just coworkers. And Charlie even recalled Nick saying he didn’t have any plans this weekend and was hoping to catch up on laundry. 

Huh. 

Maybe something last minute came up? Charlie wracked his brain for any mention of Nick’s friends or family living in Tokyo, but came up empty. Maybe some sort of concert or event. He had seen that Superman had stopped an old building from collapsing outside of Kyoto, but that had to be a coincidence. Sure, Nick was known to be Superman’s favored journalist, but it’d be odd for him to fly out there last minute for this kind of story. He’d have to ask him about it when he was back at the office. 

On Monday morning, Charlie was not expecting Nick to be back (who flies to a different country for 48 hours?) but there he was, spilling coffee as he walked to his desk, smile on his face. “Morning, Char! Have a good weekend?” 

Charlie squinted at him, still a bit stunned by his appearance. He quickly composed himself and decided to do what he did best: investigate. “Oh, yeah, hung out with Isaac and got some chores done. Nothing too exciting. You?” 

“Pretty similar. Got brunch with my mum and ran a bunch of errands. Had to take Nellie to the vet, which was a bit of a hassle, but she was a good girl.” The words flowed so easily out of Nick’s mouth, so sincerely, that Charlie didn’t think they were a lie. And if he had been in Tokyo, why would he want to lie about that? Surely he’d be pulling up pictures of the noddles and sushi he’d eaten this very instant if he had actually been there. 

It must have been some sort of app glitch, Charlie decided. No other reasonable explanation. 

5. 

Charlie stared at the news playing at The Daily Planet. Huge fire downtown in a skyscraper building, with hundreds of people trapped inside. It was terrifying. The whole staff was gathered around watching the screen, waiting for updates on casualties and such. Firefighters had just arrived on the scene but it was a ruthless fire, spreading fast. 

“Nick, doesn’t your friend Tara work near there—“ Charlie started to say, turning towards the man’s desk. But Nick was gone. He was there a second ago, Charlie could have sworn. Maybe he left to go call Tara and make sure she’s okay? 

Charlie almost left to go check on him—if his friend worked in that building, he’d definitely be freaking out—when someone in the office erupted in cheers. “Superman is there!” Lily said. “He’ll save everyone.” 

A wave of relief washed over Charlie. Sure enough, there on the screen was a flash of red and blue in the sky, shooting towards the building. The news cameras tracked him as he approached the worst of the flames. He inhaled for a few moments and then exhaled, his breath a stream of icy wind. The fires his breath touched immediately vanished, and the whole Planet erupted in applause. Superman circled the building, covering every bit of flames with frost. Within seconds, the fire was completely out. Charlie was a bit worried the building would collapse, but he supposed the ice must be enough to support it temporarily while everyone evacuates. 

Charlie watched, captivated, as Superman then proceeded to fly multiple people out of the building’s top floors and depositing them safely on the ground. Firefighters seemed to have a handle on ushering most of the building out through the now safe-to-use stairways. A reporter announced no casualties had been confirmed so far, and only minimal injuries and burns. That was a relief. 

“Tao — get down there now and grab some pictures,” Singh said. “Elle, why don’t you try to get some interviews from the victims? See if you can find someone from the floor where the fire started.”

“On it,” Elle said, grabbing her purse, Tao right behind her with his camera bag. 

“Everyone else, back to work,” Singh said, gesturing for the small crowd to disperse. 

Charlie turned around to find Nick walking over to his desk. “Nick! Is your friend Tara okay?”

Nick’s eyes went wide, warmed by the fact that Charlie had remembered this detail. “Yeah, thank god, she’s totally fine. Working from home today, anyways.”

“I’m glad. I got worried when you ran off, thinking you were probably calling her. 

Nick had a strange look on his face, but it quickly disappeared. “Well, I’m just glad everyone’s okay.” 

“Me too,” Charlie said. Just as he was about to turn back to his laptop, he noticed a smudge of something on Nick’s neck. He opened his mouth to point it out, the n closed it. He couldn’t be sure from this distance but it almost looked like . . . soot? 

It couldn’t be though. That wouldn’t make any sense. But what else could it be? It looked too ashy to be something like ink. 

His journalist self couldn’t just ignore it — he stood up and stepped towards Nick, leaning casually on his desk. “I’m going to make some tea to calm down, you want any?” Charlie asked as his eyes flicked down to the black spot on Nick’s neck. 

Nick looked up at him with a smile. “That would be perfect, Char, thanks.” He ducked his head back down to his computer and Charlie let himself look for just a moment more before heading to the kitchen. 

That was definitely soot. 

Charlie swallowed hard a he waited for the kettle to boil. All of these bits of information swirled around in his head. Every weird observation he’d made, every strange encounter. The puzzle pieces seemed to smash together in his head, so obvious in hindsight, and he felt overwhelmed yet satisfied with the revelation. His frequent disappearances. His "exclusive" interviews with Superman. All the little moments he'd caught Nick in a white lie.

The kettle boiled and he made their tea. He took a long deep breath in and out, centering himself. He would confront Nick sometime, soon, but needed to formulate a plan first. For now, he just had to bring his coworker his tea and act like everything was normal. 

Act like he didn’t just find out his coworker (and crush!) was Superman. 

+1 

Charlie was probably being stupid. 

No, that’s not right. 

He was one hundred percent being stupid. But he didn’t really care, not really, not when this was the best way to get Nick to admit his identity to him. 

He couldn’t just straight up ask him — Nick would deny it, and Charlie would feel like he couldn’t ever trust him. He’d already felt uncomfortable this entire past week with his newfound knowledge. Every time someone mentioned Superman at this office, his heart sped up. The guy who was out there, constantly saving the world, was sitting across the office from him. It was a lot to process. 

Plus, it was hard enough before not to ogle Nick Nelson at the office; now, with the added knowledge of his secret identity, it took serious effort to keep his eyes to himself . . . and his thoughts work-appropriate. 

Now, Charlie stood on the roof of The Daily Planet, overlooking the city. He had texted Nick a few minutes ago, asking him to come up here when he had a minute. He felt a bit guilty, luring Nick into his trap of sorts. But it had to be done. This was the best plan, he told himself. The only plan really, even if it was inherently dumb and reckless and dangerous. 

“Hey!” Nick said, his voice booming across the roof. “What’s going on, Char? Everything okay?” Charlie’s heart fluttered a bit at the nickname. But no - he could not let his crush distract him right now. He needed to focus. 

“Yeah, I just, uh. I wanted to ask you something?” he said, gesturing for Nick to join him by the ledge. Nick came to his side, looking out at the city sprawled out below them. 

“Your question required a view, huh?” Nick teased, though he didn’t actually seem bothered. 

Charlie just smirked. “Close your eyes for a second, okay?” 

Nick looked at him skeptically but did so. Guilt crept up on Charlie again, but he pushed it down. He pulled himself onto the ledge of the building, first sitting with his legs dangling over and then, precariously, rising to his feet. He didn’t want to know how high off the ground he was — if he looked down, he’d chicken out — so he just looks down towards Nick, who was dutifully covering his eyes. 

“Okay. Open your eyes and save me, Superman,” Charlie said before stepping off the edge. 

Yeah, this was the dumbest thing he’s every done.

Regret filled him as his stomach dropped and wind whipped his face. I am going to die because I thought my coworker was a superhero and would rather jump off a building than confront him about it in a normal way oh my god—

His racing thoughts were halted — actually, his entire body was halted mid-fall — as warm, large arms encompassed him. He breathed out loudly in relief (I’m not going to die!) as he took note of how high up he still was. And then he was moving, somehow going upwards, back towards the roof, and his brain started to function again and—

Superman was carrying him. 

Superman was flying him back to the roof. 

Superman — no, Nick Nelson had saved him.

Charlie had been right! 

“I knew it!” Charlie cheered, triumphantly, as Nick set them both down on the roof. He felt a wee bit nauseous from the jump, but his elation overshadowed it. He had done it! He had solved the mystery! “I knew you were Superman, and now I’ve proved it!”  

“Charlie, what were you thinking?” Nick scolded, his face the complete opposite of Charlie’s. “You could have died!” 

“You never would have let that happen,” Charlie pointed out, jabbing a finger into his (very firm) chest. They were standing very close to each other, probably closer than they’ve ever been. Charlie’s heart was pounding (from the fall or the close proximity, no one could tell) and he felt breathless. 

“No, I wouldn’t,” Nick said softly, his hands clasping the sides of Charlie’s face. Nick Nelson is holding my face, Charlie thought. This is a strange development. “But that was so reckless, god, Charlie. What if you were wrong? What if I wasn’t fast enough? Why didn’t you just talked to me—“

Charlie’s face fell. “You’re right, I’m sorry, Nick. It was not my smartest moment . . . I just . . . I didn’t think you’d actually tell me if I confronted you. I needed to force your hand so you couldn’t lie to me.” 

Nick looked at him with concern, the anger seeping to of him. “I’m sorry you felt that way. I would never lie to you.”

“Well—“

Nick rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean. Not directly like that. If you had just told me you knew, I would have told you the truth.” 

“Really?”

“Yes, you idiot!” Nick said, shaking his shoulders. “God, Char, I’ve been wanting to tell you for ages.”

“You have?” Charlie was stunned, his brain overloaded with all this information. 

Nick laughed to himself, looking down briefly. “Charlie, I’ve wanted to ask you out since the day I met you. But I knew that if I did, I’d have to tell you the truth, and it would put you in danger. And I couldn’t risk that, no matter how much I wanted to.” 

“You . . . wanted to ask me . . . out?” Charlie said slowly, his brain short-circuiting. 

Nick blushed. “Yes, Charlie. I thought you knew and just weren’t interested! Which was for the better, really, because it meant that you were safe. But of course you are far too brilliant for my meager disguise and you found me out after just a few months. So if you already know my identity, there’s really nothing more to lose.” 

“Nick . . . what are you saying?” 

“I’m saying, Charlie Spring, would you like to go on a date with me?” 

“This is not real life,” Charlie whispered. 

Nick chuckled, taking hold of Charlie’s face once again. His big hands were shockingly smooth and soft on his skin. Charlie closed his eyes, memorizing this moment. “This is real. I, Nicholas Nelson, would like to take you, Charlie Spring, on a date. Potentially tonight, for dinner? Would you be interested in that?” 

“Yes, Nick! God, yes,” he said, placing his hands on Nick’s neck. 

“Good,” Nick grinned, his eyes wide, looking at Charlie as if he was the one with superpowers. 

“Wait,” Charlie said as something dawned on him. “Does this mean the whole time you’ve been interviewing yourself? Nick! That is so ethically problematic as a journalist!” 

Nick smiled shamefully and shrugged. “It’s not like there was a better way to get an accurate recounting of the events out there.” 

Charlie shook his head. “Fine, but now I insist on writing all Superman articles.”

“No! That’s what I’m known for! And it’d be pretty suspicious if my boyfriend started taking over all Superman stuff.”

“Boyfriend? Jumping the gun a bit there, Smallville?” 

Nick blushed, his face delightfully red. “Potential boyfriend. If things go well on our date.” Now Charlie was blushing, imagining the thought of them officially together. “But seriously - it would be suspicious and could potentially lead to other people figuring out my identity. Let me break the ethics code for a bit longer, okay? I’m not really doing any harm.” 

Charlie squinted at him but then nodded. “Fine, but I get to proofread everything for internal biases before you submit. Deal?”

Nick just laughed. “Wouldn’t want it any other way.” 

“Good. Now, about that secret identity - are those glasses fake? Because I’m assuming they’re fake.” 

Nick chuckled and pulled the simple black frames off his face, pocketing them. Charlie studied his face. It was strange—he was very clearly Superman now, a face he’d recognize anywhere from countless photographs and news broadcasts. But he was also so obviously Nick, now that he knew. But something about the glasses scrambled his perception of Nick with glasses, making their faces not match up completely in his head. “Kryptonian tech,” he said, and Charlie nodded. “A regular pair of glasses would be a very stupid disguise.” 

“Well, I like the glasses. They’re sexy,” Charlie said, reaching into his pocket and holding them out for him. 

“Oh yeah?” Nick said as he unfolded them and slid them on his nose.

“Yeah. Besides, I never had a crush on Superman,” he said, looping his arms around him. “But I’ve always had a crush on Nick Nelson.” 

Nick beamed at him, his eyes full of love. If Charlie had to guess, the whole ‘secret identity’ thing probably came with a lot of fear that people only care about Superman, and not Nick. And yeah, Superman is cool — more than cool, he’s a literal hero — but Nick Nelson, who grew up on a farm and bakes cookies fro the office is pretty special. “That’s the most romantic thing anyone’s every said to me,” Nick said. 

“Well, it’s true.” They looked at each other for a moment more, both of their cheeks flushed and hearts beating fast. “Come on let’s get back downstairs. Singh is going to murder me if I don’t finish this last round of edits on the Luthor piece.” 

“We can’t have that, now can we,” Nick said, looping his fingers through Charlie’s and leading him back to the rooftop door. Charlie wanted to squeal from excitement over their linked hands, but he calmed himself. 

Charlie pressed the button for the elevator. “Oh — our date should involve you flying me somewhere.”

“I just flew with you.”

“Yeah, for like 3 seconds while I was recovering from thinking I was going to die!” 

Nick raised an eyebrow. “And who’s fault is that?” 

Charlie rolled his eyes. “Okay, fine, Nelson — would you please consider taking this measly, weak, normal human flying as part of our date?” Charlie did his best puppy dog eyes and pout, and Nick burst into laugher as the elevator doors opened. 

“Don’t talk about my future-boyfriend that way,” he said as they stepped inside the elevator. “But, yes, Char. I will happily take you flying. We could go to my favorite restaurant in Paris? Or there’s this great spot in Japan—”

Charlie’s eyes widened. “Paris? Japan?” 

“Probably a bit far to travel for a first date, but I think you’re worth it,” Nick said cheekily. 

Charlie beamed, squeezing Nick’s hand tight. “Maybe we start with somewhere a little more local? I have no clue how my stomach will actually react to flying.” 

Nick grinned at him as the elevator arrived on their floor. “Fair enough, Spring. Now let’s get back to work so we can get out of here and to our date sooner.” 

Charlie had never edited a piece faster.