Chapter Text
“You’re late, Nelson,”
“I know, I know,”
“What held you up today? Someone steal a purse? A kitten got stuck in a tree?”
“Shut up, Darcy,” Nick says as he hurries into the bullpen, heading straight for the desk-clump comprised of his, Darcy’s, and their coworker Charlie’s workspaces, shedding water droplets off his jacket as he removes it as well as his messenger bag.
“Ooh,” Darcy drawls. “Was it something more dramatic? Maybe something worth reporting?” Darcy leans forward, their elbows resting on their desk as they bring their hands up for their chin to rest on. Nick props his umbrella and his bag against the desk and pulls out his notepad, pens, and phone. Darcy raises their eyebrows as they stare at Nick, waiting for a response.
“There was a delay with a subway car,” Nick says without meeting Darcy’s eye line, carefully omitting the part of his morning that included an overly enthusiastic bike thief who could have possibly been considered scared straight. He pulls his glasses off and uses his tie to wipe a few stray raindrops off of his lenses, noticing a few hairline fractures that he frowns at.
He sinks into his old chair with a puff and does his best to keep his eyes set on his keyboard as he logs in to his computer rather than stare at his desk mates.
“Shame. It’s too bad it’s impossible to just fly straight into the office. As the crow flies. That’s the saying, right?” Darcy says as they lean back with a knowing twinkle in their eye.
A snort interrupts Nick from responding. He looks up and Charlie has a smile on his face.
“That’s rich, Olsson. You and Nelson are the two clumsiest people on the planet. Either of you being able to fly would be an absolute disaster.” He says.
“He’s got a point, Darce,” Nick says, looking back to his monitor, grateful to escape their waggling eyebrows and infuriating smirk.
“Nelson! You have that piece on the robbery in Garden Heights?” Mr. Farouk, the chief editor of the paper, strolls over to Nick’s desk.
“I just need another half hour to proofread and polish and I will have it ready.”
“Make that twenty minutes,” Mr. Farouk orders before bustling back to his office, calling out another command to his assistant.
“I heard something about a robbery last night,” Charlie says. “Didn’t that crazy Livewire lady cause like ten blocks to lose power?” Charlie leans forward, resting his elbows on his desk.
“No, actually, it was Intergang, they had just used something to disrupt the electrical grid, they didn’t get too far before Superman stopped them, though.” Nick blurts out. “They did injure one of the employees, but apparently after he apprehended the robbers he helped transport her to Metropolis City Hospital.”
“How’d you get all that already?” Charlie furrows his eyebrows in suspicion.
“I’m a good reporter and I have trustworthy sources.” Nick shoots back with a sly smile. “Besides, I’m not here to say what’s interesting and what’s not. I’m just here to tell what happened.”
Charlie rolls his eyes.
“I’ve been wondering when folks were finally going to write something about that Superman guy,” Darcy pitches in, tapping a pencil to their lips. “Any other article just seems boring in comparison.”
“Ugh, tell me about it.” Charlie groans. “I’ve just been itching for a chance to interview him.”
Darcy looks over to Nick and winks. Thankfully, Charlie doesn’t catch on and keeps speaking.
“Imagine that kind of spread! Instead, I’m over here doing research on that new software HopeInc is planning on launching next month.” His mouth twists in dissatisfaction like he just swallowed something sour.
“If you’re not sharp, Spring, it’s looking like Nick over here is going to beat you to the punch,” Darcy teases.
“He wouldn’t dare,”
Charlie lifts up his chin and looks at Nick with his eyes narrowed and his mouth set in a harsh line before he breaks and his eyes flood with warmth, huffing out a laugh at his empty threats.
Nick simply holds his hands up in mock surrender. He lets out a little shaky sigh as he plays along with Charlie and Darcy’s banter, but on the inside, his blood pressure rises and he breaks out into a slight sweat. He knows that he is the only person in the room with advanced enough hearing to know when a heart rate skyrockets with nerves, but Charlie continuing to wax poetic over the potential of a one-on-one interview with The Superman feels just a little too close for comfort.
Nick shakes his head to clear it and returns his focus to his computer, pulling up the final draft of his article before sending it off for review and publication.
After he presses send, he finally looks away from his monitor. Darcy’s gone off to review photo prints and Charlie is typing at a pace much more relaxed than Nick is used to seeing.
“How is that HopeInc story going? You hardly seem enthused.”
Charlie blinks rapidly as he looks up at Nick like he only half heard the question. “I’m not sure. It’s supposed to be this catch-all security software. Supposedly it’s as capable of protecting your files and information like it’s the fucking CIA. There’s been a fair amount of marketing for it, but something about it doesn’t sit right.”
“You have something planned, don’t you? Something Farouk wouldn’t approve of, so you’re just going to do it without even trying to run it by him.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Charlie says and Nick doesn’t need to hear Charlie’s heartbeat to know he’s lying.
“You definitely do,” Nick says. He smirks, keeping his eyes on Charlie even as he registers Darcy returning to the desk clump.
“Stop trying to steal my story, Nelson.”
“I’m not trying to steal anything, Spring,” Nick says. “I’m offering to help with whatever scheme you’ve got going to dig something up.”
Charlie’s jaw drops for a moment. “I do not scheme.”
Darcy snorts and Charlie quickly flips them off.
“Just mind your own business, you two,” Charlie says sharply.
Nick chuckles as Darcy rolls their eyes and they and Charlie continue to snipe at each other throughout the day.
The workday ends without any significant occurrences in the offices, or any major disasters in the city, Nick notes thankfully.
“Are you headed straight back to the apartment?” Darcy asks as they shut down their computer.
Nick nods. “Are you coming over?” Darcy does not technically live in the apartment, but ever since they and Nick’s roommate officially started dating they’ve been a fairly constant presence.
“Yeah, you wanna ride? I can head straight to your place. I’m sure I’ve got a change of clothes in Tara’s room I can wear to the bar.” Darcy says casually. They don’t wait for Nick to respond before they’re following Charlie to the elevator.
Nick quickly pulls on his jacket and slings his messenger bag over his shoulder before he moves to follow them. He feels like he’s trudging as goes to catch up with Darcy and Charlie, as easy as it would be for him to be at their sides in a blink of an eye, he is always conscious about how fast he is around anyone who doesn’t know his secret, so basically everyone in the city who isn’t Tara and Darcy. It’s like he’s stuck trying to move but the air is too thick to glide through like he’s trying to run across the bottom of a swimming pool.
This usually comes around to bite Nick in the ass, however; he becomes too preoccupied in how to keep up his charade of an average walking pace to notice something blocking his path. Like the wastebasket, he trips over just a few steps away from the elevator. His bag tips over and spills all of his belongings on the floor, pens, pencils, balled up pieces of paper, and scraps of napkins alike.
“God, Nelson.” He hears Charlie say under his breath with a slight chuckle and a shake of his head. Nick blushes as Charlie moves over to crouch down beside him, helping him gather everything that fell from his bag.
When they both stand, Darcy is waiting in the elevator with their handheld across the threshold, a knowing smirk on their face and their eyebrows subtly waggling.
“Thanks,” Nick says to Charlie as he falls in step behind him.
“Don’t mention it,” Charlie answers with a soft smile, rolling his eyes a little and allowing Nick to board the elevator first.
Nick can’t read minds, but he’s sure if he could he would hear Darcy singing a cheesy love song.
Nick doesn’t say anything as he and Darcy walk to Darcy’s assigned space in the parking structure, or as Darcy starts the car and begins to follow the familiar route back to Nick and Tara’s apartment, Darcy speaks enough for the two of them combined. They’re prattling on about something Tara texted them during their lunch break before they change topics to their plans for the night.
“You’re coming with us to Ace o’ Clubs, right?” Darcy glances at Nick before focusing back on the road.
Nick heaves a sigh and shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t know.”
“Oh, don’t be like that. Come on. It’ll be fun. Not even one drink?”
Nick lifts his hands to rub his face, scrubbing at his eyes with the heels of his palms. “You know I can’t get drunk.”
“Then socialize! I invited Charlie, y’know.”
“You did?”
“Yeah, I thought you were listening? We were talking about it right in front of you earlier today, didn’t need super-hearing or anything.”
“Believe it or not, I don’t constantly eavesdrop on you.”
“Well yeah, but you do eavesdrop on Charlie.”
“No, I don’t!”
Darcy doesn’t reply, instead, they just bark out a high-pitched laugh.
“Shut up, Darcy.”
“You’re telling me that you’ll pull a rom-com, flirty ‘Oops! I dropped everything, help me pick it up wink-wink?’ move in front of Charlie, but you don’t even listen in on his evening plans?”
Nick groans. “I didn’t trip on purpose. Who the fuck falls intentionally? There’s no way that’s a real-life way to flirt.”
“Sure you didn’t, Mr. Superpowers.”
“How about I use those powers right now and rip the door off your car?” It’s an absolutely empty threat, and he and Darcy both know it.
Darcy tsks as if they are disappointed with Nick’s attitude as they park in front of the apartment building. Part of Nick is tempted to take off from the sidewalk and just fly to his apartment. He lives on the 10th floor, so leaving his bedroom window unlocked has never been a security issue. But he knows that being childish and leaving Darcy to make the trip up alone while he locks himself in his room won’t help anything. So he gathers his things from Darcy’s back seat and walks alongside his friend in comfortable silence.
Tara is in the living room when Nick and Darcy enter, still in her EMT uniform. Nick’s nose crinkles involuntarily. There’s a faint scent of blood clinging to Tara, despite no sign of it on her. The scent isn’t fresh, Nick knows it’s just what’s left from whatever Tara’s had to wash off from some sort of call she had during her shift, but it still makes his insides curl. It’s faded enough though that Darcy’s human nose goes unbothered as they cross the room to kiss their girlfriend.
Nick ignores their conversation as soon as Darcy plants themself in Tara's lap and attaches both of their faces, instead opting to head to his room to change out of his work clothes.
He swaps his trousers, button up, and loafers for jeans, a t-shirt, pullover, and sneakers and falls onto his bed. He flops both arms over his duvet and stares up at the ceiling, wishing idly that he was in comfier clothes, but he knows that any minute Tara and Darcy will be knocking at his door to drag him to Ace o’ Clubs. He might as well be ready, he thinks with a huff.
He is still wearing his glasses. He pulls them off and a small part of him wishes that that had an effect on his eyesight. He absentmindedly wonders what it’d be like if his vision wasn’t perfect. It’s probably beyond ‘perfect’, he considers. It’s impossible to say, of course, but that doesn’t stop his mind from wandering.
“Hey, you ready?” Tara asks from his doorway. Darcy is standing behind her, typing furiously on their phone. They’ve both changed into casual outfits.
“Yeah,” Nick says without moving.
“Uber’s almost here. Come on, get up. Don’t make me make Darcy drag you out of here.” Tara threatens, getting both Nick and Darcy to look at her with eyebrows raised.
Nick sits up and Darcy rolls their eyes as they finish typing whatever text or email they are sending. Nick stands and grabs his wallet, phone, and keys from his desk.
“Not wearing your glasses?” Darcy asks. “It’s a good look. You could have Charlie in your bed at the end of the night, easy."
Nick’s eyes widen and he immediately grabs his glasses off his bed.
“No,” Darcy whines. “You look hot without the glasses.”
“They’re right,” Tara says, looking Nick up and down. “And that’s coming from the lesbians.”
Darcy nods and grins until Nick puts his glasses back on, making Darcy pout again.
“Shut up, both of you.”