Waking up alone in her bed, Irene knew there was no point in denying the disappointment that she felt. She knew that Clark must have had a good reason for leaving before she had woken up, and yet she still felt the immaturity of her disappointment.

So as she took a shower and got ready for work she had to remind herself that Clark Kent was Superman, which meant that he had responsibilities that would be impossible for her to ever understand. As she finished curling her hair the smell of bacon made its way into her room. Irene was confused for a moment as she opened the door to her bedroom to find Clark cooking in her kitchen.

She had expected to see him again at the Daily Planet and now she couldn't help but smile seeing that he had come back. He had clearly gone home and changed for work while he was gone.

"Good morning." Clark greeted with a wide smile as he finished setting up a plate on the kitchen counter. "I made you some breakfast."

Irene walked across the room into the kitchen."You didn't have to."

"I wanted to." He replied as he leaned forward pressing a quick kiss on her lips. Irene was surprised by how natural it all felt, like if they had been doing this exact same routine for a long time now. There was no awkwardness, like there tended to be in the beginning of a relationship. "There was a fire downtown."

"Good thing Superman was there." Irene said knowing her was only trying to explain himself for not being there when she had woken up.

Picking up the fork taking a bit from the pancake, not at all surprised that he had made them from scratch. Because of course Clark Kent also knew how to cook. Before she could take another bite she felt as Clark wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her to him. Irene gripped the fork in her hand a little tighter as he began to slowly kiss her neck.

"Clark." Irene said with a laugh knowing and feeling exactly what it was that he intended. "We're going to be late for work."

"I can fly. I can get us to work in less than a minute." He argued as she turned around in his arms, the breakfast he had made for her quickly forgotten.

Irene knew that she wouldn't be able to resist. Especially not with the way that Clark was looking at her right now.

"Just once." Irene replied and he quickly nodded as he picked her up in one quick movement.  

What Irene believed would only be a couple minutes of them being late turned into an hour, and now she wasn't sure how she was supposed to show up to work and act as if everything was normal. Like if she and Clark weren't together when all she could currently think about was him. This being exactly the reason why she had been afraid of getting to close to him before. She had always been aware of the fact that letting herself 

"Okay, I think that I should go in first and then you wait a couple of minutes before heading up." Irene instructed as she looked up at the building. She didn't know why she felt uneasy about arriving with Clark, after all they were working on a story together. Their colleagues probably wouldn't think much of it.

But she also didn't want rumors spreading, no matter how true those rumors were. She had worked hard to gain everyone's respect and didn't want people to see her as unprofessional for starting a relationship with Clark.

"Alright." Clark replied, but she could see his hesitation and uncertainty. He didn't see an issue with them arriving to work together but he was still willing to play along. "I'll talk to you after work."

Without another word he stepped forward pulling her into a quick kiss before letting her cross the street and walk into the Daily Planet.

Just like she expected no one in the office looked up as she walked to her desk, they all had deadlines to meet and worrying about why Irene was late was the least of their worries. But the same could not be said for Cat Grant who seemed to be studying her from the moment she sat down at her desk.

Initially Irene attempted to ignore her but that quickly proved impossible. "What?"

"You had sex this morning. Didn't you?" Cat questioned, though it sounded less like a question and more like a fact that she had decided to point out. Sure, her observation was correct but that didn't stop Irene from feeling uncomfortable.

Was it really written all over her face?

It couldn't possibly be. And if it was she was horrified that someone could so easily see that there was something different about her.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Irene quickly dismissed as she continued to look through her email hoping that Cat would drop the subject.

"You have this after sex glow." Cat pointed out, this time her words causing Irene to look up.

"That's not a thing."

"Of course it is. Not to mention that your skirt is wrinkled and you clearly didn't have time to redo your hair." Cat stated as she pointed at Irene with her pen a satisfied smile on her face as the blood slowly began to drain from Irene's face from embarrassment. "Oh and your blouse is missing a button."

Irene instantly looked down at her blouse realizing that Cat was right. She was missing a button and she cursed herself for not noticing it. "Shit."

"And I bet you aren't wearing any panties." The other reporter continued, her words causing Irene to cross her legs in shame.

"Cat this isn't an appropriate workplace conversation."

"I'm right aren't I?" Cat continued with glee as she sat up a little straighter on her chair, placing her elbows on her desk and leaning closer. Like they were school girls sharing secrets during lunch time. "So who is it?"

"I'm not having this conversation." Irene said sternly, definitively ending their conversation. She knew that Clark was undoubtedly listening to every word and as much as she just wanted to talk about the amazing night she had and how in love she felt she also recognized that she couldn't do that at work.

Not with Clark sitting on the other side of the room with the ability to listen in on their conversation.

When she had stepped through the doors of the Daily Planet Irene had promised herself not to think of Clark because the thought of him would only distract her. She had been successful until Cat had voiced her observations, and now Irene couldn't resist a look at him.

So, against her better judgment Irene looked across the room meeting Clark Kent's eyes. He gave her a small smile before turning his attention back to his computer and Irene did the same once again promising herself that was the last time she would acknowledge what had happened between the two of them last night and this morning.

"It was Clark?" Cat suddenly declared, her eyes were wide like she couldn't believe it. But that surprise was quickly replaced with an excited smile.

Irene turned to look at Cat and immediately shook her head. "What? No."

"I saw that look. That was a I can't wait til we're off of work so I can fuck you again look."

Instinctively Irene began looking around the office to make sure that no one had heard her. Once again Irene felt herself blush even if no one was overhearing their conversation. "Cat, will you keep it down?"

"Is he good?" Cat whispered as she lowered her voice, not that it mattered considering the fact that Clark could hear a pin drop on the other side of the city. "Why am I even asking? Of course he's good, look at you."

"Cat." Irene pleaded as she felt all the blood rush to her face in horror.

Cat looked across the room at Clark who was typing away at his desk, but the slight curve of his lip told Irene that he had heard every word. "I'm inviting you to lunch. I need details."

Irene groaned like an annoyed teenager not bothering to turn down Cat's offer knowing fully well that there was no escaping that lunch.

By the time lunch had come around Irene quickly picked up her bag knowing that Cat was waiting for her downstairs in the lobby. Just as the elevator doors were about to close Clark quickly slipped through and stood beside her. "So, lunch with Cat?"

"I don't know how I feel about you listening into my private conversations." Irene admitted because although she was aware that his advanced hearing was part of who he was, she also needed her privacy and was aware that it was important to set some boundaries now.

"That was the last time I promise." Clark replied as the elevator doors closed in front of them. For once Irene was grateful to leave the Daily Planet, all she wanted to do was go home but she still had to go to lunch with Cat. Something that she had to admit that she needed. Although Jimmy was her best friend there were some things that she knew he wouldn't want to talk about.

"Good."Irene said before Clark suddenly pulled her into a kiss. She expected a quick kiss but as he deepened the kiss she placed her hands on his chest softly pushing him away needing there to be some space between them. "This is insane Clark."

"I just want to keep memorizing every inch of you." He replied and Irene felt like she could simply melt at his words. 

"Say those exact same words to me later tonight." Irene said, pulling him into one last quick kiss before pushing him away only moments before the elevator doors slide open. She should have known that Cat would be waiting in the lobby for her.

"Cat." Clark greeted.

"Clark." Cat replied as she watched him walk away before turning back to Irene with a smile. "Aren't you lucky."

Irene didn't say anything as they both headed out. Of course she realized just how lucky she was. Clark Kent was perfect in every way imaginable. Although they had spent the last year avoiding what they had really felt for each other, they had also experienced so much together that Irene felt as if everything between them had happened so naturally.

The two women had mostly remained silent making occasional smalltalk as they walked to Cat's favorite restaurant. It was clearly an expensive restaurant and she wondered if her brother took her to these kinds of restaurants on their dates together. She couldn't imagine it considering that her brother had always favored street food over fine dining.

"Okay, details. I need details." Cat said the moment that they were seated at their table.

And although Irene knew exactly what she felt, she simply couldn't put it into words. A part of her was also afraid that Cat would think that she sounded ridiculous. "I just... I don't know."

Cat's eyes widened as she placed both her hands on the table. "Oh Irene, you are so in love."

"I don't know how to explain it, but I think a part of me just knew the moment I saw him." Irene admitted, even though she knew how cheesy it sounded, but it was the truth. From the moment they had met in Ellesmere she had felt something. Before she couldn't explain what it was, only that it had compelled her to spend weeks trying to find him. Knowing that he had felt the same way that day only confirmed what she felt then and that maybe she hadn't created a scenario in her head that didn't exist.

"I think I know what you mean." Cat suddenly confessed and her words seemed to knock all the air out of Irene's chest.

"Angel?"

Cat looked down and nodded before meeting Irene's eyes again. "Yeah, I think so."

Now Irene really didn't know what to say. Cat and her brother had been dating for a couple of weeks now but she hadn't expected anything serious to come out of it. Even when she talked to Angel he never mentioned his relationship with Cat, which she thought was odd.

Now she had to rethink everything she thought about her brother and Cat. But seeing Cat now she realized that at least for Cat this was serious. That she really felt something for Angel.

Before Irene could reply screaming was heard outside the restaurant, turning towards the large windows people could be seen running away from something. The panic in their faces bringing back memories of the Battle of Metropolis.

Without giving it a second though Irene stood up running out of the restaurant ignoring Cat's protest. Running against the crowd of panicked civilians, Irene found herself a street away from a shopping center where Superman was in the middle of a fight with a man in a metal suit, a glowing green light coming from the center of the suit. A green light that she immediately recognized as the glow of Kryptonite. Which explained why Superman seemed weak and clearly not fighting with the strength that he was known to have.

Pulling her phone from her purse and began to take pictures of the fight between Superman and the mysterious man inside the armored suit. She hoped that maybe the pictures could later offer her some kind of clue as to the identity of the criminal.

"I'm not going back to jail again." The man said as he punched Superman, sending him through the wall of one of the nearby shops.

Whoever was behind the metal mask had expertly hidden their identity and although Irene knew nothing about engineering it was clear that the suit was expertly built. This was not the work of an amatuer even if the person wearing it seemed to be.

The man inside the mask chuckled triumphantly to themselves and began to look around the center to admire their work before spotting Irene only a block away. "Miranda."

Irene froze then, not from fear but from the realization that the man behind the mask knew her. But before she could think about it any further she suddenly felt the air leave her lungs as she suddenly found herself being swept away.

The moment her feet touched the ground she met Clark's eyes from across the other side of the rooftop. She hadn't even had a chance to think before she had been swept away and she could see how upset Clark was even though they were a couple of feet apart.

"Irene." He said softly as he crossed the rooftop to her. "Why would you put yourself in danger like that?"

"Clark, he has Kryptonite." Irene argued knowing that although she shouldn't have put herself in danger that way it was something that at the end needed to be done. Because finally after days of nothing she finally had a lead that she could follow. Something that could possibly lead them to the identity of the man who seemed to have some kind of vendetta against Superman. "If you're ever going to stop him you need to find out who he is first."

"I have to go." He stated simply before he flew up disappearing in an instant.

Irene stood on the windy rooftop in a state of disbelief knowing Clark was upset with her and realizing how short lived their state of bliss had been. But she was even more annoyed with how stubborn he was being and how he had simply left her up in a random apartment building half way across the city. 

A/N: Although these next couple of chapters are focusing on developing Metallo as a villain I also wanted to keep them lighthearted and fun because as we know the events of BVS are pretty dark. And I also wanted to use this time for us to see Irene and Clark as a couple. I'm pretty excited for next chapter as we're going to get a little more involved in the Batman side of things. Only five more chapters left until the end of book 2!!