I THINK A ONE-NIGHT STAND WITH HIM WOULD RUIN ME FOR LIFE.

SURPRISINGLY, the Daily Planet had sprung for a fairly nice hotel room for Clark to stay in — Millie knew that Picture News would never fork over the money for anything better than a motel for any of their reporters away on assignment.

There wasn't, however, any kind of table or desk in the room, which made Millie giddy. It meant that they had to start writing their article while sitting on Clark's neatly made bed. She'd never forget how he flushed a bright red, his ears burning as he stuttered out the request for her to join him on the mattress.

And knowing she'd never get another chance to make him so flustered given that they lived so far away from each other, Millie slid right next to him, their arms touching as they leaned against the headboard, legs stretched out — it was almost comical how long Clark's were in comparison to hers. And god, his thick thighs pulled at the fabric of his trousers when he laid out next to her before they were hidden away by his laptop.

It didn't take long, admittedly, to write the article. And halfway through, they ordered Chinese food to the hotel room, both starving even though it was fairly early. Clark noted she nearly ate as much as he did, which made him grin — he couldn't count the number of times Jimmy or Lois teased him about how much he ate. But apparently, when she glowed, it took up a lot of energy that she had to regain with carbs afterward.

"I think this is great," Millie said as Clark typed the final period of the article. She looked up at Clark, whose glasses had slipped down his nose a bit. "We make a good team."

"We do," he said a bit breathlessly. Honestly, his heart had been ready to beat from his chest from the moment he heard Caitlin make her teasing remark about taking Millie back to his hotel room. Clark didn't often think like that but couldn't seem to help himself with Millie McCall. "Maybe, um, maybe we could work together some other time."

"I'd like that," she said with a flirty smile, leaning a bit closer. "I'll be sure to volunteer if we ever have any business in Metropolis. I'd sure like to see you again."

"You would?" he asked hopefully, looking so impossibly adorable to her.

"Of course," she giggled. "I've never met someone as nice as you, Clark. You're just wonderful."

He looked away shyly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't know about wonderful," he murmured. Then he playfully cut his eyes to her. "I think you just want to get close to me for Krypto."

"Well, that too," she beamed. Then she sighed and glanced at her watch, frowning a bit. She had to be up early to go to work, and she didn't want to risk Larkin yelling at her two days in a row. "It's late. I should probably let you get to sleep."

"Oh, yeah," he mumbled, sounding a bit saddened. "I've got an early train back."

Millie nodded dejectedly and slid off the bed, Clark following after her. "It was nice meeting you, Clark," she said, looking up at him through her lashes as he met her by the closed door. "Metropolis doesn't know how lucky they are to have you."

"I could say the same about you and Central City," he said. "Other than your friends, it seems they don't appreciate you. I hope they do someday."

"Thank you for saying that," she said quietly, part of her hating that he could pick up so easily on the fact that she didn't enjoy her life there completely. If it weren't for Caitlin, Barry, and Cisco, she'd have left already, she was sure.

Then, with a heavy sigh, she opened up the door, ready to leave the most perfect man she'd ever met behind. But for a moment, with her back turned to him, she shut her eyes and imagined a life where Clark lived in Central City. Maybe he'd ask her out for coffee and they could go on walks with Krypto. He'd get along with her friends and maybe kiss her sweetly at the end of each date. He'd blush like he so easily does as she invited him inside of her apartment.

So, wanting to see that blush one last time, Millie quickly turned around and faced him. He looked at her almost hopefully as she stepped impossibly close. Then she grabbed his arms and stood on her toes — and even then, he instinctively leaned down just a bit because of their height difference — then she kissed his cheek softly, just beside the corner of his lips.

"Goodbye, Clark," she said quietly, smiling gently when the familiar red dusted his cheeks and nose.

Clark felt frozen as he remained crouched down a bit. His blue eyes bore into hers deeply, feeling like she was staring into his very soul. But then her eyes flickered to his parted lips, and he held his breath.

Millie took a chance, leaning up slowly. Her lips brushed his in the softest of kisses, feeling like a million fireworks were being set off in her stomach as she did so. It took Clark a moment to react from how shocked he was, but then he leaned in and slid an arm around her waist, pulling her against his firm chest as he kissed her fully.

She gasped as her hands traveled down his arms, feeling surprisingly hard biceps that were tightening their grip around her. He took the opportunity to gently slide his tongue past her parted lips, deepening it at a slow pace.

It was all so overwhelming for them both. The heat of his hands through the thin fabric of her dress and the fact that Millie was definitely glowing even though the lights were on — he could feel the power radiating off of her, it spurring him on, making him feel stronger.

Despite that strength, he was still stiff as a board, restraining himself as he held her delicately, not wanting to hurt her in any way. Millie was so delicate, which he was only reminded of when she whimpered against his mouth when he squeezed her waist tightly.

Sucking in a deep breath, Clark drew on all his willpower as he parted from a breathless Millie. Her eyes fluttered open as she was now the one staring in awe — it felt a bit nice to give her a taste of her own medicine given how flustered she easily made him with every innocent look and brush up against him.

Millie's cheeks were burning as she looked into Clark's darkening eyes that were fixed on her lips, her heart hammering inside her chest.

"Again," she said, her voice sounding a bit uneasy. "It was nice meeting you, Clark. Real nice."

Clark nodded weakly, glancing into her eyes one last time. "Goodbye, Millie."

With one last longing look, Millie let herself out. Once the door was shut, she sighed and leaned up against it, her fingertips brushing her warm lips. And then she smiled to herself, knowing that she'd had a perfect day with Clark, and it would be a long time before anything else topped the way he made her feel.

Then, a second later, the moment was gone as she realized she hadn't even asked him for his phone number.

☆︎

"You kissed him?" Iris West asked as Millie fell back onto her friend's bed.

Instead of going home and getting sleep, Millie went over to her friend's place to gossip about what she'd done. Iris hadn't met Clark officially but had gotten a good look at him when he met Larken at the Picture News office.

And of course, Millie told Iris all about her day with Clark. How lunch had gone perfectly as she gushed over his dog, how nice their walk to S.T.A.R. Labs was, how he'd looked at her like she was something special when she glowed, and how she'd kissed him before leaving his motel.

"On his pretty, perfect lips," Millie sighed while staring at the ceiling. "Best kiss I've ever had, Iris West."

Iris smirked and crawled onto the bed with her. "So, why are you here in my bed and not there in his?"

"Well, I couldn't sleep with him — wait, no, I could. I definitely could," she stressed, making Iris giggle. "But I might never see him again, you know? He was so perfect that I think a one-night stand with him would ruin me for life."

"I get it," she nodded with a sad smile. "And now you have a kiss to remember him by. Very sweet. Very romantic."

"What do you think about a vacation in Metropolis?" Millie asked teasingly. "We'll bring Barry, and he can team up with Superman."

THREE MONTHS LATER

"You're transferring me?" Millie shouted in Larken's office. "I'm the leading authority on Metahuman articles and research. We live in the most Metahuman-filled city in the world."

"Well, I don't want to put up with your late ass any longer," Larken snapped before shaking his head. "And Metropolis has a growing Metahuman population — people are already cross with that Superman flying around. Between him, the Metahumans, and the aliens that are more and more frequent there, Perry White requested you specifically. Seems he really liked what you and Kent put out all those months ago."

"But - but I live here, not Metropolis," Millie stuttered out, doing her best to ignore the compliment.

"Well, moving is part of relocating," he said flatly. Then Larken sighed and leaned his elbows on his desk. "Look, kid, I've known you since you were born. I've gotta be honest with you. You're a good writer — too good for this place. They need someone like you in a place like that. Central City doesn't need you, not with all the progress the Flash is making on his own. Take it as a compliment."

"You don't need me? How is that a compliment?" she scoffed, looking away childishly. "I don't wanna leave Central City."

But even as she said it, part of Millie knew it was a lie. Only her friends, her job, and the Metahumans were keeping her in Central City. And evidently, two of the three didn't need her.

"Well, you don't have a job here anymore," Larken said, making her look up in alarm with wide eyes. "West is gonna handle Metahuman relations from now on — she needs the push out of her comfort zone writing about just the Flash. Both of you need a push."

"How kind," she muttered sarcastically. Then she huffed in annoyance. "You're really doing this to me?"

The older man stared her down, an almost apologetic look in his eyes. "I am, McCall," he nodded. "Pack your things. You're moving to Metropolis."

[ this was kind of short and bad, and also I didn't want to waste time between her moving to Metropolis because I can't even handle one chapter without Clark in it ]