Clark was not lost on the idea of an auction. He had gone with his Dad to many of them for farm animals and even farm supplies when they could get a better deal on them than if they bought something new. The idea of him being one of them up on display to be auctioned off was a whole other matter.

Still, Clark was willing to do it for charity, especially for the children's cancer unit at the local hospital. He was dressed in a suit that he had picked out with the help of a very helpful and very pretty salesman. Clark had been happy to find someone who was helpful but wasn't hitting on him. He had made sure not to ogle the man too much himself.

When Clark stepped up on the edge of the stage and waited to take his turn, he felt a bit of fear. The guy in front of him had gone for two thousand dollars, and Clark had been listening; it was the highest anyone had gone for. This wasn't just for Daily Planet staff. This was a big function put on by some club in the city that Clark had barely paid attention to when Perry told him he would be auctioned off for kids.

The terms and conditions of everything were laid out, and Clark knew that he wasn't supposed to do more than take the person out on a date; there was to be a kiss at the start and one at the end, but no more than that.

When he finally stepped on stage, Clark didn't have to talk; it was his turn. The auctioneer did all the talking, and Clark just had to look pretty.

There was a bank of tables at the back that were staffed for people who couldn't be there in person but wanted to bid on people.

"And he's going for one thousand."

Clark looked at the auctioneer. He knew he had been going last, but he figured it was because they thought that few were going to bid on him. Yet, there were paddles going up, and Clark had trouble keeping up with it all. He wasn't sure what was going on, but this was a little out of his comfort zone. He was going to have so many issues on the damned date.

"And the winner of the night is Mister Clark Kent for ten thousand dollars to donor number seventeen."

Clark was waved off the stage, and he headed to where the coordinator was standing with an envelope in her hand.

"Here are the details of the date. The other person has already made the arrangements and reservations. You just need to get here."

Clark felt like he might need to have some backup, and he wondered what it would take to get Bruce and Diana there for a date that night as well. He wasn't sure they would do it, but Clark felt there was a little weird about this. He

Bruce was going to laugh his ass off, and Diana would just give him a look. It would be the fodder for a lot of the Justice League for a while. Bruce had done one a few years ago and ended up at the scene of a robbery by Mister Freeze. Trying to stop it as well as keep his date from knowing who he was, Mister Freeze, as well, had been a little hard to do, but Bruce had done it.

He also hoped that didn't mean that this was how his night would go.

"No hints at all?"

"None at all, Mister Kent. Have a lovely evening."

Clark was happy that Lois was in Gotham on an assignment to get some dirt on something that pertained to Metropolis and that she missed the night. Even after she got back, it would be nothing but jokes and ribbing, but at least he had a few days before that happened.

Thankfully, the night was over for Clark now, and he could slip out and head home. He was tired from having to be on for things. There was always the chance that something like this would attract the kind of people who would also hurt people. Thankfully, that hadn't happened.

Clark would have to psych himself up for what was to come. Dates were always stressful, but not knowing who it was beforehand would really upset him.

---

Clark pushed his tie up, and he looked to the side to see where Bruce was crouched in the archway of a building. Diana was off a few miles taking care of something but could get there in no time if this ended up being something stupid like the time when someone tried to kidnap Lois to get to Superman. With Lois and Clark splitting the Superman stories lately, it would be the work of nothing for someone to think they could go after him. He was a bumbling person on the worst days and socially awkward.

"Just remember to glove up," Bruce whispered, his voice catching Clark's ear even if he wasn't fully focused on him.

"I will not be having sex tonight," Clark said as he turned on the comm unit so that Bruce could hear him.

"Bruce quit that," Diana said.

Clark said nothing and turned it off again; no one needed to hear what was happening tonight. Bruce had stuff that would make it easy for him to hear inside there anyway, at least until Clark gave the signal.

Earth's sexuality spectrum was varied, and it made figuring out his own very easy once the term had finally been coined that fit what he felt. Before that, he was just called a prude even though he was happy with how he was; he never took shame in the world, even if people tried to make him feel that way. He had been taught to be himself even from a young age. His dad and his mom had instilled that in him before his mother and father taught him.

Clark was directed to a table and left there. He let his hearing take in the voices all around him; he knew a few of them, including, strangely enough, Lois on the far side of the room having drinks with a group of women. Clark focused on her a little bit, and he let himself get distracted.

"Well, this is where we say goodbye, Clark. We will stay in the area but your date is nearly there."

"What?" Clark asked as he turned on the end, which would pick him up again. He looked at where Bruce was outside, but before he could narrow his gaze to see him, he could see the flutter of a cloak.

They were in on this. They knew exactly who his date was, and they were leaving him to it. This made Clark calm down some since the threat wasn't the date, but there could still be a threat out there.

"Enjoy," Diana said.

Clark picked up the glass of water on the table and sipped it. There was little to do but wait for his date to arrive finally. He didn't like that they were late, but then he had been a little later than he would have liked, still before time but not enough to give the person the time to get their mind together and step over.

Lois' voice was getting closer, so Clark looked to see if she was leaving or heading to the bathroom. She did neither, instead sitting down across from him. She smiled before picking up the glass of water.

"Sorry, I got distracted with a few friends of mine across the room when I was heading to the bar to get a drink and wait for you."

"You...Lois, you don't have that kind of money."

"No, I don't, but blackmail, even simple fun blackmail, can get certain billionaires to give you a little money and help you set up a date with their friend."

"You blackmail Bruce?"

"Oh, no, I blackmailed..." Lois trailed off and then pulled out a small device that was in the shape of a batwing. It was a bit of tech that certain people had that could call Batman to them. "I picked it up on my second day there, and thankfully, he found me fun instead of scary."

Clark laughed. Then he sobered when he realized that if Lois had figured out who Bruce was, it wouldn't take long for her to figure out Diana and Clark. The only downside to their friendship was that the world knew they had, but it had been hard not to be drawn to each other when they traveled in the same circles, Clark for work and them for their social status.

"And what else did you find out?"

"Oh, I knew part of that for a while, but I've been trying my hardest to make it worth it all. Then I realized that something I was feeling was more than friendship, and I wanted to ensure that whatever I planned was worthy of you. Then that whole date auction came up, and Perry forced you into it. If I hadn't been planning on being in Gotham, I would have been up there myself, I am sure."

"Yes, he had to send James instead since he was the only one who didn't pitch a massive fit. I felt sorry for him. I was just glad he was happy to let me have a few extra days off to deal with it."

"James texted me a live feed about the night, and he had his date with his person that night. I guess she was a nice woman, but I have no idea what she wanted out of that night."

"Most of them were just there to give up money. The whole no-sex part of things was well beat into everyone's heads. I was red the entire speech that we were given. If it led to a second date, there was nothing that barred anyone from doing anything for that date. It was just the first date that was to be kept out of the bed, as the person put it."

"So puritan that they think that sex only happens in beds," Lois said.

Clark glared at her words, but she just smiled at him. Lois had been one of the few to accept Clarks' boundaries on discussing sex. Clark didn't mind it, but he didn't like it being turned on him. He didn't talk about his sex life. That was just part of who he was.

"I got into a discussion with James a few months back, and he commented about you and how you have talked about your past partners, the few you have had. You identify as demisexual, don't you?"

Clark picked up the wine the waitress had just filled into their glasses, slipping away from the table just as silently as she had arrived. He had no idea what Lois had planned for the evening, but he was pretty hopeful that it would be low-stress. He wasn't sure how to answer Lois' question because it did fit him the most, but he tended not to want to discuss with people that he wasn't going to be dating or trying to date.

"Clark, this is a real date," Lois said when his silence had gone on too long.

"You were too afraid to ask me?"

"No, I was going to, and then this dropped in my lap while I was in Gotham. I realized something when I saw a picture of you and Bruce in his office when I went to pick up a device from Wayne Industries. He said he would hold it for me. I saw the picture of you and him that was on his desk, and I knew I had seen two other people stand exactly like that, and it was you know who."

Clark did know. They had stopped standing like that in person because someone had figured that out, and that picture was in Bruce's office, which is not very often used.

"So, I thought this would be fun, and I didn't realize that someone else was going to be roped into it, but I assumed it was to help me figure out who she is. Of course, that will not be in the papers ever, and Bruce made sure that I knew that."

"I'm glad of that. I trusted it as well. I would reveal it to you soon when I asked you out."

"I just beat you to the punch, which I am fine with. So, this is a real date, and later on, we will go on other dates."

"Demisexual is the best term, yes," Clark answered finally.

Lois smiled and picked up her wine. An appetizer was set on the table. The food smelled wonderful, and Clark was looking forward to it with her.

---

Clark pulled on the sleep pants and looked to the side to see that Lois had opened up the drawer with the shirts. He only used them when people were over, like his mother or even James, if he stayed the night after a long game. He didn't want to make it seem like it was a big deal that she went for that, but it was the only thing she went for.

Despite the last six months of dating and getting to know each other, they hadn't really done anything sexual until the last few weeks. Due to various issues with work and his job as Superman, they hadn't actually slept in the same bed for longer than a few hours. It would probably be the whole evening, and Lois had gone for the shirt.

She walked around the side of the bed and got into it with a smile. She was too tired for sex, which Clark was fine with as they had been working hard at work, and she was on vacation for the next week. Clark wasn't, but he was going in a few weeks. They had a small trip planned for the weekend, though, to take her home to visit his mother. They had met before but hadn't seen each other since they had started dating.

No one knew much about their dating life since it rarely was in the public eye, given how much attention they got and how much they just didn't care to be on display to the world. Their first date had been on the society page. It had been a reminder of what his life was like at the paper. He was someone that the city looked up to in both jobs.

"Should I go to the guest room?" Lois asked.

"No, no. I'm just lost in my head." Clark walked around the bed to get into it. He moved around until he was settled onto his back, and he loved the way that Lois went right to him, curling into him and lying her head on his chest. He enjoyed that feeling and wanted to be like this forever. He wanted her to move in with him now, but he knew that she had her own thoughts on things like that.

"Do you need something?" Lois asked as she moved to get on top of him.

Clark thought about that for a few seconds but was too tired. He used the arm around her to pull her back down to his side. They could do sleepy morning sex if Lois were in the mood. "No, I'm actually too tired for it. I need just to rest, which might or might not include actual sleep." Clark kissed the top of Lois' head.

"Okay. I would have if you had wanted it."

"I know." Clark had felt like she was trying too hard, but when he had brought it up with her, she had told him that she was nearly always a little aroused when it came to him, and so sex was never a big deal. She liked it, and she liked it when Clark lost control during sex but still treated her like she was something precious to him.

Clark rolled, moving Lois around until her back was tucked into his chest. He let her feel how soft he was before wrapping his arm around her to hold her. It was his favorite way to sleep and what he needed right now.

Lois settled down and it didn't take long for her to start to fall asleep. The day had been long and hard, and it had been enough that Clark knew Lois was too tired as she didn't protest him manhandling her around where he wanted her. She usually didn't, but she was also used to it during sex and rarely outside of it.

Clark turned his head down to bury his nose in her hair. She smelled like his soap since she had forgotten to get more of hers and was out here. Clark let his mind focus on the life he wanted to build with her. She was his ticket to happiness; he had known it since he met her. It had been something like love at first sight, but the deeper feelings had come later.

Soon, they would make that life together until they were good like they were.

The End