After about five minutes, Clark finally flopped back into the chair.

"I'm terrible at this. Really really terrible. It's just... there's something I want to tell you about and I'm not sure whether you want to know or whether you'd just like to go about your life as we're going because this? You and me and dinner and the new job? It's great. It's..."

He breathes out and looks right at Jim.

"It's home. Like I haven't felt for a while."

Since his father had died. The apartment was exactly the right size for the two of them, felt filled with the two of them. Making plans to go home for Thanksgiving, buying baseball tickets... they were friends and the best part, the part Clark had never had, they were friends without lies in the middle.

"But I can't not tell you. Because you should know."

He huffed out a breath.

"Lois thinks she might have found some HYDRA ties in the local government. Deep ties. She's sure she's onto something and Lois has a nose for this kind of thing and I wasn't sure if you'd want to know or if you just want to leave that all behind, but it's in Metropolis so...."

He waved his hands somewhat helplessly.