Clark breaking his own rules about his secret identity but ONLY for the nice little old lady who works in the Daily Planet office with him. You will never find him 1) dropping things 2) acting clumsy 3) running away 4) pretending he isn’t strong with her.
He stands up straight with her and looks her in the eye, glasses and misdirection be damned. If she needs help lifting something, he’s there — and it’s never too heavy. She needs help during a full-building evacuation, suddenly she’s outside on the sidewalk and he’s checking her over to make sure she’s okay.
Everyone else sees the misdirection first, the clumsy awkward Clark Kent who aspires to be unremarkable. But this sweet little admin lady who runs payroll? She doesn’t care about the identities or the names he uses. She appreciates him being “a kind young man” and Clark will never disappoint her. He might have been born on Krypton, but he’s a Midwesterner first. If she needs help — she’s getting help.
(Clark ends up watching her meet Bruce a few years later, when he comes by for a tour of the Daily Planet, and gets to witness firsthand as his friend also drops the act with her, zero coordination needed. The woman squeezes his arm, teasing, and says something about him being “quite large.” Bruce laughs, a little pink, and says “That’s the goal.”)
Now with (mini) fic!