Title: The hug
Category: TV Shows ยป Smallville
Author: magic or manic
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T
Genre: General
Published: 08-24-10, Updated: 08-24-10
Chapters: 1, Words: 1,080

Chapter 1: Questions

"What happened to the tractor," he said nervously to his mother, looking at the burned out husk hidden behind the barn.

She looked at it with him, grateful that he gave off his wonderful and warm 'son' vibes again.

"Well, Lionel burned it," she said. "When he was in your body."

Clark looked at it in horror. It was a useless husk now. His dad loved this thing and now it was gone. He shuddered to think how close the world came to being destroyed. Lionel in his body had been terrifying and formidable.

"Was he trying to burn down the place or something," he asked, horrified. "Did he hurt anyone here - physically, I mean?" Trying not to think about the horrible things Lionel had said to Chloe and Lana. The cruelty of his words to Chloe and the very creepy-old-guy pass he made to Lana made Clark want to be sick.

"No," she said, unaware of the true torment underneath. "He seemed mostly surprised by what he could do." She suddenly let out a strangled laugh. "Look, I know it isn't funny. I almost lost you. But I wish I could have seen the look on his face when he finally did what your dad wanted and lifted up the tractor so he could clean it."

"But he burned dad's tractor - dad loved that thing. Was Lionel trying to hurt dad?"

"No. I really think it was a mistake. He was up in your loft, getting dressed for dinner - and - oh god," she said, suddenly clapping a hand to her mouth as them memories flooding her. Her son, acting weird, dressing up for dinner, staring at her oddly, calling her Martha. Her son, with his shirt undone, begging her for a hug. And as he had hugged her, his arms tightening around her in a way that would have been weird had it not been the fact that kids and parents sometimes did hug each other tight when hugs were needed. But then there was the slight weird feeling that he was inhaling the scent of her hair... again, maybe not weird for a little kid seeking comfort, but a little weird for a kid who was really a man. But then the heat vision. The truck... sexual desire. Again, laughter welled as well as horror, mixing together to make her feel giddy and weak kneed.

"Mom, you okay," he asked, alarmed, as he held on to her to bring her to sit on a nearby bench. His arms around her were filial. Guess nothing would burn down tonight, thank God.

She nodded. "I'm fine. I'm fine."

"Did he hurt you - hit you or anything? Is your head okay?"

"No, I just... I guess I just figured something out."

"What did you figure out?"

She looked at him and quirked her lips, deciding that to traumatize her boy would be uncool.

"Nothing. Nothing."

"Mom, did I have a girl up here? Is that why I ... burned down the truck?"

His mom turned red, and turned away. A sure sign he was getting closer to the truth.

Was it Chloe or Lana," he suddenly gasped in horror. "Please - tell me -"

"It was - me," she said.

Clark suddenly stiffened and reared away from her on the bench, plastered to the other side.

"Oh," he gasped out. "God, please tell me -"

"No. Obviously you did nothing untoward," she said, now laughing outright at the insanity of what their life now was. "Otherwise, I would have believed you straight off about you being Clark when you called me to the jail."

"What happened, then?"

"You ... asked me for a hug. Said you needed one. Gave me this sad pouty face," she said, laughing as he looked at her incredulously. He was a man, not a child. Even if he needed a hug, he wouldn't pout for one.

"And..." his voice and face were highly nervous. She knew if she tried to give him a gentle touch now on the arm, he would probably flee to the other end of the world.

"And... I hugged... my son," she said.

"Mom... please please please tell me -" He knew heat vision wasn't the only result of sexual desire. Had the hug been so tight that -

"I wouldn't have suspected anything was weird at all, if it hadn't been for the fact that I thought you had inhaled the scent of my hair. It was a fierce hug, like the kind I used to give you when you were scared about something... I just figured after all you'd been through in the last year, you needed maternal comfort."

The word 'ewww' was going on in an endless litany and it showed in his eyes and face.

"And then he set the truck on fire..."

"Oh, my god - "

"And then we broke apart and I good-naturedly told him to go put it out. I was annoyed, but as we've seen powers go out of control before, there was no point in getting you to feel bad. I knew ... that ... Lana could make your heat vision go off - in the beginning, but I figured this was something else... maybe stress?"

"Lionel got off on that hug, mom," he groaned, turning away, to huddle into the side of the bench away from her. His mother. "We belong on the Jerry Springer show now."

"Well yes... but not because of that," she said, teasing him with an amused smile.

"Clark, we've told you before that it isn't you doing things when you go out of control due to meteor rocks... but the fact is, you really had nothing to do with this one. This one was done while you were suffering in prison," she said, suddenly sobering up.

"Mom... I'm sorry, but this is so twisted... it's -"

"I know, son... did you need a hug?" She couldn't help it. Sometimes she felt that being silly was the best way to break through to his shame spiral. And in this case, his behavior had been so very much not his own, that she didn't have the slightest bit of fear that it would come back again.

The shocked look in his eyes was amusement enough.

"Come on in, kiddo," she smiled at him. "I'll make coffee."

"Mom... just promise me one thing," he asked her pleadingly.

"What?"

"Switch to a different shampoo!"