A/N: Hey there true believers! I have another update for your and I hope all of you enjoy it. This chapter might read just a little differently and there a reason for that. I have lost my beta-reader (nothing against that, everyone needs to take care of themselves first and foremost), but anyone else who is interested should reach out to me if you are curious. I won't promise anything, but given the fact I am dyslexic, I could really use a proofreader to help me out.
Everything else aside, I hope you enjoy this and be sure to let me know what you think of the newest chapter. Reviews, messages, follow, and favs are HUGELY appreciated. Interactions from those who enjoy my works mean the world to me.
He was home, after what had felt like an eternity Clark Kent was home, back in Smallville. After the vast views of the city and Beacon, the small building and vast forests and field felt odd, but all too familiar as well. It was a comfort and he loved it, he liked Beacon, but he loved Smallville. Taking in a deep breath and letting it out, it felt as though a weight like he had never felt before was lifted from his shoulders.
"So this is the place?" Yang said as she exited the transport "Not a whole lot goin' on," she said simply. It wasn't judgmental, just a statement.
"Not yet, but once the fair starts things will change," Clark said confidently.
"And when is that?" Ruby asked, following after her sister.
"It'll start Monday," Clark said simply.
"So we'll have a whole weekend with nothing to do," Weiss said, her tone not terribly pleased, but she was also; to her credit, clearly trying not to sound that way.
"Don't you ladies worry about that, there's plenty to do if you know where to look," a pleasant but cocky voice. They turned to see a young man about their age standing there, with his hands in his pockets. He was slender and stood about half a head shorter than Clark. He had lightly tanned skin and curly brown hair and smirked at the group. "Hey there Clarky, how ya been," he said with a grin as he walked over and gave him a quick one-armed hug.
"Willie, what are you doing here?" Clark asked, mildly confused but still evidently pleased.
"Heard you were coming back today, told yer' folks I'd be happy ta come and pick ya up, heard you'd be bringing some company," he said curiously as he looked around Clark and eyed the four girls."Nice," he said in a tone Clark was too familiar with.
"Willie, don't be gross," Clark said a little exasperated, knowing exactly what his friend was thinking.
"What? I'm just saying your new friends look nice," he said in an unconvincing tone, a smirk plastered across his face.
"So, who's your friend Clark?" Yang asked, having been the first to walk up to the duo.
"Right, this is my childhood friend. Willie Birch. Willie this is Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna, Weiss Schnee, and Ruby Rose," Clark said introducing each of them in turn.
"Pleasure to meet ya," he said kindly, shaking each of there hands in turn. "Now, let's get ya to the homestead. My pickup doesn't have enough room for all of ya so Clark will have ta ride in the bed with luggage," he said with a grin looking at Clark.
"Just because I've gone off to school doesn't mean a truck bed ride is gonna bother me Willie, no matter how bad you drive," Clark said back grinning himself.
"Ahh, I know, but I had ta try," he said back with a shrug.
"Can I ride in the bed too, I've done it before," Ruby said eagerly.
"It might not be a great idea, Willie can get a little crazy on the back roads," Clark warned but Willie scoffed.
"Aww come on Clarky, she's a huntress to be, I'm sure she can handle," Willie offered in an even and cheery tone.
"Yeah, I can handle it just fine!" Ruby said proudly as Clark glared at Willie.
"You know what, I think I'll ride in the back too, could be fun," Yang offered up cheekily, not noticing Ruby's slight fall in mood.
"Yeah Clark, it could be fun," Willie said with a small snicker causing Clark to sigh as they approached Willie's pick-up truck. "Ladies," he said with a small bow as he opened the doors to the cab allowing Blake and Weiss to enter, both of whom rolled their eyes.
Clark loaded their bags into the bed before fastening them down, to make sure they didn't go flying if and when Willie decided to drive like a maniac. Clark might be able to tell when people were lying, but he could never quite make out when Willie was messing with him. So it was better the air on the side of caution.
"Ready back there?" Willie called back through the cab window as Clark sat down next to Yang.
"Yeah, open it up!" Yang shouted.
"I like this one Clark," Willie shouted back with a grin as he gestured to Yang with a thumb, causing her to grin broadly at Clark.
"Alright, let's do this!" Willie said dramatically as she started his vehicle, it roared to life, he reeved the engine, before turning his blinker on and pulling slowly out into traffic and driving tamely through town. Yang looked utterly disgusted as Willie drove sedately through downtown, smiling and waving at passersby.
"Are you kidding me? This is what you were worried about, this is lame!" Yang lamented after a few minutes of Willie's overly cautious driving. Clark was about to say something when he realized they had city the downtown area and entered the country roads. He could practically hear Willie grin as he shifted gears and slammed his foot on the gas. The tires spun and squealed before the truck took off on the uneven roads.
Yang's expression changed immediately as they tore through the back roads, bouncing around as Willie seemed to now be intentionally aiming for every pothole. Clark could hear the engine pitch change as Willie shifted gears laughing maniacally.
"How's this for lame?" he called back to Yang who was bouncing up and down, a grin on her face, clearly in control.
"That all you got?" she shouted back, grinning.
"YANG DON'T!" Ruby cried, clearly having a much harder time stabilizing herself, rolling around on the floor of the bed, occasionally being bounced a high into the air. On more than one occasion, Clark actually had to reach out and pull her back to keep her from falling out. Weiss seemed to agree as Clark heard her shout from inside the cab.
"SLOW DOWN YOU MANIAC! YOU'RE GOING TO GET US KILLED!" she shouted as she started slapping him on the arm.
"How about we take a shortcut?!" Wille yelled as he took his foot off the gas before slamming on the brake, shifting and yanking on the steering wheel. The truck slid as it turned onto an offroad trail before shifting again and tearing off, and the ride became much rougher.
"KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN!" Clark shouted over the roar of the engine.
"WHAT!" Yang shouted back before Clark pulled her down, just as a tree branch whipped by.
"Head down, you might not be having so much fun if you catch a branch to face," he said much quieter, now that she was much closer.
"Right that's the reason, not because you want me on your lap," she whispered, grinning, causing Clark to flush. She laughed, but before she could poke more fun at the young man the truck struck another pothole and she was launched off of him. Yang was able to stabilize herself but Ruby was still having no such luck.
"I REGRET EVERYTHING!" she screamed as she was once again thrown into the air, causing Yang to snicker.
"JUST GRAB ONTO CLARK! HE HASN'T MOVED SINCE THIS JOYRIDE STARTED!" she shouted gleefully at her sister.
Without missing a beat Ruby quickly scrambled over the Clark and latched onto his arm, gripping it as though her life depended on it. Her breath was heaving and her heart sounded like a rabbit's after drinking a pot of coffee. Clark had tried to tell her, and while he felt sympathy he couldn't help but be a little amused.
Willie's truck ramped the wooded area and managed to stay aloft for about three seconds before slamming back down onto the road before fishtailing down the road, kicking up dirt and gravel.
"GOOD THING I UPGRADED THE SUSPENSION!" Willie shouted in glee.
"OH IS IT!? IS IT GOOD?!" Weiss could be heard screaming back at him, and Clark and Yang couldn't suppress their laughter.
Everything came to an abrupt halt as Willie once again downshifted, slammed on the brakes and powerslide to a stop.
"And we're here," he said jovially as he stepped out of his truck. "Hope your Ma didn't see," Willie said cockily as he walked around the back of his truck, grinning until he heard a voice and his cocksure attitude drained.
"WILLE BIRCH HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU NOT TO DRIVE LIKE THAT ON MY PROPERTY!" shouted a woman with ginger red hair as she marched out from the farmhouse. He was a hull head shorter than Willie, but her mere presence seemed to make the cocky young man shirk.
"OH...Hello, Mrs. Kent, you look lovely today," Willie said lamely, but Mrs. Kent was not deterred.
"DON'T YOU HELLO ME!" she shouted as she walked right up to him and began swatting him.
"OW! OW! I'm sorry! It won't happen again! I promise!" he cried, this seemed to make her stop and she glared at him.
"Like I believe that," she said dismissively before turning to Clark, her demeanor changed immediately.
"Clark! Welcome home," she cried happily as she ran to embrace her son.
"Glad to be back mom," he said as he hugged her back.
"Let take a look at you," she said as she pulled back, holding her son's shoulders and looking him up and down. "I see you're finally dressing properly, no more baggy clothes, which of you young ladies finally got him to look after his appearance?" she asked looking over at the quartet of team RWBY.
"That'd be me! Plus, I kind of owed him some new clothes after I destroyed his outfit in a training match," Yang said, hopping out of the truck bed.
"Well, it's about time he started," Martha said, giving her son a look that was somewhere between mildly judgmental and immensely amused.
"Mom…" Clark muttered, slightly abashed.
"Oh, I'm only teasing," she said softly with a kind smile, squeezing her son's arm reassuringly before turning to face the young man she had accosted moments before. "Willie, take these young ladies' bags up to the house," she said sternly.
"I don't work for you!" he said indignantly.
"Would you rather I tell Johnathan and your parents you were power sliding near out livestock again?" she asked cooly. Gesturing around the chickens in the front yard.
"No trouble at all Mrs. Kent, I'll get right on it," he said in a terrified voice before quickly running to his truck and gathering up the luggage and beginning to fairy it up to the house. When he was far enough away Martha smiled a little exasperatedly.
"He's actually a very good boy, he just doesn't always think," Martha said looking back at him as he tripped and fell on the porch steps. "Now let me see. You must be Yang," she said kindly as she reached out and shook the blonde's hand. "Clark has told me so much about you," she said with a smile.
"Oh, has he?" Yang said a little smugly, shooting Clark and an equally smug look.
"Of course, he talks about all of you so much. I feel like I already know you," she said cheerily and Yang seemed to deflate rather uncharacteristically. "You must be Blake, and Weiss," she said to each in turn, greeting them as she had Yang "But where's Ruby?" she asked looking around.
"Present," Ruby said in a small voice as she raised from the bed of the truck, still shaking.
"Oh dear," Martha said as she moved over to the younger girl and helped her out. "Let's get you up to the house," she said kindly as she guided her up to the farmhouse.
"I tried to warn her," Clark said, a little dejected.
"Well, I thought it was pretty fun," Yang said happily.
"You would," Weiss said, clearly irritated.
"Come on, it wasn't that bad," Yang offered.
"I have to agree with Weiss, the whole thing was rather unpleasant," Blake offered evenly.
"Thank you, Blake," Weiss said in a dignified voice.
"Oh boo," was all Yang said in response, and Clark just smiled at this. Despite his return being rather chaotic, he was still irrepressibly happy to be back.
"All that aside, let's get up to the house. I can show you where you're staying," Clark offered, pulling his own bag from the truck as Willie ran back trying to heft Weiss' travel trunk from the truck bed before it fell on top of him.
"Be careful with that!" she shouted at him.
"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled as he hefted it back up.
"You'll each have your own room, we have more guest rooms than we know what to do with. The house was built when the family was a whole lot bigger, it's a bit of a pain, but it works out pretty well when we have guests," Clark told them as they approached his home.
"Aww, we don't get to double up, how disappointing, I had the perfect roomy in mind," Yang said, bumping her shoulder playfully into Clark's. To his credit, Clark flushed slightly but did not stutter or stammer a response as he used to.
"Go ahead, ask my parents if you can, see how that goes," he offered back playfully and Yang looked a little shocked, and a little impressed at how unaffected he was by her blatant insinuations, before grinning to herself mischievously and walking up to him and, standing on her toes, whispering quietly in his ear, her hot breath sending shivers down Clark's spine.
"I'm sure we'll find some time, we're here for two weeks, don't you worry," she mumbled softly before giving his earlobe a quick nip and backing away, giggling.
This was too much for Clark. He turned as red as a cherry and clenched his eyes shut tight as he was certain his eyes were about to shoot their fiery rays, but as it turned out they did not. He felt the rush of energy but it never seemed to manifest in an actual blast. It was the most unusual sensation, his eyes felt like warm maple syrup and he could feel the pressure produced by the force of the mounting energy and yet he felt no pain. Then, in an instant, it all faded and he felt it was safe to open his eyes and saw Yang smirking.
"There it is, you're not making this so easy anymore," she said cheekily and giving him a wink before turning away quickly. But Clark still managed to notice the rosy tint to her cheeks.
But Clark was still entirely off-balance, Yang had been forward and teasing before but this seemed to be an entirely different level. He wasn't utterly confused, he wasn't dense, but Yang only seemed to act this way to get a rise out of him. He'd seen her do it with Blake, Weiss, and even others around campus. She flirted to get a rise out of them, he'd just always assumed she picked on him more because he was the easiest. But it had never been like this, and this seemed to cross some form of a line, it seemed to actually fluster her to some degree as well, which had never happened before. Now standing alone in the front yard Clark let out a sigh and mumbled to himself.
"I wish I could read minds sometimes," as he hefted his bag and walked into his family home.
Walking in he was immediately hit with an overwhelming sense of nostalgia and Clark was a little taken aback. He hadn't been gone that long, not really and yet the scents and sights of his home hit him with incredible force. He couldn't keep the grin off his face, but he was momentarily distracted by a loud 'THUNK' followed by a louder voice.
"DAMNIT!" Willie cried from upstairs.
"LANGUAGE!" Misses Kent shouted looking up towards the second floor.
"That had better not been my luggage!" Weiss shouted up the stair-well as Willie came down.
"Don't worry princess, I didn't hurt your precious luggage!" Willie grumbled as he rubbed his head, a large bump forming where he had clearly hit his head when he fell. "That's all the bags miss Kent," he said in a much kinder tone.
"Thank you, Willie, here, have a sandwich," she said handing him what appeared to be an almost absurdly well-crafted sandwich, it appeared as though it had been pulled straight from a commercial. Willie just grinned, took the sandwich, and spoke in a much milder tone.
"Thanks, Misses kent, you really are a gem," he said without a trace of the irritation or frustration he had felt an instant before, as he took a large bite from the meal he'd been offered. "I'll see ya later, gotta head home before I get down to the lake, maybe I'll see ya there Clark, " he said through a mouthful of food as he headed out the door as he gave them a wave.
"You know, he really is a good boy, even if he doesn't always think before he acts," Martha said as she waved at the young man as he left, her voice mildly depreciating but still kind and caring.
"Really?" Weiss asked, seeming a little confused, which wasn't all that odd given what she had seen moments before.
"Would you like to be judged based on a single moment in your life?" Martha asked, almost offhandedly. There was no judgment in her voice, it was a simple statement, but it still seemed to force Weiss into deep contemplation. Clark decided to break the awkward silence that had been forming.
"So, where's Dad? I thought he'd have been the one picking us up?" Clark asked. He was curious although he thought he'd deflect anyway.
"Oh, he was going to , but the pneumatic system has been acting up and he's been trying to fix it all morning, but now that you're here you can help him," she said a little disinterestedly and Clark let out an audible sigh.
"Really?" he asked, sounding reluctant.
"Yes, Really, don't tell me you've become uncomfortable with it in three months?" Martha asked, her voice containing no judgment.
"I never really liked it to begin with, but I get it," Clark mumbled more to himself than to his mother.
"Alright then, you go help him. You girls can go ahead and get yourselves settled," Martha said as Clark walked out the door to the barn.
"Is there anything we can do to help around? We don't just want to be a burden," Ruby offered, almost eagerly.
"Nonsense, you're our guests, you don't need to help with anything," Martha said, her voice firm and somehow gentle at the same time.
"But we want to give us the full farm experience!" Yang offered cheerily, not noticing the glare Weiss gave her.
"You might have come at the wrong time then, not so much to do on the farm in summer. Come back in the fall is you want that," Martha said with a chuckle.
"Well...I'll go help Clark then," Yang offered happily and Martha seemed to pause.
"That's not for everyone dear...you know what? Why don't you all help me in here with the baking? I'm trying out some new recipes for the bakeoff next week and a few extra hands would actually be a big help," Martha offered as she pulled on an apron.
"Are you making...cookies?" Ruby asked eagerly and hopefully, having seemingly teleported into the kitchen.
"Clark told me about your sweet tooth, and yes, of course, I am," she told the young girl fondly before handing her an apron.
"Not really my scene, no offense misses Kent. But I think I can handle anything Clark can, I am a huntress in training after all," Yang said confidently and made her way out the door with a quick wave before Martha could object. "Don't worry, I got this," she called back before making her way across the barnyard.
She heard a bit of commotion coming from the large barn and made her way towards it. All she could think was 'what could be so bad?' she had been in actual conflict and killed a ton of Grimm. This would be a cakewalk, she was sure of that. As she walked in she immediately recognized Johnathan Kent from the video they had sent Clark. He was perhaps a little skinnier and taller than she would have thought, but there was no mistaking him. The pair didn't seem to notice her at first as they brought a large pig into a steel cage. It was here that Clark turned around, looking a little shocked.
"Yang!? Umm, what are you doing here?" Clark asked a little nervously.
"I said I'd come and help," she offered cheerily.
"Well an extra set of hands is certainly welcome Miss Xiao Long," Jonathan said as he turned around and walked over to her and offered her his hand, which she took. "Clark's talked a lot about you," he said kindly.
"Yep, just like all of us," she said back, her voice pleasant, but the slightest hint of irritation still there.
"Well...not quite," he said back with an extremely subtle but sly grin.
"DAD!" Clark shouted in embarrassment.
"Oh I'm just funnin' with you son!" he called back to Clark before looking at Yang and giving a very small shake of the head and she laughed.
"You sure didn't pick up your dad's sense of humor," Yang called to Clark and he just let out a huff of irritation.
"So, did the misses tell you what we're doing?" Jonathan asked her, his voice still light but the tone clearing showing he was ready to get back to work.
"Totally, I can handle just about anything, not an issue," she lied easily and coolly. It wasn't the truth, but she felt it didn't really matter.
"Alright then, just grab that pail and get ready," he said gesturing to a corner where there were several extremely clean and sanitized steel buckets. Yang compiled without issue.
"Got it, what do you want me to do exactly?" she asked, still not quite understanding what she had agreed to.
"Just come over here and hold it ready to collect," he told her evenly as he gestured to a spot in front of the pig and she did as she was told, still not quite sure what was happening. Did they milk pigs?
"You ready dad?" Clark asked as he walked over holding a larger mallet and wearing a thick apron. He looked down at Yang before stopping and removing his apron and taking off his red flannel shirt and handing it to her. "You might want to wear this," Clark offered as he tied his apron. Yang did as was suggested and then it hit her what was happening.
"Ready when you are son," Jonathan said and in an instant, Clark swung the mallet and struck the pig between the eyes.
There was a wet pop and crunch as the hammer hit and shattered the skull and damaged the brain. In what seemed like an equally quick reaction Johnthan pulled a chain and hoisted the pig up by its hind legs before quickly running a knife across the pig's throat causing blood to gush out from the animal. Yang was stunned by the sudden violence and didn't move but she felt strong hands guide her hand holding the pal to catch the draining blood.
"There we go, can't waste too much of that," Jonathan said evenly.
"You...use the blood?" Yang asked, trying to sound unaffected and aloof.
"Not us, but some of our neighbors use it for soups, stews. You know things like that. So we let them have it," Jonathan said easily as he held the animal's head back to allow the neck wound to pump the blood out.
"So...why don't you kill it first?" Yang asked, trying to not sound squeamish. It was like she hadn't seen this type of thing before, her father had shown her how to hunt and dress game but somehow this felt different and she couldn't tell why.
"Gotta keep the heart pumping to get the blood out, normally we use a pneumatic captive bolt gun, but the compressor is being fussy. If it doesn't build up enough pressure it won't stun the animal and we try to be as humane as we can. Clark is actually better than the gun, but we try to avoid that if we can," Johnathan said, giving his son a sympathetic look.
Yang looked up at Clark and saw a look on his face she hadn't before. It wasn't disgust or regret, but it spoke of someone who didn't really like what he was doing, but had kind of resigned himself to doing what he had to, and that's when it struck her what was making her uncomfortable.
It was Clark, or more seeing Clark doing this, it seemed so unnatural for the mostly benign and gentle nature she had seen, it didn't seem right to her.
"Alright, Clark can you go get the splitter?" Jonathan asked. Clark looked at his father for a moment, a questioning look on his face.
"Bandsaw's down too," he responded with a small smirk.
"I've been telling you to replace that thing for years," Clark said a little exasperated as he left the barn.
"Miss Xiao long, would you mind getting another bucket?" Jonathan asked her kindly as he wiped his hand before pulling out a large knife and set to work removing the head of the animal, which he did surprisingly quickly before bringing it over to a table and setting it down.
"No problem," she muttered, setting the one pale down and fetching another. She had thought she hadn't portrayed her discomfort in her voice but apparently, she hadn't.
"You know, you don't have to help with this. It's not for everyone, there's no shame in it," Jonathan Kent said, his voice kind and warm.
"Please, I'm fine," Yang said a little dismissively and much more rudely than she had intended "Sir," she added hastily, flushing a little from embarrassment. Jonathan just chuckled.
"Clark's not too fond of the slaughter part either, neither am I to tell the truth. But it's just part of life on a farm," Jonathan told her.
"It's not that...something about Clark doing it bothers me. I mean I've killed and field-dressed deer," Yang offered back and he just seemed to shrug in agreement.
"I get it, I feel the same way, which is why we try not to make him. But sometimes things need to get done, and sometimes he's the best man for the job, you can set that here," he finished pointing beneath the strung-up pig. Yang did as she was asked, and she watched as Clark's father swiftly and deftly cut the animals stomach open and quickly set to work removing all the organs into the second bucket.
"Do you use all that?" Yang asked a little curiously as she looked into the bucket, her discomfort was now gone.
"Pretty much, most of this can be used in some way," he said looking up at after placing a long string of intestines into the container.
"You're not grossed out?" Clark asked as re-entered the barn, carrying a massive cleaver blade.
"Nah, I told you're pops I used to hunt. This isn't an issue for me," she said confidently and Johnathan chuckled.
"Pops huh? I like that," he said with a grin as he held his hand out for Clark to hand him the splitter.
"I don't think so dad, you know you're not supposed to over-exert yourself," Clark said in a voice that was resolute but concerned.
"My heart's fine Clark, come on," he said a little exasperated, gesturing for Clark to hand the blade over.
Clark didn't even move to comply. He simply walked past his father and split the pig perfectly down the middle in one easy clean stroke. Before deftly sectioning both halves into primals before taking the eight pieces and placing them on his father's bench in a room off to the side. One that Yang noticed was kept meticulously clean.
"There ya go, don't work too hard," Clark said with a small as he walked back out to the main floor. His father grimaced at him for a moment before letting himself chuckle.
"Okay, okay I get it, but let the old man keep some of his pride will ya?" Jonathan said with a grin, patting his son on the shoulder as he walked past him. "You still sure you don't want to learn how to break down a pig? Your grandfather would be happy to know his grandson learned how to be a butcher," Jonathan teased.
"I'm training to be a butcher dad," Clark said back, a slight hint of exasperation in his voice, but the warmth in his tone far outstripped and his father audibly laughed.
"Well, I had to ask, why don't you bring that stuff into your mother," he called back as he set to the task of breaking down the animal.
"You got it dad," Clark said and picked up the pale of organs before turning to Yang. "Would you mind grabbing the other?" he asked, almost sounding ashamed to do so.
"No prob," Yang said nonchalantly and went back to retrieve the other pail. As she turned around she saw Clark was now also holding the pigs head.
"Umm...can I ask?" she said, no actually asking as she pointed to the head.
"There's good meat on the head, can't let it go to waste," Clark said as though this were the most well-known fact in the world.
"You don't say?" she said, sounding skeptical.
"You should try some, my dad doesn't use it for the cookoffs," Clark said and Yang gave him a skeptical look.
"Eh...no thanks, I'll stick to normal foods," she said and Clark just shrugged as he walked up the porch. Yang opened the door for him and he walked into his family home. The moment he walked into the kitchen he heard a scream followed by a loud "THUNK" as someone fell over.
"CLARK WHAT DID YOU DO!?" cried an abjectly horrified and flour-covered Ruby, who was currently crouching behind the table. Clark was confused for a moment before remembering he was carrying a pig's head and steel pail full of its organs.
"Ruby never had the stomach for hunting," Yang whispered to Clark and he could see that.
"Clark you can put those in the chest," Martha said, gesturing to a small room off the kitchen.
"This too?" Yang asked, holding up the pail of blood, causing Ruby to squeak in horror again when she saw what was inside.
"Yes dear, thank you," she said with a warm smile.
Yang did as she was asked, being careful to not spill before closing the door of the chest freezer. She looked back at her sister and had to suppress a chuckle. Ruby could destroy a Grimm without batting an eye, but a little bit of this and she was quaking in her boots. But she supposed that the two things were drastically different, and she really couldn't blame her because at the end of the day they weren't really the same thing. But still found it a little amusing her sister (who was so fearless in the face actually monsters) had a hard time dealing with where her food came from.
"You okay Ruby?" Clark asked, his voice clearly concerned. She nodded frantically, not speaking.
"Don't worry, she'll be over it in about thirty minutes. She used to do this whenever me or dad brought home a buck," Yang said, waving her hand dismissively towards her little sister. Who's cheeks puffed out in irritation. "So where are the other two?" Yang asked as she glanced around the kitchen.
"They said they were going to unpack, this one was eager to help with the baked goods. I've had to keep an eye on her, she keep trying to sneak taste of the batter," Martha said looking at Ruby warmly, who seemed to be torn from her shock at this before grinning sheepishly up as Mrs. Kent. "You should have seen this one, I used to have to make sure he didn't make off with the whole bowl," she finished accusingly pointing a spatula at Clark.
"What can I say?" Clark answered with a broad grin spreading across his face.
"You can say "Yes, Mom I will help you," she said.
"But you didn't-" he started, but seeing the look she was giving him he just laughed, washed his hands and took an apron from the hook and put it on. "You wanna help?" he asked looking at Yang.
"Helping with the pig wasn't enough?" she said, her tone playful if still tinged with a bit of something less pleasant.
"Fair enough, it'll just take that much longer before we get to the lake," Clark said a little coyly, casting her a playful look, and that tone caught her attention..
"The lake?" she asked, her interest piqued by his tone.
"He's talking about the "Redneck Yacht Club"" Martha said, her voice laced with contempt and disgust and Yang guffawed before looking at Clark, her face alight with pure amusement.
"The Redneck Yacht Club?!" she practically cried in glee.
"A bunch of drunken nimrods acting like fools," Martha finished, a distasteful tone to her voice, giving her son a look that seemed to make him whither, even if it was only a little.
"If that ain't the pot calling the kettle black," Johnathan said as he entered the kitchen, walking over the the fridge and pulling out a beer before putting it back after a look from his wife and talking out a pitcher of lemonade. "If I recall, you used to have quite a wild steak when we were dating," he said with a smirk before pouring himself a glass.
"Doesn't mean I approve as a mother when I think back to the hell I put my parents through-" she cut herself off with a sigh as she shook her head.
"Come on. Martha, they aren't breaking the law and none of them ever do anything TOO stupid. Plus, you trust Clark, don't you?" he questioned with an unconvincing look of skepticism on his face as he grinned and sipped his lemonade.
"Oh hush," she said as she hit him with a flour cover towel, only causing him to laugh.
"So Clark has a little wild-child in him huh? I would never have guessed," Yang asked with a smirk as she shot Clark an almost smug look. But his father just chuckled before he responded.
"Hehe, Clark? No, but he'd go and look after people, make sure they didn't get themselves into too much trouble," he told her with a smile.
"Maybe I'll have to change that, help him get a little crazy, can't live a sheltered life forever," Yang said with a broad grin before giving Clark a wink, her smugness didn't last long however when Mrs. Kent spoke up.
"Don't you dare young lady," she said sternly, causing Yang to freeze up.
Yang was mortified, her face flushed with embarrassment that she had said such a thing in front of Clark's parents, she had spoken without thinking. She turned to face Mrs. Kent, intent on apologizing, only to see she had a tiny grin on her face, threatening to turn into a full smile, and she could hear Mr. Kent started to laugh, and she relaxed.
"To be honest, Clark could stand to loosen up a bit, I swear that boy was born forty-five," Mr. Kent said with a laugh.
"Dad," Clark said with a sigh, slightly exasperated.
"Well, it's the truth," he said with a grin before turning to face Yang. "This boy has not once, NOT ONCE, broken curfew, been late on homework assignments, drunk a beer before it was legal for him, he's never broken a rule, he even called a penalty on himself in peewee football even when no one saw it," he he finished with a loud laugh as he gestured towards his son, and Yang laughed too.
"You're too pure for this world Smallville," she said teasingly, causing Clark to flush a bit in embarrassment.
"Okay, enough chit-chat, get to work," Martha said, her voice sounding falsely stern, Clark grinned, and fixed his apron before grabbing a second one and holding it up to Yang, a questioning look. She sighed, grinning all the same, before taking it and setting to work.
After about an hour everything was finished and baking or sitting on sheets or tins ready for its turn in the oven. While Ruby had gotten a little over excited while mixing, and Yang was really more of a hindrance than a help. It was a generally enjoyable time, but for Yang it felt a little strange. This interaction with a kind, and warm mother forced her to think of her own, and she found herself becoming a little more somber, something Clark had noticed.
"Aright, if we're all set maybe we can head out. Ruby can you go see if Weiss and Blake have recovered from Willie's driving. Yang, can you help me load some stuff up into the truck?" Clark asked.
"You need my help?" she scoffed.
"Many hands makes light work," Mrs. Kent said as she pulled her apron off. "I'd also appreciate it if Clark didn't snap the tent poles again because he tried to carry everything at once," she finished somewhat sternly, casting a glance at her son that told him she had some idea of what he was up to. She had noticed Yang's change in demeanor as well.
"Gotcha, so you plan on us camping down there?" she as she walked to join him.
"Everyone does, no drinking and driving. We'll pack a few tents, some sleeping bags, I can't imagine you guys brought any of that with you to Beacon," Clark said nonchalantly as the pair walked out the front door towards the shed near the barn.
"That's a big nope," she responded a little cheekily.
"Well, we'll have you covered, just right in here," Clark said and opened the shed door.
After a moment or two rumbling Clark began to hand out bag after bag to Yang. She took them and found her arms quickly becoming full before Clark excited his arms full as well.
"Geez, do we need all this?" she asked.
"We'll be spending the weekend, gotta make sure we have everything we need, just in case," Clark answered simply.
"The whole weekend?" Yang asked, a little shocked.
"Well it's either that or hang around the house doing chores until the fair starts. But I figured you'd all rather hang out-" he started but Yang cut him off, her face a little smug.
"At the Redneck Yacht Club," she finished for him, a massive grin plastered across her.
"Right," he said back with a smile of his own, seeming a little less affected than Yang would have thought.
"Why do they call it that?" she asked, her curiosity finally forcing her to ask.
"I think it was some condescending remark made by someone passing through. But instead of letting it bother them the town just kind of made it their own. I don't personally care for the name all that much, but it's become something of a tradition so...yeah," he finished lamley.
"Okay so why the "Yacht Club" part?" she asked as they made their way over to the pick-up truck and began to load everything up.
"A bunch of party barges and homemade pontoons all strung together, everyone who has a boat brings one," Clark said simply as he closed the tailgate.
"Actually sounds like a pretty good time," she responded with a grin. "Well, I'll go get some things and the others and we can head out," said cheerily as she turned to leave but Clark stopped her.
"Yang, hold up for a minute," he said, and his tone seemed off to Yang.
"What's up?" She asked, a little confused.
"Well, I just wanted to make sure you were okay," Clark asked, his voice laced with concern.
"Yeah..why do you ask?" she said now seriously confused.
"Well, back in the kitchen you seemed...off, I just thought something might be bothering you," he said, leaning on the side of his pickup.
"What?... Oh, that...yeah, don't worry about that," Yang responded, not realizing what he was talking about at first before realizing and trying to brush it off. She thought about her mom a lot, and from time to time it made her a little morose, but it was something she was normally able to brush off before anyone noticed.
"Yang, come on-" Clark started, but she cut him off.
"Look, just drop it alright!" she snapped back with a little more bite in her voice than she intended, but he seemed unfazed.
"I won't push it if you don't want to, but I'd like to think you could talk to me," he said softly before straightening up and beginning to turn away. Not offended, not put off, he was simply stating a fact and Yang let out a sigh of mild frustration. For whatever reason she felt almost compelled to talk to Clark.
"Ughh. Look, it's that big a deal...it's just, my own mother, she wasn't...well, she wasn't very maternal, and your mom...well, it just made me think of that. It's really not that big a deal, she may be my mother, but she wasn't ever really my mom…" Yang finished, not meeting Clark's eyes.
"Yang-" he began.
"Look, it's not that big a deal, I'm fine," she said, her voice cracking only minutely, but Clark heard it.
"I'm sorry Yang, no one should feel like their mother doesn't care about them," Clark said sadly. Yang was about to say something but Clark didn't let her. "My mother didn't want me, but my Mom did. She chose to love me, and Summer chose to love you, and that means alot at least it means a lot to me and…" Clark trailed off, not quite knowing how to finish.
Yang just looked at him, her face not betraying much emotion. But Clark could hear her heartbeat rise, could see the utterly minute color rise in her cheeks. He could see his stance seem to stiffen, and he was afraid he had gone a bit too far, that he pushed a bit too much.
"I'm sorry I shouldn't have pushed it, I shouldn't have...I won't-" he started but he was cut off by a small hiccup as Yang's composure seemed to break and Clark was put a little off-kilter. "Yang?-" he began.
"No, you're right...YOU'RE RIGHT, it's just-" she said emphatically, but this time Clark cut her off.
"Like you weren't good enough…" Clark said sadly and Yang just looked at him, her eyes uncharacteristically bright and she didn't speak for a moment and Clark was worried he had gone too far. He started to speak, but he was cut off yet again, but this time it was by physical force and not words.
Yang has closed the space between them and wrapped her arms around him. It was gentle and soft at first before becoming desperate and firm, clutching and holding with a ferocity that made Clark somewhat confused. Yet regardless he did reach up and pull Yang closer to him as well. Without thinking he buried his face in the crook of her neck and she seemed to do the same, seeming to seek some solace or comfort and she only spoke two words.
"Thanks...Clark," and she clutched tighter, seeming as though she were trying to convey more through her touch than her voice and tone.
Clark thought he understood and kept her close, holding her tight.