"Howdy." a toothy smile appeared on scarred lips and he took immediate note of the way that the green eyes looking into his own were alert and sparkling. "Clark Kent, right?"

"That's me, Mr. Saunders." he returned the other man's smile with a small one of his own, a tight feeling appearing within his chest.

Generally, the women reporters at the Planet fought tooth and nail for an opportunity like this. Lois had been the one initially given this interview for a reason. And just from the warm greeting and welcoming handshake they had shared, he could understand why the woman had been so heartbroken to be unable to interview Greg Saunders and simultaneously hellbent on not allowing any other woman to take advantage of her absence.

Celebrities were generally a hit or miss in this line of work that he preferred to avoid. Lois had shared such a sentiment with him before she had caught wind of Mr. Saunders' positive interview record from Cat Grant.

And now, here he was: Meeting Greg Saunders at his rental property in South Carolina, the location where he was currently filming the latest movie hundreds of thousands were eagerly waiting to come to theaters. And all because Lois had wanted to make sure none of her fellow women were able to get this assignment.

It was the kind of pettiness that Lois excelled at, really. She had never been particularly inclined towards covering 'fluff' news; but the moment she believed there was something more to a story, she became determined in a one-track mind sort of way that very much of scared him.

"C'mon in, Mr. Kent." sparkling eyes closed ever so slightly in a smile as Greg Saunders moved out of the way of the entrance, allowing Clark space to move inside. "An' do me a favor- call me Greg. Mr. Saunders was m'father."

The house was one of those isolated, rugged cabins located in the middle of nowhere in the vast forestland surrounding Lake Jocassee. The private land belonged to an old family that had deep roots in the county and deeper connections in the government and Lois had made quite a few snide remarks about this reality. Clark knew about her thoughts from her notes and he didn't feel strongly about the connections she had made, nor about the possibility of them having been erroneous.

Lois had been looking for a very particular story where Greg Saunders would have most likely been a side character; just a stepping stone to finding the real destination. He was just looking to fulfill the assignment without stepping on anyone's toes.

"Y'ain't allergic to no critters, are ya?" there was something very comforting about the particular heaviness to this man's thick twang; it very much reminded Clark of cool Sunday afternoons surrounded by Pa and his friends, simply existing nearby as they joked and conversed about all the nothings in the world. "Got a couple a'dogs roamin' 'bout."

"Not that I know of, Mr. Saunders." the man's steps didn't falter as he turned to look over his shoulder, thick eyebrows now narrowed in what Clark assumed to be joking severity. "Uh, Greg. Sorry." a smile, a nod, and then Greg was leading him into the dining room space of the cabin.

"Rex, Cody, an' Ashoka'll probably pop up within a few minutes. They're sweethearts an' if one of 'em shows teeth, it's cause they wanna play." Greg explained easily as he moved over to the end of the dining room table, then motioned for Clark to sit down.

"I'm guessing you're a bit of an dog person?" he asked, looking forward to filling up the silence more than really learning anything more about the other man, as he set about preparing all of his workspace.

"I'd consider myself more of an animal person than anythin' else." instead of sitting down by his chair, though, Greg began to walk towards the left, where there was an open-faced kitchen waiting. "Almost forgot my manners- would ya want anythin'? I make a mean cup o' joe- I'm sure Miss Cat must've mentioned it at some point."

There was something incredibly disarming about this man. Clark found himself smiling softly as he nodded, pulling out his recorder from his bag. "She did, in fact. If it's not too much work?"

"A course it ain't." he pulled out his laptop, looked over, and found Greg's broad back turned to him once again. "I'm always up fer drinkin' some coffee. It's a bad habit, but it's mine."

As the other man set to work making the coffee, after he had pulled out all the instruments he would need for the interview and was sure they were all in working order, Clark allowed himself to take a second to just breathe.

Everything around him screamed cozy. It had been a very long time since he had found himself surrounded by more wood than cement, immersed in the sort of nature he had grown up around rather than trapped in a concrete jungle. While he really liked Metropolis and everything he was able to do there... this little meeting was making him reminisce more and more about Smallville.

Maybe he'd need to give himself a little unplanned vacation once he finished up here. He was sure his parents would enjoy him popping up even if it was without warning.

There was a fire crackling softly in a fireplace, the sounds of nature all around him, and he could hear the excited panting of three different sets of creatures that sounded very much like dogs heading their way. Greg was humming a tune to himself in the kitchen, working deftly but calmly to make their coffee.

It was... a very nice change from all of the noise pollution he was so accustomed to.

Life was barely ever silent for him. But this was the closest he could get to it regularly- and he wasn't going to complain.

~/~

"You're from a small town too?"

With soft smile playing on his lips, he nodded, "Smallville, Kansas. Ever heard of it?"

The interview had gone about as well as it could have. There was a large dog now plastered into the side of his chair, it's heavy head resting on his thigh as he pet it softly with his left hand, while his right was occupied with holding onto the half-filled mug of coffee. Greg found himself in a similar position, but with one smaller dog on his lap and another mimicking the position the one near Clark had taken up.

Wolffe was the one he was petting and he very clearly had some pit-bull mixed into him. Ahsoka was a small and furry dog that fit comfortably on Greg's lap, but she was missing her hing leg. Rex, who seemed like he could be related to Wolffe, albeit with more white tone to his fur than gray, had not stopped looking at him through curious and alert eyes.

"Small world!" Greg's smile reached his eyes and Clark was caught somewhat off guard by the reaction- clearly, he had heard of his little hometown. "You ever heard o' Shiera an' Carter Hall? Shiera's my cousin- she was a Saunders 'fore she was a Hall."

Beside himself, his eyes widened.

Of course he knew those two! A lot more than he really knew what to do with, honestly.

"I sure do." he played off some of his surprise at hearing that Greg Saunders was somehow related to Hawkwoman and Hawkman, quickly throwing himself into the kind of easy conversation that came so naturally to people that shared having grown up in a small town. "Ma and Pa are still raving about that gym they established. I don't think Smallville had ever had a popular gym until those two came along."

The look of pride that came over Greg's face was a painfully genuine, "That cousin o' mine is an amazin' person, y'know. Rough skinned as she is, she's the closest this world'll get to an angel."

"Mm-hmm." Clark nodded because he knew for a fact that Carter and Shiera were, in fact, the kind of folk that were always helping out around town; and were definitely very reminiscent of angels; "You know, it's kind of weird to speak to someone that knows what Smallville is."

"Surreal, ain't it? I ain't met more 'an a handful of people that know 'bout Sunnytrail, Wyomin'." and that had Clark's eyes widening once again. Greg noticed the look, blinked, and then smiled broadly, "You've heard 'bout it, Mr. Kent?"

He had. As Superman, not Clark Kent, though. It had been the site of an investigation Batman and Doctor Fate had looked into that had pertained to time travel. There were quite a few anomalies that called that small town home, which meant it was on a watch list for the magical members of the League to keep a close eye on to make sure that no magical craziness erupted. Last he had heard, Fate was still baffled over what had happened there.

"I don't have any relatives there, unfortunately." he shrugged his shoulders ever so slightly, making a point of scratching Wolffee behind his ears. The big dog snorted, huffed, and settled comfortably. "I'd read the name in your biography, but it wasn't until you said it out loud that I made a connection- it's a popular ghost town destination nowadays, right?"

"Mm-hmm." Greg took one final sip of his drink before settling it the thick mug back onto the table. "A damn shame, really. It ain't nothin' like it used to be." this was the first time since he had entered the cabin that Clark could see Greg's good mood dampen, taking on a much more somber look. "Plenty o' small towns still 'round, but ain't nothin' like home, y'know?"

The pain in his voice ran deep- Clark could feel that.

He nodded, pace sobered, before sighing heavily. "I'm lucky in that regard." Smallville was alive and kicking and nowhere near being abandoned. But they were an oddity, he knew.

"An' y'know what I miss most?"

"Hmm?" he grabbed a hold of his own mug once again, deciding to finish off his own drink.

A wistful smile came onto Greg's lips then; and he had become so comfortable around this man in such a short amount of time. It made his heart squeeze within his chest once again, unbidden memories of Smallville coming into the edges of his consciousness.

He may just visit tonight, after he finished a first draft of this interview.

There was a faraway look to those bright green eyes that made something inside of Clark begin to feel eager to find out where, exactly, Greg was.

"Them festivals that're so very much the same yet so very unique to each town. No one could do the amateur rodeo quite like Sunnytrail, gotta tell you." with a slow blink, Greg's eyes refocused to look on him and Clark felt that, for just a second, it became just a little bit harder to breathe in. "Don't think I've been to a fair or festival or what have you in years."

And an unbidden, incredibly impulsive thought struck him.

"Hey, you said that you'd be wrapping up the recording bit of production this week, right?"

"Yessir." Greg nodded, eyes narrowing curiously.

Clark offered up a small smile, "Well, if you happen to be near Kansas during the last few days of this month, Smallville's throwing a Halloween fair. There won't be any amateur rodeo, I'm afraid, but there will be a spooky haunted house set up by this year's graduating high school class."

At first, Greg's face melted into an unreadable expression. Clark immediately worried about having overstepped- even though this interview had gone just about text-book perfectly, he was still on a job and this offer wasn't particularly professional. He was preparing an apology when he witnessed the smallest smile appear on the other man's face.

"I may just take you up on that offer." he was taken aback by the smallness of Greg's tone... until now, almost every single word the man had said had been spoken with the confidence and bravado of a man that knew his worth.

This, though... this let him know just how much this untouchable celebrity really did miss being able to experience something so mundane and accessible to people like him.

He offered up a small smile of his own, "I'll ask ma for the details- I'll forward them to you once I've got them."

"Much obliged, Mr. Kent."

"C'mon, Mr. Saunders."

The small smile turned into a larger one that showed the top row of his shiny teeth, "Fine, you got me- Clark."

And something in his chest tightened.

"Greg." he nodded decisively, and Greg looked back at him with happiness shining brightly in his eyes.

For some reason, he felt successful.

He would definitely be flying over tonight to speak to his parents.


"Texting Greg again, Smallville?"

He frowned softly at Lois' tone- he wasn't quite sure what she was insinuating, but he knew that she was insinuating something. Generally, he didn't mind brushing off this kind of comment. But this was the fifth time now she had asked some type of variation of this question within the week.

"If you must know, yes." he turned off the phone's screen after he had sent what appeared to be his final reply for this afternoon. "Do we have a case?"

"We always have a case." she didn't roll her eyes, though, and instead kept them fixed on the phone's darkened screen. "You're not one for texting."

He frowned softly, "Lois, if you want to ask me something, you can just say it."

One perfectly plucked eyebrow arched incredulously, "You have no idea, do you?" then her ruby red lips pursed as her eyebrows furrowed, "You can't be that oblivious."

"Lois, please, I would rather-"

With a heavy sigh, she interrupted him. "Let's get going, Smallville. We've got to meet up with Jimmy for the pollution case- if you're not too busy texting your boyfriend, that is."

She left him spluttering about him not having a boyfriend and never having had one at his cubicle without sparing a glance back.


~You sure they won't mind? One thing's for me to stay over for a couple of days, it's a whole other thing to bring over three dogs.~

Clark couldn't stop himself from smiling.

Over the past few weeks, he'd gotten to really get to know Greg Saunders- mostly through text messages, but sometimes even through phone calls. And, being completely honest, Greg was slowly but surely becoming someone he would be rather happy to get to call his friend.

There were a lot of good qualities to the man; just like there were plenty of amazing actions that he didn't take credit for. Apparently, he was one of those celebrities that gave away most of what he made in record-breaking contracts to charities. He was the main silent donor to an animal shelter in Wyoming that had the mission of giving every single animal they saved a second-chance at life. That was where Rex, Wolffe, and Ahsoka had come from, apparently.

Everything that Lois had once believed was a front; purely an act put up to look nice in front of the public; was anything but. Greg may have been an amazing actor that could take on almost any role he put his mind to, he was incapable of being inauthentic in his real life.

And so Clark knew that even as unbelievable as it may have been, Greg truly was an amalgamation of endearing contradictions. He was confident and sure of himself, but humble and cautious. He was as kind as he was caring, but he understood that he needed to draw a line in all the issues he chose to care about. He was honest but he understood that not everyone would believe him.

Certainly the exact opposite of what Clark had come to expect from celebrities in the public eye.

He quickly typed out his response, letting the other man know that his parents would actually be very happy to get to have dogs around the house again, before pocketing his phone once again. He glanced up towards the man seated directly before him and found himself deflate immediately.

"Am I no longer entertaining enough for you?" Bruce's face was attempting to seem playful, but his eyes were too cold- Clark immediately that he had insulted his best friend.

"Sorry. Ironing out some final details for this weekend." he picked up his glass of water in an attempt to clear the air of the tension that had built up without him noticing it, but Bruce's eyes only seemed to harden.

"The cowboy." Bruce's tone was flat and Clark didn't bother with responding because it hadn't been a question. "I still don't trust him."

Clark sighed softly.

Bruce had not been able to acquire the kind of information he had wanted to find on Greg. As paranoid as ever, his best friend thoroughly believed that Lois was onto something in thinking that there was more to Greg Saunders that met the eye. And it was... getting very tiring.

"I have taken all your worries into consideration and have come to a very simple conclusion."

"If you're about to tell me I need to get out more, Kent, I will cancel the Team's mission to patrol during your little date."

He returned Bruce's own stern frown with an unimpressed one of his own. "Just because you don't like hearing it doesn't mean it's true. You see danger where there's absolutely nothing."

Clearing his throat, Bruce turned his gaze back down onto the piece of pie before him. "And in your little cowboy, the distinct lack of something is indicative of a cover up. He's been in the limelight for a decade now and yet no major scandals. That is not just improbable, it is-"

"Bruce, I think you're forgetting that people from small towns aren't quite as scummy as the regular big wigs you're used to."

And then Bruce was skewering his pie with much more force than was necessary.

"I didn't care much for uncovering Saunders' secrets until right now. Congratulations, Kent, you'll be the reason why all of his dirty laundry will eventually get aired."

With a soft shake of his head, Clark turned to focus on his own piece of pie. "How've the kids been?"

Luckily, Bruce allowed the incredibly obvious attempt at changing the topic of conversation to take place and then began to tell him about the most recent misadventure his ragtag group of teenage superheroes had gotten themselves into.


He wasn't quite sure why his heart was hammering so fast in his chest. Maybe it was because he was nervous over making sure that everything went off without a hitch tonight; maybe it was because he knew there was a high chance that everything would go wrong with Young Justice patrolling Smallville to make sure nothing went wrong.

Maybe, a small voice in the back of his mind added, it was because this would be the first time he would be interacting with Greg in a non-professional setting.

He heard the man's truck rumbling up the driveway by the time he finished pulling out his mother's exquisite smelling apple pie from the oven. Once he had set it down to cool, he called up to his parents that their guest had arrived, then began to make his way towards the front door.

He listened on as Greg's booted feet thudded against the ground and he mentioned to his beloved dogs that they had arrived at their destination. A door was opened then the excited panting of all three dogs became so much clearer as they jumped down, setting about sniffing every square inch of new land they were presented with.

He decided to open the door by the time he heard Greg beginning to step in its direction.

The first thing he really noticed about Greg was that he looked just about the same way he had when they had first met- his button up shirt was a different color, sure, and the jeans were much more well-worn, but the rugged hat and sturdy boots were still very much the same.

"Howdy." the man called, green eyes twinkling, as soon as he caught sight of Clark.

"It's great to see you again, Greg." he made his way down the steps to offer Greg a handshake, only to gasp softly when he was pulled in by his offered hand into a tight hug. "Oh."

"I ain't sure 'bout you, Clark, but I already feel like my lungs've cleared from all the city smog." Greg's grip was tight for a human. He could feel callouses brushing against his shoulders. "And just look at the dogs- they won't be excited havin' to leave back to the city come Monday." Greg pulled back, allowing Clark enough space to look over at the dogs running around with their tails wagging so quickly it was a wonder none of them fell.

"That's the magic of Smallville." he offered with a smile, taking note of the fact that Greg's right hand was still resting- incredibly comfortably- on top of his left shoulder. "Where're your bags? I'll get you settled into the guest room. Ma's pie is cooling right now, you'll be able to get a slice in half an hour or so."

"I cannot wait to try that recipe made by someone that actually knows what they're doing." Greg clapped his shoulder once, then made his way back towards his perfectly civilian truck- it was the kind of model that wouldn't stick out at all in a place like this.

"Oh, I don't know, your pie looked pretty nice in that picture you sent."

"You're too kind, sir." Greg pulled out two duffel bags from his backseat, handing one over to Clark. "Oh, brought over them ingredients you asked for. Sure your ma won't mind?"

"Not at all. You know how it goes- a gift you can make something out of is worth so much more than something that'll pick up dust."

He heard the rustling of bags, then Greg was stepping away from his truck with two plastic bags held in one hand and a large, bright smile on his face. His eyes were wrinkling from just how large the smile was.

"The more I hear, the more your ma reminds me of mine." there was a hint of sadness to his eyes, of course, just like there would always be when he thought about a family that no longer lived; but Clark was happy to know that such sadness wasn't tainting his excitement. "Lemme guess, this is the kind of place I ain't got to worry 'bout locking up my doors in, huh?"

"I'd still recommend it." he motioned for Greg to pass the bags over because he would be hard pressed to allow himself to seem like a bad host once his parents saw them walk into the house. There was a flash of defiance for a second, but soon Greg relented and handed them over. "Last crime I heard of happening here was Old Man Jenkins' apple farm getting hit by the junior class, but better safe than sorry."

He began to make his way back into the house, heard the telltale clicking of the truck's doors closing, then Greg let out a sharp whistle before instructing his dogs to come on over and meet their hosts- they didn't want to be rude now, did they?


"Greg Saunders. In my home."

Greg had an incredibly amused look on his face and Clark was contemplating the quickest way to make him drop it.

"We're sorry for being so starstruck, Mr. Saunders, it's not every day one of our favorite musicians is invited to stay with us!"

Bright green eyes looked at him for a few more seconds- relishing every bit of his embarrassment- before sliding over to finally look over at the people that had been gushing about him for the past few minutes.

"You ain't got nothing to apologize for, Mrs. Kent. It ain't your fault your son didn't give y'all all the information necessary to know 'bout me."

His mom slapped at his shoulder softly, as if waving off his words while simultaneously scolding him non-verbally.

"I didn't know-" he attempted to apologize again, but was shot down by his father. Again.

"Now that just means you've got to come around more often, son." it wasn't quite a scolding, but the tone was enough to let Clark know that he meant it; he turned to Greg with a broad smile, "We loved you in Midnight Rodeo. You sang that song yourself, right?"

"Sure did; even wrote it m'self."

Ma stepped away from him and towards Greg, comfortably and without a second of hesitation looping her arm around Greg's own. The man allowed it to happen, simply smiling kindly over at her.

"Come along, Mr. Saunders. I would love to hear all about that. Where did you even come up with the idea for those lyrics? They're masterful."

"Aw, shucks, ma'am, you're makin' me blush." as he allowed his mother to pull him deeper into the kitchen, leaving Clark in the greeting area with all of his bags, he did turn to give one final glance behind him.

At least this time his face read more of apology than amusement.

Clark decided to accept that for what it was, sent a tired smile of his own back, and finally nodded.

It would for the best to just allow his mom to drag him away now rather than attempt to put up a fight, after all.

At least he didn't have to take the bags to Greg's room alone. Rex, Ahsoka, and Wolffe seemed more keen on following him than their own human.


It wasn't awkward to be in the same house as Greg.

If anything, it was rather easy.

The man still had some business meetings he had to attend, albeit they all could be done through the internet, and music and scripts he needed to write, so it wasn't like they were spending the whole day together. But neither of them took any issue with Greg knocking on his door when he finally found some time free and then Clark leading him all around Smallville to get him acquainted with the place.

All of the dogs loved being able to run around at all times, too, a great bonus for them both.

It all felt very... right.

He wasn't really able to pinpoint why, of course, it felt so easy to walk around with someone that was supposed to basically be a stranger to him. But he wasn't going to deny himself this one joy.

In all his life, he had not felt like he properly clicked with anyone. Everyone he ever interacted with had, at some point or another, made him feel like an other. He had always known that he wasn't quite like anyone and he understood very well why. But with Greg... there were a lot of similarities between them. They liked so many things. And when they found something they didn't share, it was a learning occasion more than a moment of contention.

"You're a godsend, Clark Kent."

He wasn't sure why his heart was beating so rapidly, but he'd chalk it down to not being accustomed to having people in his regular life being so comfortable with physical touch quite like Greg.

"C'mon, Greg, you're making me blush."

Greg let out a bark of a laugh, squeezing him closer by his shoulders. "I knew you had a bit of an accent to you! An' it suits you."

Clark rolled his eyes, but didn't argue. He was much too comfortable right now to want to do something so stupid.


Young Justice was trying their best to keep Klarion the Witch Boy from wreaking havoc on his small town. Batman and Doctor Fate had been called in to help them out. Hawkwoman and Hawkman were now on the scene and offering their aid.

Clark wanted to feel guilty over not helping out.

But... he couldn't.

"No tricks up your sleeves?"

"None." he promised, face hotter than he was actually comfortable with.

Greg's sharp green eyes analyzed him a second longer, but soon he settled back and smiled. With a nod to himself, he then turned towards the stall's owner and asked to play a round.

It had been a joke.

He had no idea that Greg would have taken him up on it.

He was hoping Greg would actually succeed.

The toy gun was ridiculously small for someone as large as Greg, but he seemed unbothered by such a fact as he relaxed into a shooting stance. The dark haired man took a moment to breathe in after the targets began to move; and they really had done a good job of painting up his face like a vampire to keep him from being easily recognized at the fair. Then, in a speed that was quick even to his own eyes, Greg shot down every single moving target with expert precision.

The stall owner was left slack jawed; Greg's smile when he turned back to him was all filled with sharp teeth and pride.

Clark blinked, felt his heart stop, and then-

Greg's hand was on pulling him closer by his own.

"I won."

It had been a joke.

Clark's hand grabbed onto Greg's before he could allow his brain to work properly through what was happening. He pulled the slightly shorter man in closer and pressed their lips together before either of them could decide to be decent human beings and avoid making a spectacle of themselves in the middle of the town's fair.

He was happy that Greg had taken on the challenge rather than taking it as the joke Clark had meant.

He wasn't sure if he'd ever have worked up the courage to kiss him otherwise.

"What'll you give me if I win this game for you? You're getting an amazing stuffed toy out of of it, after all."

"How about a kiss?"

..~..~..

I'm quarantining at home because my sister gave me COVID. I should be resting up. But I've had this idea running around in my head for the whole time I've been sick and I finally got enough energy to write it down.

Take this story of two smalltown bumpkins falling in love. Take it!

Hope y'all enjoyed it. I had way too much fun thinking of these two together and would enjoy for other people to enjoy this pair.

I guess that at this point I'm just having too much fun thinking of Vigilante in too many different kinds of rare pairs. It's a gift and a curse.

Let me know your thoughts!