A/N: Hey There True Believers! It's been a while hasn't it?. Well as the world starts to get close to being normal again my work schedule has become significantly fuller and it's harder to find time to dedicate just to writing. This coupled with the fact I struggled quite a bit with this chapter and it just seemed to get away from me haha. I'm not particularly happy with this chapter. I'll admit it kind of got away from me while I was writing it and ithe has become the somewhat bloated ramblings of a madman full of reference I'm sure I will find amusing haha.
But I have decided to just get it out as is because there are some importants seeds in this chapter that will matter later on in the story. So hopefully get it out will help me move past it in the hopes I will be able to produce faster now that I've moved past this roadblock.
A few more things before I move forward. First I've had a few people ask about the character Willie in the last chapter, to answer these questions I will say he is in fact based on a character from the Tom DeHaven book, I changed the last name to fit the universe naming convention. The character fills a similar role to Pete Ross and Jimmy Olsen although he's more of a smartass.
Also I'm still looking for a new proofreader (so I'm certain I've missed some grammatical errors despite tell best efforts of my ape brain brain haha) so if anyone else out there is interested shoot me a message. With all the rambling done here is the newest chapter of "It's Superman!" I hope you enjoy and be sure to let me know what you think.
As Clark set the hand brake of his pickup, he took a moment to look out at the scene in front of him. It was a familiar one, a crowd of familiar faces making noise and making a scene. He let out a contented sigh, a small smile on his face.
"Alright, everybody pile out," Clark said as he opened the door and stepped out.
"Good Lord, it looks like a floating trailer park," Weiss mumbled under her breath, and Clark couldn't suppress a chuckle, and he couldn't exactly disagree. He had heard Willie use those exact words on more than one occasion.
"Weiss! Be nice!" Ruby hissed hysterically.
"Well...she's not wrong," Clark said through his laugh as he gestured out to the lake where about a dozen pontoons and barges were floating, decked out with cheap tiki torches and tacky decorations.
"Looks like it'll be a blast!" Yang cried out as she hopped out of the bed of the truck, pulling the large cooler, the ice and drinks sloshing around. "Where we mixin' up the party brew?"
"Slow down, Yang, we only just got here," Blake said calmly.
"Don't be such a party pooper," a mildly familiar voice said. The group turned and saw Willie walking up; next to him was a very pretty girl with long dark hair and a glowing smile.
"Clark!" she yelled in delight and ran over and hugged him. She laughed as she hang off him, and he hugged her back.
"Lana, how've you been?!" he asked with a grin that stretched from ear to ear.
"Pretty good, not as good as you. Big man, running off, training to save the world," she said with a laugh as she swatted him playfully.
"You make it sound like some grand adventure," Clark said bashfully, trying to downplay it a bit.
"Oh yeah, a small-town farmer runs off to one of the best Huntsman Academies in the world. Then he beats up an elite team in a fistfight. It happens all the time, no big deal, everyday occurrence," Willie said with a scoff and false nonchalance.
"So, uhh, you saw that, huh?" Clark asked, not really needing an answer.
"Us? Nah, we just assumed our savage and bloodthirsty Clark was gonna beat some people up," Willie said, rolling his eyes, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Sheesh, the guy leaves for a couple of months, and he already thinks we're a bunch of backwoods slack-jawed yokels who can't work that fancy inter-web," he finished to Lana with an exaggerated and thick twang in his voice before laughing.
"Yeah, we might have to revoke his right to wear flannel," Lana said, mimicking his twang as she crossed her arms and looking Clark up and down, trying her best to keep a straight face, but the corners of her mouth twitched as she tried to suppress her grin.
"Oh HA-HA, do I get a trial at least?" Clark said back, not able to even try and feign seriousness and they all broke down and laughed openly before that began to catch up.
The three friends fell into a comfortable back and forth for a few moments. It was almost as if Clark had never left, and they picked back up like they had seen each other just yesterday. This exchange went on until the sound of a throat being cleared broke the chatter.
"AHEM," Yang coughed in a thunderous fashion. Clark turned around quickly with a look of mild embarrassment on his face and turned back to Lana.
"Right, how rude of me. Lana, these are some of my classmates from Beacon. This Yang Xiao Long," he said, introducing the blonde who shook Lana's hand with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Blake Belladonna," he gestured to the dark-haired girl who genuinely smiled and shook Lana's hand. "This is Weiss Schnee," he introduced, and this seemed to make Lana pause for a moment with a quizzical look on her face.
"Schnee? As in Schnee Dust?" she asked, seeming a little awed.
"That's right," she said, unable to keep the twinge of smugness from her voice. To her credit, she was trying, but she was clearly a little elated at being recognized. That didn't last long, however.
"Is this rich girl gonna be able to hack it camping out?" Lana asked Clark with a tiny grin.
"I'll be just fine. I am a Huntress after all," Weiss said, her cheeks flushing with irritation.
"Huntress in training," Yang added with a smirk, earning her a glare from Weiss.
"Hey, if ya want, you can sleep on my boat; got a proper bed in there," Willie offered with a broad grin, waggling his eyebrows comically as he gestured over his shoulder with his thumb.
"Ugh, you wish!" Weiss shrieked, her face turning bright red, and Willie laughed heartily.
"Can't blame a guy for trying," he said before giving her a wink. Afterward, he quickly glanced around, looking a bit confused. "Hey Clark, where's the chipper one?" he asked, noticing the absence of Ruby.
"Yeah, where is Ruby? She was here a second ago," Clark muttered as he looked around, mildly confused. She had indeed been there with the rest of them just a minute ago. Then he heard her voice, muttering almost angrily, as if she was arguing with someone, or in this case something.
"Come on...Come ON!" she muttered as she was trying to tug at something in the cab of the truck. Then, with one final wrenching pull, she freed what she had been pulling as she fell and tumbled to the ground before jumping up triumphantly. "GOTCHA!" she shouted before turning to see everyone looking at her, her face turning as red as a beet. "Uhh...I needed my bag..." she mumbled, pointing to her backpack.
"And that's Ruby Rose, Yang's little sister," Clark said with a tiny smirk as Lana went over and shook her hand.
"A pleasure to meet you all," Lana said with a smile.
"Well, Lana, could you give these girls a quick tour and show em' our site? Clark and me will grab everything and meet ya there," Willie asked her, and she nodded.
"Sure thing," she cheerily agreed as she motioned for them to follow. As they walked away, Clark could see Lana gently place her hand softly on Weiss' shoulder, and he could hear her apologize for her jab. "I couldn't resist," she said through a slight chuckle. As the girls walked away, Willie cast his eyes around, looking over his shoulder to make sure there was no one listening.
"So...what's the deal with you and the blonde?" he asked slyly as he turned to face Clark.
"Her name is Yang, and there's no 'deal,'" Clark said in a dismissive tone as he began to unload the truck.
"Oh yeah? Not from where I'm standing," he said cockily.
"You've interacted with her for all of twenty minutes. I'm sure you're making a well-informed and educated observation," Clark scoffed.
"I've seen a little bit of flirting," he offered.
"That's just how Yang is with everyone, Willie, don't read too much into it," Clark offered simply.
"Oh? Does she like to nibble on Blake and Weiss' ears too and whisper sweet little nothings to them?" Willie asked smugly, and Clark froze, his face flushing, if only a little bit. "I see a lot of things, Clarky," he finished in an almost mocking tone.
"It's not what you think. It's a game for her to try and get a rise out of me. Unfortunately, I don't react like I used to, so she just went a little too far," Clark offered in rebuttal, sounding exasperated. "She says plenty of flirty things to Blake and even Weiss, trust me, it's nothing," Clark finished, sounding like he was trying to convince himself as much as Willie.
"SHEESH! Are you blind or just naive? Or, maybe you're still carrying a little flame for miss Lana?" Willie asked after he had expressed his exasperation.
"We went to see one movie Willie, it's not like there was ever anything serious, the night didn't...well, you know…there isn't anything there...maybe once there might have been, but not now," Clark trailed off, remembering the night and there was an awkward silence for a moment.
"Sorry, Clark...I forgot… I didn't mean to bring that up," Willie offered, his voice sincere and concerned.
"It's not your fault," Clark offered back, and another awkward silence followed before Willie decided to break it.
"Maybe you're just scared of letting her get too close," he said. This time there was no joking or teasing in his voice. When Clark didn't say anything, he decided to just cut to the chase. "So...do they know?" he whispered, his voice much more severe than Clark had heard in a very long time.
"No...no, they don't," he answered quietly.
"I didn't get to ask before you left. Everything kind of happened pretty fast but...who did find out? We both know you never studied to be no Huntsman; heck, you were lookin' to become a reporter. Those two things aren't exactly a lateral career shift,'' Willie said knowingly.
"Well, no one found out, not THAT anyway, but the Headmaster of Beacon had been following me for a while, a few years at least, I think, and he thinks I have some kind of semblance mutation or something. I'm not exactly sure. But he offered me a place at his school, and he wants to help me learn what I can do," Clark told him plainly. Willie was silent for a moment before he finally spoke.
"WOOF! It sounds like he's a bit of a creeper to me, following around a teenage boy for years at a time. Promise me you're never alone with this man," Willie said with a laugh as he began to help Clark unload.
"Knock it off," Clark chuckled as he grabbed everything else, and they began to make their way towards the lake. There was a moment of quiet before Willie spoke again.
"Soooo, what's Weiss' deal? She uhh, she got a boyfriend, girlfriend, anything like that?" Willie asked, but Clark let out an amused sigh.
"Really, Willie?" Clark said with good humor but still managing to sound at least a little exasperated.
"What?!" he cried, a little incredulous, although he was smirking the whole time. "She's a pretty girl, and she's definitely a freak, no one is wound that tight without-," he began cockily but Clark cut him off.
"Willie," Clark said dangerously.
"Right...sorry, she's your friend," he offered in apology, sounding genuinely sincere, but that didn't stop him from talking. "But some of us are only human," he defended himself, and Clark could only roll his eyes.
It was a little strange, Clark thought to himself. If anyone else had pointed out how he was different, let alone how he was an alien, Clark would tend to become very reflective, perhaps even depressed. But Willie seemed to be able to bypass all that. He'd been Clark's friend since they were about three years old, and he'd know the truth for the past six, and for whatever reason, he never viewed Clark as anything other than Clark, and that was comforting. Until Ozpin, it had only ever been his parents and Willie who knew the truth. While his parents loved him more than anything, they still worried obsessively and understandably about him. But to Willie, he was always just Clark, which meant more to Clark than anyone could realize.
By the time Lana returned with the rest of the girls, Clark and Willie had set up the campsite (well, Clark had set it up, Willie helped where he could, or acted like he had), but the thoughts of each of them were pretty apparent. Yang and Ruby were excited, Blake seemed vaguely interested, and Weiss seemed to be wishing she hadn't come along at all. Still, Clark spoke up and asked.
"So...What did ya think?" he asked.
"Looks like it'll be a blast!" Ruby cried excitedly.
"Just stay away from the punchbowl," Yang said sternly.
"You didn't wait until it was legal for you," she mumbled at her sister, her cheeks puffing out in irritation.
"You should learn from my mistakes," Yang said sagely, although her amusement was abundantly clear, and she was clearly having what was probably too much fun at her sister's expense.
"You're better off, Ruby. I honestly don't think anyone should be drinking that. The alcohol to non-alcoholic content doesn't seem safe," Blake said as she wrinkled her nose at the memory of the smell.
"It smells like kerosene too," Weiss added, a grimace on her face.
"Hey! We use only the finest of bottom shelf liquors bought from the pharmacy," Willie said in a haughty tone of mock offense, and something seemed to click for Clark, and he seemed almost disgusted.
"Uhg, You guys didn't make riot-punch, did you?" Clark asked in an exasperated tone, to which Willie just grinned.
"Gotta welcome our boy back with the proper libations," he said impishly.
"Good Lord, someones gonna go blind again," Clark said in a worried tone as he ran his hand through hair.
"Again?" Yang asked with an odd glint in her eye, her voice sounding equal parts curious and strangely excited.
"Eh, he was fine after a few hours," Willie said dismissively with a nonchalant wave of his hand.
"After we brought him to the E.R.," Clark said seriously, but Willie waved it off.
"Oh, tonight's gonna be fun. I can't wait to see what it does to you," Yang chirped happily, looking at Clark and giving him a suggestive look.
"Oh, so you haven't met "Shark Kent" yet, huh?" Willie offered with a slight smirk.
"Shark Kent?" Weiss asked confusedly before looking at Clark with a curious expression.
"Willie, they really don't need to know the-" Clark began, but Yang cut him off by slapping her hand over Clark's mouth.
"Oh yes, Willie, we DO need to know," She said eagerly, her eyes becoming bright with excitement.
"Well, Clarky here, who never drank a day in his life, the summer he was 'allowed,'" Wille said, marking the word allowed with finger quotations and placing particular emphasis on the last word with deep sarcasm and distaste, as though the term was some terrible taboo. "We finally convinced him to partake, and he drank everyone else under the table and never seemed all that affected by it, so everyone said he must be one-third liver like a shark hence 'Shark Kent'" Willie said cheerily.
"So you DO. have some party in ya," Yang practically shouted before punching Clark playfully in the arm.
"I wouldn't exactly call it that…" Clark mumbled as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
"He can't be out drunk," Willie said with utter assurance, giving Clark a knowing look. Clark was about to respond when Yang spoke up.
"Maybe YOU GUYS couldn't handle him, but I'M of a different breed of partier," Yang said confidently, and Clark glared at Willie, who returned a mildly worried look, realizing what he might have started.
"I don't think you want to try and match uhh...livers with Clark…." Willies offered, trying to rectify what he had said. Yang was unimpressed.
"PFFT! I'm not like anyone else; trust me, I can hang," she said confidently and cooly.
"Okay, okay, but maybe take it easy. I mean...there's no con-" Willie started but cut himself off, realizing what he might be doing, and decisively decided not to use the word "contest." "That is to say, we're just here to have some fun tonight, right? No need to go off the rails," he offered awkwardly.
"Well… I mean-" Yang started, seeming to consider the point, but Willie continued and cut her off.
"Let's be reasonable here; we're not trying to PROVE anything tonight, just friends having fun," Willie offered, hoping he'd accomplished a diffusing of the situation.
"I guess...still-" She started but was cut off once again.
"WELL, THERE YA GO!" Willie chirped up happily as he walked over and patted her on the shoulder. "Just have some fun. There's plenty to do. Why don't you go try the pontoon joust?" he offered joyfully before shrinking under Clark's glance.
"Joust?" Yang asked, her eyes alight again with eager interest.
"Yeah..you take a padded pugil stick and try to knock yer opponent off the floating pontoon…." Willie finished in an almost hesitant voice.
"Yeah, I'm doing that," Yang said eagerly. "After I get a few drinks...gotta loosen up first," she said before turning to Clark and giving him a wink. "Come on, Rubes, you wanna go beat some people up?"
"Uhhh...sure?" Ruby said a little awkwardly.
"Just be sure to watch out for Old Grau while you're out on the lake," Willie said, his voice sly and ominous.
"Willie…" Clark and Lana said in unison, both sound exasperated.
"What? I have ta warn them. It wouldn't be right not to," he said back, his voice solemn and severe as he tried his damnedest to keep himself from smirking.
"Ole' Grau?" Ruby asked, her voice sounding like she was forcing it to stay calm, but there was a little quack in her tone that betrayed her nervousness.
"Oh yeah, the beast from beneath and king of the fishies. He's 40 feet long with teeth like knives and scales like iron. They say he's half flat-head, half pike, and half gar. He'd swallow a little thing like you in one gulp," Willie said in a voice that conveyed sage-like wisdom and deep concern despite the utterly ludicrous nature of his words. That's when Weiss spoke up after snorting in disbelief.
"That's three halves," she deadpanned.
"Yep, he's one improper fraction of a fish," Willie said with utter and complete sincerity.
"He doesn't exist, Ruby," Weiss said to her team lead in a mildly disparaging tone.
"Says you," Willie said back with a slight smirk.
"Yes, says me," Weiss said back coldly.
"You sound like the last person he got," Willie said back, his voice sounding convincingly sad and forlorn.
"It's a biological impossibility," she said back with utter assurance, although her irritation was clearly starting to show.
"You're conflating impossible with the improbable. They're not the same thing," he said, still managing to keep a completely straight face.
"I'm not, and you KNOW what I mean," she growled back.
"Oh? What's that?" he asked.
"There is no such fish,"
"Is so,"
"NO, THERE ISN'T!" she practically screeched and stamped her foot.
"Weiss, you're letting him do this to you," Blake said coolly, although her amusement was still evident as the ghost of a grin spread across her face.
Weiss looked at Willie, who was smiling broadly and looking exceptionally pleased with himself. Clark could hear her heart rate spike as her face turned bright red as she fumbled with a pair of sunglasses and slamming them onto her face with what appeared to be far too much force. She walked briskly over to one of the tents, grabbing a bag and walking back, trying to compose herself with all the dignity she could muster.
"I think I'm going to get some sun," she said in an even and almost haughty voice. Her flushed face ruined the effect, and she made her way towards the water. The group shared a small laugh before Clark spoke up.
"You shouldn't have done that, Willie," he said through a slight chuckle.
"She loved it," he said back as his eyes drifted to the heiress stomping away.
"So...Ole' Grau...he's not real?" Ruby asked nervously; she was obviously trying to hide. Everyone else laughed again, and so did she, although with noticeable trepidation.
"Come on, let's go check out what's happening, Rubes," Yang said with a smile as she too grabbed her bag before pulling a nervous-looking Ruby along behind her. Ruby glances back at Clark and Willie nervously before allowing herself to be pulled along. Blake just shook her head, but she seemed amused.
"Come on, let's go watch them clean up at the joust," Lana said kindly to Blake before linking her arm in the other girl's and leading her off. Blake seemed mildly taken aback for a moment at the friendliness and forward nature, but she smiled and allowed herself to be led away. Both Clark and Willie watched them walk away for a moment, and they were silent for a while before Clark spoke.
"You have no idea how lucky you are that you were able to distract Yang from a drinking contest," Clark said cooly to his oldest friend.
"Yeah, how so?" Willie asked, although he didn't seem all that confused.
"You know," Clark said back sternly.
"Okay, okay, I get it. Maybe I shouldn't have brought up the fact you can't get drunk. But seriously, Clark, would it have been that big a deal? I mean, I get you didn't want things to get out of hand, but what really would have happened?" Willie asked with a curious tone.
"I wasn't looking forward to dealing with Yang after having too many drinks. I love Yang, but she's a powerful personality on her most restrained days. Get rid of her inhibitions, put her in Smallville, and that's not something I want to deal with right now. Not to mention the fact she'd probably get alcohol poisoning trying to out drink me," Clark said sternly, giving Willie an equally stern look, but Willie just smirked as he looked back at Clark with a knowing look.
"Okay, okay, I get it, but can we talk for a minute about what just said," Willie said smugly as he pulled a can of beer from his pocket. He cracked the seal as it let out a hiss, and he took a long drink from the brew.
"What are you talking about?" Clark asked in an exasperated tone. He was becoming tired of Willies games. He cared a lot about his friend, but he could be a bit much at times.
"Well, I ain't no big city expert," he said coyly as he played within the tab of his beer before raising his gaze to meet Clark's. "But, unless I'm very much mistaken, you just said you loved this girl," he said cooly as a smirk cracked across his face as Clark blushed furiously as he looked away and stammered a response.
"NOT LIKE THAT!" he nearly shouted, stammering and stuttering, his face burning bright red. "I just meant I care about her, LIKE ALL MY FRIENDS," he said a little louder than he meant to, the last part at Willie's continuous and unwavering grin. "I just don't want to see her...or anyone hurt or in trouble," he finished very lamely, Willie's smirk never once leaving his face.
"Riiight," Willie said in a clearly unconvinced tone."Well, in any case, we're gonna have some fun this weekend. Your friends seem fun; one or two of them may be a little crazy, but fun nonetheless, and they seem to have loosened you up a bit. Maybe you'll have a good time instead of acting like a wet blanket," he said cheerily.
"Shut up, just...let's…." Clarks stammered, and Willie could only laugh raucously.
"Good lord Clark, you are really too easy to rile up. Come on, let's go watch your not-girlfriend beat people up with a foam pipe and knock them in the water," Willie said between deep chuckles.
"I wish you'd just stop talking sometimes," Clark grumbled, and Willie could only laugh as he wrapped his arm around his friend and patted him genially on the chest.
"You need to ease up, pal, enjoy life a little bit," Willie said through his chuckles as the pair walked towards the lake. Clark, despite his irritation, couldn't help a smile.
As the day ran through and things began to develop but did not escalate as Clark would have thought they would. Sure Yang mopped the floor with everyone she faced in the joust and talked some trash. She was generally very genial and friendly. Most took their loss with good grace and humility. Most of them have been happy to have lasted as long as they did against a Huntress in training as they did. Yang reigned as Queen, vocally declaring her dominance and challenging all those who opposed her rule, her alcohol consumption contributing no doubt, but she was never dethroned or bested. She openly challenged Clark at one point, but he declined (feigning concern and almost fear), and although she was visibly disappointed when he didn't accept, she didn't press the issue and continued her reign, knocking all those who stood against her cleanly and deftly into the drink.
Ruby was clearly having a good time, but Clark noticed her trying to steal drinks from Yang. He'd see her trying to convince her sister, saying things like "You were younger than me your first time" and "Seriously? This isn't any different than what you did!" and to her credit, Yang never denied these things. She'd say something like "Yeah, but this would be dad's call, not mine," or " Learn from my mistake Rubes," to her sister. Clark could tell what she was trying to do, but he wasn't sure it was working, and Yang was clearly enjoying her reaction.
Weiss had started the day simply by lounging in the sun, trying to relax, but Clark had noted she always seemed to find her way towards Willie, arguing some pointless topic before stomping away. Only to stamp right back and pick the argument back up moments later. Willie would just smile and lean right into it, and it was driving the girl up the wall. Clark couldn't help but smirk; despite Weiss trying always to appear prim and proper, Willie was able to get a rise out of her and get into her head, and, being the somewhat stubborn girl she was, she couldn't seem to let anything go. This had always been a talent of Willie's, to draw people into inane and unimportant subjects and get them riled up over nothing, and it appeared Weiss wasn't immune to this.
It was Blake who Clark had a hard time pinning down over the course of the day. He'd catch glances of her here and there, but she always seemed to be floating on the edges and never really interacted with anyone outside the team. She was still wearing her bow, and had been all day, and while she tried to appear like she was having fun, she was clearly on edge, which made Clark feel a little sad. She was his friend, and he wanted her to enjoy her time here and be herself. He knew no one would care that she was a Faunus, but she still felt the need to hide it.
He meant to go talk to her, but he kept being pulled away, either by old friends wanting to catch up, Yang and Ruby wanting him to help them in their chicken fights, or Weiss asking him to help her "reason" with Willie and his "stupidity" as she put it.
Clark couldn't find it in him to deny any of these requests, although Yang had tried to make him extremely uncomfortable with some choice comments about "his head between her thighs" when she was on his shoulders in a chicken fight. Clark brushed it off with much more practiced ease than he would have a few months ago. Ruby tried to enlist his help in procuring a drink a few times, which he refused to do point-blank.
But whenever he managed to deal with these situations, he found Blake had disappeared. This bothered Clark a bit, but the day kept driving his attention to other things. It wasn't until the sun had set and the group of teens began to swarm towards the large bonfire Clark happened to have a chance to talk to Blake.
As most people began to gather around the large pyre, the sounds became a jubilant cacophony of drunken revelry and music. Clark took a moment to step back and take a breather. He was undoubtedly enjoying himself, but he needed a break and so he found himself sitting on a log in his team's campsite by a smaller fire, watching the scene of revelry unfold. That's when he heard her speak.
"Taking a moment to defrag?" Blake asked as she calmly walked over and took a seat next to Clark.
"I guess you could say that," he said calmly, letting his gaze linger on the gathered crowd; on one girl in particular, before he turned towards her and smiled.
"So, you like this whole...scene?" she asked, sounding a little perplexed as she gestured to the raucous party that had developed around them, and Clark could understand her confusion.
"I like these people, they're my friends, and they're good people; what they're doing doesn't matter so much to me, just so long as I can spend time with them," Clark answered, and Blake gave him a skeptical look with a raised eyebrow—seeming utterly unconvinced.
"Is that so?" she asked, her tone dripping with an almost playful skepticism.
"Okay, hehe, it IS a bit much for me at times," Clark relented with a slight chuckle. "But, some people make me not mind it so much," he spoke quietly with an almost wistful tone as he looked toward two sisters arguing, a smile ghosting across his lips.
"Is that so," Blake said cryptically as she followed his gaze and saw Ruby and Yang arguing once again about drinking. "I had thought as much," she said in a voice bordering on sly, and Clark seized up, but only for a moment.
"I don't...you...it's not, I'm sure you don't...I don't know what you're talking about," Clark stammered in a panic, but she only chuckled.
"Come on, it's not subtle Clark, a lot of people can tell, the way she acts around you, how you respond, and...well...it not like feeling something for a teammate is...well, Ahem, well, when you're close with someone, and you're around them all the time it can, well…" she trailed off as she too looked at the pair still arguing and something seemed to click with Clark.
"Oh," he said simply and quietly. He hadn't been expecting that. He'd spoken softly and quietly, but Blake still seemed to stiffen as she turned back to face him, her face flushing bright red and appearing extremely nervous, a somewhat awkward silence forming between them. After what felt like far too much time, Blake spoke.
"So...Why don't you tell her?" Blake asked, her voice both curious and almost sad, and Clark was taken aback for a moment before answering back with a question of his own.
"Well... why haven't you said anything?" he asked, his tone kind, but he wasn't going to mince words here if she wasn't.
"Well...I can't...I'm not ready, I've been...well, I can't be in a relationship, and I'm not going to invest with anyone if I can't be emotionally available for them, it wouldn't be fair...what's your excuse?" she asked, and Clark couldn't find one, not a good one at least, not without revealing the truth.
How could he explain the thoughts constantly in the back of his mind? If he dated anyone, it opened a whole slew of decisions he'd need to make. Would he tell her? COULD he tell her? It seemed impossible. It wasn't something he could afford to take lightly. How could he even try to broach the subject? "Hey Yang, I really like you. By the way, I'm an alien from another planet. I felt you should know that because I hate lying to people, and if this is going to be anything, I need to be honest," he thought to himself.
Even in his head, it sounded stupid, and the hypocrisy wasn't lost on him as he had been essentially lying to everyone at Beacon since he arrived. Where he was taught, the source of his strength, and the limits of his abilities. What he was, that always seemed to cut him off from everyone else in the world. It wasn't something he knew how to handle, and his parents couldn't be much help, not that they didn't want to. But his situation was so unique how could they speak with any authority? He could see it in their faces whenever he sunk into those states of melancholy, they wanted to help, but they couldn't. This was something he'd have to navigate on his own, alone, isolated.
"I don't have an excuse, just scared, a coward, I guess," he mumbled, looking back at Blake. He almost thought she might laugh at him, but she didn't. She just gave him a sympathetic look before placing a hand on his shoulder. He looked over at her, and she gave him a slight, though somber, smile.
"If it makes you feel any better, I guess I'm a coward too," she said in a mildly joking manner, managing a tiny smirk, and Clark smiled back. "What do you say we go rejoin the revelries? Our girls are getting a little too riled up," she said with a smirk as she gave her head a slight jerk towards the two sisters. Clark looked over at the pair and snickered despite himself.
Clark could see Ruby pointing an almost accusatory finger at her sister, who was simply grinning like a manic as her sister's antics. This only seemed to infuriate the younger girl more as she stamped her foot and seemed to redouble her efforts, and this seemed to only make Yang visibly laugh, and Ruby seemed to be nearly losing it at this.
"Sure, let's head over," he told Blake as he stood up and offered her hand to help her up, which she took.
"Such a gentleman," she said, placing her other hand delicately on her chest and speaking in a delicate faux tone and a slightly impish smile.
"Hush," Clark said back through a chuckle as he helped her to her feet.
He had a feeling he knew what had caused this slight shift in Blake. It wasn't that hard to figure out. She had gotten something off her chest, something that seemed to have been bothering her for some time, and, while it didn't change anything, not really, it was nice to have someone to talk to, someone else who understood. They had bonded in a way they hadn't before, and that seemed to let her loosen up a bit, at least at that moment. But he did notice she seemed to become stiffer and more reserved as they approached the larger group, and the fact she was subconsciously fiddling with her bow, and Clark stopped, and Blake turned to look at him, mild confusion on her face.
"What's wrong, Clark?" she asked.
"Nothing's wrong...but, I was just wondering...no, it's not fair, never mind-" Clark stopped himself, and Blake only looked more confused.
"What are you going on about?" she asked, seeming to be really wrong-footed, and Clark seemed to hesitate for movement before responding.
"No one here would care," he said simply, deciding not to drag out what he was thinking any longer. Blake looked mildly confused for a moment before Clark tapped himself lightly on the head, and Blake's hand shot up instinctively to her bow. " I don't expect you to believe me, not with what you've been through, but it's something I think you should know," Clark finished simply. Blake looked a little shocked but seemed to consider what he had said.
He realized he hadn't experienced what she had. Granted, his differences were, in fact, much more significant than hers, but he also realized her differences were known; they were visible for all to see, whereas his differences were not. But at the end of the day, he thought he understood her fears in a way others might not, even if he hadn't faced precisely what she had.
"I get what you're saying, Clark, but I'm not comfortable with it, not here, I barely am at Beacon," she said as she fiddled absentmindedly with her bow again, her eyes darting around, taking in everything and everyone within the vicinity.
"I understand, but I just wanted to let you know," he said kindly. His voice held nothing but kindness and understanding. It sounded to Blake like he might actually understand, not in the clinical way most people "understood" where they got she was dealing with something they never would. They "understood" but also would never really understand. The way Clark spoke, however, made her think he really did truly and completely understand. Something in his voice spoke of experience.
"I think you might actually get it," she said more to herself than to Clark. She didn't know what he might have dealt with or if he ever had. Perhaps he was just hyper empathetic, but she wasn't sure that was it. Something in his tone and in his eyes told her he really did understand. "Come on, our girls are waiting," she said in a mild jest as she placed a hand on his shoulder and led him back to the group, and she could hear him let out a small chuckle. As they approached, the argument between Ruby and Yang became more and more apparent, and both of them couldn't help but smirk.
"YANG, SERIOUSLY?" Ruby cried in frustration, and her sister only snickered.
"I'm telling you, Rubes, you gotta trust me on this. You can't handle this," Yang said with a smirk, although her sagely tone from earlier was lost in the subtle slur from her inebriation, and her obvious snickering didn't help.
"YOU WERE FOURTEEN THE FIRST TIME YOU STUMBLED HOME!" Ruby nearly shouted.
"The first time YOU know about," she said back with an extremely obvious smirk as she sipped from her red solo cup before giving a slight wince at the drink's bite.
"COME OOOONN, why are you doing this to me? Don't you trust my judgment?" Ruby whined, finally seeming to have actually been defeated and almost hurt at her sister's lack of trust in her judgment.
"I'm just giving you the business, I trust you, just giving you a hard time," she said, seeming to soften to her sister, clearly realizing Ruby's irritation was not actually about not being able to drink. "Here, if you really want to have a taste, I trust you, sis, don't doubt that," Yang said as she offered her sibling her mostly full cup with a small smile.
"Oh...really?" Ruby asked, her previous eager tone replaced with one that was near trepidation.
"Just a sip...not scared, are you?" Yang teased.
"OF COURSE NOT!" she shouted as she took the cup before looking at it skeptically.
"You don't have to drink Ruby; it's not a big deal, really," Clark said as he approached, he disapproved of underage drinking, but this wasn't really his decision to make, and so long as Yang kept her sister in check he supposed it wasn't really all that big a deal to let her have a drink.
Ruby seemed to freeze for a moment, her eyes looking between Clark, Yang, and her drink. Then in a moment of either bravery or foolishness, she seemed to steel herself; she had a determined look plastered on it. Both Yang and Clark watched in horror as Ruby swiftly threw her head back and slugged the entire drink down.
"GEEZ, RUBY!" Yang nearly cried as she pulled the now empty cup from her sister who stood there proud, a smug look on her face and her hands on her hips, striking a "heroic" pose, for all of one second before pronounced shudder ran through her body her face scrunching up in a horrified grimace.
"...poison...it's poison, UGH!...I've made a mistake...I've made a mistake," she mumbled in regret, visibly shivered in disgust for a full minute, shaking her head and waving her hands frantically.
"I told you to take a sip," Yang said through a chuckle, sounding equal parts amused and concenred.
"This can't end well," Blake offered as she watched Ruby making sounds of disgust.
"I'm starting to feel weird," the younger girl mumbled, her words already seeming to become slurred.
"Welcome to…" Yang started, but Ruby just cut her off as she stumbled over and grabbed her sister's arm.
"I can't feel my face...my face is numb," she rambled.
"Well, that escalated quickly. Come on, let's get you some water," Yang said merrily, but Ruby just grunted.
"NO, get me nother root paunch, I can hang," she said, trying to push her sister away but only succeeded in knocking herself off balance and falling over, only for Clark to catch her under the arms before she hit the ground.
"GEOFFME!" she shouted in an unreasonably aggressive and garbled tone, her arm flailing wildly and comically as she straightened herself and turning to face the person who had caught her. Upon realizing it was Clark, her face flush bright pink. "Oh, hi Clark, when'd you get here," she said, a voice much louder than she intended as she played with her hair by twirling a lock in her finger, seemingly having already forgotten Clark had just spoken to her moments prior.
"Hey Ruby, you feeling alright," he said with a hint of amusement in his voice. He knew it wasn't funny; of course, it wasn't, not really. But he couldn't suppress a small laugh.
"Neber bebber," she slurred robustly, her words becoming more garbled and eyes seeming to become unfocused.
"She shouldn't be getting drunk this fast. It's only been a few minutes," Blake said, mildly confused.
"Well, she doesn't weigh more than ninety pounds soaking wet, and she basically just drank pure ethanol," Clark offered. Blake gave a slight shrug and nod as Ruby stumbled over to Clark, tripping and falling into him again.
"Heeeyyy, Clark, pffffttt hehe," she stammered through a chuckle before breaking down into a giggling fit. Clark gave Yang a quizzical look.
"Don't look at me like that. You were here when I told her only to take a sip. If I'd thought she'd have done...well, this," she gestured to her snickering sister. "I wouldn't have handed that over that...brew," she finished a little lamely.
"Will she be okay?" Blake asked, her face etched with concern as Ruby drunkenly sang something that sounded like 'Everybody pants now, pants, pants, pants, pants, pants' into Clark's shirt.
"She'll be fine, it'll get worse before it gets better, and she'll feel terrible tomorrow, but it'll be fine," Yang said calmly as she grabbed the back of her sister's shirt and tried to pull her off Clark, only for her to very audibly protest.
"NO! I WANNA STAY HERE! FOREVER! CLARK, SAVE ME," she cried out, gripping desperately at his shirt before letting go to cover her mouth, trying to stifle another fit hysteric giggles. Yang couldn't help but grin. It was clear she found her sister's antics amusing.
Clark was about to say something, he hadn't quite figured it out, but he was ready to speak up when he heard the sound of an almost aggressive crunching of gravel behind him. He turned to see Weiss marching up to him in what some might consider an enraged manner. She tripped and stumbled for a minute before deftly reaching down and pulling a small stone from her sandals, and continuing her march.
"Hey Weiss, what's-" he started, but she cut him off.
"Clark, you tell this, this...UGH. Just tell him to knock it off!" she shouted before seeing the state of her team leader. "What's wrong with Ruby?" she asked, the concern she felt was clearly cutting through her irritation.
"She'll be fine, just drank too much," Yang answered as she tried to wrangle her sister.
"HEY! VANILLA WEISS. YOU CHILL OUT YET?!" Ruby nearly shouted, emphasizing "chill" before falling into a fit of raucous giggles. Weiss only rolled her eyes.
"So, what was the issue, Weiss?" Clark asked as Ruby continued to make a mild scene in the background.
"Right," Weiss said, seeming to come back to herself, irritation and all. "Clark, would you kindly tell this...this, Ugh, I don't know, charlatan? Whatever, please just tell him there is no such thing as the Hodag, just I so I can hear it and SHUT HIM UP!" she nearly screeched in irritation as she pointed at the form Willie walking up calmly out of the darkness.
"I don't see why you're so upset? I'm just trying to warn you about the dangers here, Miss Schnee, just trying to help you out," he spoke calmly and assuredly, and Weiss just growled in frustration.
"IT DOESN'T EXIST!" she shouted, and Clark couldn't stop a snicker, and he noticed neither could Blake or Yang. But Ruby seemed to perk up.
"What's a Hodag?" she asked.
"A terrible beast with the head of a frog, the grinning face of a giant elephant, thick short legs set off by huge claws, the back of a dinosaur, and a long tail with spears at the end," Willie said theatrically.
"STOP! Just stop it!" Weiss shouted as Ruby looked horrified. "Ole' Grau, The Vale Devil, Snallygaster, and now this Hodag, THEY DON'T EXIST!" she shouted angrily, and Willie smirked.
"Why don't they?" he asked simply.
"THEY...THEY…" she stammered and looked to her friends desperately, all of them grinning or snickering. Her face turned bright red, and they could tell she knew she was being messed with, she knew it, but for whatever reason, she wasn't able to not engage.
"Miss Schnee, there are stranger things in heaven and earth than the scope of man can explain," he told her calmly, and she seemed to be at a loss for words, and Willie finally broke and started to snicker. "I'm sorry, but you just made it too easy," he said through his laughs.
"I...well, I…." Weiss stammered, her face turning ever brighter.
"Come on; I'll fix you a drink; you've been a pretty good sport, all things considered," Willie said in a cheery tone, offering her his arm, which she slapped angrily. Willie and the rest of the group laughed before Ruby broke the moment.
"So...the Hodag isn't real?" and everyone just laughed again.
"Come on, Rubes, I need a top off, and we'll get some water," Yang said in a pleasant voice as she dragged her sister towards the refreshment table.
Clark watched as Yang led her reluctant sister off before a grinning Blake followed the pair, and Weiss led angrily by a still grinning Wille. Clark just shook his head with a smile plastered on his face. 'Things certainly aren't going like I thought they would,' Clark thought to himself as he made to follow but was stopped by a voice that called out his name.
"Hey Clark, wait up,"
Clark turned around and saw Lana jogging up to him.
"Hey, Lana, what's up?" Clark asked as he stopped and turned to face.
"Not much. You've been oddly hard to pin down," she said with a grin as she caught her breath.
"Hehe, sorry about that, been kind of pulled every which way today," Clark offered.
"Don't worry about it, you've been hosting a few excitable young ladies," she said, her voice sounding playful as she gave Clark a playful look.
"I guess…" Clark said as he trailed off, a little confused by her tone.
"They're nice, a bit much at moments, but we grew up with Willie, so no real issues there," Lana said with a small chuckle.
"Yeah, Yang is a bit bombastic at times," he said warmly as he watched her shotgun a beer across the clearing before smashing it on her forehead and pouring herself another cup of riot punch as she forced a bottle of water into her stumbling sister's hands.
"That's a way to put it, she is something," she responded with a grin before looking up at Clark. "So...what's the deal?" she asked waggishly
"What are you talking about?" Clark asked, and she guffawed.
"Really Clark?! Who were we just talking about?" she said through her laughs, and Clark picked up what was talking.
"Did Willie put you up to this?" he asked exasperated.
"Pfft, really Clark, there's clearly something going on," she said, this time it was her turn to sound exasperated, although she did sound more amused than anything else, Clark just let out a sigh.
"I explained this to Willie already, that's just how she is, it's not really a big deal," he said tiredly.
"Yeah, okay," she scoffed through a laugh, clearly not convinced. "Just don't take too long, you'll regret it if you do," she finished in a much more serious tone.
"Lana I-" he started but she cut him off.
"Say what you want Clark, I know how you are, don't let this one get away," she finished a little sadly before giving him a look and Clark felt very wrong-footed.
There had been a very short period of time, right before he left for Beacon, that he thought he and Lana might become something more than friends. They had danced around it for a few years, both of them nervous and awkward teens. They had one date that ended in the circumstances that caused him to end up training to be a huntsman, and after that, they had decided they were just better as friends.
Neither had felt a real spark during their date, not to mention the fact such a horrific event would forever be linked to the memory. This compounded with the fact he'd be so far away, it didn't feel like a single date was enough to build a long-term relationship. Maybe if he had asked her out sooner, started things earlier instead of being so scared, granted Clark had good reason, but that didn't change how things turned out. They had missed their moment, and that first love was fleeting.
"That's enough reminiscing, let's go make sure your 'friend' doesn't get too crazy," she said, sketching quotation marks in the air with her fingers around the word friend, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Clark just rolled his eyes as she looped her arm in his and led him over to the rest of his friends.
As they approached Clark took note of a few things. Yang had apparently hijacked the music system, she was standing in the bed of a truck and had begun some form of a quasi-impromptu karaoke as she sang loudly over the music. She had also become visibly more drunk in the twenty or so minutes she had been separated from Clark, the backlog of what she had been drinking throughout the day clearly starting to catch up with her. He wasn't exactly sure when she had started this as he had been more engrossed with his conversion with Lana after Yang had been brought up, but apparently, Yang was starting her second rendition given what shouted out.
"NOW I KNOW Y'ALL KNOW THE WORDS LET'S GET SOME PARTICIPATION!" she shouted in utter mirth as she started to sing again.
The song started again and she began to sway and dance to the tune and she began, the melody was vaguely familiar to Clark, it wasn't too fast, nor was it anything someone might consider a slow song, but his attention was drawn away by a giggling Lana.
"Well, she certainly isn't shy."
"What made you think she was?" Clark asked, a little amused.
"I'm not talking about in the general sense, but aren't you listening to this song?" she asked, barely able to contain her laughter.
Clark hadn't been listening to the lyrics, just the tune but as soon as he heard what she was drunkenly warbling his brain noticed a few things. First off, despite her clearly drunken state, she was able to carry a tune fairly well and her voice actually sounded rather nice. Second, there were certain very explicit implications from the lyrics; which he might have not exactly found tasteful, but it was more how she was reacting and moving. She swayed, moved, and danced in perfect cadence with the song, hips swaying in a suggestive way, but even more than that was the fact she seemed to point out into the crowd and even wink suggestively at points. Clark couldn't help but flush as Yang sang the next lyrics to the song.
"Once I get you out them clothes, Privacy is on the door, But still they can hear you screamin' more, Girl I'm feelin' what you feelin', No more hopin' and wishin','' she sang, Clark could have sworn she locked eyes with him and he thought she even gave in a small small wink before she continued her song. Now clearly engaging the crowd as they let out shouts of "Toot, toot," and "Beep, beep," whenever she pointed to them.
"Woof, she's got it bad," Lana said comically. When Clark looked at her she just rolled her eyes. " She's definitely singing at someone, and I know you saw her look at you," she said clearly, becoming equal parts amused and frustrated.
"The songs about a girl," Clark offered lamley and Lana let out a sigh.
"I don't know why you're being so willingly blind here Clark, but you do you," she finished with a sad smile shaking her head as she headed back towards the larger group. Clark just watched her go.
First Willie, then Blake, and now Lana had brought up Yang, despite how he portrayed himself, he was well aware of what was happening. If he was being honest with himself the charde was starting to bug him. While it was true Yang's antics were not; nor had they ever been, focused solely on him, she did seem to prefer "picking" on him and her jabs at him were usually; although not always, less public and considerably more; for want of a better term, intimate. But that didn't mean anything, not expressly and his lack of experience caused him to not read too much into anything. But as he looked up at Yang again he watched her pump her fist, shout out a loud proclamation of joy before dropping an invisible mic and jumping off her impromptu stage, stumbling a bit on the landing but rigging herself quickly before sauntering towards him, with a huge grin plastered on her face.
She was fairly steady on her feet, remarkably surefooted in fact despite her clear intoxication. Most people wouldn't have noticed her eyes didn't seem quite focused, or the fact the sway of her hips or swagger in her step weren't entirely from her normal cockiness. The slur in her voice wasn't exactly hard to miss either.
"So...what'd ya think of my song?" she whispered a little coyly as she lifted a fresh bottle of beer and popped the cap off with practiced ease using only her thumb before placing it gently to her lips and taking a sip. Her eyes locked with Clark's.
"Well...it sure was something," he responded with a grin, his normal abashed nature seeming not to take hold.
"You think so?" she asked playfully, before twirling her bottle and raising it to her lips and using the spinning vortex of booze to polish off the drink quickly, letting out a long satisfied sigh.
"Now that's impressive, last time Willie tried to chug a beer like that he got his tongue stuck in the bottle," Clark said truthfully.
"I am impressive aren't I?" she said cockilly as she tossed the empty bottle over her shoulder, where it nearly managed to land in container for empties, but upon hearing it land with a soft thud on the grass, Yang turned around and seeing she had missed her mark she let out an exaggerated groan. "Awww man, that was so close to being cool," she moaned as she slumped off to pick it up and drop it unceremoniously in the container, and Clark couldn't help but chuckle.
"Close only counts in horseshoes and hand-grenades," he said through a laugh.
"Pfft, whateves," Yang said flippantly as she walked back towards him. "But I got something ta ask ya Clark," she said seeming to shift focus, almost sounding serious.
"Yeah? What's that?" he asked, still chuckling slightly.
"You gonna sing a song fer me?" she whispered in a suggestive tone as she leaned in close and ran finger down his chest.
"What are you...oh," Clark finished lamley with a mummer. That had certainly eliminated any and all doubts about what she was doing, or any excuses Clark could give himself. "So you were...uhhh, you were, that was about-" Clark stammered but she cut him off.
"HA," she cried out in absolute mirth and amusement, "I'm not sure if you're dull or what, but COME ON, I know you feel something like I do," she finished with a whisper and in an almost desperate and wanting tone, as she leaned in close and whispered huskily in his ear.
"Yang, I-" Clark stammered, almost at a loss for words.
"Come on Smallville, I don't think you're not picking up what I'm laying down, hehe," she said with a chuckle, her words still clearly slurred.
"Yang...you're drunk," he stammered.
"So what? SO WHAT!?" she hissed, her amusement still ever present. "I've felt this way for a long time, and so have you," she whispered hotly into his ear. "Come on," she whispered hurriedly before she turned away.
Clark felt a small tug at his waistband, looking down he saw Yang had looped a finger in the belt of his shorts. Looking up at her, she had a devilish grin plastered on her face, giving a quick nod towards the woodline she began to saunter off, leading Clark in her wake, his shock not allowing him to push back.
"Yang this isn't-" he started but she interrupted him again.
"Oh hush for a minute," she said through a small giggle as she pulled him into the treeline before pushing him against the trunk of a large oak and pressing herself against him. "I've seen the way you look, how you act, I'm not blind and neither are you, no matter how you try to play it off," she whispered huskily, nearly pressing her lips to Clark's neck.
"You're drunk Yang," Clark stammered again as his face started to burn and his blood began to run hot. He was used to her normal teasing but this was completely different, and found himself concerned, confused, and yet somehow still mildly amused and perhaps even a little excited.
"Oh, is little Clarky nervous?" she cooed playfully, placing one hand on his chest and the other reaching up to run her fingers through his hair. "Gods, I love your hair, hehehe" she chuckled drunkenly, confusing Clark a little, it seemed an odd thing to say at the moment.
"Is that so?" he asked, now utterly confused and quite not sure what else to say, he was wildly out of his depth.
"Gives me something to hold onto if things get...heavy, if I ever let you," she mumbled in a hushed and teasing tone, and this confused Clark for a moment before he felt his blood and face turn into pure superheated plasma at the implication Yang had just made.
"Oh...haha, I get it, I'm easy to mess with," Clark said back with an utterly transparently false confidence
"Hehe, maybe," she said, her voice soft and playful, but not mocking, as she slowly wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself closer to him. "Or maybe…" she paused as she pulled him down closer, and Clark allowed it "Just maybe, you make me feel something I haven't before," she whispered, her eyes half lidded as she leaned closer, her hot breath brushing across Clark's lips. The space between their lips grew smaller and smaller until the air between them burned with want, desire, and something greater than either.
"No," said stoically as he pulled away with a superhuman effort, and straightened himself.
"...no?" Yang muttered, sounding confused, wrong footed, and looking befuddled and more than anything hurt as she stumbled back a step . "Oh I thought...I...oh wow, I just... I'm such an idiot," she said silently as she started to pull away, clearly more embarrassed and hurt than anything, but Clark didn't let her pull away from him, not entirely.
"Not like that, but I'm not going to let this happen when you're drunk, I'm not even sure how real this is, but if you feel the same way when you sober up-" Clark started but she cut him off again.
"Alcohol doesn't change feelings Clark, it might take the brakes off but-" this time he cut her off.
"Still, I won't do anything like this, it's not right, I just won't," he said cooly and this seemed to stun Yang for a moment. She looked at him in near shock, almost appearing sober, before a broad grin stretched across her face.
"A real monolith of value huh?" she murmured, the amusement in her voice, an attempt to shift focus in her voice. But the cutting tone didn't escape Clark.
"Yang I...It's not that I don't want...It's just...I…" he stammered and stuttered, wanting to express himself, to tell her how he felt. What he had felt for a very long time, but this felt wrong, to do it when she was so clearly not in a sober state of mind.
"Yeah?' she mewled, leaning in closer to him again.
Clark felt his mind start to cloud as his own wants and desires seemed to come to the forefront. He was completely and utterly out of his comfort zone. Clark had never been in any sort of situation with a girl like this before, and he was confused, inexperienced but still a little excited, and that excitement made him angry at himself. Sure he hoped she felt like he had, but she wasn't acting like herself and that wasn't what he wanted. Clark was at a loss of what to do, but Yang responded and broke his spiral.
"You have me confused Clark, most guys want one thing, and I get that. But YOU, I don't get why you're so...you, I don't really know. Something about you..." she said before giggling and leaning in and rubbing her face on his chest. "Good gods, it's like warm marble," she murmured as she nuzzled into his chest, her hands gripping him tighter, pulling him closer to her, her breath feeling hot as the sun on his skin. Clark placed his hands on her shoulders and gently pressed her away from him. Yang pulled away and allowed her eyes to meet his.
"Yang-" he began but she stopped him as she gripped his shirt and leaned in close.
"Yeah? Clark?" she asked softly, her voice dripping with desire. The sound of his name on her lips seemed to heat something in him. But he pushed it down.
"I think it's time you get to bed," he said kindly and she seemed to deflate.
"I...I mean...wow," she finished lamely, looking at him seemingly truly confused,
"Yeah, let's get you to the tents," Clark said calmly as he led her out of the tree line. She'd periodically fight him, drag her feet, or just start to wander off, casting glances over her shoulder at him, just trying to get him to follow her. Clark would just sigh with both amusement and mild irritation before correcting her course, and finally, after a good deal of her trying to derail him, Clark finally got her moving back towards their campsite.
"You are really an odd specimen Clark," Yang mumbled before she stumbled along after him as he kept a firm hand on her shoulder to guide her.
"Sure, I guess," he answered calmly, not really thinking about what she had said. Yang seemed to pause and even hesitate before she spoke again.
"Clark...are you gay?" she asked in a slurred voice, but the question seemed genuine. Clark just chuckled nonchalantly.
"What makes you ask that?" he asked, still laughing.
"I don't know...it seems like sometimes you like me, and other times you don't, and that seems dependent on my attention and...well...I just don't know. Most guys would have-" she started but Clark cut her off.
"No Yang, I'm not gay," he answered trying not the laugh as he continued to lead her the tents.
"Then why won't you plaaay with me?" she said in a whining voice, somehow she was still able to put a suggestive spin on the word "play".
"I said it before, you're drunk," his voice exasperated as he rolled his eyes.
"If you drank you'd be more fun," she mumbled with pout as she crossed her arms.
"Can't get drunk Yang," Clark said simply.
"I think you're full of it, I think you're making it up," she said confidently, turning to face him, her eyes clearly out of focus and slightly crossed, almost as if she were trying to look at the tip of her nose., and Clark couldn't help but grin.
"That's what ya think huh?" he asked genially.
"Yeah you're intimidated by me, most guys are," she declared confidently, straightening her back and placing her hands on her hips before she seemed to start falling over, her arms flailing wildly before Clark caught her. "My hero," she cooed playfully as she forced herself to fall directly into Clark's chest. Clark just rolled his eyes.
"Let's get you to bed," Clark said calmly, and he gently pried her off him and turned her around, back towards the tents.
"You wanna bunk with me? I promise I won't tell your parents," she whispered as he pushed her.
"You just don't know when to stop, do you?"
"NOPE!" she declared merrily, popping the P as they reached their campsite.
"Climb in your tent and get sleep, the night's winding down anyway," Clark told her and responded by sticking her tongue out and blowing a loud raspberry before climbing into her tent.
Shooting a quick glance around the rest of the area, the whole thing was certainly calming down quickly. The night had reached the tipping point where everyone was drunk and tired enough to start calling it a night. Looking down at his watch he noted with some shock it was already 3:00 am, and it had been almost a full hour since Yang had tried to pull him into the woods. How had the time moved that fast?
"Time flies when you're having fun," he mumbled to himself, thinking about how Yang had been putting off and distracting him after he suggested she go to bed and sleep it off, and he just grinned as he headed towards the now smoldering embers of the large bonfire, intending to make sure everything was safely extinguished.
"Well, things certainly burned out quickly," a familiar voice said, and Clark turned to face the speaker .
"Hey Weiss, yeah I guess they did," he said simply.
"I expected as much, people have been quite energetic all day. Honestly I'm surprised it took this long," she said in an analytical tone as she turned to look around and say most people had either wandered off or were getting ready to.
"So...where's Willie?" Clark asked playfully and he could see her visibly stiffen and flush.
"I tossed him in the lake after he tried to scare me with some inane prank," she said with as much dignity as she could manage.
"Sounds about right, what did he do?" Clark asked as he allowed himself to laugh quietly.
"I can't say for sure exactly, but I think he put some speaker on the other side of the lake and was playing some creepy siren call, kind of sounded like an ape howling or something. He said it wasn't him and I got sick of his nonsense and threw him into the water," she said very matter of factly.
"Well, I can't say he didn't deserve it, maybe it'll make him grow up a little," Clark said kindly with a smile.
"I doubt it," she said with a scoff, and Clark could only shrug.
"Yeah, you're probably right," he answered nonchalantly and he swore he could see the ghost of a smile on her face.
"You know...all things considered...today hasen't really been THAT bad," Weiss said unprompted and a little begrudgingly.
"Yeah? I'm glad you had fun," Clark said a little cheekily.
"Don't push it," she said dangerously, and glared at him.
"Okay, okay, you didn't have a good time, I get it," Clark said, putting hands defensively.
"Well...I didn't say that either," she muttered, sounding slightly abashed, and this time Clark didn't speak. "So...where are the others?" she asked abruptly, clearly wanting to change the topic.
"Well, I just put Yang to bed-" he began but she cut him off with a snort of laughter.
"You put her to bed?"
"She was pretty far gone, that stuff seemed to sneak up on her and hit her all at once," Clark answered simply.
"Ruby must be worse, do you know where she is?"
"I think I saw her with Blake. Or more to the point I think I saw Blake trying to wrangle her," Clark couldn't suppress a small snicker. It wasn;t really funny, but he couldn't help it.
"That's one way to put it," Blake said simply as she walked up behind them and into the clearing around the dying fire, carrying a mostly unconscious Ruby in her arms bridal style with the younger girl's arms draped around her neck. "She finally slowed down after she left her lunch in those bushes," she deadpanned.
"I feel fine, really," Ruby mumbled sleepily.
"Hush," Blake said sternly but kindly.
"That's probably the signal we all turn in, should have done it hours ago frankly," Weiss offered and the other nodded in agreement.
"You go ahead I"m going to make sure these fires are out," Clark said, Blake and Weiss said goodnight and began to return to their site. As they walked Clark could hear Ruby still muttering in her semi-conscious stupor.
"I can walk on my own Clark."
"Ruby, I"m Blake," Blake responded, confused.
"I can walk on my own Clark." she reiterated and Clarkr just shook his head, but still smiled to himself.
It was almost eerie how quickly things had settled down and become quiet. People had retired and tired out for the night with almost prodigus and startling speed, and now the area was nearly empty save for the trash and articles of clothing the littered. Clark had to force himself not to just go pick everything up, they'd deal with it in the morning and it wasn't his responsibility to clean up after everyone else.
He used to do it, but people would look around questioningly at the somehow miraculous tidying of the area. Willie had put two and two together and told him to knock it off, he wasn't their maid. Besides they'd clean up after themselves once they sobered up, and sure enough he was correct. So now Clark just relegated himself to extinguishing all the various camp fires around the site. Once he was satisfied none of them would keep burning, he turned and began to head for his tent.
Taking up his bag he walked off into the woodline and changed into his sleep wear. Even though there was no one around to see him change, he still felt uncomfortable at the prospect of changing out in the open. He knew it was silly, but something about being seen with his shirt off just bugged him. He'd even worn a t-shirt when he was swimming earlier, much to Yang's irritation, but to her credit she didn't actually say anything, she knew he wasn't someone who likes to show off his body.
Of course she assumed it was some kind of lack of confidence, or maybe she thought it was some kind of dysmorphia, and he supposed in some way she was right. But it really more stemmed from him not liking the attention it brought. This was something Yang had illustrated quite well the first time they had spared with one another and she had accidentally destroyed his sweater. He'd gotten better, that much was sure, but old habits die hard and that's why he was currently sheltering in the woods as he dug through his backpack.
"Where the heck is my shirt?" he mumbled to himself. He was certain he had packed it.
There wasn't anything special about it, it was just a comfortable oversized shirt he liked to sleep in. But for the life of him he couldn't find it, and he didn't like the idea of sleeping in the shirt he'd worn all day. So simply decided to go shirtless for the night, he'd run back to the farmhouse and get it tomorrow, it was too late tonight.
Mildly irritated, Clark crawled into his tent and zipped it close before peeling his shirt off and throwing it in the corner of the tent. He didn't notice the form laying down in the middle of the tent and he fell back, letting out a small yelp of surprise. A very disheveled and bleary eyed Yang sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
After the initial shock wore off Clark had gone from surprised to irritated, and from irritated to actually mad. Well, not mad, but his patience was wearing thin. He knew Yang was not exactly in her right state of mind at the moment, but he had thought he had made it abundantly clear nothing was going to happen tonight. That's when he noticed she was wearing his missing shirt. Just as he was about to let her have a piece of his mind she let out a long yawn and stretched.
"Clark? What are you doing in my tent?" she mumbled, clearly confused, and Clark felt his irritation drain away. She might be drunk but that didn't mask her steady heartbeat or the complete lack of understanding on her face. She was telling the truth.
"Well first off this is my tent. Second, that's my shirt," Clark said very matter of factly.
"Oh…" she said trailing off as she held out her arms and exclaimed the garment that was at least two sizes too big for Clark. On her, the sleeves of the t-shirt came down past her elbows and looked more like a nightgown. "Whoops, hehe, guess it is a bit big huh, I thought I shrunk," she said with a small giggle as she began to slump over, almost looking like she was falling asleep before shooting up straight again.
"How'd you make that mistake?" Clark asked, amused in spite of himself. She just shrugged.
"You can have it back," she said nonchalantly as she began to pull the shirt over her head.
As the shirt rose Clark's face flushed as he saw her stomach, and the clear tan lines from her bikini had been all day. His eyes widened in a mixture of shock and; although he wouldn't admit it out loud, excitement upon realizing what she was about to do and the fact she didn't appear to be wearing anything underneath aside from a pair of underwear . Coming to his senses he quickly moved over and pulled the shirt back down.
"Why don't you just borrow it for tonight," he said in a panicked voice, swearing he could feel the flush of his face spread across his whole body.
"Why do I have to wear a shirt when you aren't?" she asked, her normal suggestive tone noticeably absent.
"Don't worry about that," Clark said simply, his face turning so red it was almost purple. He'd completely forgotten he was shirtless when he realized there was an unexpected "visitor" in his tent.
"Kay," she said simply and sleepily, and laid back down.
"Um...Yang…" Clark began awkwardly.
"UGH! I thought you wanted me to go to sleep," she growled into her pillow, not turning to face him or opening her eyes.
"Maybe you forgot, but this is MY tent," he said as forcefully as he could manage, but she just waved a hand dismissively.
"Fine I'll just sleep in your tent," Clark said with an exasperated sigh as he turned to leave, not particularly happy to be "forced out" of his area, but it really wasn't that a big a deal. But as he made to leave he felt a hand wrap around his wrist, and before he knew what was happening, or before he could think to resist he found himself pulled down. "YANG!" he exclaimed in shock.
"Shh, I'm trying to sleep," she mumbled in the crook of his neck as she wrapped her arms around him before nuzzling him.
"Yang-" he whispered but she cut him off.
"Hmm," she hummed. This was the only sound she made in response, and threw a leg over him, boxing him in.
Clark was about to argue further, but when he heard a tiny snuffling snore he realized Yang had fallen dead asleep. He just had to extradite himself, once she was in a deep sleep, no more than five maybe ten minutes. He was certainly fast enough to do it with her even realizing he'd moved, he'd just have to wait.
Feeling her rub her cheek against his neck, she muttered something in her sleep. It wasn't anything, just nonsense words that weren't really words. It was something that sounded like some kind of odd language. Clark just smiled in spite of his embarrassment.
"Goodnight Yang," he whispered quietly into her hair as he made to remove himself from her grip, but Yang seemed to hold him tighter after he spoke. He supposed waiting a few more minutes wouldn't hurt.