Peter slammed his hand down on the steering wheel as the car rolled to a stop, followed up with a pop, a bang and finally, a sizzle. In the passenger seat beside him, Gwen sighed and reached out her hand, placing it upon his shoulder.
"I told you the car wouldn't make it." She said quietly.
"Yes. Thank you. And now we're stuck in the middle of nowhere." He complained.
Gwen took a deep breath and turned her head so that she was looking out of the window. She focused on how the tall blades of green grass in the endless fields around them swayed in the breeze, and shifted her gaze up to the windmill.
"I'm sorry." He muttered. "I'm going to see if I can fix the problem."
"Peter, judging by the smoke, I'd say the engine is fried. There's no fixing that while we're stuck on the side of the road." She pointed out. "Let me call for help."
"We don't need help, I can fix it." He insisted.
"Come on… it'll be easier if I call-"
"I said I can fix it." He cut in.
"Okay." She agreed.
With that being said, Peter opened the door and walked around to the front of the car. A frown pulled at his eyebrows as he lifted the hood and soon he was invisible through the thick smoke. Gwen hesitated, then opened her own door and stepped out of the vehicle. She walked around the front and stood beside Peter, looking at the smoking engine in disbelief.
"Yeah… that's not getting fixed on the side of the road." She commented.
Peter's expression softened and he turned to her, bringing his hand up against her cheek. "Look, I'm sorry for being a bit of a jerk… but you know how things are, it's not a good time for us to be breaking down."
"It's fine. Just… Don't make a habit out of it, okay?"
"I won't." He promised. "Do you see anyone around?"
Gwen's eyes drifted around their surroundings until they met Peter again, and she shook her head. "Nope. Let me just make a call."
Clark dusted his hands off as he shoved one hay barrel on top of another two that were already stacked. Glad to be done with his chores he wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand and headed out of the barn. He jogged up to the front porch, but paused as something caught his attention.
His face creased in a frown as he listened closely and deciphered two voices coming from somewhere in the near distance. Clark let the door slip from his hand and close again, and after hesitating for a moment, he took off in the direction that the voices seemed to be coming from. He stopped a few feet short of the road and his eyes widened as he saw a couple of unfamiliar faces standing around a car that looked like an egg could be fried on it with the way the smoke was rising from the hood.
Before he could quite process what he was seeing, one of them came running towards him. Her blonde hair was flailing behind her in the breeze and she struggled to stay balanced while she ran. Following behind her was a guy, slightly taller than the average male and with fair brown hair. Clark cringed as he didn't look happy.
"Hey!" The blonde called once she was close enough.
"Uhh… hi." Clark said and held up his hand. "Do you need help?"
"No." The voice from behind her snapped.
"Yes." She said in contrast.
"No, we don't."
"Ignore him. He's in a foul mood." The blonde dismissed. "I'm sorry, this is weird but as you can probably tell by the smoke, our car broke down and we have absolutely no idea where we're going, and now we're sort of stuck here."
"Oh." Clark mouthed. "Sure, I can help."
"I'm sorry she bothered you, we really don't need help." Peter insisted, butting in front of Gwen.
"Hey!" She scolded and nudged him. "As I said, he's a little grumpy right now. Please, we really do need help."
Clark's mouth fell open as he was unsure what to make of the situation or the couple standing in front of him. He scratched the back of his head with his hands and glanced back and forth between the two, then averted his eyes to their car. From the first time he'd looked, he knew there was no fixing that on the side of the road.
"Well, I'm happy to help, as I said." He smiled. "What's your name?"
"Gwen, and this is Peter… usually, I don't know who he is today. Mr Grumpy is my best guess." She introduced them and laughed.
"Alright, I'm Clark. It's erh…" He stopped. He was about to say that it was nice to meet them, but he felt the awkwardness of the statement just from thinking about it.
"Thanks, Clark. But I said we don't need help." Peter snapped.
"Peter!"
Clark shifted his weight from one foot to the other, feeling more uncomfortable as each second passed. He considered just taking off back to the farm, but decided against it. They weren't the usual sort he dealt with, but he didn't want to leave them without at least trying to help.
"Look, I can help you but only if you let me."
"I already told you, farm boy, we don't need help!" Peter growled.
"Hey!" Gwen raised her voice. "Don't be rude, just admit to yourself that we need help." She sighed, and turned back to Clark. "I'm sorry, please don't take it personally… I think he's on his period."
Unable to help it, Clark burst out laughing and Peter scowled, folding his arms across his chest. It took him a few minutes to recompose himself, but he swept his hand over his reddening face and then turned to Peter.
"There's no harm in needing help at times."
"Peter, he's right… It's okay to need help." Gwen agreed.
"But I can handle it, and plus he smells like what comes out of a cow's ass."
Clark's eyes widened at the insult, but he said nothing of it and threw his hands up in surrender. He watched them walk away from him and then their hand gestures as they conversed. It was one conversation that he was glad not to listen in on as he recalled his own heated arguments with Lana, Lois and Chloe. Eventually, they quit and came back over to him.
"Peter…" Gwen warned.
"Fine." He huffed. "I'm sorry, Clark. We would really appreciate your help if you are still willing to provide it."
A smirk twitched at Clark's lips. "You did call me a farm boy and said that I smell like cow poop…"
"Oh no…" Gwen muttered under her breath.
"But I have to admit that I'm rather amused, so I will still help you. Though I'd like to get a please from you first."
"A what?" Peter's jaw dropped. "Fine. Fine! Please can you help us?"
"Absolutely." Clark grinned. "But it's gonna take a lot, so why don't I bring you back to the farm and then I'll come back for your car?" He suggested.
"Yeah, okay." Peter begrudgingly agreed.
"Great, if you'll follow me, the farm is this way." He instructed them.
Gwen and Peter exchanged a look and then started following Clark, who was already five steps ahead of them. He was glad not to be caught in their argument any longer, and occasionally glanced over his shoulder to check if they were still behind him as they fell silent. It was a relief when they finally reached the Kent farm and he held the door open for them.
"Thanks." Gwen muttered politely as she passed through.
Clark nodded. "Mom! Dad! Lois!" He called out.
Two sets of footsteps bounded down the stairs as his parents came to greet him. Lois appeared to be absent, which he was grateful for. He didn't want to be insulted and teased in front of strangers he was trying to help.
"Mom, dad… I was out just now and I found this couple that needed my help; their car broke down and they were stranded on the side of the road." Clark explained with his typical boyish grin plastered on his face.
Martha's eyes widened and she looked up to Johnathan, who wore an amused smile. He continued down the stairs until he was beside Clark, and then turned to Peter and Gwen.
"Car trouble, huh?" He raised an eyebrow. "I know a little something, perhaps I could help." He suggested.
"Really? That would be great." Gwen accepted his offer.
"Yeah…" Peter sighed, his foul mood having faded slightly. "Thank you."
"But first I should go and bring the car back here." Clark stated.
He and Johnathan exchanged a look, and with a nod and a smile, he took off out of the house. Once he was far enough away, he ran at his full speed back to where the car was sitting at the side of the road. The smoke had all but cleared and with ease, pushed the car along. As he neared the house, he peered around to ensure that there was no one in sight, and once he was satisfied, he lifted the car into the air and carried it the rest of the way, placing it down carefully just before he fell in line with the window. He wiped his grubby hands on his t-shirt, smearing it with car grease and oil, then headed back inside.
"All done." He grinned.
Peter frowned. "Huh, that was fast."
"Yeah, we get a lot of breakdowns outside the farm, after a while you kind of get used to doing things quickly." Clark covered.
"Right. I suppose."
Johnathan cleared his throat and stepped up to the door. "Well, now that the car is here, I should get to work." He smiled and headed outside.
"Would anyone like a drink?" Martha asked.
"I could definitely use one." Peter answered.
"Yes, please." Gwen followed.
"Clark?" She questioned.
"Sure." He agreed.
Martha nodded and boosted herself up on her tiptoes to open the top cupboard. As she pulled the door open four glasses were nudged by more behind them and fell from the shelf. With his senses tingling, Peter hurried over and caught two of the glasses in one hand and shot a web to stop the other two from falling on top of her.
"Peter!"
Gwen's voice cut through his adrenaline and his jaw dropped when he realized what he'd just done. He quickly placed the glasses down on the kitchen counter and then stepped backwards, turning to see Gwen, Clark and Martha staring at him, all with wide eyes.
"I- I- I'm sorry." He stammered.
Clark couldn't tear his eyes away from Peter. Martha looked at him, but didn't say a word. She didn't have to for him to know what she was thinking.
"Peter, it's okay." Gwen assured him, placing her hands on his shoulders and massaging them.
"Are you- I'm sorry, I have to ask… are you from Smallville?"
"No, I'm from Queens, New York." Peter answered, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.
"Oh." Clark mouthed, confused by the sudden turn of events. "Then you're not someone with meteor-"
"Clark!" Martha exclaimed, and cleared her throat. "I was going to suggest that you take them to the Talon while their car is being fixed." She improvised.
"Ah, right."
"The Talon?" Peter questioned.
Before he could get an explanation, Johnathan walked through the door with an oil coated rag over his shoulder. He leaned his hand against the kitchen counter and directed his eyes at Peter and Gwen.
"The good news is that I can fix this, the bad news is that because of the engine, it's going to take a while." He explained.
"W- How long are we talking?" Gwen asked.
"I can't say for sure. A week, maybe longer."
"But they can stay here in the meantime, right dad?" Clark questioned.
"Of course, they're welcome to stay until they're fit to leave." Johnathan agreed.
"Oh no, we couldn't…" Peter began.
"Nonsense." Clark dismissed. "It's what we do." He insisted. "Now, who wants coffee?"
