(no subject)
Xander and Clark have a guy's day, hanging out at the waterfall as they talk about all kinds of things, from home to the Island Titans. It's just two boys being boys.
It was a day like any other day on the island, bright, sunny and very hot. Perfect weather for a swim, which was why Clark and Xander were heading to the waterfall pool. Once the waterfall was in sight, Xander grinned at his friend, pausing almost mid conversation with an abrupt "Race ya!" before taking off towards the water, towel flapping around his neck.
Xander was kind of a dork but in that sweet endearing kind of way. It was nice to have a guy friend again. One who wasn't shady and trying to figure out your secret or stalk you. Pete had left a void in his departure, not that he ever blamed Pete for leaving -- Pete needed to get away. Didn't stop Clark from missing him. Wearing jeans and an unbuttoned flannel shirt, Clark chased after Xander--not quite intent on winning this race Xander was adamant about having, but at least to humor him. "You win," he said, with a bit of a grin.
"Oh come!" Xander said, his tone full of wounded pride. "You didn't even try." Then he was all grins again as he looked out over the water, clearly not that upset. He was used to people humoring him. It hardly even bothered him anymore. When you get your butt whooped by your small blond female friend almost everyday for three years...yeah not that big a deal. "Pretty isn't it? Got to wonder about this place. Sucks to be here at times but hey, sure it pretty!"
"You're not lying," Clark said, suddenly taken aback by the scenery. When the island wasn't being it's creepy and shady self, it was actually quite beautiful. Slipping off his flannel shirt, he laid it on the ground carefully and began to slip off his shoes.
Xander followed suit, toeing off his shoes and pulling his t-shirt off over his head. He couldn't help but glance over at Clark while they were getting undressed. While Xander had filled out more since being on the island, he still felt like he was standing next to Angel all over again. At least this time it was Superman and not a self righteous souled vampire. Made all the difference to his self esteem.
"What do you miss the most," he asked, suddenly. "From home, I mean." Clark knew he was probably boring Xander by now, and, quite possibly, was beginning to annoy him, but there was so much that Clark didn't know about Xander, which was ironic considering how incapable Xander was to live in awkward silence. This, of course, was an inference he made based on the limited exposure to Xander-speak in the last month. Still, he found Xander interesting. Not quite a jock, but not entirely a geek. Scratch that, very much a geek but a geek you couldn't help but find endearing.
"Willow." He said automatically. It was obvious how much Clark missed home, if only because they talked about it a lot. And it was kind of frightening how alike Sunnydale and Smallville was, just replace vamps and demons with crazy meteor mutants. And the resident superhero but they obviously didn't talk about that. Xander didn't mind talking about their homes either, if it put Clark more at ease about being on the island. That was Xander, a helpful kind of guy. "She's my best friend since we were like three. She's always been there and it's been almost a year since I've seen her. It's like, I'm missing an arm. A small really smart red-headed arm, but you get my drift. What about you? Any more friends at home you miss?" Down to his swim trunks, Xander moved towards the water to jump in, casting a sidelong glance at Clark to see if he was coming.
Lois and Chloe were on the island, which was...nice, if a little weird and slightly strange. He'd talked about Lana before, and Pete, and his family. Clark was pretty much out of people to talk about. He grinned, though. "My mom's pies," he said. He sighed and got onto his feet, wiping the sand off the back of his pants, which was silly considering he was about slip them off anyway and put them back on the sand. Clark...didn't have trunks. No matter how much he tried pulling a pair of trunks, he, instead, got the most outlandish things. None of which were appropriate to wear. So, slipping out of his jeans, and considering it was just Xander, Clark followed after in his powder blue boxers. They looked enough like trunks, right? He hoped so. "My mom makes the best pies." The apple was his favorite.
"That's a tasty friend if I do say so myself." Xander said with a chuckle as he dipped a foot into the water. Chilly cold, perfect for this kind of day. "Mrs. Summers, Buffy's mom, now she could cook. She'd always tell us to come over after school for home cooked snacks." It was probably clear by now to Clark that Xander didn't talk about his family, at all, and when the subject was broached, he talked about his friends, the family he'd made. Clark could probably recognize Willow on the beach from how much Xander talked about her. He turned his head to make a comment to Clark about the water and blinked for a second.
Clark smiled softly. "My mom sold pies to help make meets end," he added. "For the little things to help with the farm. When she took over the Talon," he said, "she sold them there." Clark noticed Xander had a tendency to talk around the issue of his family, which made him curious, but he never pushed. It was fairly obvious that the relationship was more than likely not ideal. Clark's brows furrowed as he entered the water, glancing back to see what Xander was looking at. "What?"
Xander shook his head slightly, before grinning easily. "Dude, those shorts are practically blinding!" He kidded before making a running jump into the water a few feet past Clark. He broke the surface, shaking his head like a dog, grinning. "Nothing like cool water on a hot day."
"What?" Clark asked, glancing down confused. "No, they're not. They're blue!" How was 'blue' blinding? Wadding in after Xander, he sunk in and came back out, splashing water from side to side, slicking his freshly wet hair back. So, he debating asking this. In all honesty, he knew he should probably keep it to himself and not push. It was something that had been guiding him thus far in this new budding friendship with Xander. Still, Clark couldn't keep curiosity from getting the best of him. "So, can I ask you something," he asked, quietly, drifting further into the pool.
Lifting his head from where he'd been floating on his back as Clark entered the water, Xander moved to stand up again and follow the other farther into the water. "Sure what's up?" he asked, cocking his head curiously at Clark's quiet tone.
"You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to," he prefaced, "but I've kind of noticed you don't really mention your family." And not the family he created with Buffy and Willow, but his other family. The one that raised him.
Oh. Xander looked down at the water, running his hands through it as he considered what to say. Or more how to say it that didn't sound completely pathetic. "Well...let's just say, some of us aren't as lucky to have great parents like yours." He wasn't upset or jealous or anything...just stating a fact. He'd dealt with it for too long. He smiled slightly as he looked up with a shrug. "It's not that big of deal, really...we're just not that most...normal family." Or really that loving either but Xander didn't really blame them, he blamed the alcohol. Didn't make the yelling and insults sting any less but they were his parents.
Reminded him of Lex, kind of. "How often do you come out here," he asked, quickly changing the subject. Not just for Xander's sake, but for his own as well. He didn't need to start thinking about Lex right now.
The smile Xander gave him was one of thanks for the subject change before he shrugged again. "Every once in a while, even by myself to just relax sometimes, ya know?"
Clark remembered the loft fondly. "I have a place like that on the farm," he replied. "An old barn. My dad gave me loft. It's my place. I go there when I want to be alone, to think." He chuckled. "My dad calls it my Fortress of Solitude."
Xander was too busy smiling at the shared memory to even react to the ironic name. "Sounds nice. You sound really close to your dad." Xander never minded talking about other people's families, he liked to in fact, just as long as he didn't have to reciprocate.
"Yeah," Clark replied. "We have our ups and downs, though, too." Yeah, he was lucky. Didn't mean that people didn't get into fights -- even in the most perfect families.
"To be expected." Xander agreed easily for he would agree. God knows he'd seen Buffy and Joyce got it enough times. "So what's your take on Smallville. Lois said it had too mnay cows for her."
"It's home," he replied, with a shrug. "It's a nice place to raise a family." If one did not count the occasional meteor freak, of course.
"Home is a good enough answer." They'd talked about the similarities between Sunnydale and Smallville when it came to the crazies so he could forgive the ignoring it. Then Xander moved to stand under the waterfall, letting the water crash around him "Goodness, that feelings good!"
Clark couldn't argue with that, though Xander's use of the word 'goodness', somehow made him feel like that it might have been something he picked up from his girlfriend. Speaking of which, "How is your girlfriend? Did she not want to come?" Clark would've been okay if Xander wanted to bring her.
"She's training with Tim and Bart." Xander supplied easily, as he stepped back out of the waterfall and shook his head like a dog. "I was planning on going by and seeing her later."
"Cool, guys day it is," Clark replied. It was nice having a guy friend again. For so long, all he had was Pete and Lex. Suddenly, Pete was gone and Lex was making it increasingly hard to go to him for things; an equal mix of Clark's growing fear of what Lex was turning into, and Lex's own obsession with knowing and understanding what he didn't understand. Part of Clark didn't blame Lex for his growing need to understand what happened that fateful day in Smallville that had ruined so many lives. "I've thought about training with them." He frowned a bit. "But I think it's hard for them to be around me." They wore the same expressions, an odd mix of horror, relief, and disappointment.
"I like the sound of that." Xander said in response to the guy's day, because did he know the feeling. Sure here on the island he had more friends then he knew what to do with but it had been him and just the girls for so long it was still a new feeling. He had been smiling but his face fell slightly at Clark's obvious disappointment. He knew why Tim and Bart would feel uncomfortable around Clark, but he wasn't sure what to say. "Oh, why? I'm sure they'd be happy to train with you."
"I dunno," he said. "I look like someone they knew." He paused. "Know." His brow furrowed. "The time thing is something I'm still getting used to." He sighed and sunk below the water and came back up, tossing his hair back.
Of course in this case, he was someone they knew, but Jill had mentioned the whole Kon thing as well. Double awkward. "Unfortunately, it's a common thing around here. I had some guy hug me and expected me to start baking a pastries and stuff for him since I looked like his friend who was a pastry chef. That was awkward..."
Clark tilted his head and grinned a bit. "I could see you as a pastry chef. With an apron. And that hat?" He might be teasing. But, Clark could probably teach him how to bake a pie. He made a mental note to offer Xander a lesson at some point.
That earned Clark a splash as well as laugh. "Apparently I'm prettier then his pastry chef, or so he said. It was a very weird conversation."
"It was probably the eyes," Clark replied, half-kidding. "The puppy eyes would probably bend wills if harnessed for evil."
"Why Clark," Xander playfully batted his eyes at his friend, trying very hard not to burst out laughing, "Are you saying you like my eyes?"
"No," Clark replied, rolling his own eyes. "I'm saying you have puppy eyes."
"You wound me." Xander said with a kiddingly smile. "Guess I'll just have to resign myself to having puppy eyes."
"We could find you a leash, maybe some ears, I'm sure your girlfriend would enjoy that." ....Clark meant that in a completely not-dirty way, too. He flushed, though, when he realized at how potentially dirty that sounded and quickly added a "Or not" to the end of it. Clark quickly sunk down into the water, pushing forward in the depths of the water, before coming up closer to Xander.
Xander just kind of stared at Clark for a few long moments before cracking up laughing. "I knew there was a dirty mind behind that farm boy exterior." He kidded before realizing Clark wasn't there. He looked around curiously before Clark popped up right near him, startling here. "Oh my god! Don't do that!"
Clark was suddenly a teenage girl in a horror film and it almost made him laugh. "What?" Clark asked, somewhat confused.
After taking a few deep breaths so his heart would stop racing, Xander gave Clark a playful glare. "Disappearing and reappearing like that!"
"What, were you afraid I'd left the island?" Clark chuckled , though he suddenly realized that...it could be true for anyone. Being there one moment and suddenly gone the next. It had happened to Michael, hadn't it?
Xander glared at him, meaning it for half a second, thinking of Anya. "That's not funny." Then his expression eased. "I meant sneaking up people."
"I realized that after I said it," he replied. Great job, he told himself, way to bring down the proverbial party.
Xander sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry...a friend of mine from home disappeared and Buffy's had so many people disappear on her...it's not something we joke about."
What does one say to that? There were a lot of things in the way of TR life that Clark was learning and this was just one more life lesson. At least it happened with a friend, and not someone else. It could've been ten times worse. "Sorry," he said, for lack of being able to say anything else that didn't seem insensitive or irrelevant or all together stupid.
Seeing the look on Clark's face, Xander smiled and playfully him in the arm. "Hey, don't worry. You didn't know."
"I'd like to meet your friends," he said. Meaning this Buffy-shaped person. "They seem like nice people."
"You should come by the hut sometime then. Buffy's usually around." It was the nice part of sharing a hut with her is he got to see his best friend everyday. "And besides Jill and Bart who you've met, that's about it for me. My other friends happen to be yours too." It still amazed him how that had happened, him making friends with Lois and Chloe without even knowing they knew Clark from home.
"Well, hopefully Buffy and I will get along." It would suck if they didn't -- with someone who Xander considered family not liking him, could potentially put their friendship in an awkward position.
Xander laughed. "Believe me, with friends like Chloe and Lois, I think you'll get along just fine."
Clark smiled and then splashed Xander and swam towards one of the close by rocks and lifted himself up an a rather large rock and sat. "When should go and see when to sign up for classes?"
Laughing and splashing back, Xander swam after him though was content to find an under water rock to perch himself on Indian style. Looking up at Clark, Xander fought a playful groan. "I guess just keep checking the bulletin board. Only thing we can do."
"Do they have sun tan lotion here?" Clark asked, suddenly realizing that it was...well, crucial. "I've never needed it until now." It had been an after thought, really. He was always sort of...naturally tan and never got any darker. It came with the alien DNA. Something told him that he wouldn't have that luxury here, which meant...sun burns. From what he remembered on friends, that was not something he felt like he should experience.
Thankfully, Xander's brain caught up to him before he said anything. "I'm sure there's some in the compound. We can go look." Being from California and the beach, he didn't usually burn but he did know the dangers due to being best friends with a very burnable red head. "Kansas wasn't that sunny?" He asked, by way of inquiring about Clark's statement about not needing it before.
He shrugged. "I spend most of my time on the farm working, I...just. Don't exactly sunbath."
Xander wasn't phased. "You spent all that time outside and didn't burn?"
"I handled most of the barn work and stuff." He lied. "Plus, we had hands on good years and stuff."
"Oh...right. See how much I know about farm life." Xander shook his head as if embarrassed and in a way he was, trying to set Clark up like that. If his friend didn't want to tell him that was okay...but he still terrified of slipping up.
Clark had gotten used to covering his tracks. Still, it always felt wrong somehow. Still, the fear that existed of what would happen when people found out never ebbed. Especially when he thought about how people would somehow find him disgusting to find out he wasn't human, or worse, turn him in where he'd end up on a metal slab connected to all sorts of electrodes. "Ma always took care of the spf40." Still, a part of him wanted to tell Xander. After all, Xander had been candid with him, hadn't he?
Xander couldn't help a smile. "Of course. So what did you do on the farm? Being a city kid, I think that's so cool!"
"You'd be the first," Clark replied, his brow furrowed. "Chloe would probably think you were delusional and possibly insane." He was smiling, though because clearly Clark loved the farm. "It's...quiet. Peaceful. Lots of hard labor."
"Chloe wouldn't be the first." Xander said knowingly with a grin. And he could tell how much Clark loved it, just by the way he said it. "What kind of farm was it?"
"Produce and we raise animals, horses and cattle," he replied. "We sell at the farmer's market and my mom uses the produce to make pies. We get by."
"See that sounds so cool. I know, I know, it's weird but I think that life is interesting! So simple..." So the opposite from fighting vampires and demons and stuff.
His face fell for just a second. A hiccup of disappointment before his genuine smile was back. "Definitely simple." Except for how, it just never wasn't. Ever since he turned 15 and found out about his secret -- how it was much more than just being a weird freak -- his life had been anything but simple, and feared it might never settle down. Something he'd never say out loud.
The farm was simple like Sunnydale was just a small beach side town...But still, that idea of the farm and everything just appealed to Xander. Maybe it's why he liked construction so much, or would, like Anya had said. Ow...that was confusing.
"Well," he started, with a life, "usually, I'd say if you were ever in Smallville, you'd have a place to crash, but..." Considering they were all from different places, in some cases, worlds, the thought would have to count. "My mom would like you." Would give him oodles of pie and more than likely would adopt him too. His dad, too.
Xander couldn't help the duck of his head and bashful blush at that because it actually meant alot to him. "Thanks man. I'd say the same but you know...if you came to Sunnydale you'd be better of staying with Buffy."
"It's the thought that counts," Clark replied, running his hands through his hair. "Should we start heading back?"
"Yeah probably," Xander took a moment to take a deep breath to get rid of his blush before he looked back up at Clark. He pulled his hand out of his lap under water and grinned playfully. "Yep, all pruney."
Clark slipped back into the water next to Xander. "Okay then," Clark replied, ruffling Xander's hair, and glided back toward the bank with his clothes and got out of the water, waiting for Xander to follow suit.
Chuckling after running a hand through his hair, Xander followed after, taking the opportunity to dunk his head under the water one more time before getting out with Clark.
It was a day like any other day on the island, bright, sunny and very hot. Perfect weather for a swim, which was why Clark and Xander were heading to the waterfall pool. Once the waterfall was in sight, Xander grinned at his friend, pausing almost mid conversation with an abrupt "Race ya!" before taking off towards the water, towel flapping around his neck.
Xander was kind of a dork but in that sweet endearing kind of way. It was nice to have a guy friend again. One who wasn't shady and trying to figure out your secret or stalk you. Pete had left a void in his departure, not that he ever blamed Pete for leaving -- Pete needed to get away. Didn't stop Clark from missing him. Wearing jeans and an unbuttoned flannel shirt, Clark chased after Xander--not quite intent on winning this race Xander was adamant about having, but at least to humor him. "You win," he said, with a bit of a grin.
"Oh come!" Xander said, his tone full of wounded pride. "You didn't even try." Then he was all grins again as he looked out over the water, clearly not that upset. He was used to people humoring him. It hardly even bothered him anymore. When you get your butt whooped by your small blond female friend almost everyday for three years...yeah not that big a deal. "Pretty isn't it? Got to wonder about this place. Sucks to be here at times but hey, sure it pretty!"
"You're not lying," Clark said, suddenly taken aback by the scenery. When the island wasn't being it's creepy and shady self, it was actually quite beautiful. Slipping off his flannel shirt, he laid it on the ground carefully and began to slip off his shoes.
Xander followed suit, toeing off his shoes and pulling his t-shirt off over his head. He couldn't help but glance over at Clark while they were getting undressed. While Xander had filled out more since being on the island, he still felt like he was standing next to Angel all over again. At least this time it was Superman and not a self righteous souled vampire. Made all the difference to his self esteem.
"What do you miss the most," he asked, suddenly. "From home, I mean." Clark knew he was probably boring Xander by now, and, quite possibly, was beginning to annoy him, but there was so much that Clark didn't know about Xander, which was ironic considering how incapable Xander was to live in awkward silence. This, of course, was an inference he made based on the limited exposure to Xander-speak in the last month. Still, he found Xander interesting. Not quite a jock, but not entirely a geek. Scratch that, very much a geek but a geek you couldn't help but find endearing.
"Willow." He said automatically. It was obvious how much Clark missed home, if only because they talked about it a lot. And it was kind of frightening how alike Sunnydale and Smallville was, just replace vamps and demons with crazy meteor mutants. And the resident superhero but they obviously didn't talk about that. Xander didn't mind talking about their homes either, if it put Clark more at ease about being on the island. That was Xander, a helpful kind of guy. "She's my best friend since we were like three. She's always been there and it's been almost a year since I've seen her. It's like, I'm missing an arm. A small really smart red-headed arm, but you get my drift. What about you? Any more friends at home you miss?" Down to his swim trunks, Xander moved towards the water to jump in, casting a sidelong glance at Clark to see if he was coming.
Lois and Chloe were on the island, which was...nice, if a little weird and slightly strange. He'd talked about Lana before, and Pete, and his family. Clark was pretty much out of people to talk about. He grinned, though. "My mom's pies," he said. He sighed and got onto his feet, wiping the sand off the back of his pants, which was silly considering he was about slip them off anyway and put them back on the sand. Clark...didn't have trunks. No matter how much he tried pulling a pair of trunks, he, instead, got the most outlandish things. None of which were appropriate to wear. So, slipping out of his jeans, and considering it was just Xander, Clark followed after in his powder blue boxers. They looked enough like trunks, right? He hoped so. "My mom makes the best pies." The apple was his favorite.
"That's a tasty friend if I do say so myself." Xander said with a chuckle as he dipped a foot into the water. Chilly cold, perfect for this kind of day. "Mrs. Summers, Buffy's mom, now she could cook. She'd always tell us to come over after school for home cooked snacks." It was probably clear by now to Clark that Xander didn't talk about his family, at all, and when the subject was broached, he talked about his friends, the family he'd made. Clark could probably recognize Willow on the beach from how much Xander talked about her. He turned his head to make a comment to Clark about the water and blinked for a second.
Clark smiled softly. "My mom sold pies to help make meets end," he added. "For the little things to help with the farm. When she took over the Talon," he said, "she sold them there." Clark noticed Xander had a tendency to talk around the issue of his family, which made him curious, but he never pushed. It was fairly obvious that the relationship was more than likely not ideal. Clark's brows furrowed as he entered the water, glancing back to see what Xander was looking at. "What?"
Xander shook his head slightly, before grinning easily. "Dude, those shorts are practically blinding!" He kidded before making a running jump into the water a few feet past Clark. He broke the surface, shaking his head like a dog, grinning. "Nothing like cool water on a hot day."
"What?" Clark asked, glancing down confused. "No, they're not. They're blue!" How was 'blue' blinding? Wadding in after Xander, he sunk in and came back out, splashing water from side to side, slicking his freshly wet hair back. So, he debating asking this. In all honesty, he knew he should probably keep it to himself and not push. It was something that had been guiding him thus far in this new budding friendship with Xander. Still, Clark couldn't keep curiosity from getting the best of him. "So, can I ask you something," he asked, quietly, drifting further into the pool.
Lifting his head from where he'd been floating on his back as Clark entered the water, Xander moved to stand up again and follow the other farther into the water. "Sure what's up?" he asked, cocking his head curiously at Clark's quiet tone.
"You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to," he prefaced, "but I've kind of noticed you don't really mention your family." And not the family he created with Buffy and Willow, but his other family. The one that raised him.
Oh. Xander looked down at the water, running his hands through it as he considered what to say. Or more how to say it that didn't sound completely pathetic. "Well...let's just say, some of us aren't as lucky to have great parents like yours." He wasn't upset or jealous or anything...just stating a fact. He'd dealt with it for too long. He smiled slightly as he looked up with a shrug. "It's not that big of deal, really...we're just not that most...normal family." Or really that loving either but Xander didn't really blame them, he blamed the alcohol. Didn't make the yelling and insults sting any less but they were his parents.
Reminded him of Lex, kind of. "How often do you come out here," he asked, quickly changing the subject. Not just for Xander's sake, but for his own as well. He didn't need to start thinking about Lex right now.
The smile Xander gave him was one of thanks for the subject change before he shrugged again. "Every once in a while, even by myself to just relax sometimes, ya know?"
Clark remembered the loft fondly. "I have a place like that on the farm," he replied. "An old barn. My dad gave me loft. It's my place. I go there when I want to be alone, to think." He chuckled. "My dad calls it my Fortress of Solitude."
Xander was too busy smiling at the shared memory to even react to the ironic name. "Sounds nice. You sound really close to your dad." Xander never minded talking about other people's families, he liked to in fact, just as long as he didn't have to reciprocate.
"Yeah," Clark replied. "We have our ups and downs, though, too." Yeah, he was lucky. Didn't mean that people didn't get into fights -- even in the most perfect families.
"To be expected." Xander agreed easily for he would agree. God knows he'd seen Buffy and Joyce got it enough times. "So what's your take on Smallville. Lois said it had too mnay cows for her."
"It's home," he replied, with a shrug. "It's a nice place to raise a family." If one did not count the occasional meteor freak, of course.
"Home is a good enough answer." They'd talked about the similarities between Sunnydale and Smallville when it came to the crazies so he could forgive the ignoring it. Then Xander moved to stand under the waterfall, letting the water crash around him "Goodness, that feelings good!"
Clark couldn't argue with that, though Xander's use of the word 'goodness', somehow made him feel like that it might have been something he picked up from his girlfriend. Speaking of which, "How is your girlfriend? Did she not want to come?" Clark would've been okay if Xander wanted to bring her.
"She's training with Tim and Bart." Xander supplied easily, as he stepped back out of the waterfall and shook his head like a dog. "I was planning on going by and seeing her later."
"Cool, guys day it is," Clark replied. It was nice having a guy friend again. For so long, all he had was Pete and Lex. Suddenly, Pete was gone and Lex was making it increasingly hard to go to him for things; an equal mix of Clark's growing fear of what Lex was turning into, and Lex's own obsession with knowing and understanding what he didn't understand. Part of Clark didn't blame Lex for his growing need to understand what happened that fateful day in Smallville that had ruined so many lives. "I've thought about training with them." He frowned a bit. "But I think it's hard for them to be around me." They wore the same expressions, an odd mix of horror, relief, and disappointment.
"I like the sound of that." Xander said in response to the guy's day, because did he know the feeling. Sure here on the island he had more friends then he knew what to do with but it had been him and just the girls for so long it was still a new feeling. He had been smiling but his face fell slightly at Clark's obvious disappointment. He knew why Tim and Bart would feel uncomfortable around Clark, but he wasn't sure what to say. "Oh, why? I'm sure they'd be happy to train with you."
"I dunno," he said. "I look like someone they knew." He paused. "Know." His brow furrowed. "The time thing is something I'm still getting used to." He sighed and sunk below the water and came back up, tossing his hair back.
Of course in this case, he was someone they knew, but Jill had mentioned the whole Kon thing as well. Double awkward. "Unfortunately, it's a common thing around here. I had some guy hug me and expected me to start baking a pastries and stuff for him since I looked like his friend who was a pastry chef. That was awkward..."
Clark tilted his head and grinned a bit. "I could see you as a pastry chef. With an apron. And that hat?" He might be teasing. But, Clark could probably teach him how to bake a pie. He made a mental note to offer Xander a lesson at some point.
That earned Clark a splash as well as laugh. "Apparently I'm prettier then his pastry chef, or so he said. It was a very weird conversation."
"It was probably the eyes," Clark replied, half-kidding. "The puppy eyes would probably bend wills if harnessed for evil."
"Why Clark," Xander playfully batted his eyes at his friend, trying very hard not to burst out laughing, "Are you saying you like my eyes?"
"No," Clark replied, rolling his own eyes. "I'm saying you have puppy eyes."
"You wound me." Xander said with a kiddingly smile. "Guess I'll just have to resign myself to having puppy eyes."
"We could find you a leash, maybe some ears, I'm sure your girlfriend would enjoy that." ....Clark meant that in a completely not-dirty way, too. He flushed, though, when he realized at how potentially dirty that sounded and quickly added a "Or not" to the end of it. Clark quickly sunk down into the water, pushing forward in the depths of the water, before coming up closer to Xander.
Xander just kind of stared at Clark for a few long moments before cracking up laughing. "I knew there was a dirty mind behind that farm boy exterior." He kidded before realizing Clark wasn't there. He looked around curiously before Clark popped up right near him, startling here. "Oh my god! Don't do that!"
Clark was suddenly a teenage girl in a horror film and it almost made him laugh. "What?" Clark asked, somewhat confused.
After taking a few deep breaths so his heart would stop racing, Xander gave Clark a playful glare. "Disappearing and reappearing like that!"
"What, were you afraid I'd left the island?" Clark chuckled , though he suddenly realized that...it could be true for anyone. Being there one moment and suddenly gone the next. It had happened to Michael, hadn't it?
Xander glared at him, meaning it for half a second, thinking of Anya. "That's not funny." Then his expression eased. "I meant sneaking up people."
"I realized that after I said it," he replied. Great job, he told himself, way to bring down the proverbial party.
Xander sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry...a friend of mine from home disappeared and Buffy's had so many people disappear on her...it's not something we joke about."
What does one say to that? There were a lot of things in the way of TR life that Clark was learning and this was just one more life lesson. At least it happened with a friend, and not someone else. It could've been ten times worse. "Sorry," he said, for lack of being able to say anything else that didn't seem insensitive or irrelevant or all together stupid.
Seeing the look on Clark's face, Xander smiled and playfully him in the arm. "Hey, don't worry. You didn't know."
"I'd like to meet your friends," he said. Meaning this Buffy-shaped person. "They seem like nice people."
"You should come by the hut sometime then. Buffy's usually around." It was the nice part of sharing a hut with her is he got to see his best friend everyday. "And besides Jill and Bart who you've met, that's about it for me. My other friends happen to be yours too." It still amazed him how that had happened, him making friends with Lois and Chloe without even knowing they knew Clark from home.
"Well, hopefully Buffy and I will get along." It would suck if they didn't -- with someone who Xander considered family not liking him, could potentially put their friendship in an awkward position.
Xander laughed. "Believe me, with friends like Chloe and Lois, I think you'll get along just fine."
Clark smiled and then splashed Xander and swam towards one of the close by rocks and lifted himself up an a rather large rock and sat. "When should go and see when to sign up for classes?"
Laughing and splashing back, Xander swam after him though was content to find an under water rock to perch himself on Indian style. Looking up at Clark, Xander fought a playful groan. "I guess just keep checking the bulletin board. Only thing we can do."
"Do they have sun tan lotion here?" Clark asked, suddenly realizing that it was...well, crucial. "I've never needed it until now." It had been an after thought, really. He was always sort of...naturally tan and never got any darker. It came with the alien DNA. Something told him that he wouldn't have that luxury here, which meant...sun burns. From what he remembered on friends, that was not something he felt like he should experience.
Thankfully, Xander's brain caught up to him before he said anything. "I'm sure there's some in the compound. We can go look." Being from California and the beach, he didn't usually burn but he did know the dangers due to being best friends with a very burnable red head. "Kansas wasn't that sunny?" He asked, by way of inquiring about Clark's statement about not needing it before.
He shrugged. "I spend most of my time on the farm working, I...just. Don't exactly sunbath."
Xander wasn't phased. "You spent all that time outside and didn't burn?"
"I handled most of the barn work and stuff." He lied. "Plus, we had hands on good years and stuff."
"Oh...right. See how much I know about farm life." Xander shook his head as if embarrassed and in a way he was, trying to set Clark up like that. If his friend didn't want to tell him that was okay...but he still terrified of slipping up.
Clark had gotten used to covering his tracks. Still, it always felt wrong somehow. Still, the fear that existed of what would happen when people found out never ebbed. Especially when he thought about how people would somehow find him disgusting to find out he wasn't human, or worse, turn him in where he'd end up on a metal slab connected to all sorts of electrodes. "Ma always took care of the spf40." Still, a part of him wanted to tell Xander. After all, Xander had been candid with him, hadn't he?
Xander couldn't help a smile. "Of course. So what did you do on the farm? Being a city kid, I think that's so cool!"
"You'd be the first," Clark replied, his brow furrowed. "Chloe would probably think you were delusional and possibly insane." He was smiling, though because clearly Clark loved the farm. "It's...quiet. Peaceful. Lots of hard labor."
"Chloe wouldn't be the first." Xander said knowingly with a grin. And he could tell how much Clark loved it, just by the way he said it. "What kind of farm was it?"
"Produce and we raise animals, horses and cattle," he replied. "We sell at the farmer's market and my mom uses the produce to make pies. We get by."
"See that sounds so cool. I know, I know, it's weird but I think that life is interesting! So simple..." So the opposite from fighting vampires and demons and stuff.
His face fell for just a second. A hiccup of disappointment before his genuine smile was back. "Definitely simple." Except for how, it just never wasn't. Ever since he turned 15 and found out about his secret -- how it was much more than just being a weird freak -- his life had been anything but simple, and feared it might never settle down. Something he'd never say out loud.
The farm was simple like Sunnydale was just a small beach side town...But still, that idea of the farm and everything just appealed to Xander. Maybe it's why he liked construction so much, or would, like Anya had said. Ow...that was confusing.
"Well," he started, with a life, "usually, I'd say if you were ever in Smallville, you'd have a place to crash, but..." Considering they were all from different places, in some cases, worlds, the thought would have to count. "My mom would like you." Would give him oodles of pie and more than likely would adopt him too. His dad, too.
Xander couldn't help the duck of his head and bashful blush at that because it actually meant alot to him. "Thanks man. I'd say the same but you know...if you came to Sunnydale you'd be better of staying with Buffy."
"It's the thought that counts," Clark replied, running his hands through his hair. "Should we start heading back?"
"Yeah probably," Xander took a moment to take a deep breath to get rid of his blush before he looked back up at Clark. He pulled his hand out of his lap under water and grinned playfully. "Yep, all pruney."
Clark slipped back into the water next to Xander. "Okay then," Clark replied, ruffling Xander's hair, and glided back toward the bank with his clothes and got out of the water, waiting for Xander to follow suit.
Chuckling after running a hand through his hair, Xander followed after, taking the opportunity to dunk his head under the water one more time before getting out with Clark.