Similis

"Clark! It's starting!" Martha called urgently from the living room.



"Come on, son, where's that popcorn? It's starting!" Jonathan echoed.



"Here!" Clark promised, skidding in from the kitchen with two large bowls of freshly popped corn and handing one to his father. "Shift up, Haze!" He ordered, nudging his 'twin' along the recently enlarged chair. "Man, that thing you do with molecules sure comes in handy!" He approved, as he settled alongside his double on what used to be one of the old single-seater chairs, and was now a newer looking three-seater sofa.



"Sure does." Jonathan nodded from the other adapted chair, where he and Martha were comfortably snuggled. "Now keep the noise down, and let's all watch the show."



Clark gave Haze a cheeky grin and lay back against the cushions. Clark loved this programme, although perhaps not as much as his mother and father did, but he was particularly looking forward to the latest episode. He took a mouthful of popcorn and tried to get comfy. Shoving a cushion behind his back wasn't enough, and two was too much. Sitting up was too high, and slumping was too low, even with a cushion. And he didn't know where to put his feet. He took another mouthful of popcorn, grinding the hard bits between his teeth just because he could, and stared at the screen, still shifting surreptitiously.



Haze looks comfy enough. From the corner of his eye Clark could see his 'twin' leaning against the other arm of the sofa and lounging contentedly, long legs stretched out and feet resting tidily on an old newspaper on top of the small coffee table.



As far as Clark could tell, Haze was perfectly comfortable, and wasn't that exactly the right adjective to describe Haze in general? Suppressing a sigh, Clark fidgeted again.



"Clark." Martha hissed. "Could you stop twitching for just one hour? The first set of adverts are on already, and I hardly caught a word of the first part, because of you rustling around non-stop over there."



"Sorry, mom." Clark was immediately repentant. "I just can't get comfortable."



"I should make you go and get a hay bale from the barn." Jonathan teased. "Maybe that would be better?"



"DaAad." Clark complained.



"Then take the next few seconds to sort yourself out. Otherwise you can go and sit in the field and watch from out there." Jonathan said more seriously.



He wasn't quite joking either, Clark decided. A pair of warm hands descended on him, spinning him round and fastening on his shoulders. Before he knew what was happening, he found himself hauled backwards against Haze. In less time than it took to think it, a bemused Clark was stretched out along the full length of the sofa cushions, his head resting surprisingly comfortably on the curve of Haze's shoulder, his back pressed against the other lad's chest, with most of Haze wedged between Clark and the sofa back.



"Hey." Clark protested, more in principle than anything else, folding his arms. The arms around his chest tightened under his own, and he found himself being squeezed lightly.



It was practically embarrassing, Clark decided, and at the same time undeniably agreeable. Except… One small adjustment sprang to mind. Instinctively, Clark bent his right arm and rested it so that Haze's head was pillowed against his bicep. Now that was just about perfect! The two of them sighed in sheer contentment.



"Got yourself a big ol' teddy bear, Haze?" Jonathan laughed, drawing Martha's attention to the two lads.



Clark blushed at the look on his mother's face.



"Or should that be a 'Clark-bear'?" His father continued teasingly.



"Jon." Martha smiled. "Leave them alone. If it keeps Clark still for more than thirty seconds it's well worth it." She checked the time. "There's only another 42 minutes of the show left, who knows, maybe we can make it all the way through to the next break without any more interruptions?" She favoured Clark with a meaningful look. There was no need for words.



"Okay honey." Jonathan wrinkled his face in amusement. "Whatever you say, dear."







"Thanks." Clark whispered under his breath. Haze tapped him on the lips and pointed to the screen. 'Yes, your majesty. Sorry your majesty. ' Clark retorted silently, grinning wildly. The pair lay there for quite some time, before apparently both coming to the same conclusion; their current location presented them with one major drawback: a distinct lack of popcorn.



Can't reach it from here… Clark pressed his lips together in frustration. The bowl was over at the far end of the coffee table, and even if Haze were prepared to let him shift position, Clark would not have dared stretch for the dish anytime soon, as that would almost certainly incur his mother's extreme displeasure. The show was gradually building toward its usual half-time cliff-hanger and from the happy sounds that his mother was making this would not be a wise moment for anyone to distract Martha. But Clark did so want that popcorn … He prepared to chance it.



Haze held up a finger.



Wait? Wait for what? Clark wasn't sure what Haze was planning, except that he felt something was definitely in the offing.



Haze stretched out his left arm, leaving the right firmly wrapped around Clark's ribs. The bowl lifted up and travelled smoothly through the intervening air until it came to rest lightly on Clark's stomach.



Delighted, Clark reached out his own free hand and ruffled Haze's hair appreciatively. A small surge of happiness flickered through their link. Clark smiled as a modest cloud of popcorn lifted neatly out of the bowl.



Is he? Oh yeah, now this was worth being alien for! The popcorn cloud hovered just a finger width in front of Clark. Opening his mouth, he waited. Haze obliged, and the payload settled perfectly into Clark's open mouth. Chewing happily, Clark watched Haze raise another cluster for himself.



That's what I call service! Clark munched happily. No sticky fingers either!







The bottom of the popcorn bowl arrived far too soon, and just as he was beginning to worry about them both facing imminent starvation right here in the living room, Clark remembered the bag of jellybeans that should still be over on the occasional table behind the back of the sofa. Reaching his mind towards Haze, he tried to convey the clearest possible image of what he was after now.



From his higher vantage point Haze could just see the top of the paper bag, and summoning it, he floated that onto Clark's stomach, landing it beside the popcorn bowl.



Bliss! Popcorn and Candy! Clark gave a contented sigh and lounged bonelessly back against his 'twin'.



Haze lifted another small cloud of popcorn from the shrinking mass and fed Clark.



Reciprocating, Clark pulled out a handful of jellybeans and held them up for Haze.



Haze immediately relieved him of the beans, leaving Clark free to delve out another handful for himself.



Swallowing the last of his mouthful of popcorn, Clark followed it down with the first of the beans. Rather than risk further rustling noises, he settled on sliding the beans into the popcorn bowl. Besides, he could pick them out more easily into the separate colours that way.



We can test out if Haze likes eating them one colour at a time too?







The adverts were on again, and Martha turned to check on the 'children'. Leaning against her, Jon lounged, relaxed and full. She looked past his shoulder and blinked. Haze and Clark were still blissfully intertwined, although she would certainly not have used those words if she were describing the scene to anyone else. Still, they were undeniably cute together…



As she watched them Martha finally noticed that something rather odd was happening. Nudging Jon, she pressed her fingers to his lips, silencing him. Together they both looked over at the seamless interaction between the two boys.



Clark had finished sorting through the bowl in front of him, and pulling out several red jellybeans, he raised his free hand behind his head and deftly placed half of the red beans into Haze's mouth without even looking, and then popped the rest in his own mouth. Sorting out a batch of darker beans he repeated the process, never taking his eyes off the TV.



Haze leaned in over Clark's shoulder, gesturing with one hand toward the bowl, and causing four green beans to rise into the air. Two of the beans raced toward Haze and he sucked them into his mouth, while the other two hung in front of Clark until Clark finally noticed and engulfed his portion.



Jonathan's eyebrows raised almost into his hairline. Martha couldn't help it. She chuckled softly at first and then laughed out loud as she watched the two boys feed each other. Even Jonathan smirked, although he smothered it masterfully when Haze turned to look.



"Mom?" Clark tore himself away from the screen for a moment. "Are you okay? Dad?"



"Fine, Clark, we're just fine." She promised him. Accepting the vague reassurance, Clark locked his attention back on the TV. Haze gave Martha a small, knowing smile, before resuming his own viewing.







"You staying up to catch the news, Clark?" Jonathan asked, after the main show was over. Clark nodded, then reluctantly extracting himself from Haze's vicinity, headed off up the stairs. "Back in a minute." He explained over his shoulder, and trundled up the stairs.



Haze got up and stretched.



"Okay?" Jonathan asked.



The other boy nodded that he was, and gathering up the assorted bowls and cups, took them out into the kitchen.



The sound of water flushing upstairs explained Clark's urgent errand, and he returned with a pounding of feet on the stairs, and resumed his place on the sofa. "Haze?"



Haze looked over.



"C'mon." Clark indicated the sofa.



Haze grinned and gestured something that Jonathan didn't quite catch, even though he fancied himself to be getting moderately good at 'Haze-speak' by now.



"'Kay. I'll be the cushion this time." Clark agreed, and settled himself on the edge of the sofa. "Bring me a soda, will you?"



"Clark!" Martha raised a disapproving eyebrow. "Manners."



"Sorry Mom. Haze, will you PLEASE bring me a soda, and have one for yourself." Clark called.



Haze grinned and gestured that what Clark meant was 'fetch another bottle so that while no one is looking I can have two'.



Jonathan laughed out loud as he successfully deciphered what the other youth was telling Clark. "You're not wrong there, Haze." He chuckled. "Don't let Clark take advantage of your good nature… You have my full permission to box his ears if he gives you any trouble. Mind you don't hurt yourself on him though."



Haze's grin got wider, and he strolled around the sofa and pointed at Clark, and at the end of the sofa. Clark saluted cheekily and inserted himself into the corner previously occupied by Haze, grinning as he waited for Haze to settle comfortably against him.



Fidgeting himself into exactly the perfect position, Haze finally handed over one of the soda bottles to his 'twin', and leaned back against Clark's chest just as if they had been doing this all of their lives.



Jonathan reflected that it was hard to believe that Haze had not even been here a full month yet: the other lad already felt like an established part of their family.



Martha evidently thought so too, as she returned, brandishing her camera. "Keep still, and smile." She told them.



Clark immediately ducked and hid his face behind Haze. "Mom!" He wailed. "That is SO embarrassing!"



Haze reached back over his shoulder and tugged lightly on Clark's hair, encouraging him to sit up straighter.



"Aww, do I have to?" Clark's cheeks were flushed scarlet, matching the t-shirt that Haze was wearing that day, and clashing strongly with his own blue t-shirt. "Okay! If you want to, then I guess I could?" He allowed Haze to comb careful fingers through his hair, and then returned the favour.



"No, I didn't want us to be messy either. But honest, Haze, you are such a …" The hand that pressed against his mouth shut off whatever he was about to say.



Haze looked round at Martha and gave her an encouraging look.



"Yes, I see. I am so glad that someone can get Clark to listen to reason," Martha smiled. "And it will be nice to have a couple of pictures of you both for the family album, won't it Jon?"



"Sure, honey." Jonathan knew when he was expected to agree, and as it happened, he would have anyway. He half-watched as Clark and Haze obligingly exchanged places and poses, indulging Martha until the end of the evening news arrived and distracted them.



"Time for my bed." Jonathan decided. He gave Clark a meaningful stare. "You won't be up late, will you? Either of you?" Haze shook his head, and Clark managed to look as though he actually meant it when he said that he wasn't planning on having a very late night.







"They're both in bed." Clark sighed. "Finally…" The TV flickered in the corner, with the sound turned down so as not to bother the adults upstairs. Both youths were all-but ignoring it anyway.



'Finally?' Haze's voice was quite clear in Clark's head, although considering that Clark's face was resting on Haze's shoulder again, this was perhaps not entirely surprising. Now that it was just the two of them, Haze felt comfortable with foregoing physical gestures and relying entirely on projecting his mind speech to Clark.



"I wanted to spend a bit of time alone down here with you." Clark admitted.



'Nice, but why?'



"I dunno." Clark was suddenly awkward.



'You don't know why you want to? Or you don't want to admit what you want to do with that time? '



"Haze!" Clark gasped under his breath, making sure that whatever else he did, he wasn't going to give his parent's a reason for bursting back in on them.



'Teasing, Clark. ' Haze assured him. 'I like being with you. I don't mind what we do, or don't do.'



The verb 'to do' suddenly seemed to offer a whole new set of potentially very interesting possibilities to Clark as his hormones, which had been relatively well-behaved for most of the day, surged into action with a vengeance.



"Really?" He wanted to sound nonchalant, but suspected that he might well be coming over as worried.



'Really.' The heat from Haze's hand penetrated the thin cotton of Clark's t-shirt sleeve, in much the same easy way that Haze had of simply sliding into his mind past any defences Clark might have otherwise raised. Those defences were meant for the rest of the world, and Haze was not the rest of the world, although Clark was beginning to suspect that Haze might be a more than acceptable replacement for nearly everything else on the planet.



If only Clark knew for sure how Haze felt about him… And if he could also determine exactly what he wanted Haze to do about that. He hoped fervently that Haze would not notice the sudden elevation in his heart-rate as several mental images flickered through his mind, none of which helped to relieve his concerns in the slightest.



'So what did you want to do with this time? '



The question caught Clark off guard and so he said exactly what was passing through his hormone-soused mind at that precise second. "Get it on like a porn programme."



Even as the words slipped out past his lips, he was flushing beet-red with embarrassment. "I meant - we could watch TV!" He tried for a quick recovery, already knowing that the attempt was futile. The damage was already done.



'Tough choice. ' Haze gave him a knowing wink. 'So what's on the TV tonight, anyway? '



"Nothing." Clark muttered miserably, going from one extreme to the other in less time than it took to swallow. "Oh, god, I am SO embarrassed!" If Haze hadn't currently been using him as his own personal cushion, Clark would probably have sprinted off into the next county. County? Make that country! Why, oh why, did he have to be so stupid?



'Clark.' The soft voice tingled through his mind, refusing to allow him to wallow in self-pity. ‘Hey, no … don't. ’



"Don't what?" Clark trembled on the verge of tears. This whole evening had gone amazingly well, and now he had completely ruined it. At this rate he would be lucky if Haze even agreed to spend another night in the same house as him, let alone share the same bedroom. "Don't talk to you about that stuff," He asked miserably, "Or don't think about what an idiot I am?"



'You can always talk to me, about anything, Clark, and you're not an idiot. ’



Haze was so incredibly understanding, and Clark didn't think that anyone else would ever be as accepting of him. For a second one of his worst memories resurfaced: Lex, at Morgan Edge's bolthole, after the surgically-altered Edge had just trashed his car on Clark… 'You're not even human…' The older lad's words still cut Clark worse than kryptonite ever could. His best friend! How could Lex have said that?



'Because he was in shock. ' Haze's mellow tones rang inside Clark's head. 'Think about his face, Clark, remember how his eyes looked? The way his skin was pale? And sweating? He was being drugged, wasn't he? If that whole thing hadn't happened the way it did, Lex would probably have reacted utterly differently.'



"How could you know that?" Clark jumped up, unseating Haze. Suddenly he was scared about what else Haze might have found out.



"Were you looking into my memories then?" He whispered, utterly panicked. Can he just reach into my mind? Does he already know Everything…? Wouldn’t it be easier if he did...



'You sort of threw that one at me.' Haze explained. 'I was very close to you and it sprang out, I could hardly help experiencing it with you.'



Haze made it sound as if it were all right, as if Clark and he sharing thoughts were the most natural thing in the world, as if Haze's knowing Clark's deepest darkest secrets was somehow quite normal, and even expected. Clark wasn't sure why that didn't worry him more, and that revelation DID worry him.



"Haze, I…" He sat down again and slumped into the sofa.



Haze pulled him into his arms and hugged him. 'Please, don't say that you're sorry, Clark. If anything it should be me apologising for having worried you. But really, you've got absolutely nothing to be concerned about: I can lift out whatever you really want me to know, but I can't probe your mind and I wouldn't even if I could.' He tipped Clark's face until their noses were nearly touching. 'And don't ever feel you have to apologise to me for things that you have very little experience of, or control over.'



Clark let out a small sigh of relief. Or was it disappointment? If Haze had really known, that would have made some things so much simpler…



'I realise that we haven't known each other long,' Haze told him gently, 'But I can promise you that you won't ever need to hide things from me like you do with most other people. You're very special, Clark and I truly admire that. I'm not about to make any judgements, I come from a place that's so different,’ He shook his head, ‘That WAS so different,’ He corrected himself, ‘How would I know what's normal here and what isn't? Besides, why would I even care about what this world thinks? I'm certainly not normal by their standards…’



"Haze." Clark leant into the warmth that was offered, and let his face sink down onto Haze's chest. "You are the best thing that ever happened to me."



'Glad you agree, bro.' Haze sounded justifiably smug. 'About time too!'



Relieved on so many levels, Clark pressed his face into the firmly stretched fabric and impulsively blew a loud raspberry on Haze's chest.



In return Haze gave a deep sigh. 'And you can pack that up for a start…'