Fic: Brotherly Love Ch10
Title: Brotherly Love
Fandom: Smallville
Author: Jayson
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Eventual Clark Queen/Oliver Queen, Jason Teague/OMC: Andrew Sterling, Eventual Lucas Luthor/Whitney Fordman
Warnings: Alternate Universe, Language, Violence, Slash, Mpreg, Incest
Summary: The meteor shower hit Smallville in 1983, instead of 1989. Robert Queen was in Metropolis for a business meeting. Afterward, the Robert, his wife Laura, and son Oliver go for a drive in the country and have a picnic. The meteor shower hits on their way back to Metropolis and they’re shocked to find a spaceship with a boy their son's age inside. After some discussion, Robert and Laura decide to adopt the boy who they name Clark and raise him as their own. Join Clark and Oliver as they navigate life as brothers who eventually find themselves falling in love not only with each other, but another pair of brothers.
Brotherly Love
Written by J.C. Vascardi
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Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relates to the television show Smallville are the property of its creators. I am not profiting from this story and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The only things about this story that I own are the storylines, places, and characters that are not featured on the show.
Pairings: Eventual Clark/Oliver/OMC/OMC, Jason/OMC, Eventual Lucas/Whitney
Warnings: Alternate Universe, Language, Violence, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex, Incest, Mpreg, Original Characters
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Chapter Ten
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After taking care of their morning business, Clark and Oliver got dressed and headed downstairs with Chris, Cody, and Derek. They both found it very strange to be up and dressed, without taking their usual morning showers, as the sun was only just starting to creep up over the horizon.
As they stepped out of the barn, Cody said, “Well, there is one advantage to getting up this early.”
Nodding, Derek said, “Assuming you enjoy looking at sunrises.”
“It is rather pretty, I guess,” Clark said, as he looked at the early morning skyline.
“Well, let’s get to work,” Chris said. “First stop is the cowshed. We need to get the cows milked so that the milk has time to chill before breakfast.” Looking over his shoulder at Clark and Oliver, he added, “I don’t suppose either of you has ever drunk raw, unpasteurized milk before have you?”
Shaking his head, Oliver said, “No, I can’t say that I have. You can’t buy it in the store.”
“True,” Cody said. “It’ll likely taste different than what you’re used to, but it’s actually better for you. Some people, including the federal government, would dispute that, but the pasteurization process actually kills off beneficial bacteria and diminishes the vitamin content.”
Derek nodded. “There are people who will tell you that it’s not safe to drink, but if pasteurized milk is so much safer, then calves would be able to drink it. That’s not the case though as many calves who are fed pasteurized milk are weaker and die before reaching maturity.”
“Which is rather scary when you consider that it may well be their own mother’s milk,” Cody said, as he pulled open the door to the cowshed and headed inside. The six cows the Kents owned were all visible, each having their own little stall, which had a trough in front of it.
Grabbing a pitchfork, Chris began breaking apart a hay bale, before handing the pitchfork to Clark, who took it with a raised eyebrow. “You see the wheelbarrow there?” Clark nodded as he spotted the wheelbarrow nearby. “Start putting the hay in it until it’s about half full.”
“You’re not going to put it directly in the troughs?” Oliver asked.
Shaking his head, Cody said, “No, the hay needs to be mixed with a few other things first. Namely grains and silage before it’s given to the cows.”
“They do make a machine to mix it,” Derek said, “but it’s too expensive for us to buy one, as it’s not considered to be cost-effective if you have a herd smaller than about fifty head. So, we put everything in the wheelbarrow, mix it up with a pitchfork and then put it in the troughs.”
“While they’re doing that,” Cody said, “you can help us with something else, Oliver.”
Leading Oliver over to a sink, Cody turned on the water and tested it until it was nice and warm before he grabbed a bucket and filled it with the water, before filling the second one. Taking a pair of clean cloths from the cabinet above the sink, the twins led Oliver over to the nearest cow.
Sitting down on a stool next to it, Derek looked up at Oliver and said, “Before we can milk them, we need to wash off their udders. Make sure that any dirt, manure, hair, or anything else you wouldn’t want in your milk is cleaned off.”
“They’re not going to kick you or something?” Oliver asked as he eyed the cow somewhat warily. Since he’d been on the equestrian team at Excelsior he wasn’t completely unfamiliar with animals, but this was the closest he’d ever been to a cow before.
“Not if you’re gentle,” Cody answered, as he and Derek began gently running the warm cloth over the cow’s udders and teats, cleaning off any dirt or debris that was present. “Are you watching?”
“Yes,” Oliver said. Realizing why he was holding a bucket and cloth, he asked, “You want me to do the next one, don’t you?”
“That’s the plan, yes,” Derek said. “If you’re going to be living here, you’ve gotta help out with the chores and that means actually learning how to do them.”
“We might even be able to start knocking out these chores faster between the four of us,” Chris said, as he added silage to the mix in the wheelbarrow, as Clark mixed the contents as Chris had shown him. “Normally, Cody and Derek would be helping me mix the feed right now, but with more hands, we can do more steps at once.”
Finishing off the first cow, Cody, Derek, and Oliver headed over to the next one. Cody said, “Okay, now take the cloth and dip it in the water, and then repeat what we did with the first one.”
Seeing that Oliver still looked apprehensive, Derek grinned and said, “Obviously it’s not exactly the same thing, but imagine that you’re in the shower and you’re washing off your dick and balls. Not something you tend to do in a rough manner, I assume, so just run the cloth over the udders and teats as gently as if they were your own body parts.”
Nodding, Cody added, “Yeah, you’re not trying to scrub or scour them, just gently wipe them off.”
Taking a deep breath, Oliver covered his right hand in the cloth as Derek had done earlier and got the cloth wet before he began to wipe off the udders and teats, as the twins had done. Crouching down next to him so they could inspect his work, Cody nodded and said, “You’re doing good.” Pointing, he said, “You missed a spot right there, but it’s a good show for your first time doing this.”
“Yeah almost nobody gets it perfect on the first try,” Chris chimed in, as he and Clark had finished mixing the feed. Clark had wheeled the wheelbarrow closer now to the trough of this first cow that Cody and Derek had cleaned off. As Chris filled the trough, he said, “The twins and I certainly weren’t born experts, but Dad and Grandpa taught us how to do the chores well enough that they trust us to do them alone now.”
“And what do they do while you’re out here?” Clark asked.
“They’ll be out inspecting the fields and the fences,” Cody said. “Checking the crops and making sure that if there are any downed fences that they’re fixed before the animals are let out into the pasture for the day. Wouldn’t want the cows wondering off the property and out into the middle of the road where they could get hurt.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Oliver said as he finished off cleaning the second cow and Cody and Derek pronounced it to be clean enough.
Once all the cows were fed and cleaned, Cody and Derek took Oliver back to the first cow, as Chris took Clark to the second one. Sitting back down on the stool, Cody looked up at Oliver and said, “Okay, before we start milking we have to test it. Make sure it’s flowing well and doesn’t have any clumps in it or anything.” Squirting milk onto the cow’s hoof three times, Cody said, “Okay everything is looking good.”
“Now we use this small two-quart pail,” Derek said as he placed the metal bucket under the cow. “We’ll fill it until it’s about two-thirds full and then empty it into the larger pail,” as he pointed to a larger one that was off to one side. “The larger pail is positioned so that the cow can’t kick it. We milk into the smaller pail because then if the cow does kick over the bucket, you only lose what’s in the smaller one, rather than all of it.”
Nodding his head, Oliver watched as Derek took hold of the teat and said, “Now, just take your thumb and forefinger and place that at the top of the teat just below the udder. You’re essentially pinching it off and keeping the milk inside the teat to prevent it from going back up into the udder. Then you take your other fingers and squeeze the teat. Then let go and repeat.”
“You don’t pull or tug on it in any way,” Cody added. “You just squeeze them firmly, while still being as gentle as possible. And then you just keep doing that until you’ve emptied the quarter.”
“Quarter?” Oliver asked.
“Each teat is connected to a separate quarter, all of which fill up with milk,” Derek said. “As you can see there are four teats, so four quarters. And obviously, to speed things up a bit, Cody and I use both hands, milking two quarters at once. It should take about ten to fifteen minutes to finish. But, it’ll probably take you a bit longer since you’ve never done it before.”
“It’s not a competition,” Chris piped up. “So, you don’t have to try and do it super-fast or anything. Just firm and gentle pressure and keep going. You’ll know when to stop because the teats won’t fill as quickly and you’ll get less milk with each squeeze. Also, you’ll notice a marked difference in the size of the udders, as they won’t be as full or hanging down as far when they’re empty.”
Clark and Oliver both nodded, as they continued to watch Chris and the twins. Once they felt they understood what they were doing, they each grabbed a pail and moved over to two of the other cows. Martha entered the barn just as they were sitting down.
“How’s it going in here?” she asked.
“Clark and Oliver were just about to try it on their own, after watching us for about ten minutes,” Chris said.
Martha nodded and came over to check on the two of them and checking their technique, said, “Looks like Chris and the twins taught you, boys, well. I’ll go get the eggs and feed the chickens so don’t worry about that. When you’re finished out here you can all go inside, take your showers, and eat breakfast before the bus comes.”
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It was a day of many firsts for Clark and Oliver, as after breakfast they found themselves grabbing backpacks and heading out to the end of the Kent Farm’s driveway to board the school bus. They’d never ridden on one in their entire lives because before starting at Excelsior when they were nine, Andrew chauffeured them to and from school every day in the limousine. And Excelsior was a boarding school so there was no need to ride a school bus to get to school since they lived on campus.
Of course, their unfamiliarity with the yellow bus was easily explained by the fact that according to their cover stories, they’d been born and raised in France. Like most of Europe, school buses were not a thing in France, as students’ parents either drove them to school, they walked, or they took public transportation if it was too far to walk and their parents couldn’t take them.
Cody and Derek did not board the bus with Chris, Clark, and Oliver, but then that was because until the next school year started in autumn, Cody and Derek were still attending Ezra Small Junior High School. After stopping at the Kent Farm, the bus drove further down the road and stopped at the Lang Farm, where Geoffrey, Landon, Chloe, and Lana boarded the bus. After several more stops at the outlying farms, the bus turned back towards the center of town and made its way to Smallville High School.
It was on the bus that Landon and Lana were introduced to Clark and Oliver by Chris. And while Landon and Lana knew that Geoffrey and Chloe already knew the Queen brothers, in order to keep up Clark and Oliver’s personas as the Kent brothers, Landon and Lana also introduced them to Geoffrey and Chloe.
Once at school, Lana joined some of her friends on the cheerleading squad, while Landon and Chris led Clark, Oliver, Geoffrey, and Chloe into the building, since it is their first day, they had to go to the office and get their schedules. As they approached the main office, the door across the hall opened and Principal Kwan exited his office.
“Mr. Lang, Mr. Kent, what are you doing in the building before the bell?” Kwan asked before he noticed Clark, Oliver, Geoffrey, and Chloe, who he didn’t recognize. “And who are these people?”
“Escorting new students to the office, Principal Kwan,” Chris answered. Motioning to Clark and Oliver, he said, “This is Oliver Kent and Clark Kent, my grandfather’s grandnephews who have recently come to live with us. They used to live in France.”
“I see,” Kwan said. “Bienvenue, Messieurs Kent. Vous parlez anglais j'ai confiance?”
Smiling, Clark and Oliver said, “Merci, Principal Kwan,” before Oliver added, “And yes, we do speak fluent English.”
Kwan nodded, as Landon said, “And this is my Aunt Nell’s cousin, Geoffrey Potter, and my late father’s cousin, Chloe Lang. They’re also living with us for the foreseeable future.”
“Well, welcome to Smallville High School, both of you,” Kwan said. “Anyway, you have permission to remain in the building then, Mr. Kent and Mr. Lang. Once your houseguests get their schedules, you can give them a quick tour of the building. Make sure they know where all their classes are.”
“Yes, Principal Kwan,” Landon and Chris said in unison before the principal walked purposefully down the hall.
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Later that day, Clark and Oliver followed Chris into the school cafeteria. Their morning had been spent in English Literature, Trigonometry, US History, and Physics, all of which they had with Chris. Considering that the teacher in each class had them both get up and introduce themselves to the class, it was probably a good thing that Jason, Drew, Geoffrey, and Chloe weren’t in any of their classes.
Making their way over to the lunch line, Clark and Oliver followed Chris’s lead by grabbing plastic trays and placing them on the metal counter, as the lunch ladies filled the tray’s various compartments. It was definitely very different from Excelsior Academy, as their cafeteria was more like a restaurant where you had a server and ordered off a menu of several different options, rather than the exact same meal served to everybody. Lunch that day was chicken and gravy over mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli, a pan roll with margarine, and a fruit medley of mangos and raspberries. They also had their choice of white or chocolate milk.
Chris opted not to take any milk and turning to Clark and Oliver, he whispered only loud enough for them to hear, “I suggest you don’t drink the milk. It’s pasteurized so if you’re going to get used to the raw milk on the farm, it’d be best not to drink it here.”
The cafeteria worker who was collecting the money for the school lunches looked at Chris, Clark, and Oliver for a moment and just shook her head. In years past, she might have said something about students who didn’t take any milk because it was pasteurized, but after working at Smallville High for the last seven years, she was used to it and knew that it didn’t pay to argue with the students who grew up on the local farms about their insistence on drinking only raw milk.
On their way to a table to sit down, all three young men stopped at the soda machine with Chris opting for Minute Maid Lemonade, while Clark and Oliver both got a Sprite. The machine saw a lot of use, as several students preferred the machine’s offerings over the milk the cafeteria served and that wasn’t just limited to the students who’d grown up on farms.
Setting their trays down on an empty table and sitting down, Clark looked at his lunch and said, “This is an interesting lunch. Definitely not what I’m used to.”
“Well, I imagine it must be different in France,” Chris said.
“Indeed, very different,” Oliver agreed. He wasn’t entirely sure what they served for lunch in schools in France since he’d never attended one, but what was on his tray right now was definitely a far cry from Excelsior. Of course, he couldn’t say that aloud. And he supposed that it made sense that Excelsior had better lunch options since it was a private school, while Smallville High was public. The school lunch program was also government subsidized, which is why it had only cost $2.35.
“Grandma does pack a lunch for Cody and Derek to take to school,” Chris said. “Mainly due to their food allergy to make sure they aren’t eating anything with peanuts. They do occasionally serve a cookie or brownie with peanuts in it, so you’ll obviously have to avoid them.”
“Yes, one brush with anaphylactic shock is enough for a lifetime,” Oliver said, as he shuddered at the memory of that time when he was five and had eaten a peanut butter cookie. He hadn’t known at that point that he was allergic, but he definitely knew about it afterward.
“You think she’d be willing to make us bagged lunches?” Clark asked after he finished chewing a spoonful of mashed potatoes. The potatoes themselves didn’t taste too bad, but the gravy definitely needed work. “I’d gladly take a cold sandwich over this.”
“Probably, yes,” Chris answered. “With the money that Grandpa is getting from your trust, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.”
“Trust?” Whitney asked as he approached the table with Lana, Landon, Chloe, and Geoffrey, all of them carrying food trays.
Oliver nodded. “Clark and I moved here after our parents died. All their money went into a trust fund and Uncle Hiram is getting an allowance from it to help cover the costs of two additional mouths to feed.”
“Yes, I think it’s like a hundred dollars a week,” Clark said, going with the cover story that had been agreed upon. It’s not like they were going to tell people that Veronica Sterling, the richest woman in the country, was paying the Kents $2,500 a month for the care and feeding of Clark and Oliver.
This was also why it was agreed that the Kents would not immediately start paying off outstanding bills and instead the money was being deposited in an account in Metropolis, rather than the local bank in Smallville. The family had decided to instead increase a few of the payments made on various bills above the minimum amount they usually paid, but not by enough that it would raise too many eyebrows. This meant that a good portion of the money would go unspent, but there was nothing wrong with letting it earn interest and save it for an emergency.
“Oh, um, my condolences,” Whitney said, as he sat down at the table. If he looked at all uncomfortable when he ended up sitting between his ex-lover and current girlfriend, who happened to be brother and sister, nobody commented on it.
“Thanks,” Clark said. Noticing the fact that Landon and Whitney were both wearing letter jackets in the school colors, red and goldenrod, he asked, “I take it you’re both on the football team?”
Landon nodded. “Yes, although football season is over. Whit and I are both on the baseball team though, too.”
“Yeah, the seasons don’t overlap,” Whitney added. “Football is my real love, but I figured it didn’t hurt to stay in shape during the off-season by playing a different sport.”
“So, have you given any thought to what you’re going to do for the community service requirement?” Chloe asked, wanting to change the subject as sports had never really interested her that much.
Clark and Oliver shook their heads negatively. They’d both seen it listed on their schedules that all students at Smallville High were required to complete thirty hours of community service each year. Coming to the school halfway through the year did mean that Clark, Oliver, and the other new students would only have to do fifteen hours this year, but being new to the community they really had no clue as to what they could do to fulfill the requirement.
“Lana and I are volunteering at the Smallville Retirement Center,” Landon offered. “You could come sign up. They’re always looking for volunteers.”
“What about the rest of you?” Geoffrey asked. “Being new to town, I don’t really know what the options for that requirement are.”
“I volunteer at the Smallville Medical Center as an orderly,” Chris answered.
“I’m the assistant coach for the local youth baseball team,” Whitney said.
“You could also pick up trash on the highway between here and Metropolis,” Grant Gabriel said, as he sat down at the table, along with Jason, Drew, and Pete Ross. Grant was in Clark’s and Oliver’s third period US History class, while Pete was in their Trig class. “Or you could volunteer here or at one of the other lower schools as a tutor.”
“Although this time of year it might be difficult to get a tutoring position,” Landon warned. “Those tend to fill up quickly. It’s one of the easier jobs, which doesn’t involve trash or emptying bedpans. Whit got lucky that the guidance office agreed to count the coaching position towards his community service, as that wasn’t an option until this year.”
“I could be wrong,” Pete said, “but I don’t think anyone actually asked if it was an option before.”
Nodding, Whitney said, “Yeah, that’s what my guidance counselor said. It wasn’t on the list because nobody had ever asked about it.”
“Around harvest time you can volunteer to help the farmers harvest their fields and that counts,” Chris said. “Although unfortunately for those of us living on farms, helping to harvest our own fields do not count.”
“I’d rather not empty bedpans if I can avoid it,” Oliver said. “And I’m pretty sure Clark would agree with me,” Clark nodded his head vigorously, as Oliver thought for a moment, and then asked, “Do you think the retirement home would let Clark and me volunteer as musicians to entertain the residents? We both play piano and violin.”
“I think they’d definitely let you do that,” Lana said. “You’d have to check with the school guidance office to make sure that would count, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t.”
“Wish I could play an instrument,” Chris said. “That would be far better than bed pan duty. Although to be fair, that’s not the only thing I do at the med center. I also deliver meals to the patients and sometimes even their meds, if they’re on a daily prescription and just need someone to bring it and a cup of water to them.”
“Well, at least growing up on a farm, you have some experience with smellier duties,” Landon said with a grin.
“True,” Chris allowed. “I suppose you have some idea yourself. You might not have cows, but you do have horses.”
Landon nodded. “Yes, mucking out the stalls can get quite smelly.”
“Tell me about it,” Whitney said, as volunteering to help on the Lang’s horse ranch was how he’d earned his community service credits the previous year. It was also why he was so happy when the school agreed to let the coaching position count. Since his parents were business owners, he had not grown up on a farm and did not care for that life. As much as he disliked clerking and stocking at the store, he disliked cleaning up horse manure even more. About the only good thing to come out of it was dating Lana.
After a moment of silence, Whitney added, “I doubt there are any openings left this year anymore, but another option to consider for next school year is lifeguarding at the community swimming pool. I did that my freshman year, but for my sophomore year I got tied up at the store and by the time I got to the pool, all the lifeguarding positions were filled. So I ended up volunteering at the Lang Farm to help muck stalls.”
“Store?” Oliver asked.
“Whit’s parents own Fordman’s Department Store in town,” Landon said before Whitney could answer.
Jason and Drew shared a grin as they remembered Lucas’s story about visiting a store in Smallville and couldn’t help but wonder if this was the same store. As they were leaving the cafeteria near the end of the lunch period, Geoffrey passed Jason a note as he passed. Opening it, Jason read it and showed it to Drew, both of them grinning. It read: ‘Yes, Whitney is the mystery kisser.’
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Before leaving school for the day, Clark and Oliver checked in with the guidance office to make sure that Oliver’s idea would be okay. There were three counselors at the school, who split the students up alphabetically by surname between them. It turned out that Grant’s mother, Gloria Gabriel, was the counselor for people with ‘K’ surnames and she said that Oliver’s idea was totally feasible and she even called the administrator at the retirement center to see if it’d be possible to set up.
“The administrator loves the idea,” Gloria told them. “And he wants to know if you two would be available on Thursday at 5 pm. Apparently, they had another musician scheduled to perform, but they’ve come down with the flu and had to cancel.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Clark said.
Nodding, Oliver said, “We’ll have to double check with our aunt and uncle to be sure, but that should be okay.”
“All right,” Gloria said, before relaying their answers to the administrator. Grabbing a pen and paper, she wrote down a phone number and then hung up the phone. Handing the paper to Clark, she said, “That’s the administrator’s phone number. He’d like you to check with your aunt and uncle and then call him back tonight if possible.”
Leaving the guidance office and heading outside, Clark and Oliver realized that they’d missed the school bus. Whitney was still at school, however, and had his truck so since he was driving Landon and Lana home and the Kent Farm was on the way since the two farms shared a property line, he agreed to take Clark and Oliver home.
Arriving home they talked with Jessica and Martha, who said it was fine and Martha said she’d be happy to drive them over to the retirement center. Both Clark and Oliver had passed their driving tests and had their licenses, but they didn’t have cars. Or at least nothing they could have brought with them to Smallville as their expensive Italian sports cars would have stood out. Recognizing that they weren’t on the insurance policy for Martha’s car and thus shouldn’t drive it, they took her up on the offer of a ride, before Oliver called the administrator.
After school for the next couple of days, the Kents also got to hear Clark and Oliver play, with Oliver playing the upright piano in the living room and Clark the violin, as they practiced a few songs to play on Thursday. Finally, the day came and so, Clark and Oliver climbed into Martha’s car along with their violin cases. The administrator had already informed them that the center had a grand piano in the resident lounge that they could use. Both of them took their violins, however, as they figured they’d play at least one violin duet.
Parking the car, Martha went in with them. She didn’t have anything else she had to do at that time, so rather than sitting in the car for an hour, she went inside with them. Oliver had emailed a list of songs that he and Clark could play and the administrator had okayed all of them, especially after hearing them play for a couple of minutes over the telephone. He hadn’t been sure about having two teenagers perform for the residents, but after hearing them play, he knew they were definitely competent.
Heading into the resident’s lounge, Clark and Oliver could see several residents already present, some sitting in the chairs and sofas around the room and others in wheelchairs. Taking a pair of empty seats near the back of the room, Martha and the administrator sat down as Clark and Oliver made their way to the front of the room.
Pushing down his nerves, Clark smiled and said, “Hello, I’m Clark Kent and this my brother, Oliver Kent, and we’re going to play the piano and violin for you today.”
There were smiles from some of the residents, although one older gentleman in a wheelchair coughed and asked, “Kent? Is that any relation to Hiram Kent?”
“Yes, he’s our granduncle, Mr.?” Oliver asked.
“Bolston, Harry Bolston,” the old man said. “How long have you been playing?”
“Piano since we were four and violin since we were six,” Clark said. “We’re sixteen now.”
Harry nodded but didn’t say anything else. Clark and Oliver were both curious about how Mr. Bolston knew Hiram but decided not to press the issue in front of all the residents. Instead, Oliver sat down at the piano and Clark opened his violin case. Oliver arranged his sheet music on the piano, as Clark did the same on the music stand that the center had provided.
Opening with Somewhere Over the Rainbow from The Wizard of Oz, Clark and Oliver next played Binary Sunset, also known as The Force Theme, from Star Wars. Several of the residents were smiling as it was clear that the two young men knew what they were doing. After a short break, they continued playing with a medley of four Disney songs consisting of Colors of the Wind from Pocahontas, A Whole New World from Aladdin, Part of Your World from The Little Mermaid, and Can You Feel the Love Tonight from The Lion King.
As they finished, several of the residents applauded, although Harry seemed somewhat unimpressed. “That was all well and good, but do you two know anything that was written before 1950?”
An elderly woman sitting in a chair nearby said, “Harry, there’s no need to be unkind. I think their playing has been quite beautiful. Besides, their first song was from The Wizard of Oz, which came out in 1939, so that was before 1950.”
“I realize that Cassandra,” Harry said, before turning to Clark and Oliver and asking, “But, honestly, do you two know anything from classical composers? Or are movie themes the extent of your talents?”
“We do know some classical music, yes,” Clark said, as he had a short whispered conversation with Oliver before they nodded and switched places. Adjusting their sheet music, Clark played the opening chords of Johann Pachelbel’s Canon in D Major on the piano, with Oliver joining in on the violin after a pause of about fifteen seconds. Playing Ludwig van Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata next, they finished off with Frederic Chopin’s Nocturne in C Sharp Minor.
Harry definitely seemed to enjoy the classical offerings better, as he’d closed his eyes and waved a finger through the air as if conducting an orchestra. With their hour nearly up, Oliver began putting away Clark’s violin, as Clark moved to stand up from the piano.
“Before you go,” Harry said, “would it be possible for you to play one more song? Piano only? I’ve always had a particular fondness for the piano.”
“Sure,” Clark said, as he saw no harm in it. “Any preferences?”
“Anything classical, preferably Chopin,” Harry answered.
Clark had exhausted the sheet music that he and Oliver had brought, however, he did know a few songs by heart, including one that had been one of Laura Queen’s favorites that just so happened to be Chopin. Oliver stood back and grinned as he watched Clark play Chopin’s Etude Op. 10 No. 12 ‘Revolutionary.’ It was one of the harder pieces that Clark knew how to play and one that Oliver still had great difficulty with… especially without sheet music.
“Very, very good,” Harry said with an appreciative smile on his face. Several of the residents began heading back to their rooms at this point, including Harry.
Martha came over to them and said, “That was very good, boys. I’m very impressed.”
“Thank you,” Oliver said.
“During your break, I talked with the administrator,” Martha said. “And he says that if you’d like to stay a little longer and chat with a resident or two who don’t get many visitors, he’d appreciate it. And he can put you down for some more volunteer time.” Looking at her watch, she said, “We’ve got about half-an-hour before we have to head back.”
Nodding, Clark said, “Okay, I guess we can do that.”
“If you give me your violin cases, I can put them in the car,” Martha said. “I do have a couple of quick errands to run, but I’ll come back and get you in half-an-hour if that’s okay?”
“That’s fine,” Oliver said, as he handed over his and Clark’s violin cases. “Thanks, Martha.”
“You’re welcome,” Martha said before she left the room.
Looking around the room, there was only one resident left in the room. The woman that had defended Clark’s and Oliver’s playing and Harry had referred to as Cassandra. Looking at the book in her lap, Oliver quickly realized that she must be blind since it was in braille.
“You boys can come closer if you want,” Cassandra said. “I may be blind, but I don’t bite.”
Coming closer, Oliver said, “We never thought that, ma’am.”
“Ma’am is too formal,” Cassandra said. “My name is Cassandra Carver… just call me Cassandra.”
“Okay, Cassandra,” Clark said as he stepped closer. He did cock his head to one side, however, as he suddenly remembered overhearing some of the nurses talking about a Ms. Carver on the way to the resident lounge.
“Something wrong, Clark?” Oliver asked as he noticed the look on his brother’s face.
“No, nothing is wrong,” Clark answered. “I just thought I overheard some of the nurses talking about Ms. Carver on our way in here.”
Cassandra smiled. “Probably gossiping about my claim to be able to see the future.”
“You can see the future?” Oliver asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.
“Yes, I can,” Cassandra said. “It’s more like snapshots of future events, that I have no control over. They’ll suddenly come and I have no control over it. I can also see the futures of specific people, by touching their hand.”
“When did this ability start?” Clark asked, wondering if it was possible that the meteor rocks were involved. He knew next to nothing about them, but the Kents did seem convinced that it was the meteor rocks that had fused Cody and Derek in the womb.
“The day I lost my sight,” Cassandra replied. “It had started out like any other morning, but then the meteors came.” Clark shared a look with Oliver at this. “One of them hit the field behind my house and the flash burned out my optic nerves. I’ve been completely blind and able to see the future ever since.”
“So, all you have to do is touch somebody’s hand and you can see their future?” Oliver asked.
Cassandra smiled. “I can hear the skepticism in your voice, young man.” Holding out one of her hands, she asked, “Would you like me to prove it?”
Oliver couldn’t help feeling a bit scared at the thought, but after a moment he swallowed down his fear and reached out, taking Cassandra’s outstretched hand. He was surprised when he could see a visible glow of white light where their hands touched.
After a moment, Cassandra said, “I see two women. One older, I’d guess near my age and the other with red hair. They’re sitting in front of the fireplace in what I’d guess is a living room. They’re knitting… Christmas sweaters if I’m not mistaken.” After another moment, Cassandra added, “The image has changed. I’m seeing the same room again, now decorated for Christmas and a family, all wearing the sweaters I saw the two women knitting.” After another moment, she smiled and said, “Well, that’s interesting.”
“What is?” Oliver asked, curious.
“It’s clearly a very close-knit family,” Cassandra said, an obvious hint of amusement in her tone. “Pun intended. I see two adult couples, which include the two women I saw knitting, with whom I’m guessing are their husbands. And a teenage boy with a girl. They’re all wearing couples sweaters. The ones meant for two people to wear together.” After a moment’s pause, she continued, “Oh, four more people just walked into the room. I think one of them is you, Oliver, and one is Clark. You’re on either side of a pair of twin boys, one wearing glasses, the other not. The four of you are wearing… well, I guess a double-couple sweater, as it’s one large sweater for all four of you.”
Letting go of Oliver’s hand, Cassandra turned in Clark’s direction and asked, “Interested to see if I see anything different in your future?”
Clark grinned and figured it certainly couldn’t hurt anything. Oliver’s alleged future didn’t seem all that bad. Honestly, it was kind of funny and he didn’t really expect that it would happen. Because why on Earth would he and Oliver be wearing a foursome sweater with Cody and Derek? Taking Cassandra’s outstretched hand, the same white light as before was visible, but this time, something was very different.
“NOO!!!” Clark cried out in anguish in the vision, as he dropped to his knees in a patch of muddy grass. It was pitch black outside and it was pouring rain. The next thing Clark saw were headstones all around him and they had familiar names on them. Tears were pouring from Clark’s eyes as he looked from stone to stone…
Robert Queen… Laura Queen… Oliver Queen… Chloe Sullivan… Andrew Sterling… Jason Teague… Geoffrey Walsh… Alden Kensington… Cody Kent… Derek Kent… and the stones kept going on and on, encircling him in a ring of what seemed to be an endless graveyard.
Shaking his head, Clark said, “No, no!” as he dropped Cassandra’s hand, clearly distraught and upset. Before Oliver could even think to ask what was wrong, Clark jumped up from his chair and ran out of the room at super speed.
Oliver’s eyes were wide as he looked at the door that Clark had just run through. He’d felt the gust of wind that normally accompanied Clark running off… and if he felt it…
“That’s, that’s never happened before,” Cassandra said. “He saw what I did. Nobody’s ever done that.”
“He saw?” Oliver asked. “What? What did you see?”
“We both know, Oliver, that your brother isn’t like other people,” Cassandra said.
“Sure he is, Clark is just like everyone else,” Oliver said, panicking slightly. “There’s nothing different about him.”
“Are you trying to tell me that you aren’t aware of your brother’s origins, Mr. Queen?” Cassandra asked.
“How… how did you?” Softly, mostly to himself, but thanks to her blindness-improved hearing, Cassandra heard it nonetheless. Shaking his head, he said, “My name is Oliver Kent.”
“Your name is not the issue here,” Cassandra said, as she put a hand on Oliver’s knee. It didn’t trigger a vision because her power needed skin-to-skin contact and touching Oliver’s knee meant she was touching his jeans rather than his skin. “The issue is, Clark. I’ve seen him before, long before we met today, Oliver. I’ve touched people and seen such pain and despair… but then Clark was there and the pain was gone. I think that’s your brother’s destiny, Oliver. To help people, to save them from fear and darkness.”
Oliver’s eyes were wide. “How?”
“That’s for him to decide,” Cassandra answered. “He can fear the future or he can embrace it. The choice really is up to him.”
Oliver was quiet for a moment, before he asked, “What did the two of you see? What made Clark so upset that he ran out of here?”
Cassandra sighed. “We saw him in the middle of a graveyard, surrounded by the headstones of his loved ones. Your parents, you, your friends. The graveyard seemed endless as if Clark was the last person left alive and had outlived all of you. Unlike other times that I’ve had these visions, however, I get the feeling that wasn’t so much his future, but his greatest fear: being left alone. I get the feeling that he’s not alone in that particular fear, am I right, Oliver?”
“You’re right,” Oliver said, his throat dry. “I’ve got the same fear. Clark is… well, Clark. And since our parents died, I’ve always been afraid that if his secret came out that I’d be all alone.”
Patting Oliver’s knee, Cassandra said, “Rest assured, Oliver, that Clark’s secret is safe with me. I promise you that I won’t tell a single living soul for as long as I live. Now, you should probably go after him. I think he needs you right now.”
-o-0-o-
To be continued…
And there you have Chapter 10 of ‘Brotherly Love’. I hope you enjoyed it.
I’d also just like to say that I’ve never drunk raw milk in my life or milked a cow for that matter. I watched a video on YouTube in order to get details for that part of the story and as for the raw milk, I figured it made sense for a farm family that raises dairy cows.
Also, it should be obvious, but many of the character’s ages have been changed in this story to bring them in line with Clark and Oliver. The year in the story is 1996, after all. Whereas on the show, Whitney, for example, was in his senior year in 2001, which means he started high school in 1997. So according to the show’s timeline, he shouldn’t even be at Smallville High yet. But he’s in the latter half of his junior year in the story, same as Clark and Oliver.
Questions? Comments? Suggestions? I love hearing from my readers, so feel free to contact me in a review, by email (Gmail: jaycolin25), my Yahoo group (storiesbyjayson), or on Twitter @JVascardi. Alternatively, you can also try to contact me via Skype (text messaging only) at jayson (dot) vascardi.
Fandom: Smallville
Author: Jayson
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Eventual Clark Queen/Oliver Queen, Jason Teague/OMC: Andrew Sterling, Eventual Lucas Luthor/Whitney Fordman
Warnings: Alternate Universe, Language, Violence, Slash, Mpreg, Incest
Summary: The meteor shower hit Smallville in 1983, instead of 1989. Robert Queen was in Metropolis for a business meeting. Afterward, the Robert, his wife Laura, and son Oliver go for a drive in the country and have a picnic. The meteor shower hits on their way back to Metropolis and they’re shocked to find a spaceship with a boy their son's age inside. After some discussion, Robert and Laura decide to adopt the boy who they name Clark and raise him as their own. Join Clark and Oliver as they navigate life as brothers who eventually find themselves falling in love not only with each other, but another pair of brothers.
Brotherly Love
Written by J.C. Vascardi
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Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relates to the television show Smallville are the property of its creators. I am not profiting from this story and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The only things about this story that I own are the storylines, places, and characters that are not featured on the show.
Pairings: Eventual Clark/Oliver/OMC/OMC, Jason/OMC, Eventual Lucas/Whitney
Warnings: Alternate Universe, Language, Violence, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex, Incest, Mpreg, Original Characters
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Chapter Ten
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After taking care of their morning business, Clark and Oliver got dressed and headed downstairs with Chris, Cody, and Derek. They both found it very strange to be up and dressed, without taking their usual morning showers, as the sun was only just starting to creep up over the horizon.
As they stepped out of the barn, Cody said, “Well, there is one advantage to getting up this early.”
Nodding, Derek said, “Assuming you enjoy looking at sunrises.”
“It is rather pretty, I guess,” Clark said, as he looked at the early morning skyline.
“Well, let’s get to work,” Chris said. “First stop is the cowshed. We need to get the cows milked so that the milk has time to chill before breakfast.” Looking over his shoulder at Clark and Oliver, he added, “I don’t suppose either of you has ever drunk raw, unpasteurized milk before have you?”
Shaking his head, Oliver said, “No, I can’t say that I have. You can’t buy it in the store.”
“True,” Cody said. “It’ll likely taste different than what you’re used to, but it’s actually better for you. Some people, including the federal government, would dispute that, but the pasteurization process actually kills off beneficial bacteria and diminishes the vitamin content.”
Derek nodded. “There are people who will tell you that it’s not safe to drink, but if pasteurized milk is so much safer, then calves would be able to drink it. That’s not the case though as many calves who are fed pasteurized milk are weaker and die before reaching maturity.”
“Which is rather scary when you consider that it may well be their own mother’s milk,” Cody said, as he pulled open the door to the cowshed and headed inside. The six cows the Kents owned were all visible, each having their own little stall, which had a trough in front of it.
Grabbing a pitchfork, Chris began breaking apart a hay bale, before handing the pitchfork to Clark, who took it with a raised eyebrow. “You see the wheelbarrow there?” Clark nodded as he spotted the wheelbarrow nearby. “Start putting the hay in it until it’s about half full.”
“You’re not going to put it directly in the troughs?” Oliver asked.
Shaking his head, Cody said, “No, the hay needs to be mixed with a few other things first. Namely grains and silage before it’s given to the cows.”
“They do make a machine to mix it,” Derek said, “but it’s too expensive for us to buy one, as it’s not considered to be cost-effective if you have a herd smaller than about fifty head. So, we put everything in the wheelbarrow, mix it up with a pitchfork and then put it in the troughs.”
“While they’re doing that,” Cody said, “you can help us with something else, Oliver.”
Leading Oliver over to a sink, Cody turned on the water and tested it until it was nice and warm before he grabbed a bucket and filled it with the water, before filling the second one. Taking a pair of clean cloths from the cabinet above the sink, the twins led Oliver over to the nearest cow.
Sitting down on a stool next to it, Derek looked up at Oliver and said, “Before we can milk them, we need to wash off their udders. Make sure that any dirt, manure, hair, or anything else you wouldn’t want in your milk is cleaned off.”
“They’re not going to kick you or something?” Oliver asked as he eyed the cow somewhat warily. Since he’d been on the equestrian team at Excelsior he wasn’t completely unfamiliar with animals, but this was the closest he’d ever been to a cow before.
“Not if you’re gentle,” Cody answered, as he and Derek began gently running the warm cloth over the cow’s udders and teats, cleaning off any dirt or debris that was present. “Are you watching?”
“Yes,” Oliver said. Realizing why he was holding a bucket and cloth, he asked, “You want me to do the next one, don’t you?”
“That’s the plan, yes,” Derek said. “If you’re going to be living here, you’ve gotta help out with the chores and that means actually learning how to do them.”
“We might even be able to start knocking out these chores faster between the four of us,” Chris said, as he added silage to the mix in the wheelbarrow, as Clark mixed the contents as Chris had shown him. “Normally, Cody and Derek would be helping me mix the feed right now, but with more hands, we can do more steps at once.”
Finishing off the first cow, Cody, Derek, and Oliver headed over to the next one. Cody said, “Okay, now take the cloth and dip it in the water, and then repeat what we did with the first one.”
Seeing that Oliver still looked apprehensive, Derek grinned and said, “Obviously it’s not exactly the same thing, but imagine that you’re in the shower and you’re washing off your dick and balls. Not something you tend to do in a rough manner, I assume, so just run the cloth over the udders and teats as gently as if they were your own body parts.”
Nodding, Cody added, “Yeah, you’re not trying to scrub or scour them, just gently wipe them off.”
Taking a deep breath, Oliver covered his right hand in the cloth as Derek had done earlier and got the cloth wet before he began to wipe off the udders and teats, as the twins had done. Crouching down next to him so they could inspect his work, Cody nodded and said, “You’re doing good.” Pointing, he said, “You missed a spot right there, but it’s a good show for your first time doing this.”
“Yeah almost nobody gets it perfect on the first try,” Chris chimed in, as he and Clark had finished mixing the feed. Clark had wheeled the wheelbarrow closer now to the trough of this first cow that Cody and Derek had cleaned off. As Chris filled the trough, he said, “The twins and I certainly weren’t born experts, but Dad and Grandpa taught us how to do the chores well enough that they trust us to do them alone now.”
“And what do they do while you’re out here?” Clark asked.
“They’ll be out inspecting the fields and the fences,” Cody said. “Checking the crops and making sure that if there are any downed fences that they’re fixed before the animals are let out into the pasture for the day. Wouldn’t want the cows wondering off the property and out into the middle of the road where they could get hurt.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Oliver said as he finished off cleaning the second cow and Cody and Derek pronounced it to be clean enough.
Once all the cows were fed and cleaned, Cody and Derek took Oliver back to the first cow, as Chris took Clark to the second one. Sitting back down on the stool, Cody looked up at Oliver and said, “Okay, before we start milking we have to test it. Make sure it’s flowing well and doesn’t have any clumps in it or anything.” Squirting milk onto the cow’s hoof three times, Cody said, “Okay everything is looking good.”
“Now we use this small two-quart pail,” Derek said as he placed the metal bucket under the cow. “We’ll fill it until it’s about two-thirds full and then empty it into the larger pail,” as he pointed to a larger one that was off to one side. “The larger pail is positioned so that the cow can’t kick it. We milk into the smaller pail because then if the cow does kick over the bucket, you only lose what’s in the smaller one, rather than all of it.”
Nodding his head, Oliver watched as Derek took hold of the teat and said, “Now, just take your thumb and forefinger and place that at the top of the teat just below the udder. You’re essentially pinching it off and keeping the milk inside the teat to prevent it from going back up into the udder. Then you take your other fingers and squeeze the teat. Then let go and repeat.”
“You don’t pull or tug on it in any way,” Cody added. “You just squeeze them firmly, while still being as gentle as possible. And then you just keep doing that until you’ve emptied the quarter.”
“Quarter?” Oliver asked.
“Each teat is connected to a separate quarter, all of which fill up with milk,” Derek said. “As you can see there are four teats, so four quarters. And obviously, to speed things up a bit, Cody and I use both hands, milking two quarters at once. It should take about ten to fifteen minutes to finish. But, it’ll probably take you a bit longer since you’ve never done it before.”
“It’s not a competition,” Chris piped up. “So, you don’t have to try and do it super-fast or anything. Just firm and gentle pressure and keep going. You’ll know when to stop because the teats won’t fill as quickly and you’ll get less milk with each squeeze. Also, you’ll notice a marked difference in the size of the udders, as they won’t be as full or hanging down as far when they’re empty.”
Clark and Oliver both nodded, as they continued to watch Chris and the twins. Once they felt they understood what they were doing, they each grabbed a pail and moved over to two of the other cows. Martha entered the barn just as they were sitting down.
“How’s it going in here?” she asked.
“Clark and Oliver were just about to try it on their own, after watching us for about ten minutes,” Chris said.
Martha nodded and came over to check on the two of them and checking their technique, said, “Looks like Chris and the twins taught you, boys, well. I’ll go get the eggs and feed the chickens so don’t worry about that. When you’re finished out here you can all go inside, take your showers, and eat breakfast before the bus comes.”
-o-0-o-
It was a day of many firsts for Clark and Oliver, as after breakfast they found themselves grabbing backpacks and heading out to the end of the Kent Farm’s driveway to board the school bus. They’d never ridden on one in their entire lives because before starting at Excelsior when they were nine, Andrew chauffeured them to and from school every day in the limousine. And Excelsior was a boarding school so there was no need to ride a school bus to get to school since they lived on campus.
Of course, their unfamiliarity with the yellow bus was easily explained by the fact that according to their cover stories, they’d been born and raised in France. Like most of Europe, school buses were not a thing in France, as students’ parents either drove them to school, they walked, or they took public transportation if it was too far to walk and their parents couldn’t take them.
Cody and Derek did not board the bus with Chris, Clark, and Oliver, but then that was because until the next school year started in autumn, Cody and Derek were still attending Ezra Small Junior High School. After stopping at the Kent Farm, the bus drove further down the road and stopped at the Lang Farm, where Geoffrey, Landon, Chloe, and Lana boarded the bus. After several more stops at the outlying farms, the bus turned back towards the center of town and made its way to Smallville High School.
It was on the bus that Landon and Lana were introduced to Clark and Oliver by Chris. And while Landon and Lana knew that Geoffrey and Chloe already knew the Queen brothers, in order to keep up Clark and Oliver’s personas as the Kent brothers, Landon and Lana also introduced them to Geoffrey and Chloe.
Once at school, Lana joined some of her friends on the cheerleading squad, while Landon and Chris led Clark, Oliver, Geoffrey, and Chloe into the building, since it is their first day, they had to go to the office and get their schedules. As they approached the main office, the door across the hall opened and Principal Kwan exited his office.
“Mr. Lang, Mr. Kent, what are you doing in the building before the bell?” Kwan asked before he noticed Clark, Oliver, Geoffrey, and Chloe, who he didn’t recognize. “And who are these people?”
“Escorting new students to the office, Principal Kwan,” Chris answered. Motioning to Clark and Oliver, he said, “This is Oliver Kent and Clark Kent, my grandfather’s grandnephews who have recently come to live with us. They used to live in France.”
“I see,” Kwan said. “Bienvenue, Messieurs Kent. Vous parlez anglais j'ai confiance?”
Smiling, Clark and Oliver said, “Merci, Principal Kwan,” before Oliver added, “And yes, we do speak fluent English.”
Kwan nodded, as Landon said, “And this is my Aunt Nell’s cousin, Geoffrey Potter, and my late father’s cousin, Chloe Lang. They’re also living with us for the foreseeable future.”
“Well, welcome to Smallville High School, both of you,” Kwan said. “Anyway, you have permission to remain in the building then, Mr. Kent and Mr. Lang. Once your houseguests get their schedules, you can give them a quick tour of the building. Make sure they know where all their classes are.”
“Yes, Principal Kwan,” Landon and Chris said in unison before the principal walked purposefully down the hall.
-o-0-o-
Later that day, Clark and Oliver followed Chris into the school cafeteria. Their morning had been spent in English Literature, Trigonometry, US History, and Physics, all of which they had with Chris. Considering that the teacher in each class had them both get up and introduce themselves to the class, it was probably a good thing that Jason, Drew, Geoffrey, and Chloe weren’t in any of their classes.
Making their way over to the lunch line, Clark and Oliver followed Chris’s lead by grabbing plastic trays and placing them on the metal counter, as the lunch ladies filled the tray’s various compartments. It was definitely very different from Excelsior Academy, as their cafeteria was more like a restaurant where you had a server and ordered off a menu of several different options, rather than the exact same meal served to everybody. Lunch that day was chicken and gravy over mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli, a pan roll with margarine, and a fruit medley of mangos and raspberries. They also had their choice of white or chocolate milk.
Chris opted not to take any milk and turning to Clark and Oliver, he whispered only loud enough for them to hear, “I suggest you don’t drink the milk. It’s pasteurized so if you’re going to get used to the raw milk on the farm, it’d be best not to drink it here.”
The cafeteria worker who was collecting the money for the school lunches looked at Chris, Clark, and Oliver for a moment and just shook her head. In years past, she might have said something about students who didn’t take any milk because it was pasteurized, but after working at Smallville High for the last seven years, she was used to it and knew that it didn’t pay to argue with the students who grew up on the local farms about their insistence on drinking only raw milk.
On their way to a table to sit down, all three young men stopped at the soda machine with Chris opting for Minute Maid Lemonade, while Clark and Oliver both got a Sprite. The machine saw a lot of use, as several students preferred the machine’s offerings over the milk the cafeteria served and that wasn’t just limited to the students who’d grown up on farms.
Setting their trays down on an empty table and sitting down, Clark looked at his lunch and said, “This is an interesting lunch. Definitely not what I’m used to.”
“Well, I imagine it must be different in France,” Chris said.
“Indeed, very different,” Oliver agreed. He wasn’t entirely sure what they served for lunch in schools in France since he’d never attended one, but what was on his tray right now was definitely a far cry from Excelsior. Of course, he couldn’t say that aloud. And he supposed that it made sense that Excelsior had better lunch options since it was a private school, while Smallville High was public. The school lunch program was also government subsidized, which is why it had only cost $2.35.
“Grandma does pack a lunch for Cody and Derek to take to school,” Chris said. “Mainly due to their food allergy to make sure they aren’t eating anything with peanuts. They do occasionally serve a cookie or brownie with peanuts in it, so you’ll obviously have to avoid them.”
“Yes, one brush with anaphylactic shock is enough for a lifetime,” Oliver said, as he shuddered at the memory of that time when he was five and had eaten a peanut butter cookie. He hadn’t known at that point that he was allergic, but he definitely knew about it afterward.
“You think she’d be willing to make us bagged lunches?” Clark asked after he finished chewing a spoonful of mashed potatoes. The potatoes themselves didn’t taste too bad, but the gravy definitely needed work. “I’d gladly take a cold sandwich over this.”
“Probably, yes,” Chris answered. “With the money that Grandpa is getting from your trust, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.”
“Trust?” Whitney asked as he approached the table with Lana, Landon, Chloe, and Geoffrey, all of them carrying food trays.
Oliver nodded. “Clark and I moved here after our parents died. All their money went into a trust fund and Uncle Hiram is getting an allowance from it to help cover the costs of two additional mouths to feed.”
“Yes, I think it’s like a hundred dollars a week,” Clark said, going with the cover story that had been agreed upon. It’s not like they were going to tell people that Veronica Sterling, the richest woman in the country, was paying the Kents $2,500 a month for the care and feeding of Clark and Oliver.
This was also why it was agreed that the Kents would not immediately start paying off outstanding bills and instead the money was being deposited in an account in Metropolis, rather than the local bank in Smallville. The family had decided to instead increase a few of the payments made on various bills above the minimum amount they usually paid, but not by enough that it would raise too many eyebrows. This meant that a good portion of the money would go unspent, but there was nothing wrong with letting it earn interest and save it for an emergency.
“Oh, um, my condolences,” Whitney said, as he sat down at the table. If he looked at all uncomfortable when he ended up sitting between his ex-lover and current girlfriend, who happened to be brother and sister, nobody commented on it.
“Thanks,” Clark said. Noticing the fact that Landon and Whitney were both wearing letter jackets in the school colors, red and goldenrod, he asked, “I take it you’re both on the football team?”
Landon nodded. “Yes, although football season is over. Whit and I are both on the baseball team though, too.”
“Yeah, the seasons don’t overlap,” Whitney added. “Football is my real love, but I figured it didn’t hurt to stay in shape during the off-season by playing a different sport.”
“So, have you given any thought to what you’re going to do for the community service requirement?” Chloe asked, wanting to change the subject as sports had never really interested her that much.
Clark and Oliver shook their heads negatively. They’d both seen it listed on their schedules that all students at Smallville High were required to complete thirty hours of community service each year. Coming to the school halfway through the year did mean that Clark, Oliver, and the other new students would only have to do fifteen hours this year, but being new to the community they really had no clue as to what they could do to fulfill the requirement.
“Lana and I are volunteering at the Smallville Retirement Center,” Landon offered. “You could come sign up. They’re always looking for volunteers.”
“What about the rest of you?” Geoffrey asked. “Being new to town, I don’t really know what the options for that requirement are.”
“I volunteer at the Smallville Medical Center as an orderly,” Chris answered.
“I’m the assistant coach for the local youth baseball team,” Whitney said.
“You could also pick up trash on the highway between here and Metropolis,” Grant Gabriel said, as he sat down at the table, along with Jason, Drew, and Pete Ross. Grant was in Clark’s and Oliver’s third period US History class, while Pete was in their Trig class. “Or you could volunteer here or at one of the other lower schools as a tutor.”
“Although this time of year it might be difficult to get a tutoring position,” Landon warned. “Those tend to fill up quickly. It’s one of the easier jobs, which doesn’t involve trash or emptying bedpans. Whit got lucky that the guidance office agreed to count the coaching position towards his community service, as that wasn’t an option until this year.”
“I could be wrong,” Pete said, “but I don’t think anyone actually asked if it was an option before.”
Nodding, Whitney said, “Yeah, that’s what my guidance counselor said. It wasn’t on the list because nobody had ever asked about it.”
“Around harvest time you can volunteer to help the farmers harvest their fields and that counts,” Chris said. “Although unfortunately for those of us living on farms, helping to harvest our own fields do not count.”
“I’d rather not empty bedpans if I can avoid it,” Oliver said. “And I’m pretty sure Clark would agree with me,” Clark nodded his head vigorously, as Oliver thought for a moment, and then asked, “Do you think the retirement home would let Clark and me volunteer as musicians to entertain the residents? We both play piano and violin.”
“I think they’d definitely let you do that,” Lana said. “You’d have to check with the school guidance office to make sure that would count, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t.”
“Wish I could play an instrument,” Chris said. “That would be far better than bed pan duty. Although to be fair, that’s not the only thing I do at the med center. I also deliver meals to the patients and sometimes even their meds, if they’re on a daily prescription and just need someone to bring it and a cup of water to them.”
“Well, at least growing up on a farm, you have some experience with smellier duties,” Landon said with a grin.
“True,” Chris allowed. “I suppose you have some idea yourself. You might not have cows, but you do have horses.”
Landon nodded. “Yes, mucking out the stalls can get quite smelly.”
“Tell me about it,” Whitney said, as volunteering to help on the Lang’s horse ranch was how he’d earned his community service credits the previous year. It was also why he was so happy when the school agreed to let the coaching position count. Since his parents were business owners, he had not grown up on a farm and did not care for that life. As much as he disliked clerking and stocking at the store, he disliked cleaning up horse manure even more. About the only good thing to come out of it was dating Lana.
After a moment of silence, Whitney added, “I doubt there are any openings left this year anymore, but another option to consider for next school year is lifeguarding at the community swimming pool. I did that my freshman year, but for my sophomore year I got tied up at the store and by the time I got to the pool, all the lifeguarding positions were filled. So I ended up volunteering at the Lang Farm to help muck stalls.”
“Store?” Oliver asked.
“Whit’s parents own Fordman’s Department Store in town,” Landon said before Whitney could answer.
Jason and Drew shared a grin as they remembered Lucas’s story about visiting a store in Smallville and couldn’t help but wonder if this was the same store. As they were leaving the cafeteria near the end of the lunch period, Geoffrey passed Jason a note as he passed. Opening it, Jason read it and showed it to Drew, both of them grinning. It read: ‘Yes, Whitney is the mystery kisser.’
-o-0-o-
Before leaving school for the day, Clark and Oliver checked in with the guidance office to make sure that Oliver’s idea would be okay. There were three counselors at the school, who split the students up alphabetically by surname between them. It turned out that Grant’s mother, Gloria Gabriel, was the counselor for people with ‘K’ surnames and she said that Oliver’s idea was totally feasible and she even called the administrator at the retirement center to see if it’d be possible to set up.
“The administrator loves the idea,” Gloria told them. “And he wants to know if you two would be available on Thursday at 5 pm. Apparently, they had another musician scheduled to perform, but they’ve come down with the flu and had to cancel.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Clark said.
Nodding, Oliver said, “We’ll have to double check with our aunt and uncle to be sure, but that should be okay.”
“All right,” Gloria said, before relaying their answers to the administrator. Grabbing a pen and paper, she wrote down a phone number and then hung up the phone. Handing the paper to Clark, she said, “That’s the administrator’s phone number. He’d like you to check with your aunt and uncle and then call him back tonight if possible.”
Leaving the guidance office and heading outside, Clark and Oliver realized that they’d missed the school bus. Whitney was still at school, however, and had his truck so since he was driving Landon and Lana home and the Kent Farm was on the way since the two farms shared a property line, he agreed to take Clark and Oliver home.
Arriving home they talked with Jessica and Martha, who said it was fine and Martha said she’d be happy to drive them over to the retirement center. Both Clark and Oliver had passed their driving tests and had their licenses, but they didn’t have cars. Or at least nothing they could have brought with them to Smallville as their expensive Italian sports cars would have stood out. Recognizing that they weren’t on the insurance policy for Martha’s car and thus shouldn’t drive it, they took her up on the offer of a ride, before Oliver called the administrator.
After school for the next couple of days, the Kents also got to hear Clark and Oliver play, with Oliver playing the upright piano in the living room and Clark the violin, as they practiced a few songs to play on Thursday. Finally, the day came and so, Clark and Oliver climbed into Martha’s car along with their violin cases. The administrator had already informed them that the center had a grand piano in the resident lounge that they could use. Both of them took their violins, however, as they figured they’d play at least one violin duet.
Parking the car, Martha went in with them. She didn’t have anything else she had to do at that time, so rather than sitting in the car for an hour, she went inside with them. Oliver had emailed a list of songs that he and Clark could play and the administrator had okayed all of them, especially after hearing them play for a couple of minutes over the telephone. He hadn’t been sure about having two teenagers perform for the residents, but after hearing them play, he knew they were definitely competent.
Heading into the resident’s lounge, Clark and Oliver could see several residents already present, some sitting in the chairs and sofas around the room and others in wheelchairs. Taking a pair of empty seats near the back of the room, Martha and the administrator sat down as Clark and Oliver made their way to the front of the room.
Pushing down his nerves, Clark smiled and said, “Hello, I’m Clark Kent and this my brother, Oliver Kent, and we’re going to play the piano and violin for you today.”
There were smiles from some of the residents, although one older gentleman in a wheelchair coughed and asked, “Kent? Is that any relation to Hiram Kent?”
“Yes, he’s our granduncle, Mr.?” Oliver asked.
“Bolston, Harry Bolston,” the old man said. “How long have you been playing?”
“Piano since we were four and violin since we were six,” Clark said. “We’re sixteen now.”
Harry nodded but didn’t say anything else. Clark and Oliver were both curious about how Mr. Bolston knew Hiram but decided not to press the issue in front of all the residents. Instead, Oliver sat down at the piano and Clark opened his violin case. Oliver arranged his sheet music on the piano, as Clark did the same on the music stand that the center had provided.
Opening with Somewhere Over the Rainbow from The Wizard of Oz, Clark and Oliver next played Binary Sunset, also known as The Force Theme, from Star Wars. Several of the residents were smiling as it was clear that the two young men knew what they were doing. After a short break, they continued playing with a medley of four Disney songs consisting of Colors of the Wind from Pocahontas, A Whole New World from Aladdin, Part of Your World from The Little Mermaid, and Can You Feel the Love Tonight from The Lion King.
As they finished, several of the residents applauded, although Harry seemed somewhat unimpressed. “That was all well and good, but do you two know anything that was written before 1950?”
An elderly woman sitting in a chair nearby said, “Harry, there’s no need to be unkind. I think their playing has been quite beautiful. Besides, their first song was from The Wizard of Oz, which came out in 1939, so that was before 1950.”
“I realize that Cassandra,” Harry said, before turning to Clark and Oliver and asking, “But, honestly, do you two know anything from classical composers? Or are movie themes the extent of your talents?”
“We do know some classical music, yes,” Clark said, as he had a short whispered conversation with Oliver before they nodded and switched places. Adjusting their sheet music, Clark played the opening chords of Johann Pachelbel’s Canon in D Major on the piano, with Oliver joining in on the violin after a pause of about fifteen seconds. Playing Ludwig van Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata next, they finished off with Frederic Chopin’s Nocturne in C Sharp Minor.
Harry definitely seemed to enjoy the classical offerings better, as he’d closed his eyes and waved a finger through the air as if conducting an orchestra. With their hour nearly up, Oliver began putting away Clark’s violin, as Clark moved to stand up from the piano.
“Before you go,” Harry said, “would it be possible for you to play one more song? Piano only? I’ve always had a particular fondness for the piano.”
“Sure,” Clark said, as he saw no harm in it. “Any preferences?”
“Anything classical, preferably Chopin,” Harry answered.
Clark had exhausted the sheet music that he and Oliver had brought, however, he did know a few songs by heart, including one that had been one of Laura Queen’s favorites that just so happened to be Chopin. Oliver stood back and grinned as he watched Clark play Chopin’s Etude Op. 10 No. 12 ‘Revolutionary.’ It was one of the harder pieces that Clark knew how to play and one that Oliver still had great difficulty with… especially without sheet music.
“Very, very good,” Harry said with an appreciative smile on his face. Several of the residents began heading back to their rooms at this point, including Harry.
Martha came over to them and said, “That was very good, boys. I’m very impressed.”
“Thank you,” Oliver said.
“During your break, I talked with the administrator,” Martha said. “And he says that if you’d like to stay a little longer and chat with a resident or two who don’t get many visitors, he’d appreciate it. And he can put you down for some more volunteer time.” Looking at her watch, she said, “We’ve got about half-an-hour before we have to head back.”
Nodding, Clark said, “Okay, I guess we can do that.”
“If you give me your violin cases, I can put them in the car,” Martha said. “I do have a couple of quick errands to run, but I’ll come back and get you in half-an-hour if that’s okay?”
“That’s fine,” Oliver said, as he handed over his and Clark’s violin cases. “Thanks, Martha.”
“You’re welcome,” Martha said before she left the room.
Looking around the room, there was only one resident left in the room. The woman that had defended Clark’s and Oliver’s playing and Harry had referred to as Cassandra. Looking at the book in her lap, Oliver quickly realized that she must be blind since it was in braille.
“You boys can come closer if you want,” Cassandra said. “I may be blind, but I don’t bite.”
Coming closer, Oliver said, “We never thought that, ma’am.”
“Ma’am is too formal,” Cassandra said. “My name is Cassandra Carver… just call me Cassandra.”
“Okay, Cassandra,” Clark said as he stepped closer. He did cock his head to one side, however, as he suddenly remembered overhearing some of the nurses talking about a Ms. Carver on the way to the resident lounge.
“Something wrong, Clark?” Oliver asked as he noticed the look on his brother’s face.
“No, nothing is wrong,” Clark answered. “I just thought I overheard some of the nurses talking about Ms. Carver on our way in here.”
Cassandra smiled. “Probably gossiping about my claim to be able to see the future.”
“You can see the future?” Oliver asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.
“Yes, I can,” Cassandra said. “It’s more like snapshots of future events, that I have no control over. They’ll suddenly come and I have no control over it. I can also see the futures of specific people, by touching their hand.”
“When did this ability start?” Clark asked, wondering if it was possible that the meteor rocks were involved. He knew next to nothing about them, but the Kents did seem convinced that it was the meteor rocks that had fused Cody and Derek in the womb.
“The day I lost my sight,” Cassandra replied. “It had started out like any other morning, but then the meteors came.” Clark shared a look with Oliver at this. “One of them hit the field behind my house and the flash burned out my optic nerves. I’ve been completely blind and able to see the future ever since.”
“So, all you have to do is touch somebody’s hand and you can see their future?” Oliver asked.
Cassandra smiled. “I can hear the skepticism in your voice, young man.” Holding out one of her hands, she asked, “Would you like me to prove it?”
Oliver couldn’t help feeling a bit scared at the thought, but after a moment he swallowed down his fear and reached out, taking Cassandra’s outstretched hand. He was surprised when he could see a visible glow of white light where their hands touched.
After a moment, Cassandra said, “I see two women. One older, I’d guess near my age and the other with red hair. They’re sitting in front of the fireplace in what I’d guess is a living room. They’re knitting… Christmas sweaters if I’m not mistaken.” After another moment, Cassandra added, “The image has changed. I’m seeing the same room again, now decorated for Christmas and a family, all wearing the sweaters I saw the two women knitting.” After another moment, she smiled and said, “Well, that’s interesting.”
“What is?” Oliver asked, curious.
“It’s clearly a very close-knit family,” Cassandra said, an obvious hint of amusement in her tone. “Pun intended. I see two adult couples, which include the two women I saw knitting, with whom I’m guessing are their husbands. And a teenage boy with a girl. They’re all wearing couples sweaters. The ones meant for two people to wear together.” After a moment’s pause, she continued, “Oh, four more people just walked into the room. I think one of them is you, Oliver, and one is Clark. You’re on either side of a pair of twin boys, one wearing glasses, the other not. The four of you are wearing… well, I guess a double-couple sweater, as it’s one large sweater for all four of you.”
Letting go of Oliver’s hand, Cassandra turned in Clark’s direction and asked, “Interested to see if I see anything different in your future?”
Clark grinned and figured it certainly couldn’t hurt anything. Oliver’s alleged future didn’t seem all that bad. Honestly, it was kind of funny and he didn’t really expect that it would happen. Because why on Earth would he and Oliver be wearing a foursome sweater with Cody and Derek? Taking Cassandra’s outstretched hand, the same white light as before was visible, but this time, something was very different.
“NOO!!!” Clark cried out in anguish in the vision, as he dropped to his knees in a patch of muddy grass. It was pitch black outside and it was pouring rain. The next thing Clark saw were headstones all around him and they had familiar names on them. Tears were pouring from Clark’s eyes as he looked from stone to stone…
Robert Queen… Laura Queen… Oliver Queen… Chloe Sullivan… Andrew Sterling… Jason Teague… Geoffrey Walsh… Alden Kensington… Cody Kent… Derek Kent… and the stones kept going on and on, encircling him in a ring of what seemed to be an endless graveyard.
Shaking his head, Clark said, “No, no!” as he dropped Cassandra’s hand, clearly distraught and upset. Before Oliver could even think to ask what was wrong, Clark jumped up from his chair and ran out of the room at super speed.
Oliver’s eyes were wide as he looked at the door that Clark had just run through. He’d felt the gust of wind that normally accompanied Clark running off… and if he felt it…
“That’s, that’s never happened before,” Cassandra said. “He saw what I did. Nobody’s ever done that.”
“He saw?” Oliver asked. “What? What did you see?”
“We both know, Oliver, that your brother isn’t like other people,” Cassandra said.
“Sure he is, Clark is just like everyone else,” Oliver said, panicking slightly. “There’s nothing different about him.”
“Are you trying to tell me that you aren’t aware of your brother’s origins, Mr. Queen?” Cassandra asked.
“How… how did you?” Softly, mostly to himself, but thanks to her blindness-improved hearing, Cassandra heard it nonetheless. Shaking his head, he said, “My name is Oliver Kent.”
“Your name is not the issue here,” Cassandra said, as she put a hand on Oliver’s knee. It didn’t trigger a vision because her power needed skin-to-skin contact and touching Oliver’s knee meant she was touching his jeans rather than his skin. “The issue is, Clark. I’ve seen him before, long before we met today, Oliver. I’ve touched people and seen such pain and despair… but then Clark was there and the pain was gone. I think that’s your brother’s destiny, Oliver. To help people, to save them from fear and darkness.”
Oliver’s eyes were wide. “How?”
“That’s for him to decide,” Cassandra answered. “He can fear the future or he can embrace it. The choice really is up to him.”
Oliver was quiet for a moment, before he asked, “What did the two of you see? What made Clark so upset that he ran out of here?”
Cassandra sighed. “We saw him in the middle of a graveyard, surrounded by the headstones of his loved ones. Your parents, you, your friends. The graveyard seemed endless as if Clark was the last person left alive and had outlived all of you. Unlike other times that I’ve had these visions, however, I get the feeling that wasn’t so much his future, but his greatest fear: being left alone. I get the feeling that he’s not alone in that particular fear, am I right, Oliver?”
“You’re right,” Oliver said, his throat dry. “I’ve got the same fear. Clark is… well, Clark. And since our parents died, I’ve always been afraid that if his secret came out that I’d be all alone.”
Patting Oliver’s knee, Cassandra said, “Rest assured, Oliver, that Clark’s secret is safe with me. I promise you that I won’t tell a single living soul for as long as I live. Now, you should probably go after him. I think he needs you right now.”
-o-0-o-
To be continued…
And there you have Chapter 10 of ‘Brotherly Love’. I hope you enjoyed it.
I’d also just like to say that I’ve never drunk raw milk in my life or milked a cow for that matter. I watched a video on YouTube in order to get details for that part of the story and as for the raw milk, I figured it made sense for a farm family that raises dairy cows.
Also, it should be obvious, but many of the character’s ages have been changed in this story to bring them in line with Clark and Oliver. The year in the story is 1996, after all. Whereas on the show, Whitney, for example, was in his senior year in 2001, which means he started high school in 1997. So according to the show’s timeline, he shouldn’t even be at Smallville High yet. But he’s in the latter half of his junior year in the story, same as Clark and Oliver.
Questions? Comments? Suggestions? I love hearing from my readers, so feel free to contact me in a review, by email (Gmail: jaycolin25), my Yahoo group (storiesbyjayson), or on Twitter @JVascardi. Alternatively, you can also try to contact me via Skype (text messaging only) at jayson (dot) vascardi.