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who: Clark and Bucky
what: Making friends and influencing people.
when: Today.
where: The abandoned part of the city.
warnings: None.

[ There are a lot of areas in the abandoned city impassable for humans. Clark's been exploring them when he can: most often he's out here for short periods of time, or with Ellie.

The past week he's been here on his own, hard at work clearing the rubble and securing the area. It's a distance from the outer fence, but that won't stop any of the bigger monsters. Clark is more worried about others with abilities coming across it when it's being used, but he plans to be here with its intended occupant during that time. Looking after him is the same as promising to be there when it's needed.

He tracks the whir of Bucky's arm, and waits until Bucky's alone. Clark lands slowly a few metres away, speaking with concern. ]

How've you been?

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[ Clark too is standing. He moves away, behind one of the storage units.

If this were home, he'd be listening to his mother's heartbeat and the sound of her walking around their house. He closes his eyes and remembers it instead.

The anger's not gone away. It might not, because he'll be reminded of it when he hears that arm whir. Clark will figure out how to keep it from surfacing around Bucky.

While he's finally calm, he keeps his distance. ]

I scared you. I'm sorry.

[He doesn't know what Clark is thinking, and that's almost more unnerving than the anger. He stares for a long few moments, silent, before he takes a half step back towards the fire.]

I told you that some things shouldn't be talked about.

[And that's just the surface, it's best not to go digging for horrors.]

[ He shakes his head. ]

I still don't agree.

[ They can disagree about it all night. Clark has a more pressing worry. ]

What if someone from HYDRA comes through the portal?

[It's one of the reasons he's so careful about trying to hide. Not the only one, but definitely a big consideration.]

There's no way of knowing one already hasn't.

[It's not like they broadcast themselves, they came from all walks of life, and even the mass release of SHIELD and HYDRA files couldn't possibly eliminate all of them.]

I can tell if someone is lying.

[ He can't very well go up to people and ask directly if they're part of a secret Nazi organisation, so Clark will just be more alert for incongruencies. He remembers everything clearly, and nobody can pretend forever. ]

I'll let you know if I think something's up.

[He raises an eyebrow just slightly. Maybe that's why Clark has been so trusting, because he can tell Bucky isn't lying about what happened, or about his desire not to hurt anyone any more. He's not sure if that's a comfort or not.]

Not me.

[It's probably best if he isn't alerted to HYDRA operatives, the temptation to slip and kill them would be great and they could trigger him if he gets too close.]

The man I told you to look out for. Tell him.

All right.

[ He'd be very tempted to pay them a visit wearing the cape and not caring who he scared with his strength or heat vision.

It's an extremely selfish thought, and that's why he decided it should be someone directly affected by it. ]

Let's have something to eat. I think the soup's about done.

[It's another few seconds of weighted silence before Bucky comes back to sit by the fire in implicit agreement of eating together.]

If you can tell when someone is lying, why didn't you call bullshit on the name I gave you?

[There's no trace of shame in having given a false name.]

I'm not exactly in a place to judge you for that.

[ He's not always in the red and blue, and he himself used his middle name while he drifted. ]

[It takes a second before he understands - Kal El and Clark Kent.]

I'm not giving you another name.

I'm not calling you the Winter Soldier.

[ Or the Asset. 'Simon' is fine by him, honestly. It's a better name than either. ]

Should I be using 'Simon' in front of others?

[He would probably punch Clark if he called him the Soldier, even if it would only end in his own knuckles being broken.]

If you want, but you're the only one who has that name.

[ He smiles wryly. ]

You don't look like a Simon.

[ The soup's been cooking and smells done now, so Clark offers the ladle to Bucky. ]

I'll avoid names where possible.

[ He'll follow Bucky's lead if it's necessary. ]

[He takes the ladle in his metal hand just in case it's too hot, and tries a sip.]

It's good.

[Though, with the stolen fare he's been eating, anything hot and fresh would taste amazing. He hesitates a second. He doesn't quite smile, but his neutral expression gets slightly more peaceful.]

And what does a Simon look like?

Help yourself.

[ Now that Clark doesn't have to pretend in front of Bucky, he probably won't take any soup. ]

I'm an alien, remember?

[ This is how he gets out of the weak joke, with another one.

At least he didn't say all humans look the same. ]

[He raises one eyebrow just slightly.]

Will you tell me about it?

[It might be easier to handle having revealed some things about himself if he has secrets of Clark's in return.

He sets the ladle back in the pot for now and pulls his backpack, always with him, closer to his side so that he can rummage inside and take out a tupperware container that will work as a bowl.]

[ He hesitates.

Lois was the first to ask. His parents said there'd be people like her, but Clark finds it hard to let go of a lifetime's wariness.

Though, trust sometimes comes later. ]

What would you like to know?

Everything.

[Even though the answer is deceptively mild, there's an undertone of hardness to it. He does want to know in order to figure out how much he can trust in return, but it's also a test of what Clark said.

Is there nothing that can't be talked about, or does he have a double standard when it comes to his own secrets?]

[ He's not used to talking about them. Clark fumbles.

What was the first thing Lois asked? ]

Er. [ He gestures to his chest. ] This isn't an S. It's my family's crest. It means hope.

[Hope. That's a good family crest to have, maybe it explains a little of why Clark is the way that he is.

It's probably not at all comforting, but Bucky doesn't say anything. He just sits and watches with intense eyes, focused fiercely on Clark to absorb every bit of knowledge, waiting for the whole story.]

[ That gaze isn't unsettling at all.

Clark's only uncomfortable because he has no idea where to start discussing his heritage. He knows barely anything about being Kryptonian, and the only ship that could have told him anything has been confiscated by the US government.

Bucky is expecting an answer. ]

I grew up on Earth, in Kansas. I'm from a planet called Krypton. Humans have only just made first contact with my people. We're the first extraterrestrial civilisation they know about.

[He has a lot of questions already.

Why grow up on Earth and not Krypton? How far away is Krypton exactly? Are the Krypton people all as peaceful as him? What can they do? What are their weaknesses? Did he know he wasn't human?

But he doesn't ask any of them, he just issues a single low order.]

From the beginning.

[He wants the whole story. Very demanding considering the scraps he's given Clark in return, but he's testing how far he can push it.]

[ Clark sighs quietly. Not for the first time, he wishes for Lois. She knows how to make this a story.

All Clark has are scraps. Like his heritage is an elementary school art project. ]

I'm not sure what to tell you. I didn't know what my world was called until a few weeks ago.

[At least that answers a couple of questions, though it does raise others. He finally takes pity and says something more than a couple of unhelpful words.]

Why not? Why did you grow up on Earth?

[ Clark speaks quietly and measured. ]

My biological parents did it to save my life. Krypton's no longer habitable.

[ The loss of his world was for him, his father's AI, and Zod's followers. With two out of three gone, it belongs only to Clark. He's not inclined to share that. It invites too much pity. ]

My father left me a message on the ship that brought me to Earth. There was no compatible technology to play it until humans dug up a Kryptonian scout ship that had been sent to Earth millions of your years ago.