Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Kara was both thrilled and relieved, even though she hadn’t planned on spending the latter part of her High School years in Smallville, but certain events in Midvale had made a change of scenery a necessary thing for the young Kryptonian. Add to that her sister Alex now being off to college and there wasn’t much keeping her in Midvale. Thus, she spent the summer on the Kent Farm and then started at Smallville High in the fall.

“Sorry, excuse me, oww,” she apologized as she made her way down the hall of Smallville High, bumping into students and lockers, but this wasn’t all down to her playing the clumsy role of Kara Danvers, no for once her clumsiness had a real-world reason.

A side-effect of a summer spent hard at work on the farm with Pa Kent under the relentless Kansas sun was that she’d gone through a late growth spurt. Now it was not that she hated the extra inches it had added to her height or the broadness and bulk it had heaped onto her shoulders and arms. Instead, it was that none of her clothes fit anymore, her balance was a bit off, and on top of everything, she had been reduced to raiding Clark’s old wardrobe for clothes, making her look a bit on the boyish side as she made sure to slump her shoulders like Clark had taught her to do.

Deep in her thoughts she barely noticed as a gaggle of cheerleaders came down the hall towards her. One of them even smiled at her, which caused her to flatten herself up against the lockers, but somehow, she managed to stammer out a question. Once the words left her lips, however, it caused the entire gaggle to stop and like Children of the Corn, the reference courtesy of the stupid VHS tapes Clark had left at the farm, they all looked at her with a mixture of curiosity and disdain.

“Uh… hi… which way to the counselor's office?” she blurted out and fixed her thick-rimmed glasses and pulled the ballcap she’d been wearing off her head and for some reason it caused a few of the girls to gasp.

“Who wants to know?” the leader of the pack, a petite but very much in shape olive-skinned girl with straight dark hair, asked with one hand on her hip while looking her up and down like she clearly wasn’t worthy of her time or attention.

“Kara… Kara Danvers, I’ve been staying on the Kent Farm this summer and I think I saw you in town a few times… if you could point me the way I’d be super grateful because my sense of direction is just… bad,” she babbled and then managed to flash the girl a smile which seemed to do the trick. Smiling more seemed to make people helpful, she made a mental note.

The girls broke out in a giggle and one of them pointed her down the hall, the fourth door on the left, just look out for the newbies sitting outside the door and she shouldn’t be able to miss it. Nodding and mumbling her thanks she stuffed her ballcap into her back pocket and fled from the gaze of the group of way too pretty girls. Oh, that was another thing she’d discovered once in Smallville and away from Midvale and her family there, girls were, like, sometimes, super pretty!

“Thank you,” she shouted over her shoulders when she realized she’d not been polite as Pa Kent had insisted she be at all times, but the cheerleaders were already marching down the hall, but she did pick up their giggled whispers by mistake which made her sigh yet also smile a little.

“I totally thought she was a guy!” one cheerleader commented and was punched in the shoulders for that comment.

“Ugh get with the times, maybe they are non-binary or just butch,” another cheerleader chimed in with a huff. Those last few words struck home, and she fought to suppress the recent memory of her disastrous experimentation with her identity back in Midvale.

“Or wearing hand-me-downs,” the mean one commented and that made her clench her fist at her stupid growth spurt before the cheerleaders went out of the range of her hearing as she stomped towards the row of chairs outside of the counselor’s office with a storm cloud hanging over her head.

As the hall cleared she found herself sitting alone, well almost alone, there were only three chairs by the door, so she had picked the one on the end because on the other one sat a girl in a grey hoodie with the hood up over her head. Now she knew it was impolite to stare, but she could see black locks of hair falling out of the hood as the pale girl was reading a book on what looked to be Quantum Mechanics and tapping her foot to some unheard beat.

“Yes?” the girl asked in a slightly accented voice without looking up from her book and at being busted staring she froze up like a deer caught in the headlights.

It didn’t help when the girl pushed back her hood revealing a cascade of black hair that tumbled down her shoulders and a porcelain complexion like milk, but what got her even more tongue-tied were nearly luminous green eyes dancing with laughter.

“Cat got your tongue or are you one of those tall quiet country types I heard so much about?” the girl asked with laughter dancing on her lips as she closed the book she’d been reading and tapped the side of her white earbuds.

“Tall! Yes that’s me, no I’m Kara, Tall Kara, darn it!” she blurted out excitedly as her brain refused to cooperate with her request to say something cool and funny.

To her considerable surprise the girl burst out laughing, but it wasn’t a mocking laugh, it was soft and honest and did all kinds of weird things to her brainy bits. Before she could find her voice again or get the blush in her cheeks under control, the door opened and the red-headed counselor with freckles across her nose and a mass of unruly red hair poked her head out.

“Lena… Luthor?” the cheerful woman asked reading from a tablet at which the pale girl gracefully got up, and gathered up a messenger bag covered in patches and her book before nodding at her with a smile.

“See you around, Tall Kara,” she joked which made Kara blush even harder with her mouth opening and closing like a goldfish as she watched the door slam behind the pale girl causing her to jump in her seat. Lena Luthor, well at least she had a name to go with the girl’s face now.

A while later and patiently waiting her turn she stretched her legs out in front of herself and raised her arms up into the air giving a yawn and then her stomach grumbled as she looked down at her feet. Just then, with her looking awkward as heck, the door opened again in front of her she saw a pair of black converse sneakers before her eyes traveled up to a pair of torn jeans and a baggy LuthorCorp hoodie to come face to face with a grinning Lena Luthor.

“Hi again Tall Kara,” the girl waved at her with a smirk tucking at one corner of tempting pink lips and she felt her mouth go dry for some reason. Darn it, why are girls so pretty?!

“It’s Kara actually, Kara Danvers, a pleasure to meet you miss Luthor” she replied managing to find her voice by some miracle of Rao as she glanced at the counselor’s door hoping her turn wouldn’t come too soon.

“And what brings you to Smallville, Kara Danvers, and please call me Lena, I get enough of Miss Luthor this and that back in Metropolis,” Lena insisted and was in fact the first person to ask her that since most people around these parts just accepted that she was another tall and awkward Kent kid.

“Oh you know, helping out on my aunt and uncle’s farm, what about you?” she asked back trying to keep her reasons for being here as vague as she could.

“Got kicked out of another boring boarding school for trying to advance the course of science so mother thought me visiting where the family fortune began might do me some good, or in her words set me straight, but that is never going to happen,” the pale girl replied with the word mother dripping with venom. Wait, straight?

“And here I thought burning down the gym was bad,” she chuckled and then cursed under her breath for having revealed too much.

“Oh my, and here I thought you were a prim and proper country girl,” Lena laughed and that laugh again did something to her brainy bits.

“Kara Z.L. Danvers?” the counselor popped out before she could defend herself, though the green-eyed girl was right, she was indeed very prim and proper.

“That’s me, excuse me Miss... I mean Lena,” she apologized as she hauled herself to her feet and ended up towering above the petite Lena Luthor even with her shoulders hunched.

“Tall indeed, but don’t hunch over it’s bad for you or so my mother used to say all the time,” Lena commented but there was an appreciation in her tone that made her flash the girl a broad smile.

“Meet me on the football field once you’re done, seeing as we’re both the new person in town we might as well compare notes,” Lena then added and all she could do was mutely nod as she watched Lena Luthor walk away.

“Miss Danvers,” the counselor asked again sounding somewhere between concerned and amused causing her to snap out of her daze and march her butt into the woman’s office for her introduction to Smallville High.

After being given a list of dos and don'ts and a suggestion she should try out for some of the sports teams, which she shot down, even though her powers weren’t at Clark’s levels yet and didn’t really work at night but still, there was no reason going around risking being exposed, right? But all in all the school counselor, Miss Longbottom, was a sweet woman, endlessly cheerful and supportive, and had said that her door was open at any time for any problem she might have adjusting to living in Smallville.

Stuffing her red ballcap back on her head and fixing her well-worn slightly baggy jeans and red plaid shirt she headed for the football field behind the school. A sign saying Football and Cheerleading tryouts today greeted her as she entered the field and scanned the bleachers for Lena, half-worried that the girl had stood her up already, but there she was camera in hand and snapping photos of the goings-on.

“See anything you like?” she asked as she made her way up the stairs towards where Lena sat and in response, the green-eyed girl turned the camera towards her and snapped a picture with a grin.

“Maybe, glad you could join me,” Lena offered and cleared a space next to her so she could sit down and stretch out her long legs with her Timberland boots up on the bleacher in front of her giving a sigh of contentment.

“Honestly… I was surprised you were even here,” she admitted as she watched a group of guys running drills on the field, and recognizing some of the big and bulky farm boys from her few trips into town with the Kents.

“How come, I asked didn’t I?” the pale girl asked and picked up her camera again before snapping a picture of the action on the field.

“It’s just… well I guess I’m kinda used to being stood up that’s all,” she admitted again looking down at her feet and wondering why she had just admitted that to a stranger.

“Know that feeling too and whoever stands you up is an idiot,” Lena replied never looking up from the eyepiece of her camera and thus missing her blushing at the compliment.

“Well then, you’re very kind,” she said softly and tried to look out at the field and definitely not at this kind-hearted girl busy snapping photos.

Lowering her camera Lena half-turned to face her causing the baggy hoodie the girl wore to bunch up and granting her a glimpse of a slight frame and quite the chest that she definitely wasn’t going to look at now or think about later, no sir! Then for a moment, those green eyes studied her again, then a smile broke across pink lips.

“Tell me about yourself?” the strange girl asked her as she played with the settings on her camera and for some reason, she felt compelled to talk.

“Well, I’m originally from a different place, I mean town, and guess you could say that I got sent here while things cool down there,” she admitted while scratching the back of her neck before then pulling off her ball cap and wringing it in her hands.

“And you’re staying with family here?” Lena asked while raising up her camera and she smiled thinking of the Kents and how nice they had been even though she missed the Danvers.

“The Kents, they got a farm outside of town, but I already told you that part, and I’ve been helping out there since the spring,” she explained and for some reason flexed her arms above her head which made Lena laugh and snap a photo. A photo of her!

“Well, whatever they feed you on that farm it works,” the pale girl laughed and when she blushed and looked away to hide, another photo was snapped of her awkwardly rubbing her bicep.

“Why are you doing that, taking pictures of me, I mean?” she asked and it wasn’t that she didn’t mind it, but rather that nobody really ever paid her much attention and never for her looks or muscles.

“I like capturing moments you know, happy moments for when times are tougher,” Lena explained with a tinge of sadness in her accented voice but she didn’t push for more details.

“That’s Irish in your accent isn’t it?” she asked instead to change the subject and tried to focus on the cheerleaders, no bad idea Danvers! Don’t ogle other girls when hanging out with this pretty girl, so she focused on the drills the boys were running and thought she could do those easily.

“On my mother’s side, my step-mother has tried to beat it out of me but it always comes back for some reason,” the green-eyed girl replied, and when she heard the word beat, her jaw clenched and her fists balled up. Striking out today, aren’t we? She thought to herself.

“Whoa! Ease up there, cowgirl! I didn’t mean it literally, but it’s good for you that I like protective types,” Lena quickly calmed her down and put a pale hand over her clenched fist which seemed to drain the surge of anger from her body.

“Sorry I just get angry sometimes,” she apologized and kept averting her gaze from those piercing green eyes that kept studying her with open but kind fascination as she unclenched her jaw.

“It’s okay to get angry, just don’t let…” Lena started reassuring her when she picked up a loud whistling sound coming through the air towards them.

“Look out!” someone shouted from the field as a football came sailing through the air at high-speed and heading straight for Lena’s head.

Without thinking about it her arm shot out, and she caught the ball without even wincing at the impact that traveled down her arm. Clark had told her that her strength would come with time, and right now in the afternoon sun she was maybe a little bit stronger than a human in peak physical condition, not that having that level of strength was anything to sneeze at mind you!

“You alright?” she asked looking down at Lena who had put her hands above her head to avert the impact but the look in those green eyes made her stomach do flips and flops as the pale girl nodded.

When she had made sure there was nothing wrong with Lena, she turned out towards the field where the kicker who had sent the ball flying was sheepishly looking up at the bleachers with who she assumed was the coach of the team running up the field to give him a piece of his mind.

Rising up to her full height with no slouch to her shoulders she squinted her eyes down at the field below, where once the coach finished reading the kicker the riot act, he turned and waved towards her where she stood.

“Hey, you with the long hair! Damian here didn’t mean to try to hurt your girlfriend, but can we maybe have the ball back?” the coach, a gruff-looking man built like a haystack, called out towards her and she lifted the ball as if to ask; this ball? To which he nodded.

“Just toss it down, I’ll send one of the boys to get it,” the coach shouted back since they were a good distance apart and in retrospect, she should have simply tossed it off the bleachers.

But something deep inside of her took over, maybe it was because she was still feeling a bit protective and slightly angry because someone had almost hurt Lena. Which made no sense because they’d just met, but rarely were other girls, or boys for that matter, nice to her like Lena had been.

“Hey Damian, catch!” she called out as she pulled back her arm, peered her eyes to take aim and then launched the football towards the kicker who was still moping around.

What happened next brought the field to a standstill, the cheerleaders stopped practicing their routines, and the boys stopped running drills. The football left her hand in a perfect spiral at incredible speed, it was just math after all, and went hurtling towards the unlucky recipient below.

The coach watched the football fly through the air with his eyes wide, and to his credit, the unlucky kicker managed to get his hands up in time to catch it, but it impacted him with enough force to knock him off balance and he fell onto the turf before landing on his butt with a curse. Then with Lena staring up at her in awe, which felt super nice, the football team came rushing up the bleachers asking her to do that again, which was for the lack of a better term a disaster.

Chapter Text

Kara was too stunned to protest as she got half-carried down the field by the excited gaggle of football players while she kept looking over her shoulder to make sure Lena was still there and hadn’t run away in shame for being seen with a freak. Once they dropped her down in front of the coach, she made sure to slouch her shoulders again and look down at the green turf of the field.

“You got a name kid?” the coach asked in his boisterous voice as Damian, a dark-haired lanky kid with a scowl on his face from being humiliated like that, stuffed the ball back into her hands.

“K… Danvers, sir, coach,” she mumbled hoping to somehow get out of this situation before it got even worse. If that cheerleader had been disgusted thinking she was a boy, well then, she didn’t want to know what the players would do or say when they found out she was a girl. Wait. Boy. Girl, what was she for that matter and what did it matter?

“Well KD, that’s quite the cannon of an arm you got there, think you could do that again,” the coach asked her and slapped her on the shoulder in a friendly manner.

“I’m not really supposed to…” she managed to mumble out feeling overwhelmed and claustrophobic in the huddle she now found herself in. But thankfully, before she started hyperventilating, Lena came to her rescue after having trailed behind the group down from the bleachers.

“Hey, hey, give us some air okay,” the pale girl shouted with her Irish accent coming through thicker as she pushed her petite frame into the huddle with her arms spread out wide, and at the girl’s command the players and the coach drew back, and Kara after taking a few big gulps of air wondered if she should make a run for it.

“You okay, just breathe with me, alright?” Lena asked her and cupped her face with soft pale hands which did calm her down as she took a few more breaths and smiled at the sweet girl as she felt her fears subside.

“Bet it was just a fluke anyway,” the kicker, Damian, commented with a snicker and a few of the players laughed in agreement which caused her to clench the ball tightly in her hands as her pride flared.

Rising up to her full height, for some reason the slouch seemed to leave her shoulders around Lena, and she looked the kicker straight in the eyes while pulling off her glasses. With pride winning out over any fears she might have and instead there and then she decided this one time she’d not cower and hide. Everyone was watching her, she didn’t care, instead, she turned to the coach and grunted her question.

“Where do you want me to throw this thing?” she asked looking around the field with the coach actually giving her a broad grin at her question.

“Try that target down there?” he asked and pointed to a target painted onto a net about 50 yards down the field from where she stood.

Giving the coach a nod she then flashed a smile at Lena and motioned for the girl to step behind them which she did with the camera at the ready. A quick mental calculation followed as she tossed the ball between her hands and then she pulled back her arm and let loose, again it flew in a spiral through the air before hitting the target dead center. Which raised a few gasps from the gathered players.

“Like that?” she asked with her voice gruff and then she looked at the bratty kicker as if to dare him to say something, anything to give her a reason to do it again.

“Damian, get more balls,” the coach ordered the kid, who grudgingly ran to the endzone and return with a bag full of footballs which he dumped at her feet with a huff.

“Thank you,” she nodded at him, flashing him a smile which Lena took the opportunity to snap a picture of before she bent down to pick up another football.

“What next?” she asked the coach, keeping her questions short, and the coach simply pointed to another target even further away than before. Nodding, she threw the ball with pinpoint accuracy at it, again the ball landed with a satisfying thud in the net and without realizing it she was drawing a crowd as the cheerleaders moved in closer to watch the show.

“No way you are hitting that one,” a lanky wide receiver commented when she picked out the furthest target on the field and pointed at it.

“Hey, I’ve got twenty bucks that say they can,” Lena countered the overconfident player with a raised eyebrow and fished a bill from the pocket of her torn jeans.

Unsure of what had come over her, Kara watched as Lena looked at each player in turn as if she was challenging them to take her up on the bet, so she tossed the ball to the kicker and started undoing her red flannel shirt. Now, she was pretty sure this would all be over once they saw her in just a white tank top, but she might as well twist the knife in a little bit, sort to speak. Tossing her shirt at Lena who caught it with a wide grin she made a big show of stretching out her arms and twisting from side to side.

“No. Fucking. Way!” one of the cheerleaders a cute girl with short brown hair and big brown eyes gasped when the shirt fell from her shoulders and she could hear a collective gasp coming from the players too.

“Thanks,” she off-handedly quipped with a grin as she snatched the ball back from the kicker’s hands who was staring at her slack-jawed.

At first, she thought the staring and comments had been due to how they could now see her breasts, though not big, yet big enough to cause a very slight swell under her tight white tank top, but in reality, as she found out later when Lena explained it to her in baby terms. It was her sculpted and muscular arms, broad shoulders and tapered torso that had been drawing most of the attention.

Aware that her new friend was taking pictures of her, she posed quickly, flexing the muscles both in her arms and her back with the ball in her hands, and Rao it felt good to show off like this for some reason, much better than slouching around and mumbling all the time. To simply be, in their body, no labels, no worries and showing off for Lena Luthor was also a nice bonus.

Deciding to go all-in, she hurled the ball through the air with enough power behind it so it bounced off the net it landed in and then went high up into the air before landing again with a loud thud and almost burying itself into the turf. But, before the first ball had even landed, she had grabbed another ball from the bag at her feet and launched it, then another and another all finding their mark, and finally with her point being made she turned and walk towards the bleachers. Leaving the stunned onlookers behind.

Once she was underneath the bleachers, however, she deflated and slit down to the ground, while thinking to herself; what the heck had that been? Then she heard the shuffle of feet and looked up to see Lena holding out the shirt she’d tossed the girl’s way in a moment of absolute madness.

“Didn’t take you for such a show-off,” the green-eyed girl teased her with a friendly smile plastered across her face. "And here you dropped these," she then added handing her the glasses, her mask, which she had taken off in a moment of madness and pride.

“I don’t know what happened… I’m not supposed to do that… they’re going to be so mad at me…” she managed to say with her voice breaking as she felt Lena drape the shirt over her shoulders and then rub them as she felt herself shivering at being out of the sun.

“For what? You stood up for yourself and whoever they are, they can’t be mad at you for doing that,” Lena assured her and gave her shoulders a squeeze with both hands before offering her a pale hand which she noticed had a silver ring on each finger.

“I’m not supposed to draw attention to myself, it’s hard to explain,” she tried to offer a reason for her being such a mess anything other than hey pretty girl I’m an alien, surprise! With shaky fingers, she put her glasses back on too and blinked a few times to readjust to them.

“A bit too late for that, but you were something else out there, like damn! ” Lena chuckled and she felt herself blushing as she took the friendly girl’s offered hand.

“Come on, up you get, we can go to the diner in town, my treat?” the girl then offered with an understanding look as she tried to haul her from the ground to no avail.

“Sorry I’m made of sturdy stuff,” she apologized and allowed herself to be helped up but she didn’t let go of Lena’s hand. That was her, big, unwieldy, heavy, and clumsy Kara Z.L. Danvers or KD as the coach had called them.

“Hey don't go to that place and I wasn’t complaining,” the pale girl teased her and she mumbled a thank you into her chest as she let go of the girl’s soft hand and pulled her shirt back on without buttoning it.

“Come, my car is parked outside the field,” Lena offered, and she silently nodded allowing herself to be led out into the afternoon sunlight again.

“Why are you being so nice to me, like I mean we just met and how do you have a car?” she asked with confusion clear in her voice and Lena simply shrugged while leading her towards the parking lot behind the practice field.

“I'm rich and like I said, us new kids in town got to stick together, right?” the pale girl asked right back and walked them up to a small red electric sports car. “And I think the seats go back,” she then added apologetically after looking between the compact vehicle and Kara’s long legs which made her laugh hard as the adrenaline left her system. It was a rich laugh that Lena was soon laughing along with. This pale girl was fun!

A short drive later, after pushing the passenger seat in Lena's car all the way back and bumping her head on the inside of the convertible's roof, she was sitting in a booth at the diner and digging into a heaping full plate of pancakes. With food in her belly, she felt herself being able to think straight again as Lena watched her with a smile and picked at her salad with a side of fries. Which she didn’t even know the diner had on the menu! But the waitress, Eve, had almost seemed thrilled when Lena had asked for it.

“I’ll get you back for this, I promise,” she said after swallowing a mouthful of the syrup-covered goodness before washing it down with a big gulp of her fountain soda.

“Oh, don’t worry, a girl’s got to use that trust fund for something, right?” Lena laughed while picking up her camera and began flicking through the shots of the day.

“Get any good ones?” she asked in between mouthfuls while watching those green eyes flicking back and forth across the screen on the back of the camera and it was kinda hypnotizing.

“A few... I kinda love this one,” Lena replied and showed her the picture of herself flexing her arms while sitting in the bleachers, the glasses crooked on her nose and smile beaming, which made her choke on her pancakes.

“What?” the pale girl asked with mock surprise and looked back at the picture. “You got a bod on you! I mean, that one cheerleader seemed to think so too and I think that you should let the guns out more,” she went on making Kara hide her face in her pancakes which ended up leaving a dot of syrup on her nose.

“Hey, I mean it, you should be proud of how you look and who you are,” Lena assured her with a softness in her voice and the only response she could give was a shy smile.

“Be careful or I might start liking you, Lena Luthor,” she mumbled and stuffed her mouth full of pancakes to stop herself from putting her foot in it more.

“Oh don’t say that! I’m a mess,” the pale girl laughed her response with a wave of her hand which only made her want to know more about this Irish-accented girl.

“You’re not the only one, but you make it look good,” she offered which earned her another peal of laughter as Lena raised her glass of soda.

“To us making it look good?” the girl asked with dancing green eyes and she raised her own glass and smiled with a firm nod as they toasted to making it look good being a mess.

Before she could get to know Lena better, and Rao she really wanted to even if it was simply in a friends kind of way. the bell at the door to the diner rang out and she looked up only to see the big burly football coach from earlier making a beeline for their booth.

“There is my new quarterback! Been looking all over town for you since you ran from the field!” he declared pulling a worn book from underneath his arm and slamming it on the table making them both jump as it made the silverware rattle.

“Excuse me?” she asked looking between the book that said Rules and Regulations on the cover and then up at the coach while Lena leaned back with a grin.

“There are no regulations in high school football against female or whatever gender players, and aside from Damian being a bit of a brat we have a great kicker in him, a solid defensive, and our tight ends can stand against the end of times and our wide receivers can run like the wind, but not one of them can throw that pigskin like you did!” the coach explained himself though she was still confused about what he was asking her to do.

“You want me? To play football?” she asked slowly and pointed at herself like it was the most absurd thing in the world.

“Why not? You didn’t seem afraid earlier…” the coach insisted but was cut off when a fiery-looking Latina came running into the diner wearing a red coaches jacket and a ballcap and after spotting them she made a beeline for their booth.

“Dan Turpin! You better not be bullying this poor girl onto the team,” the fiery woman insisted and smacked the coach up the back of the head before smiling at them apologetically.

“Hi! You KD? Maggie Sawyer, assistant coach, and biology teacher, sorry about Dan here, but he gets excited,” the woman introduced herself as the coach rubbed the back of his neck looking sulky as he fought against being pulled away.

“Kara Danvers, or just KD,” she introduced herself, liking the nickname, as Lena simply watched the mayhem unfold with an unreadable smirk on her face.

“Ah, the Kent cousin, look ignore Dan here, do we need a quarterback, yes, but I remember your cousin growing up and he also didn’t want to play. Something to do with… childhood asthma which I guess is genetic?” Maggie asked sounding somewhat unconvinced and her first reaction was to fake a cough, but then Lena spoke up.

“Can we have a moment?” the pale girl asked with a firmness to her voice that caused Maggie to pull Dan into a nearby booth as she leaned in closer to ask what was on the girls mind.

“What is it?” she whispered and then found herself nose to nose with Lena who was smiling from ear to ear.

“Do it,” the green-eyed imp of a girl whispered back with her eyes dancing and she felt the color rise into her cheeks as a pale finger reached out to wipe the dot of syrup from her nose

“I can’t, what if I hurt someone or people like… get mad at me and I don’t even know the first thing about football and what will my family say or do!” she exclaimed and looked around the diner worried that Clark might come flying in any second now to tell her she couldn’t do this because it would risk exposing who she really was.

“You won’t, look I’ll make you a deal you do this and I’ll help you brush up on the rules on the phone tonight, heck I’ll even join the cheer squad for moral support,” Lena offered her a deal and took her hand with a firm squeeze.

“Why though? We just met and you don’t have to do that for me,” she insisted torn between wanting to do this if only to make a friend in Lena and running back to the farm and hiding in the barn.

“First of all, you didn’t jump out of your skin when you heard the Luthor name earlier, second you looked like you were loving it out there on the field, and third, heck, do it for girl power for all I care!” Lena replied with her voice dancing with laughter, and despite her best efforts, she got swept up in the girl’s excitement.

“Okay, okay, I’ll do it… I’ll do it,” she said nodding eagerly as they remained face to face before hearing Coach Dan cheering from the next booth over, followed by a loud smack from Assistant Coach Maggie. Kara Danvers, KD, was going to be the quarterback of the Smallville Crows. Wait a minute, Lena was going to join the cheer squad, had she heard that right? That was a mental image she didn’t want to process right now! Maybe later though, much later!

Chapter Text

There was no way she could do this, no way, Kara thought to herself as she sat in the empty girls' locker room staring down at a pair of shoulder pads and a practice helmet in front of her on the floor. Yesterday she’d been swept up in Lena’s enthusiasm and support when she’d agreed to join the Smallville Crows as their quarterback, but now when it came time to suit up for her first real practice she was filled with doubt and worry.

“You okay there Quarterback KD?” Lena asked from the doorway while using the nickname granted to her by Coach Dan and what would go on the back of her jersey. Hearing the girls’ voice caused her head to snap up because true to her word the pale girl, and now her best and only friend in Smallville, had joined the cheer squad.

When she’d asked about how Lena had gotten onto the squad so quick, the green-eyed girl had given a vague explanation about how a generous check from the Luthor Foundation for new uniforms had helped and all of a sudden there was a need for a squad photographer slash backup cheerleader.

“Peachy!” she squeaked out as she saw Lena Luthor standing in front of her, in a red and gold cheerleading uniform with white bike shorts poking out from the bottom of the skirt and her long black hair tied up into a high ponytail.

“You don’t sound peachy,” the pale girl commented while making her way over to sit down by her side with a friendly smile on those pink lips.

“Nervous then and tell me again why you joined the cheer squad, you didn’t have to,” she admitted while asking once again, and not that Lena didn’t kill it in the uniform, but her new friend hadn’t needed to do that for her sake.

“Since my last answer didn’t seem to do it for you maybe I did it because it sounded like fun, so why not? Also, I might as well put those ballet lessons mother forced on me when I was younger to good use and you got to admit I look great in this outfit, right?” the girl teased her and she averted her gaze quickly, not wanting to overstep with her new friend, but it was hard not to do any stepping when Lena looked like, well Lena.

“Great yep!” she squealed out again which earned her a sweet-sounding laugh from Smallville High’s newest cheerleader.

“You’re too fun to tease, also I did some research, and did you know you can go to college on a football or a cheerleading scholarship?” Lena asked after standing up again and to her shock started helping her put on the shoulder pads.

“No but isn’t your family like loaded?” she asked as Lena slipped the pads onto her shoulders and adjusted them. Why the girl had taken such an interest in her she didn’t understand but she didn’t mind it.

“More like filthy stinking rich, but yes, still getting in on my own merits would really piss mother off something fierce!” the green-eyed girl admitted and finished adjusting the straps on the pads.

“A good reason, but I’m sure you’re plenty smart on your own merits,” she laughed and took a deep breath before standing up, rotating her shoulders as she got used to the pads strapped to them and across her chest then she looked down at Lena who was smiling up at her with those dancing green eyes.

“What’s so funny?” she asked as she picked up her helmet and tucked it under her arm before she caught a glimpse of herself in a nearby mirror. Again, her recent growth spurt had forced her to resort to hand-me-downs from Clark, so she was wearing a faded red t-shirt, a pair of jogging shorts at least twenty years out of fashion, and beat-up Nike sneakers on her feet.

“I like how you always speak your mind, that’s all,” Lena replied and then Smallville High’s newest cheerleader made her do a spit take.

“Two, four, six, eight, I think KD is pretty great!” the pale girl cheered while showing off quite an impressive high kick with a broad smile.

“Impressive…” she squeaked out as Lena struck a cute pose with her hands behind her back while leaning forward. “See you out there?” she then asked and flashed her best smile at the supportive girl in front of her and Lena nodded before, for added effect, skipping out of the locker room.

After deciding that only Lena Luthor could make skipping look sarcastic she took a few breaths to get her chuckling under control she then checked herself in the mirror one more time, liking what she saw, before stepping out of the locker room and headed towards the field.

Emerging from the tunnel into the afternoon sunlight she squinted her eyes as she made her way towards Coach Dan and Coach Maggie where they were watching the rest of the team, all boys, do warm-ups on the green field.

“Reporting for duty coaches,” she announced her arrival and for a moment all activity on the field stopped as all eyes turned to her in her hand-me-downs shorts and t-shirt, hair in a tight ponytail, beat-up sneakers on her feet, and her first urge was to slouch, but not this time. This time she stood up taller.

“KD, how is the arm today?” Coach Dan asked with a wide grin and in confusion, she looked down at her arm to study it while rotating it a few times and then flexing her wrist and bicep.

“Same as usual I guess, was pulling an engine out of a pickup truck last night with it though,” she answered having spent an enjoyable evening with Pa Kent fixing up a blue and white pickup truck she’d found under a tarp in the back of the barn.

“You ready for this Ze?” Coach Maggie, or Mags, asked after shouting at the other players to get back to their drills and clearly using one of her initials as a nickname.

“I guess so, I mean Lena went over the rules with me on the phone last night and I watched a bunch of games on my laptop,” she admitted sheepishly leaving out the fact she’d watched it at ten times speed and had spent the better chunk of the time chatting with Lena and keeping her brain from making her text the girl stupid stuff. Stupid stuff like do you like girls, boys, both and want to see a movie with me?

“Lena? The girl at the diner?” Coach Mags asked with a raised eyebrow, and she nodded like an idiot and looked towards where the cheerleaders were practicing on the far side of the field.

“Yep! That’s her over there,” she explained happily and pointed at Lena who was doing a cheer routine with a bemused expression on her pale face before jogging over to take a few pictures of the squad practicing.

“Kim, Duncan, get over here!” Coach Dan bellowed so loud that she had to cover her ears as Coach Mags told her that she’d get used to the shouting soon enough.

Two lanky kids that she hadn’t seen around this summer, probably townies not farm kids, came jogging up to them. Kim, first name Harry, was a friendly Asian senior who didn’t have a bad thing to say about anyone and was always ready with a compliment or a joke. Duncan McCloud, or just Duncan as he insisted, was a tall, and lean-built black kid, though he would sometimes speak up in a deep rumbling voice when something was obvious, but nobody was saying it.

“Guys meet your new Quarterback, KD meet the guys who are going to be catching those bombs you lob,” Coach Dan made the introductions with her giving a polite nod to each boy and when Harry stuck out his hand she took it and maybe squeezed it a bit too hard out of nervousness causing him to yank it back.

“Hi-owwy,” he laughed as he shook his hand and blew on it and that drew a chuckle from Duncan who instead offered a friendly fist-bump.

“Never underestimate a farmer’s grip Harry, alright you three are with me,” Coach Mags laughed, and tossed her a ball which she caught after a quick fumble with it as Coach Dan stalked off and started shouting at the defensive line for doing something either too soft or too hard.

“What you want me to do coach?” she asked the Latina who again was wearing a Smallville Crows cap, with a matching red and gold coach’s jacket over jeans as she walked them over to the middle of the field.

“Well today we find out if you can hit a moving target as well as you do a stationary one,” the coach explained to her in a matter-of-fact tone and she nodded, since she was pretty sure she could.

“Harry, on my mark I want you to sprint down the field, Ze, or do you prefer KD?” the coach then asked and she wasn’t entirely sure. So Kara Z.L. Danvers, paused for a second and decided she might as well go with the nickname because it somehow felt right.

“KD works fine,” she confirmed and tossed the ball up in the air and caught it as she couldn’t help but flash a quick smile while thinking, that this might turn out to be fun after all!

“KD, once he’s at the 20-yard line I want you to throw him the ball, simple as that, then he returns and it’s Duncan’s turn to run,” Coach Mags finished and gave her a you-can-do-it-kid pat on the back.

“Got it, Harry runs, I throw, he catches,” she nodded as she mentally pictured how that would go.

Harry took up position ready to sprint as Coach Mags brought a whistle to her lips and then blew it sharply and he was off and running in a split second and covering ground fast with a wide grin on his face. Coach Dan hadn’t been kidding about that speed, she noted as she pulled her arm back, squinted her eyes, and then launch the ball towards him!

The ball sailed through the air, spiraling and gaining speed as it left her hand, it found its target in Harry’s outheld hands, and for a split second, he grunted, stumbled, but then kept on running into the endzone before spiking the ball and jogging back to them with it.

“KD! My man!” he shouted and for a moment she was sure she’d messed up but then he raised his hand for a high five which she awkwardly returned before he tossed the ball back to her and then shook his hands and blew on them for comedic effect.

“Coach, we might need padded gloves, she throws like a freaking howitzer!” he declared to which Duncan raised an eyebrow but didn’t speak.

“Oh, don’t believe me D-Cloud? You try catching one,” Harry laughed and Duncan simply nodded and got ready to sprint as she glanced at Coach Mags who gave her the go-ahead with a nod.

Again the whistle blew, Duncan was if anything faster than Harry, his long legs putting the yards behind him at an incredible pace, but again she pulled back her arm, plotted the course of the ball, and then hurled it towards where the wide receiver was going to be and unlike Harry, he didn’t grunt when he caught it and barely missed a step as he ran into the endzone.

“Show-off,” Harry huffed next to her and she couldn’t help but chuckle as Duncan jogged back to them and offered them another fist-bump.

“Impressive,” he commented handing her the ball back as she couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear.

As the practice rolled on, she found herself glancing over to see if the cheerleaders were still practicing but found that to her disappointment that they had wrapped up their practice sooner than the football team. Looking hopefully towards the bleacher she then saw Lena sitting there watching the practice, camera in hand, and it caused her to not only not catch the ball being tossed to her, but rather have it bounce off her chest as she stood dumbstruck like a doofus.

“Earth to Howitzer Girl,” Harry laughed waving his hand in front of her face before he followed her line of sight to the bleachers and his grin grew wider.

“That your girl?” he asked which snapped her out of her daze and shaking her head she bent down to pick up the ball from the turf.

“Hey it’s cool if she is, I mean we might be a farming town but even we have a Pride Parade you know,” he went on assuring her that it was all good and slapped her on the shoulder.

“Thanks, but we’re just friends,” she muttered for a lack of a better thing to say, after all, she’d only recently made the discovery that some girls were so super pretty that it made it hard for her to think straight and also doubt who she was for that matter.

“KD, come meet your bodyguards,” Coach Dan shouted from a few yards away and she was debating getting earmuffs because the man did not have an indoor voice!

Jogging over she was met with two hulking young men, twins from the looks of them, with bright red hair, freckled faces, and noses that looked to have been broken a few times already.

“Meet Wyatt and Earp, the Longbottom twins,” Coach Dan introduced the left and right guards, which according to what Lena had taught her, through a barrage of messages and links to her phone yesterday, were going to make sure not many people got close to her and from the look of these boys she believed it.

“Pleased to meet you both,” she nodded and in a rare instance found herself actually looking up at somebody for once. The twins smiled at her and offered hands that were the size of frying pans for her to shake. Which she did and to her surprise they both squeezed her hand tight, but she just smiled and returned the favor.

“I like her,” Earp declared to his twin who nodded as they were still shaking hands with neither of them giving up though Wyatt was getting a bit red in the face from the test of strength.

“Call it a draw big guy?” she offered and let go to which he nodded as they both stopped shaking hands.

“So, Wyatt and Earp? Your dad a western fan?” she asked smiling up at the twins who grunted and nodded in confirmation as Earp produced his phone to show her a picture of the entire Longbottom family dressed up in western gear and she recognized the counselor from the other day, Miss Longbottom, on the picture.

“Your mom?” she asked with her eyes wide at the thought that such a small woman could have birthed such giants. Also, it made her glad for Kryptonian birthing pods for some reason.

“He he he, yeah, she always said that we were such small babies though,” Wyatt laughed looking at the picture on his phone fondly.

The rest of the practice passed in a blur and soon she was walking out of the locker room with her bag slung over her shoulders and her hair wet while wearing an open blue checkered flannel shirt with a yellow tank top underneath in her sturdy boots and jeans. Waiting for her in the parking lot was Lena, wearing a stunning green sundress and sneakers with a smirk plastered on her face and yet again the power of speech left her altogether.

“Hi…” she shyly greeted the smirking cheerleader who had one hand on a shapely hip and was looking her up and down.

“Hi yourself, ready for another lesson in Football 101, but live and in color this time? I found this great book on plays and before you call me crazy, I mean what can I say I love doing research,” the green-eyed Irish brogue imp asked her, and she could only dumbly nod her response.

“We have got to stop that cat from stealing your tongue all the time!” Lena laughed and before she knew it the pale girl was hanging off her arm and guiding her towards the small red sports car that she’d ridden in the day before.

“Want to see something cool?” she finally asked and that earned her a raised eyebrow to which she just flashed her brightest smile. So far only she and Pa Kent knew about her secret project in the barn, but Lena was her friend now and for some reason, she wanted to thoroughly impress the green-eyed and bright girl and show off her stuff.

“You know, last time someone asked me that I wound up on a private plane to Coachella and it was super boring,” Lena laughed in response and then patted her bicep with a grin. “But I’m sure what you’ve got in mind is much more fun,” she added and again Kara found herself smiling and nodding like an idiot to which Lena simply meowed which caused both girls to break out laughing.

Chapter Text

They rode in comfortable silence to the Kent Farm with Kara, now KD, giving out the occasional instructions about which road to turn onto or where to slow down. The top of the small red convertible was down sparing her head more bumps, and Lena’s black hair was flowing in the wind as the pale girl sang along to the radio with sunglasses, that no doubt cost more than their entire wardrobe, covering her emerald eyes. Still, given the current state of her wardrobe that wasn’t saying much.

“Just Park up by that barn over there,” she instructed her driver who pulled up against the red-painted barn with a nod and shut off the humming electric car.

“Oh, here we go! I knew it, you are taking me to a hayloft!” Lena declared in mock shock and then poked her in the ribs when she started sputtering her protests before they stepped out of the car into the late-afternoon sun.

“I would never!” she declared loudly which only made Lena poke her again. “But welcome to my little corner of Kansas, it’s like my Fortress of Calm,” she then explained since staying mad at Lena for long was impossible and was quickly becoming evident and so she set about pushing the heavy barn doors open with ease.

“Show-off,” Lena noted at how easily she pushed the doors open, while maybe watching arm and back muscles flexing, and KD dusted off her hands with a grin on her lips.

“Oh, you love the show,” she fired back and then realized what she’d said right away and started sputtering. “I mean not that you’re someone who looks at me like that, or you know likes muscles on girls or…” she babbled as Lena strode past her into the barn with that playful grin still firmly on her lips.

“Relax KD, it was a compliment just accept it. Now, what did you want to show me?” Lena asked her sweetly as green eyes scanned the barn that they’d converted into their own gym slash workshop slash library.

In one corner an old heavy boxing bag hung on a rusty chain, scattered around it were some old weights she’d found lying around and had dusted off. In another corner was an old record player and a pair of tall speakers with a few records she’d found in the attic in a box next to it, a La-Z-Boy chair that had seen better days and stacks of books, and finally in the back underneath a tarp next to a tool chest was her soon-to-be pride and joy.

“It’s just over here,” she said and walked up to the tarp-covered pickup truck as Lena hummed and brushed manicured fingers over the spines of her books while KD shook off their blue flannel shirt leaving only a yellow t-shirt on.

“Physics, biology, car manuals, romance novels, you’ve got an interesting library,” the pale girl commented and turned to face her as she pulled the tarp from the blue patinaed pickup truck with its chrome fenders and open hood, and next to it lay the engine she’d hauled out of it the other night.

“Thanks, but the romance novels are kinda boring, plus they’re all so… just so straight and behold!” she replied without thinking as she motioned dramatically to the pickup truck and engine and Lena walked over to inspect the both in detail with a certain amount of awe.

“V8 engine, Ford Pickup, looks to be the 1958 model, KD, this is cool!” the green-eyed girl said with a smile and she nodded like a dumdum yet again.

“I know right? Once I get it fixed up though I’m going to put a battery in it and attach electric motors to the wheels, make it a hybrid,” she explained and pointed to the parts laying on a workbench by the wall.

“Color me impressed,” Lena nodded with green eyes scanning every tool and part before landing back on Kara.

“Glad you like it! So football 101?” she asked not wanting to look into those green eyes for too long or she’d just lose track of time as Lena walked up to her with that darn grin on her pink lips.

“You really brought me here only to show me this place didn’t you?” the green-eyed girl asked with her Irish accent getting thicker and she nodded her head slowly. After all, what else would she bring Lena here for?

“I mean, and to help me learn the rules of football before the game this weekend and we can listen to some records if you like too?” she offered shyly which made the grin on Lena’s lips turn into a full-blown smile.

“What, was it something I said? Something I did? Do I have grease on my face?” she asked in confusion and then almost squealed when delicate pale hands stroked her bare arms.

“It was definitely something you did,” Lena murmured and got up onto her toes but before whatever was about to happen, well happened, the moment slipped away and KD wasn’t sure if she was sad or relieved about it.

“Kara, you in here dear?” Ma Kent’s voice rang out in the barn, and they jumped apart like they’d been hit with an electric shock. Well, KD jumped, Lena simply took a step back and smiled.

“Over here Ma, I brought a friend hope that’s okay?” she called back as Lena quickly fixed her dress and hair, wait was the girl nervous?

“Ah there you are, and who is this?” Ma Kent, with her greying hair and friendly eyes, greeted them and the Kent matron was wearing an apron over her jeans and blouse.

“Ma, Lena, Lena this is my Ma, though really my aunt,” she introduced the two, and Lena stuck out her hand with a polite smile.

“A pleasure to meet you, ma’am,” the Irish-accented girl greeted the farmer’s wife who shook the offered hand with a knowing smile.

“So polite, now why hasn’t Kara brought you around here before?” Ma Kent asked winking at her and she debated burrowing into the ground out of awkwardness.

“We only met a couple of days ago,” Lena replied without missing a beat as thankfully the pale girl didn’t have her problems with putting her foot in her mouth.

“Well you must be something then, because I don’t think Kara has brought anyone around here so far, want me to bring you dinner out here for you and your friend sweetie?” Ma asked and she was blushing too hard to be able to speak and again Lena smoothly saved her.

“That would be lovely, thank you,” Lena answered for them with a smile and Ma Kent nodded at them before giving her a look that spoke volumes, no funny business, be a gentleman and she gave a quick nod in response.

“What was that all about?” Lena asked once Ma had turned and left and she shrugged, again wanting to say something cool and funny, but instead simply went for the truth.

“Ma and Pa are a little old-fashioned that's all and she was just making sure that I treat you proper,” she blurted out and again was rewarded with a dancing laugh cascading from Lena’s lips.

“You know for the first time I’m glad I got kicked out of that boarding school,” the green-eyed girl declared and again stroked her arm which made her bolt like a deer caught in the headlights yet again.

“Hey, want to listen to some music while we wait and study?” she asked and all but ran for the record player with Lena’s eyes following her as she moved.

“Sure, what you got,” the girl chuckled, and she pulled out a few albums she’d found with the record player in the attic as Lena perched herself on the armrest of the La-Z-Boy watching her with a mixture of curiosity and amusement.

“I really like how this sounds,” she explained absentmindedly while placing an album by a band called Queen under the needle. On Krypton like on Earth she’d only known digitized music but something about putting a needle to a piece of vinyl fascinated her to a degree where she’d disassembled and reassembled the player several times already.

“Queen, or the record player?” Lena asked somehow getting what she meant as music filled the barn.

“Both,” she laughed and looked up to see Lena moving her head and shoulders to the music which was mesmerizing to behold.

“I wish I could do that,” she said as the pale girl got to her feet and started moving with the music around the barn with the green sundress billowing around her legs and her fingers snapping.

“What? Dance?” Lena asked dancing towards her again and she nodded and then gulped as she felt her hands being placed firmly on the girl’s hips. Sensory overload, warning, warning Zor-El, warning!

“It’s easy, you just have to relax and move with the flow,” the pale girl explained, and neither were things she was very good at. Relaxing meant letting her guard down and having her guard down meant the risk of being exposed and that all made going with the flow a tense experience.

“Hey, look at me, it’s only you and I here,” Lena told her softly as she was trying to look anywhere but at the girl swaying up against her body.

“Sorry… just not… good at this…” she stammered her admission as Lena place her soft hands on broad shoulders while she tried her level best not to step on the girl’s toes.

“Relax…” the green-eyed girl breathed out a whisper and with a nod, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to move with the music and Lena.

”Oh won’t you take me home tonight,” they hummed along with a bar of the song and it made Lena giggle.

When Ma Kent poked her head in the barn a while later, she smiled, left the tray she’d brought on the workbench, and left the girls to their dancing while thinking maybe she should find some of Clark’s old suits. After all, the Fall Dance was coming up and she hoped Kara would do the smart thing and ask Lena to be her date for it since the city girl did seem to make their dearest Kara very happy or at least relax a little.

The week blew past way too fast, but for some reason Lena kept visiting the barn, sometimes watching, sometimes talking, but always enjoying being there or so Kara hoped. Then all of a sudden it was a Friday night, the Smallville Crows had their first game of the season, it was at home and she debated if she should throw up into her helmet or try to make it to the bathroom.

Swallowing her worries and the spit up, she found herself again sitting in the girls’ locker room where she looked down at her red and gold jersey and into the helmet in her hands. Again her stomach churned but she got it under control by focusing on how the borrowed cleats on her feet felt weird and she felt very much alone.

Lena was out on the field already with the cheer squad who were warming up the crowd and working it into a frenzy. Even though last season the team had gone and lost all but one of their twelve games, the town loved itself some football or maybe they loved hot cheerleaders, it was a tossup really.

“Coast is clear,” Coach Mags said from the doorway, and she looked up with a firm nod as she pulled her hair up into a tight bun at the top of her neck.

“Ready coach,” she declared and rose to her feet, stuffed the helmet down on her head while planning on keeping it on at all times, since the only members of her family that knew about this were Ma and Pa Kent and she wanted to keep it like that! It had taken some fast talking to get them to agree to her playing and the Kents were the most understanding and kindest people on the planet and to her surprise once she'd talked for a good fifteen minutes they had simply told her to be careful and asked when the first game was.

“You’re going to have to show your face eventually,” the coach commented and then with a smile handed them a stick of black grease to put under her eyes.

“I know, hey coach? You ever feel like you have to hide what you want from your family?” she asked drawing two lines under each eye before handing the stick back.

“Only from age twelve to twenty-three, why?” Coach Mags asked with a laugh after a moments pause, and she didn’t get it until the woman tapped the rainbow pin she wore on her coach’s jacket.

“Ooooohhh…” she nodded and made a mental reminder to get one of those for later, maybe as a patch for her letterman jacket that hung in her locker.

“You know what I realized a bit too late though?” the shorter woman asked as they made their way to the boys’ locker room with her rubbing her hands together nervously.

“No what?” she asked and looked down at the short but fierce-tempered Latina beside her before they stepped into the loud and rowdy locker room where the guys on the team were hyping themselves up.

“That people can sometimes surprise you and if not, well find yourself some new people,” Coach Mags told her and patted her on the back as they stepped into the locker room. When stepping over the threshold something changed in her mind, no longer Kara, now KD she smiled.

“KD!” Harry shouted and raced up to her offering a hearty fist-bump which she returned as she looked around at her teammates. So far, most of them had accepted her on the team, although grudgingly in some cases, Still, that had been in practice and scrimmages and this was game night and she knew she had to deliver.

“Harry you ready for this?” she greeted the jovial wide receiver who had quickly become her best buddy on the team.

“Oh, you know it! With your arm and these legs, we can’t lose!” he declared clearly pumped up as he slapped her arm and then his legs just as Duncan joined them and they shared a curt nod.

“What about you Duncan?” she asked and held up her fist for a bump which the stoic receiver returned with a raised eyebrow.

“Can’t be worse than last year,” he commented and she nodded sagely before looking around the locker room.

The Longbottom twins were doing some weird pre-game ritual involving a football stuffed with hay, Damian, the kicker or as she had dubbed him the brat, was meditating with closed eyes by his locker and the rest of the team were finishing putting on their gear.

“Alright, listen up, I know some of you remember last year, but that’s behind us now,” Coach Dan muttered as the team gather around him and as bellowing as the man was on the field, inspirational speeches weren’t really his thing.

“We got some new faces, and some old faces, and I know we’re still… what’s the word Mags?” he asked his assistant coach who stood next to him grinning.

“Gelling, Dan, gelling,” Coach Mags laughed, and the team roared in friendly laughter at their head coach’s uncomfortableness.

“Gelling that’s it! Now, let’s get out there and play a good game,” he mumbled, and it was up to Coach Mags to do the shouting for once and damn if the woman didn’t have some pipes on her when the mood struck!

“You heard Coach Dan! Let’s play a good game but also kick some serious ass!” she roared and even Kara shouted heck yeah in response. “So, what are you waiting for? An engraved invitation, we’ve got some Stone Creek Miners to pound into dust!” the fiery Latina shouted, and KD stood frozen as the team sprinted out of the locker room around her leaving her behind before the twins walked up behind her and grunted that it was time to go. Nodding up at the towering twins with a smile they both padded her on the shoulder.

As they got closer and closer to the field the noise got louder and louder. Stepping out of the tunnel was a surreal experience, however, the floodlights hurt her eyes and the noise was pounding on her eardrums as she looked around. Checking that her helmet was firmly on her head, and her hair still hidden in a bun, she smiled when her eyes landed on Lena as the cheerleaders lined their path to the field.

The girl had red and gold painted streaks on her cheeks, her black hair in two braids, and for a second she almost stumbled as the pale girl’s body-hugging outfit showed off an hourglass figure, and she remembered asking the girl again the other day, why she was doing the whole cheer squad thing since she was clearly bemused by the activity more than anything else? Not that she didn’t look amazing!

Lena’s answer had been two-fold and patient, first she’d stated with a grin it was fun to play at being someone else and second, she’d explained with a laugh that once her mother found out that she was surrounded by girls the woman, who didn’t sound too nice, would be livid. KD of course had asked like an idiot why Lena being surrounded by girls would piss her mother off which had earned her an aww you’re cute look from the newbie cheerleader and it had finally dawned on her fully that Lena really liked girls! But also made her worry if Lena would like KD?

“Hey! You okay KD?” Harry asked slapping her on the back and snapping her back to the reality of the lights and the sounds all around them.

“Yeah, I’m good, I’m good!” she replied hastily, and for some reason, her voice sounded deeper which made her teammate grin from ear to ear.

“Checking out your girl, eh?” he asked, and she responded by punching him a little too hard in the shoulder which only made him laugh.

“Sorry, your girlfriend, emphasis on the friend part,” he added and then Duncan walked past them and smacked him up the back of the head for being a wise guy.

“Head in the game,” the stoic and lean-built teen stated as she stepped onto the field for the coin toss< while Harry fixed his spiked hair with a huff./p>

As per the game plan after winning the toss, she picked for the team to kick the opening kickoff though she tried not to look at her opponent during their handshake. That meant Damian was up, who despite all the junior’s attitude in practice when it came to game time, he was all business, and he drilled the ball into the Miner’s endzone, and the game was on.

While they watched and tried to take it all in, their defensive line managed to halt the Miner’s offensive and she rubbed her hands together as she got ready to take the field, barely noticing Coach Dan giving her the play to run before they huddled at their thirty-yard line.

“Alpaca Blue, Harry go wide, Duncan you hang back, on two,” she called the play and clapped her hands before whispering stronger together to herself as the Longbottom twins padded her on the back to indicate that they’d keep her safe. It was cute but unnecessary of them, but she appreciated the gesture.

“And taking the field on the offensive for the first time this season your Smallville Crows! Led by their new quarterback for the season Kara Z.L. Danvers, or as their teammates call them KD!” the announcer called out over the loudspeakers as she’d asked to be announced as such while the game sheets did state her full name and gender. Neither which felt like it fit her right now.

Squinting her eyes she got into position, her eyes scanning the Miner’s defensive line and all their eyes were focused on her after her name had been called. Shaking off that she was somehow being marked, she nodded towards Harry and then Duncan before shouting: “AB, AB, hut, hut!” and the ball sailed into her waiting hands

No amount of scrimmage in practice could have prepared them for what happened next, the loud crash of clashing linemen filled the air as grunts and curses grew louder. Falling back, she faked throwing the ball to Duncan as they had practiced, but then quickly turned on one foot and hurled the ball at Harry who jumped over the Miner attempting to tackle him, caught the ball, and rolled to the ground before being dogpiled.

“Go Harry!” she shouted and jogged up the field. Finding Harry still on the ground, she offered him a hand and hauled him up from the turf, and shared a fist bump with him as he shook his hands and blew on them for comedic effect and she rolled her eyes back at him.

But as they got into position again, this time the Miner’s defensive line looked pissed off and all eyes were definitely focused on her with evil intent. Shaking it off she called the play, ran the mental math, and got ready to throw another bomb.

“Llama Purple, Llama Purple, hut!” she called the play with a grin as she was actually enjoying this now and she could pick up the sounds of Ma and Pa cheering her from the stands and Lena whistling from the sidelines.

Catching the ball, she pulled back and saw Harry going deep, but the play was a short toss to Duncan for the easy yards. Faking throwing a bomb, as Harry called them, up left field, she instead tucked the ball against herself and did a graceful spin before lobbing it into Duncan’s waiting hands. It was all going to plan, until it wasn’t, and before she could register what was happening. Two of the Miner’s defensive linemen slammed into her at full speed, being caught off guard coupled with Clark's stupid training meant to help her blend in kicking in, she went limp as a ragdoll as the lineman drove her to the turf with enough force so that her helmet went flying off her head and the hairband holding her hair up snapped sending her hair flying loose.

“Come on ref, call that! That was a blatant hit job on KD there, boo these players folks, boo them!” the announcer shouted in outrage over the loudspeakers as the referee's whistle blew sharply announcing the unnecessary roughness call and the crowd booed even louder.

“It doesn’t look good folks! Not good at all! KD seems to be out cold! That was a helluva hit for a quarterback to take on top of being a damn dirty trick!!” the announcer shouted breathlessly over the loudspeakers as the boos turned to worried silence.

As KD was falling the world seemed to slow down in a blur more due to embarrassment at being tackled like that and having to fake being weak, but then it snapped back into painfully sharp focus and sped up again when the back of her head hit the grass and she lay there staring up into the lights as she heard someone shouting at her: “Welcome to football bitch!”

Chapter Text

Staring up into the lights the words echoed in their mind, welcome to football bitch, balling up their fists KD stumbled to their feet more out of anger than pain with blonde and wild hair falling around their face before spitting out a piece of dirt that had gotten in their mouth. Gathering her senses before waving off her teammates, who were running to her aid, as she walked slowly over to and bent down to pick up her helmet and then dusted it off before holding it tightly between her hands with the material creaking slightly at the force she was exerting.

Taking a deep breath to get the ringing in her ears under control again more from bubbling anger and embarrassment rather than from the force of the impact she'd just endured, first she glanced to the sidelines to see Coach Dan holding back a loudly cursing Coach Mags. The fiery woman looked ready to run onto the field and murder the boys who had tackled her and then she saw Lena’s worried looked directed her way from the sidelines as the pale girl shook her pom poms in an effort to will her back into the game. One final glance was directed to the bleachers where Ma and Pa Kent merely gave her a go-get-them-kid nod because they knew she was made of fairly sturdy stuff.

Shaking her head to get rid of the last of the cobwebs and bad thoughts which sent her hair flying, she flashed the pale girl a smile and then rose up to her full height and flexed her arms and shoulders as her blonde hair, made golden by the field’s lights, cascaded down around her shoulders.

“She’s up, KD is up, clearly our new quarterback is made of solid steel folks! And there are the thumbs up!” the announcer shouted as she raised her thumb in the air and then stuffed the helmet back down over her head, but now with her hair spilling out the back of it.

“You okay boss?” Wyatt asked her as the twins, who were somehow the first to run up to her, and for big boys, they could run when they put their minds to it.

“Won’t happen again boss,” Earp added and glared at the Miner’s defensive line who were laughing and high-fiving despite the referee’s call.

Next came Coach Mags running onto the field, shining a flashlight in her eyes and making her follow her fingers while cursing loudly in Spanish as she kept on smiling since she was already formulating a plan in her head for what to do next.

“You okay, want us to take you off for a bit?” Mags asked and she shook her head because that would send the wrong message.

“I’m good coach,” she assured the woman with a grin that was just this shy of evil, and after one last check-up, Mags whispered in her ear; not to do anything too stupid before running off the field.

“You sure you’re good? I can take over if you want to catch your breath?” Harry asked as the team gathered around her and she nodded firmly as she glanced over his shoulder to make sure Lena and Ma and Pa, of course, weren’t still worried.

“I’m good, I’m good and guys huddle up everyone, huddle up,” she urged her team and in the huddle, she had an idea, it was nuts, but she wasn’t going to let the opposing team get away with what they had done.

“What’s the play?” Duncan ask even though he looked concerned about her well-being and even Damian didn’t look too pleased.

“Payback?” the kicker asked with a grin on his face as she nodded at him and laid out the new play, Coach Dan would hate it because the man really was a gentle giant, but as aunt Astra had taught her once, sometimes you got to hit back hard to be respected.

“Llama red… with a twist,” she whispered, and then the huddle broke up with her pointing her finger at one of the defensive tackles who had rammed her into the ground and specifically the one who had called her a bitch before taunting him to come and get some.

“Llama Red! Llama Red! HUT!” she shouted and the ball was hurled into her hands and she did the same spin as before.

Brushing against Duncan she handed the ball off at the right moment, so it appeared as if she still held it, and then as per her instructions in the huddle, the twins opened up a big enough gap for the overzealous and frankly rude tackle to run at her full steam.

This time, however, she knew he was coming and dug in her feet before putting her shoulder into the onrushing defender. The impact of three hundred plus pounds of angry defensive lineman slammed into her, but she was more than ready, tucking in her chin she drove her shoulder forward and they collided with an almighty crash!

One of them was thrown off their feet and when the dust settled KD stood tall with a wide grin on her face, her hair flowing out from underneath her helmet and she beat her fist against her chest in victory as the crowd roared their approval with her standing over the laying-flat-on-his-stupid-butt defensive lineman who was looking up at her in shock.

“Welcome to Smallville! Hope you enjoy your stay!” she stated as she looked down at him while somehow sounding polite yet menacing at the same time.

“Looks like KD is really standing their ground tonight folks!” the announcer shouted over the loudspeakers, but her joy was short-lived as Duncan was brought down short of the ten-yard gain and the first half only went downhill from there as they hobbled from the field battered and bruised at half-time without having scored a goal.

The mood in the locker room was dour, the first half had ended with the Stone Creek Miners leading seven to nothing and despite her standing her ground, their game hadn't really gelled yet. It didn’t help that once the adrenaline wore off, again, she felt herself reeling from not only having the wind knocked out of her ever so slightly and then returning the favor but also that her admittedly lame attempt at hiding her identity out on the field had failed. So, she was sulking when Coach Dan sat down next to her on the bench and put a bear paw of a hand on her shoulder.

“KD, want to say a few words, you know to get their spirits up?” he asked her and she froze for a split second as all eyes turned to them, and despite the fact, Lena had warned her about this potentially happening during their rules and traditions of football sessions back at the barn, she’d not been prepared for this.

Still, if it was her job to lead, then she would lead, so taking a deep breath she decided to speak from the heart, it seemed to work with Lena since the girl was now her friend, her friend who liked girls the voice in her head reminded her playfully, so maybe it would work with her teammates too. They liked girls too after all, but oh boy this might not be as easy as she thought as she moved to stand in the middle of the locker room with her helmet under her arm.

“Alright listen up! I know last year kinda sucked and I know the first half kinda sucked too,” she started, and the team murmured their agreement as she raised her helmet to punch home her point with it and looked at each and every one of her teammates in the eye.

“But as coach said that’s in the past, what matters is what we do in the here and now. Now I know some of you are iffy about me being your quarterback. I mean so far, I’ve mostly been knocked on my butt out there,” she went on, and as if on cue the twins took up positions behind her with their arms crossed over their barrel-like chests.

“Hey, it’s alright guys… I mean this is not how I planned on spending this school year either, but here I am taking my lumps, and trust me I don’t plan on letting anyone walk over me like you saw!” she declared as the sound of murmured agreement started rising up louder from her teammates.

“And the last guy who tried is missing some teeth!” Harry shouted out and that got the guys laughing and she grinned.

“But it’s not enough to just push back on our own, we got to push back together… now I know you don’t know much about me… but I’m adopted and my family, well my family where I’m from originally had a motto if you will,” she continued her voice shaking a little bit before she got it back under control.

Sticking out her fist she waited for someone to do the same, and first Harry, then the twins, then Duncan, and finally even Damian, and she smiled despite her eyes being wet and cleared her throat before she started getting weepy.

“The motto is: Stronger Together, simple I know but it can mean so much. To win we need to stand together, work together, move as one, fight as one!” she went on with her voice rising higher and higher as shouts of as one and we fight rose in the locker room and echoed into the hall.

“I knew I could count on you guys…” she said with a smile. “Now who here wants to stand with me? Who here wants to stand together, strong and proud as we teach those bastards what it means to mess with the Smallville Crows?” she exclaimed with her voice rising with each word as more and more fists joined hers in the middle of the huddle.

“Stronger Together!” she shouted and the shout was picked up by the rest of the team, first Harry and the twins, then quietly by Duncan and soon it was echoing out of the locker room as she stuffed her helmet back down on her head with her wild and messy hair flowing out of the back of it.

“Now let’s show those dirtbags that. They. Don’t. Mess. With us!” she shouted and raced out of the locker room onto the field with the team following behind her, or she hope they would else she’d look might stupid, with their fists in the air. Now she’d got them motivated and now all they had to do was lead them to victory!.

Taking the field again she passed by Lena as the cheerleaders were lined up forming a tunnel to cheer the team back onto the field. The green-eyed girl flashed her a smirk and gave a firm nod like she could read her mind somehow. On the field they lined up again and she cracked her knuckles loudly. Although this wasn’t what aunt Astra had in mind with those stand your ground lessons back on Krypton, she was pretty sure her aunt was proud of her out there somewhere among the stars and the game was on.

When the whistle finally blew at the end of the game, she was grinning from ear to ear, it had been close, but Damian had come through in the clutch for them and despite his protests they were now best friends forever as she hoisted the diminutive kicker up onto her shoulder. With seconds to spare, she’d called for the field goal when they were trailing by two, so they needed it badly and her little nemesis had done his job as she caught the ball and set it up for him with the laces out.

“Put me down you big oaf!” the pissed-off kicker shouted from her shoulder as she paraded him in front of the stands with her helmet in hand and pumping it in the air. Another lesson from Aunt Astra had been to share the glory with your troops and then she found herself face to face, well more like chest to face, with Lena who was, in all her cheerleading outfit body-hugging and leg-showing glory, looking up at her with a mixture of pride and amusement on her pale face.

“Oh, hi,” she mumbled as she put the kicker down who was quickly mobbed by the cheerleaders which he didn’t seem to mind.

“Easy now, enough of the D-man to go around ladies,” he bragged and at that Lena laughed and rolled her eyes that remained fixed on Kara.

“Hi yourself, the Quarterback of Steel,” the green-eyed imp giggled and she was pretty sure it was the first time she’d heard the smart cookie known as Lena Luthor giggle and it was a wonderful sound!

“I’m a what now?” she asked while blinking her eyes since it was hard to think what with her pulse still racing and with people slapping her on the back as they passed around them. Yet, despite everything going on around her all her focus was on the petite cheerleader standing before her like a pale angel.

“It’s what the announcer was calling you during the game, the Quarterback of Steel, the Smallville Howitzer, tall, blonde, and handsome, though that was just me I guess,” Lena exclaimed, and hold on a second was the girl flirting with her, right now? If so, then it was time to buck up Danvers!

“Well… there is one thing I haven’t been called tonight I guess,” she mumbled awkwardly and scratched the back of her head nervously as she felt green eyes drilling into her own.

“And what is that oh mighty quarterback savior of Smallville?” Lena asked making sure to pop her ego balloon a little so she wouldn’t float away.

“Your date for tomorrow night, sounds pretty good to me, if you want to that is? Kinda figured out that you like girls and I’m kind of a girl, and so I thought what with the boarding school thing and your mom hating the idea of you being a cheerleader and I like girls too by the way, but mostly you right now and…” she said before slipping into her usual nervous stream of babbling before a pale finger was pressed against her lips.

“Breathe hotshot and pick me up at five tomorrow?” the pale cheerleader asked to which she dumbly nodded yes to like a bobblehead before Lena got up on her toes and pressed a kiss to her cheek that left a distinct lipstick stain there.

“Sure…” she whispered but before she could react to being kissed, even if it was only on the cheek, Harry and the twins mobbed them and hoisted her up on their shoulders.

“See you tomorrow?” she squealed from her perch and Lena looking up at them shook her pom poms and shouted back that she looked forward to it!

“KD shoots! KD scores a date with the hot goth cheerleader!” Harry shouted from below and they swatted at him with their helmet but allowed themself to be swept up in the celebrations of their first hard-fought victory.

There would be time later to panic about what to do on a date with Lena Luthor! Once things calmed down, however, a slight panic did set in, mostly about what to wear and who they should be on the date and it was that last one, who they should be, that was by far the trickiest question creeping into their mind.

Chapter Text

Kara, KD now, since she had decided that it sounded more like them, threw another piece of clothing on the floor in her room at the Kent Farm with a long-suffering sigh, since so far nothing she’d tried one felt right for her date with Lena tonight. Winning the football game yesterday had been easier than this and she sat down on her bed with a loud groan hard enough to shift it back against the wall. Checking her phone, she debated if she should message Alex and ask for help, because she needed it! But no, that would bring up the whole football thing, and Clark wouldn’t approve of Lena for sure, and darn it she didn’t have too many friends, so she sighed again.

“What’s the matter dear?” Ma asked from the hallway where the farmer’s wife must have been passing by and heard her sighing. Though the people on the next farm over probably had heard the sighs too.

“Nothing,” she mumbled and threw herself back onto the bed and spread her arms out wide as she stared at the constellation map that she’d stuck to the ceiling her first night at the farm.

“That doesn’t sound like nothing dearest, is this about that Lena girl?” Ma asked stepping into the room and then doing a small hop over the pile of clothes on the floor.

“Maybe,” she grumbled as she covered her face with both hands while resisting the urge to scream since it had been so easy to ask Lena out and now, now she was freaking out!

“Asked her out didn’t ya?” the Kent matriarch then asked her a follow-up question and she felt the bed sag.

“Yes…” she groaned in frustration and sat up but slouched forward while getting extremely interested in the pattern of the carpet.

“Good for you dear, she seems like a sweet girl… if a bit of a know-it-all sassy smarty-pants, but you and your cousin seem to like those kinds of girls,” Ma laughed as she rubbed her back to help calm her down from her self-induced panic attack.

“Nothing fits me though and nothing looks right,” she whined and kicked at a discarded t-shirt on the floor sending it flying into the clothes hamper across the room.

“Clark had a growth spurt too once, but I’m sure we can make something work for you,” Ma assured her and stood up before she began gathering up the discarded clothes and sorting them on the bed.

“What’s the point? I either look like I’m wearing a sack when I use Clark’s stuff and if I try on my old tops, it shows… well everything! And none of it feels like… me!” she exclaimed as Ma Kent ignored her whining and hummed while sorting out the clothes.

“Well, I’m guessing you’re not going for something girly now, are you?” Ma hummed as she paused to look her up and down.

“Is that bad?” she whispered and stretched out her long legs while rubbing her hands together nervously.

“Of course not, we might be on a farm, but we do have the internet here and Netflix,” Ma laughed then paused and kissed the top of her head.

“It’s like I’m a girl, but sometimes I also want to be like a boy, but not one or the other, like it goes back and forth… does that make any sense?” she asked looking up at the woman who had been so kind to her since she arrived on the farm a few months ago.

“Let me tell you something, you wouldn’t be the first woman in this family to dress up in men’s clothing. After all, my great-great grandma fought in the Civil War as Martin Clark,” Ma surprised them with a little family history and then motioned for her to stand up.

“Really?” she asked while she rose to her feet, at first slouching out of habit but then straightening her shoulders.

“Mhmm, met a nice man too who didn’t care about silly stuff like that even back then,” Ma went on and held up a white dress shirt that was a bit baggy on her with a nod and then a pair of grey slacks.

“Still baggy though,” she commented at which Ma just motioned for her to put the clothes on before disappearing into the next room.

“We can work with baggy since who do you think made your cousin’s costume?” Ma asked returning grinning with a sewing kit in hand.

“I forgot about that,” she gasped as she was pulling on the shirt before hiking up the grey slacks as they bunched around her slender hips.

“Poor boy couldn’t even threat a needle, now let’s see if we can’t make this fit you a bit better hmm? We don’t want you to show up for your date with Lena looking like a slob now do we?” Ma quipped with a smile as she started pinning the shirt and then the slacks in place.

“Ma…” she said which caused the understanding woman to look up at her from hemming the bottom of the slacks.

“Yes dearest?” Ma asked with that same understanding smile that had raised Superman himself and she felt herself smiling from ear to ear.

“Thank you, for being so understanding,” she replied and looked at herself in the mirror just as Ma got up and handed her a pair of blue suspenders.

“It will make you look slenderer and bring out your eyes, if you want that,” Ma explained and for some reason being offered a pair of suspenders made her tear up.

“What is the matter…. Ooof! Easy now!” Ma Kent asked and then gasped as she hugged the woman with every ounce of their strength, well not quite, but close.

“Thank you, thank you,” she whispered as she held onto Ma for the longest time before letting go of the Kent matriarch.

“Oh dearest, you don’t have to thank me, just as long as you are happy… now let me get my sewing machine out and we’ll have you ready for your date all spiffy in a jiffy,” Ma assured her, and she could only nod her further thanks.

A shower later, with her hair pulled back in a sleek ponytail, she stood in front of the mirror and polished the spats she’d found in Pa’s closet and adjusted her bowtie before snapping her suspenders in place.

“Here, maybe this will complete the look,” Ma said from behind her holding a short trench coat that matched her grey slacks and a hat, a cowboy hat, but one that looked like it had only been worn to church on Sundays.

“Isn’t the hat a bit much?” she laughed as she pulled on the trench coat that gave her a trim figure but highlighted her broad shoulders.

“Well, grandpa said it always brought him luck in love and business,” Ma offered up and to be honest she’d take all the luck she could get as she accepted the hat then placed it on their head.

“Here, let me show you how to wear it,” Ma offered and adjusted the hat, so it sat right on her head, and she looked in the mirror and felt themself smiling without knowing why.

“Now there you are, very handsome for your date,” Ma assured her, and she nodded, taking of her glasses, and placing them into the inside pocket of her coat.

“Think she’ll like it?” they asked nervously staring at her transformation, it was still them looking back at themself in the mirror, but they now felt better. Wait, they, them, that could work, right? Then they realized that they had been thinking of themselves like the from time to time as of late.

“If she doesn’t then she doesn’t deserve you dearest,” Ma Kent assured them and a sharp whistle from the kitchen door turned their attention.

“Looking sharp kiddo, catch,” Pa Kent, fresh from the fields, laughed and tossed her a keychain. “But take my Chevy, unless you plan on getting that Ford of yours running before your date,” he joked as they caught the keys.

“Thanks,” they laughed with a smile and stepped forward to envelop the man in a big bear hug, even lifting him up from the floor, before Pa slapped them on the back asking them to kindly put him down. This felt good and right, and they really hoped Lena would not freak out!

Stepping outside with keys in hand they looked at Pa’s polished Chevy and maybe he hadn’t been working the fields but instead polishing the truck for them and again they teared up while smiling. A bonus from spending a summer on the farm was that they had pretty much had to learn to drive, first the tractor, then the pickup truck and finally the harvester so driving Pa’s old Red and white Chevy Truck was a breeze by now. Swinging their long legs into the truck they turned the key and the engine roared to life. Then, Checking the phone perched on the dashboard they followed the directions to the address Lena had texted them this morning when the pale girl had asked if they were still on, and they had never replied ‘YES!’ back so quickly in their entire life.

Pulling up outside the driveway to a stately-looking manor, which was weird because they were pretty sure there weren’t supposed to be manors in Smallville, Kansas, but then they saw Lena waiting at the gate for them and barely managed to slow the car to a smooth rolling stop.

“Hi,” they smiled and stepped out of the car, making sure to grab their hat from the passenger seat and putting it on before catching Lena’s smiling eyes.

“Hi yourself hotshot, love the wardrobe change,” the green-eyed girl complimented them and looked them up and down with an appreciative look on her pale features.

Now they couldn’t lie, Lena wasn’t dressed as anything to sneeze at either, wearing brown cowboy boots with a slight heel to boost her height, and a green prairie dress that exposed smooth shoulders and gave an amble view, sort to speak. Around her neck she wore a silver pendant and as usual her fingers and wrists were adorned with a dazzling array of rings and bracelets. Finally, and not helping their brainy bits, to top it all off the girl’s dark hair was done up so it was pulled back from her face before tumbling down her back in a waterfall of curls.

“I love… well everything about your look,” they blurted out and for some stupid reason bowed and kissed Lena’s hand.

“Thought you might,” the girl giggled at the gesture causing them to turn away to hide their smile under the guise of opening the passenger door.

“So… so you’re okay… with all this… change?” they asked after pulling the door open for the girl and motioning at the suit that Ma Kent had pieced together and adjusted for them.

“I already said I loved it did I not? But if you’re fishing for more compliments then you look very… handsome KD,” Lena assured them in a breathy voice and ran one hand down from their shoulder down to their hand which she then squeezed.

“It’s just that I thought you liked girls… that’s all… and I’m kinda… both I guess…” they mumbled a bit unsure of themselves again while studying the ground but Lena only smiled when they looked back up.

“Both. Both is good,” the green-eyed girl simply replied before getting up on her toes and kissing them on the cheek then slipping into the car.

“Both is good,” they nodded dumbly before all but running around the car and jumping in the driver’s seat with a big grin as all fear seemed to have left them.

Now Smallville wasn’t brimming with nightlife, even on a Saturday night, there was the diner, the bar, the cafe, a small movie theatre and a bowling alley. At first KD’s new look provided a bit of anonymity, but soon people were recognizing Smallville High’s new star quarterback and all the attention started making them regret doing this tonight.

“Hey, what’s wrong,” Lena asked as they stepped out of the diner after a nice meal with plenty of shared jokes in a quiet booth in the back.

Nothing was wrong or nothing should have been wrong. In fact, it had been great so far, Lena had laughed at all their jokes and then they had brought up Quantum Theory which caused the girl’s dancing green eyes to light up with glee! But once outside a group of boys out on the town at recognized her and one of them had shouted something about their hat being kickass and how the Crows’ were going to crush it next game.

“I’m not used to all this attention…” KD admitted as they walked arm in arm towards the theatre where they had planned on catching a movie to end the evening. It was a plain and simple date, which they had apologized for, but Lena had assured them that it was amazing in its simplicity.

“I get that, back in Metropolis I was always being brought out for this or that function by my mother, but you have nothing to be worried about,” Lena assured them which made them stand up taller and prouder.

“Although you’re really tall! I’m sure you’re breaking the square-cube law somehow!” the green-eyed girl laughed as they got the tickets.

KD had insisted on paying since they’d been the one asking Lena out and the pale girl had relented, but only after insisting that next time would be on her dime. The fact there was going to be a next time finally sunk in when they were being handed their popcorn and drinks.

Finding a seat in the back, they found it very hard to focus on the movie, instead scarfing down their popcorn and hoping that Lena wouldn’t notice their glances in her direction as the girl’s eyes were focused on the screen. After taking a big nervous drink from their soda they squealed when the pale girl reached out, took their arm, and placed it over her shoulders. Warm, soft, smell nice, girl, their brainy bits started malfunctioning right away!

“Lena what are you…” they whispered only to be shushed as the confusing girl leaned her head against their shoulder and smiled.

“Relax and enjoy the movie,” Lena whispered to which they simply nodded as their fingertips drew little patterns on the girl’s pale shoulder until all to soon the movie was over and they were stepping back into the cool night air with Lena shivering a little at the transition.

“Here, let me,” they said, then without thinking pulled off their coat and draped it over the girl’s shoulders and she vanished into it.

“Keep this up I’ll want your letterman jacket next,” Lena joked as they headed back for the car to which they were about to reply that the girl could have any piece of clothing she wanted. Then their rotten luck kicked in hard yet again and made them think if the universe had it out for the last Scion of Krypton.

They were half-way to the car when the two pickup trucks pulled up with music blaring and her name being shouted in anger. KD’s first reaction was to get between themselves and Lena as they quickly recognized the shouting boys as the defensive players from last night’s game, and leading the pack was the defensive lineman they’d knocked for a loop and cost two teeth.

“We don’t want any trouble,” they stated holding out their hands, palms open, as first they tried diplomacy like their mother Alura would have suggested them to do.

“Well, you should have thought of that before you knocked my buddies here teeth out,” one of them spat towards them as they tried to look for a way out without having to fight these guys.

“That was on the field and I’m sure we can come to some…” they tried to talk them down but when someone reached for Lena, they lashed out without even thinking, the palm of their hand connecting with his shoulder and sending him flying back. There was a silent pause and then all hell broke loose as the guy they had sent flying grunted and got back to his feet.

“Show this dyke what happens when you mess with us!” he shouted while holding his shoulder and the bum rush was on before they had a chance to think.

“Run!” they roared at Lena before throwing their hat in the face of the first onrushing Miner before ducking under his clumsy swing.

Their mother’s way had failed so it was time to try Aunt Astra’s way then. They ducked a few more haymakers that were thrown their way before stepping to one side and letting him punch a lamppost with a loud clang followed by a shriek of pain.

“Stand and fight fair,” another one of the Miners taunted them and before they could quip something back someone else punched them in the back right in the kidney it wasn't enough to hurt them by any means but again Clark's act human training kicked in along with the surprise of the blow.

“Fair uh,” they grunted and still trying not to throw hands they pretend to stagger away as they glanced in Lena’s direction to make sure the girl was clear of the fight.

That’s when they saw that two of them were trying to run Lena down, so KD launched themselves at them and tackled them to the ground. Again, being mindful that it was night now and the sun had set, which meant their power levels were at their lowest, but they could still hurt these boys if they really wanted to. Assuming a stance remembered from Aunt Astra’s lessons they squared up against their attackers and taunted them to draw attention away from Lena’s flight.

“Fair it is then. Ready when you are… what was the word? Oh yes bitches,” KD laughed in the face of danger and ducked another swing aimed at their head but doing so caught the second punch in the kidneys which forced them down to one knee while cursing both the night time and Clark's stupid training.

“Not so tough now are you bitch,” someone shouted and tried to kick them, but they caught the leg and pushed it away.

“Dressing like a dude for your girlfriend?” they heard shouted followed by a blow to their left cheek, but it only served to anger them further.

“At least I… got one…” they spat out and rushed forward, slamming broad shoulders into an unprotected stomach and not stopping running until they slammed against a wall.

Now nobody doubted that they were brave and strong, but with a combination of the nighttime, holding back, and numbers, the Miners soon overwhelmed them and all they could do was hold up their arms to protect their face and their attackers hands while taking their shots when they could.

“Bitch won’t go down!” one of the attackers shouted while grabbing onto their ponytail to which they simply punched him in the jaw hard enough to lift him off the ground.

As satisfying as that punch had been it left her exposed. While breathing heavily, they were grabbed from behind as the lineman with the missing teeth started wailing away on her stomach and face but bracing for the blows they simply spat in his face with a toothy grin once he’d worn himself out with only his torn knuckles and his blood on their face to show for it.

“What’s the matter… ran out of… stamina…” they joked and braced for another blow that never came instead a loud cry cut through the night.

The toothless and dickless one that had been working her over was tackled to the ground by a blur that looked like Harry and then set upon by Lena, who had brought help from the sounds of it, and Damian and Duncan were not far behind staring the rest of them down and daring them to do something.

“Leave. Them. Alone!” Lena roared while making sure her cowboy boots were being used for stomping, then two loud thuds from behind freed them, and turning around ready for a fight they were greeted by the smiling Longbottom twins.

“You okay boss?” Wyatt asked as his twin helped them to their feet and dusted them off to which KD could only nod their thanks.

“Peachy,” they grunted and pulled open their bowtie watching Lena going nuts on the boy who had been beating them into a pulp.

“Nice hat boss,” Earp grunted and handed them their hat back with a broad grin while chuckling at Lena going to town on the lineman.

“What’s the matter, not so tough now, are we?” the pale and furious girl demanded of the cowering and now even more toothless dickhead followed by a cowboy boot to the face. Seeing their buddy being stomped the remaining Miners found their courage again and the fight was back on.

A brief scuffle later, however, and the Miners got sent packing back to Stone Creek and KD had a chance to take stock of themself. Blood on the collar of the shirt, not theirs, some on the cuffs of it too, suspenders down, bowtie lose, shirt torn open down to their chest and at some point, their hair had come free and was tumbling down across their shoulders and face. Then there was Lena, fussing over them and probing every slight and imaginary bruise and bump that the pale girl could find while they would only need some time in the sun to feel better tomorrow.

“Did they hurt you? Did they touch you?” Lena asked still worried and angry to which they shook their head and smiled.

“They… got a few good shots in… that’s all…” they mumbled even though none of them had really done any damage while looking up at her teammates gathered behind Lena with a thankful nod.

“Fights a dozen guys and says they got a few good shots in,” Harry chuckled which earned him a smack up the back of the neck from Duncan.

“We were coming to warn you, apparently, they were looking for you,” Duncan explained with a frown as the twins kept watch for any of them returning.

“Found them at the diner looking for you,” Lena explained with a worried smile. “You were so worried about not making friends and look you have plenty,” the pale girl added, and they could only smile at each boy in turn.

“More like good teammates really,” Damian responded which earned him a smack up the head from Duncan.

“Need help getting back home boss?” Earp asked in the same rumbling voice that both he and his twin shared.

“I’ll get our hero home, you guys make sure that those bastards are out of town,” Lena stated in her take-charge way and hooked KD’s arm over her shoulder.

“Got it,” Duncan nodded as their teammates helped Lena get them back into the Chevy, and with Lena still wearing their coat, there would be no arguing about who would drive since the girl had the keys.

“See you at practice Monday guys,” they called out through the window of the car and held up a finger to remind them to which their teammates’ groaned and then laughed.

“Let’s get you home,” Lena told them firmly before they drove back to the Kent Farm in silence, well mostly, they could never keep their mouth shut.

“Sorry about how it all ended,” they murmured just as the Chevy pulled up in front of the Kent Farmhouse, the lights were out, and Ma and Pa were asleep, and they were alone in the car with a pretty girl.

“It was a great evening, but promise me that you won’t do that again?” Lena asked much to their confusion and looked worried as all heck, yet again, way to go Danvers.

“I… I can’t promise that… I protect people… the people I care about,” they replied while stumbling over their words.

Lena’s green eyes studied them for the longest time, the color shifting from bright to stormy green, and finally, a small smile formed on perfectly shaped pink lips, and then they were hugging.

“Want to come in… it’s late and you can sleep with me… in my room I mean… I’ll take the floor…” again the words came tumbling out and again the pale girl giggled but nodded that yes, she’d like that very much.

Quietly entering the house, they made their way upstairs, with Lena insisting on getting warm water and a towel to clean KD up a bit and the pale girl returned from the bathroom just as they were taking off their shirt after having prepared a makeshift bed on the floor to an audible gasp.

“What’s wrong?” they whispered looking around, standing in the room wearing only a sports bra and slacks that hung off their hips. Though from Lena’s view, it looked quite different, the girl was privy to rippling muscles, a defined stomach, broad shoulders, and the ever so slight swell of their breasts all making for a stunning visage.

“Not… nothing… sit down please,” the green-eyed girl stammered, something that was also new, and they obeyed sitting down on the bed and waiting.

“You were… very brave tonight…” Lena whispered running the wet towel over KD’s brow and then down a slightly bruised jaw.

“If they’d been a few hours earlier I could have taken them,” they joked without realizing it, but the pale girl didn’t push for an explanation.

“No, I mean, coming out to me like that, it was very brave and honest of you to do that,” the green-eyed girl whispered.

“It’s been slowly coming to me because it’s been different for me here, like I could be myself more, does that make sense?” they asked with a pale hand resting on a tan cheek as they got lost in each other’s eyes for a moment.

“I know the feeling,” Lena replied solemnly and kept her hand in place, rubbing a ringed thumb over a small red welt and it was so soothing that they yawned.

“Sorry…” they chuckled which earned them a kiss on the cheek which led to them blushing bright red.

“Let’s get some rest, got anything for me to wear or should I sleep in the nude?” the pale girl asked with a smile, a soft smile, a reassuring smile that she didn’t expect anything more from them tonight.

“Yeah… I mean yeah, let me get you something,” they fumbled with their words before getting up and retrieving a white t-shirt with a tipped cow on it, one of the few articles of clothing they’d bought since they came to Smallville.

“This should cover you, I mean, like modesty and oh gosh,” they mumbled holding out the t-shirt until it was accepted and then turning around.

“You’re too sweet, but I don’t think I could match your little show from earlier,” Lena whispered at their back and started taking of her boots and then undoing her prairie dress, so it fell to the floor. Wait what show?

Now, KD, aka Kara Zor-El Danvers, they, them, recently out, were a gentleperson, but the mirror was right there! Tempting them to look and Lena was taking her sweet time, standing there in her white bra and panties, inspecting the t-shirt, smelling it... and was that a bellybutton piercing and then they closed their eyes firmly but cracked one open when the girl gave a relieved sigh and oh Rao her bra was off! Oh wow! They tightly shut their eyes again and waited anxiously for permission to open them again.

“Alright, my modesty is secure, and you can turn around now,” Lena laughed which made them think so many things. Had she known they were watching and had it been for their benefit how long it had taken? All of a sudden they felt super confused and super sleepy as they turned around.

“It looks better on you,” they said without thinking and it did, long enough to be serving as a nightgown the t-shirt nonetheless hugged Lena’s hourglass figure and showed off the girl’s legs with the cow on the front quite stretched out across the girl’s chest.

“Thank you, I’ll sit down here while you get ready for bed, okay?” the girl offered and set about making herself comfortable on the makeshift bed on the floor but those green eyes lingered on them before Lena put her hands over them.

“Again, you can have the bed,” they insisted while turning around and pulling the sports bra off followed by the slacks which were hung up so they wouldn’t wrinkle. In case they were being watched, they rotated their shoulders and flexed their back muscles a little bit, just to work out the kinks of course but all the while feeling their cheeks burning.

“I didn’t fight a dozen angry rednecks tonight, so stop offering and get into bed,” Lena laughed, and looking over their shoulder they could see the girl sitting on the floor with both hands over her eyes.

“Give me a second,” they laughed at the gesture although anyone could see through those fingers, and then yawned slipping down their underwear before pulling on a pair of baggy blue boxers and trying to get under the covers without flashing the girl with one hand over their bare chest.

“You sleep in just boxers?” Lena asked playfully from the floor and they were glad nobody could see them blush right now.

“Sometimes…” they murmured, even if most of the time they slept in the nude so the sun could flood into the room in the morning and warm them up.

“You’re an interesting person KD,” the pale girl yawned from the floor, and looking down over the edge of the bed they could see her curled up and ready to sleep.

“Hey, can I ask you a question?” Lena then asked from the floor smiling up at them as she rolled onto her back.

“Sure, fire away,” they replied and lay on their side on the edge of the bed looking down at the girl staring back up at them.

“How did you end up here in Smallville?” Lena asked with those green eyes luminous in the dim light looking up at them.

“I… well… there was a dance at my school, so I… decided to try wearing some new clothes, like I did tonight,” they started telling the story and a pale hand reach up and grabbed onto theirs in a silent indication for them to go on.

“Some people started asking if I was a boy now and I hadn’t figured things out yet, still kinda am, but they wouldn’t stop asking me!” they growled as their anger rose and in return Lena squeezed their hand.

“Later, somebody had smuggled in alcohol, a drunk guy decided he was going to find out what I was, he… he reached for me, my privates and… and well I broke his arm in two places with this move my aunt once taught me,” they went on, their voice first quivering then sounding almost proud of their actions.

“Good,” Lena declared from the floor, one hand up on the bed holding onto their hand with a pale thumb stroking the back of it.

“After that, I stormed off, but I tripped over some decorations, there was a fire, and well… I helped get as many people out as I could, but the damage was done,” they finished the story with their eyes closed as the bed sagged slightly and they shifted back. For once not thinking instead they just enjoyed the warmth next to them and after a few moments they opened their eyes again, and there was Lena, laying next to them, face to face with them and smiling at them softly.

“You did nothing wrong,” the green-eyed girl declared firmly as their hands remained clasped together.

“You’re a great gal, anyone ever told you that?” they whispered and the dazzling smile coming back at them knocked them for a loop then they broke the mood by yawning but Lena simply laughed.

“I think it’s time for us to get some rest, let me just get back down on the floor I don’t think your Ma will be happy finding me in your bed,” Lena replied to the compliment and also yawned. No, Ma wouldn’t like that, not after only one date at least.

In a moment of madness, they learned in close, kissing the girl on the cheek, almost on the corner of her mouth really, and then pulled back as fast as they could into the safety of their own covers feeling as the girl rolled off the bed.

“Good night, KD,” Lena whispered softly while holding her cheek with a wide smile and a raised eyebrow.

“Good night, Lee,” they replied from underneath the covers so they wouldn’t die of embarrassment, and all in all it hadn’t been so bad to open up. Now to somehow sleep and not dream of the vision of beauty sleeping on their floor right below them. No, that would be much trickier than opening up about their gender!

Chapter Text

What happened next was something KD hadn’t prepared for, nope, they hadn’t prepared for something like that at all! And it had all been going so smoothly too, after their first win against the Miners, and following that win up by delivering a throttling against the Blues meant that they were now onto their first away game.

But what had happened which they hadn’t prepared for, was that people had started posting about the Smallville’s Crows' long-haired and non-binary quarterback, with an arm like a howitzer, a bright smile, and an ever-changing fashion sense. So, it had only been a matter of time before the press, or at least the local news, got involved.

Of course, they had been too busy finding time for another date with Lena and trying to pass biology, I mean what kind of species only has one heart, to notice the online chatter getting louder and louder. It wasn’t until Harry, grinning from ear to ear, shoved his phone in their face one day at practice that reality hit home.

“Yo! Check it out KD! The Kansas Star just made a post about us, well mostly you, and it’s on Insta which nobody uses, but we’re in the picture!” he declared, and there indeed they were, being hoisted up on the twins’ shoulders with Harry and Duncan cheering them on and Lena in all her cheerleading-glory watching on. Fiddlesticks!

“Oh no, no, no, no,” they panicked and grabbed the phone scrolling through the post with wide blue eyes and it read.

The Smallville High School’s football team, the Crows, haven’t done much in the great state of Kansas in the past decade, but that looks to be changing under the leadership of their new quarterback, listed as KD, full name Kara Z.L. Danvers and pictured above during a celebration. We here at the Star look forward to seeing what else they can do in the coming season as KD has arrived like a golden-haired thunderbolt out of nowhere this school year and has already shown great leadership and resilience as the accompanying video sent in by a fan shows. Following the picture of them all celebrating was cellphone footage of KD getting tackled hard by two brutes before getting up and returning the favor with enough force to send the defensive lineman flying with teeth coming out in a graceful arc.

“Not good, not good,” she, no it was they darn it, muttered and handed him the phone back and started pacing while banging her palm against her forehead. Clark was going to find out, Alex was going to find out, her mom was going to find out, people who all her life on Earth had told her to keep a low profile. Them, not her, them, not her!

“Hey, what’s the matter? Harry, did you say something stupid again?” Duncan asked as he came running up, his serious voice, sounding even more serious and concerned.

“It’s fine, it’s fine, they don’t read sports news, it’s fine,” they told themselves as they tried convincing themselves that this wasn’t a big deal.

“KD, are you alright?” Damian joined the growing group of teammates, friends, and frenemies, checking up on them as they slumped to the ground with their hands on their knees and head hanging between their legs.

“I’m sorry guys, but it might be over,” they declared looking up from the turf with dejection written all over their face.

“What you mean, this could be our ticket to college, what do you mean by it might be over?” Harry asked kneeling down in front of them.

“The reason I moved here, was to keep myself away from attention… back in my hometown I kinda made a big mess of things and was only let off the hook if I came here and laid low for a bit,” they explained picking at the grass dejectedly.

“What did you do? I mean my dad shipped me here to keep me out of trouble too, so I get it,” Damian asked next and the diminutive kicker, who they now shared a quarreling kind of friendship with, had to go and be nice right now.

“I might have broken a guy’s arm when he asked if I was a boy or a girl,” they muttered recalling their first tentative experience with experimenting with simply being them and how it had backfired.

“Sounds like he had it coming,” Duncan grunted, and Harry slapped them on the shoulder in solidarity before offering them a hand to haul them to their feet.

“Then there might have been a fire in the gym where the dance was being held,” they added and that actually made Damian laugh, the little bastard, but then he grinned at them.

“It’s cool, hey I cost my father a billion-dollar contract and was sent here to get some perspective,” he laughed, and they punched him in the shoulder just hard enough to remind him that they weren't friends more like frenemies.

“And this, this will blow over, it’s one post, on Instagram. I mean my mom uses it,” Harry assured them and dusted them down after helping them to their feet.

“You think so?” they asked hopefully to which all three boys nodded back at them and maybe it would blow over or so they all hoped.

“Alright break it up boys, we’ve got a game to get ready for and a bus to catch,” Coach Mags shouted from across the field and blew her whistle which made them all jump to attention.

It did not in fact, blow over, if anything, it got worse the moment they stepped off the bus in Granite Springs to face the Boulders. Rubbing the sleep from their eyes they got off the bus outside the motel they’d be staying at and the second their feet touched pavement squeals and shouts greeted them.

“There they are!” was shouted and before they knew it, students and a few members of the press were swarming them, and cameras were snapping in their face, and they started feeling claustrophobic and overwhelmed. Too much noise. Too many people. Too many questions.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Coach Mags shouted storming into the throng with the twins not far behind and Lena was a few steps behind having just gotten off the bus carrying the cheerleading squad.

“You heard her, let them breathe and any questions please direct them to me,” the pale girl wearing and somehow looking stunning in a red tracksuit declared and the tone of her voice demanded attention as Mags and the twins formed a protective circle around them.

“Who are you?” one of the local reporters who had shown up asked and was rewarded with a withering raised eyebrow.

“I’m Lena Luthor, KD’s girlfriend and we’d appreciate not being mobbed after a long bus ride,” the green-eyed girl with eyes shining with fury stated while simply letting the weight of her family name do the talking, but a few of the gathered students shouted things like ‘really’ and ‘no way’ at that statement.

“No, no it’s alright,” they managed to say having gotten their bearings again, pushing the twins back gently and giving Mags a quick nod.

Then Lena was pressed up against them, whispering in their ear if they were sure and with a smile, they nodded and turned to face a group of what they guessed were fans, while silently wondering how they could even have fans, and the reporters who had shown up no doubt to cover the game for the regional press.

“First of all, I have no statement to make at this time aside from the fact that I’m here to play a good game against the Boulders,” they stated drawing on what they had learned from watching Lois help clean up their mess in Midvale. At since their secret was out, they might as well lean into it with some semblance of Kryptonian dignity as their mother would have done.

“Second, yes this is my girlfriend, sorry guys,” they joked with the small group of Granite Spring High students who had shown up to greet them while putting an arm around Lena.

“But I will take a few selfies, but it’s been a long bus ride and as you can see my legs are quite long,” they went on with a bright smile as they even made Lena chuckle.

“You heard them, you three scram,” Mags growled at the reporters who didn’t dare stand up against the Latina as KD and Lena made time for a few selfies.

“You’re so brave,” one excited girl who looked to be a junior stated snapping a picture and KD wanted to say that they really weren’t but still smiled for the picture.

“I’m trying out for the baseball team because of you,” another girl told them and they found their smile getting broader and more genuine since they were inspiring people and hadn’t even had to put on a cape as Clark had done.

“What’s this?” they asked as a quiet and skinny boy who also looked to be a junior handed them a quarterback’s towel. A rainbow one embroidered with the sigil of the House of El.

“I thought you might like it since they call you the girl of steel, or guess it’s the boy of steel too, or just the quarterback of steel,” the shy and slender-looking boy offered while stammering and they took the offered gift with a beaming smile.

“Thank you and like someone told me recently both is good,” they nodded and felt Lena elbow them in the ribs for that comment.

After finally managing to politely leave the small crowd outside the motel behind KD found themselves alone outside their room with Lena looking up at them fondly. The room arrangement, however, wasn’t to their liking after having been told they had to share a room with Coach Mags despite their insistence that they could bunk with any of the guys, but apparently school regulations weren’t up to date when it came to non-binary players.

“This is me,” they mumbled pointing at the door as Lena was studying their face with great care.

“This is you, yes, but are you sure that you are alright? I have noticed you don’t like being in tight quarters like that,” the green-eyed girl asked as a lump formed in their throat because despite having only been on two dates with the girl, they already knew that they were well passed a simple crush.

“I… when I was younger... I got trapped, for a long time in a dark place,” they tried to explain their time in the Phantom Zone without telling the full truth about their heritage.

“Oh darling that must have been horrendous, but you know I’m here for you right?” Lena asked with her Irish accent coming through thicker as once again a pale and soft hand cupped their cheek.

“I know, but it’s hard for me to open up… about some things…” they whispered and leaned into the girl’s soft touch against their cheek while thinking about oh how they longed to tell Lena everything, but coming out as non-binary had been a big thing and they didn’t want to add alien heritage on top of all that just yet.

“Same, but when you’re ready I’d love to hear the whole story,” Lena assured them and they smiled down at the curvy cheerleader.

“I will, one day soon I promise,” they nodded and leaned down placing a kiss on the girl’s forehead, and so far, they had not shared a full-blown kiss, the moment was always too tender or one of them would chicken out, usually KD.

“I’ll hold you to that,” Lena laughed pulling her hand away but stroking their cheek as she did and to which they could only nod like an idiot. Something they did a lot around Lena, but the girl seemed to like so there was no reason to stop.

Watching Lena walking away down the hall, hips swaying, stopping to glance over her shoulder at them and wave before vanishing into her room all but left KD in a daze when they stumbled into their room where Mags laughed at them.

“Having fun out there KD?” the Latina already under the covers typing away on her phone asked them with a knowing grin.

“No coach! I mean yes coach, I’m not sure what the answer is coach,” they blurted out and fled to the bathroom to change into their pajamas consisting of boxers and a t-shirt while glancing over at the Crows’ Assistant Coach.

Maggie Sawyer, assistant coach, and biology teacher had found her way to Smallville to get her teaching license, so the woman wasn’t that much older than they were, but the coach had taken them under their wing and even helped when their knowledge of football came up short and Lena’s notes failed them.

“She’s not like the other Luthors, not from what I’ve read in the Metropolis papers,” Mags commented to which they popped their head out of the bathroom.

“That’s right you’re from Metropolis originally! My cousin Clark lives there with his girlfriend,” they declared, and Mags nodded with a hum and then smiled at something on her phone.

“I have read some of his stuff, and he’s all tall, blue-eyed, and handsome, isn’t he?” she asked as they slipped into the other bed, and it barely fit their tall frame.

“Sounds like my cousin, but you left out annoyingly perfect and straight,” they added, and it hadn’t been meant to be said like that, but it’s how it had come out of their mouth before they could stop it.

“Preach! I’m a Lois Lane fan myself, her writing is much more inspirational,” Mags said with a laugh that was infectious.

“I bet you are,” they laughed before said laugh turned into a yawn, and soon it was lights out. Big game tomorrow, lots of attention and they’d need their rest though a good portion of their night was spent looking up at the ceiling with their feet hanging off the foot of the bed.

The next day, after some rest, the Crows' first away game with KD as their Quarterback wasn’t off to a great start. It was obvious that the Boulders had studied them and whenever KD got the ball they were swarmed, not tackled as the Boulders weren’t as dumb as the Miners had been, but enough interference was laid down, so after the first quarter they hadn’t made any gains.

“KD, you okay kiddo?” Coach Dan asked tablet in hand trying to draw up new plays as KD gulped down their water and nodded.

“Sorry coach, just lots of flashing lights out there tonight,” they apologized since the reporters kept taking pictures of them whenever they stepped onto the field and the same went for the crowd in the packed bleachers, and it only added to the interference plays the Boulders’ were running.

“I’m going to have a word with the sporting commission about that,” the man grunted with a foul look on his broad face and called in the offensive team for a conference around them.

“Alright guys, they seem to have figured out that KD is our ace in the hole and that’s okay our secret was bound to get out eventually,” he told the team as KD groaned since they hated secrets and having them exposed in equal measure.

“Got a plan coach?” Harry, ever cheerful, asked and slapped them on the shoulder to encourage them to carry on to which they flashed him a smile because the fast-running boy had become one of their best friends on the team in short order and they were always grateful for his support.

Now, Coach Dan was many things, a staunch defender of his team, and a great coach on the practice field, but when it came to on-the-fly stuff he wasn’t the best at it and it seemed like his playbook for the season was being tested to its limits as he flicked a thick finger back and forth on his tablet as the team bit back a groan as Harry asked if they could just run for it. That made KD think of something that had happened the other day when Lena was visiting them on the farm for another Football 101 session, though more of a 201 by this point, with them taking breaks to work on the Ford pickup together.

“You run pretty fast you know that?” Lena had asked them without looking up from the engine of the Ford that was resting half disassembled on a workbench and the pale girl had been wearing overalls with sneakers over a white tank top.

“I mean I’ve got long legs,” had been their lame answer to which the pale girl had raised a greased covered face up from the engine and raised an eyebrow at them.

“No I mean if you’re ever isolated on the field you could try to run with the ball since I’m pretty sure you are as fast as those goofy friends of yours,” the green-eyed genius, because yes Lena was a freaking genius, had commented, and although at the time they’d barely been listening while trying to wipe the oil stain from the girl’s pale cheek it all came back to them now.

“I’ll run,” they blurted out and all of a sudden, all eyes were on them as they gave a goofy smile to their teammates and very confused Coach Dan.

“We’ll run Alpaca Pink, but I’ll fake handing the ball off to Harry and the twins will make a hole for me to punch through and I’ll make like a mongoose on fire to the endzone but oh setting fire to wildlife is bad but I’ll run,” they laid out the play as it formed in their head and most of the team couldn’t keep up with their fast talking.

“Uh?” both Harry, Duncan, and the Twins all said at once, but her frenemy Damian seemed to be on the ball.

“Brilliant! It’s a fake Halfback option play! Harry time to act like KD out there when they fake handing you the ball, just make yourself look really tall!” the diminutive kicker explained which earned him a punch on the shoulder pads from KD, but Harry nodded, nonetheless.

“Tweedledee and Tweedledum, make a hole for them?” the kid then next asked the twins who glared at him but then nodded with wide grins forming on their round faces.

“And Duncan you run like I’m about to throw it to you,” they then added and the tall and lanky and always quiet wide receiver nodded his approval to the play as they held up their fist for a bump which Damian returned albeit reluctantly.

“Coach, is that okay with you?” they then asked their coach sheepishly who was staring at them wide-eyed.

“How did you come up with that?” Coach Dan asked and they actually blushed and glanced at where Lena was working her magic with the cheer squad in that tight-fitting red and gold outfit.

“Lena and I, we meet up to go over the rules…” they started as a loud chorus of oooohs rose up but they glared them down before continuing: “And she suggested it, think it will work?” they asked and after consulting his tablet their coach nodded his approval.

“Go out there and make it happen,” he declared, and the huddle broke as they marched back onto the field with KD stuffing their red and golden-striped helmet over their head with hair flowing over their shoulders and the rainbow embroidered towel sporting the House of El sigil hanging from the front of their pants.

“And the Crows take the field for the start of the second quarter,” the announcer, well announced, over the loudspeakers as the flashes started up again but they took a deep breath and focused on the endzone.

“Alright folks! So far, your fabulous Boulders have held Smallville’s star quarterback back but let’s see what the towering blonde can do this quarter, and this biased announcer sure hopes it will be nothing!” the announcer went on as they lined up for the play and a drop of sweat ran down their nose.

“Alpaca Pink, Alpaca Pink, hut, hut!” they shouted the play and the ball came sailing into their hands as they started pulling back while making it appear like they were going to throw it to Duncan who was off like a bolt of lightning.

The defense rushed for them while the twins stood their ground, as KD brushed past Harry, and faked handing off the ball they watched as the defense shifted to him, but then put their head underneath themselves and tucked the ball under their arm.

“KD throws, no wait it is a hand-off, no it’s a fake out and Kim doesn’t have the ball and KD is running, and damn can they run!” the announcer shouted in surprise as the play revealed itself and in a panic the Boulders’ defense collapsed in on them again.

Focusing on the next ten yards, they kept running as the twins did their job to perfection, but one defender made it through heading straight for them.

“It’s like they’re flying out there!” the announcer shouted as they leaped over the would-be tackler, landed with a thud before rolling to their feet, and then kept on running.

“KD is putting the yards behind them! Somebody do something! And ouch that looked like it hurt!” the announcer shouted at the top of their lungs as KD send another defender flying with a nudge of their shoulder, but that left them open to a blindsided tackle, and while they could have brushed past it without trouble something made them fall.

“That has to be a gain of at least twenty yards, look at them go and down they go and it’s a dogpile, the ball is loose, the ball is loose as the Boulders pile on!” the announcer bellowed as they brought KD down after a twenty-plus-yard dash, and the sound of grunting and clambering filled the air.

“The referees are digging through the bodies what will they find since it’s got to be half the defensive line piled on top of KD there and… and… the Crows retain possession! Gawd darn it! But that kid can run!” the announcer nearly cheered for the away team as KD rose to their feet with the ball firmly in hand and held it up in the air while covered in dirt with a huge smile on their face.

Their mad dash opened up the floodgates for the Crows on the offensive with the Boulders’ defense now having to worry about one more play in their arsenal, but with Harry playing quarterback as Coach Mags insisted on KD resting after that dogpile, they had trouble focusing on the field as Lena was sometimes right there! When the whistle blew at the end of the game it wasn’t a rout, but it was a win based on team effort and KD found themselves pumping their helmet in the air as the reporters’ cameras snapped pictures of them pulling Harry in for a one armed hugged.

“You were brilliant!” Lena cried out as the pale girl came running towards them and cupped their face with both hands as Harry wisely excused himself.

“No you were brilliant since it was your idea!” they laughed and looked down into green eyes, as Lena’s flushed pale cheeks were again lined with red and gold paint and the girl’s black hair was pulled back into a high ponytail.

“You listened!” the pale girl laughed, and they could hear that pictures were being snapped so KD put their hands on the cheerleader’s shoulders after dropping the helmet.

“I’m going to kiss you now if that’s alright?” they asked politely and for the first time ever they saw Lena blush, but the girl nodded her head and got up onto her toes.

“Oh no not like that,” they laughed and lifted the girl up from the ground making her squeal but then silenced her with a firm and eager kiss on the lips.

It was their first real kiss, and it was the kiss heard around Kansas, but they didn’t care as the rest of the team gathered around the pair as they spun around with their lips mashed together and Lena’s hands in KD’s blonde hair and their strong arms tightly wrapped around the girl who was kicking her legs. Then when the kiss broke, KD hoisted the cheerleader effortlessly up onto their shoulder as the girl squealed again and turned to face their teammates.

“Who are we!?” they shouted looking up at Lena who was pumping her fist in the air and laughing with pure delight.

“The Crows!” the team and the cheerleaders shouted back at them, and her smile broke out like a million suns though a bit stained with lipstick from the kiss.

“And what are we?!” they shouted to which first only players responded but the cheerleaders caught on soon enough. “Stronger Together!” the cry rang out into the night as Lena slipped down from their shoulders and kissed them again, with her arms wrapped around their neck, and the smell and feel of the pale girl filled their senses and it almost felt like she was about to fly.

Chapter Text

KD’s happiness didn’t last much past the bus ride back to Smallville and into the next morning. Having kissed Lena thoroughly senseless unless the girl was flushed on the field had been awesome! And it had sent a loud and proud message about themselves out into the world, but that message had been heard by ears that were extremely sensitive indeed.

“I’m coming… I’m coming… hold year horses,” they mumbled rolling out of bed when hearing knocking, tripping over clothes and shoes, before stopping to read the note Lena had left on their mirror. Their pale genius girlfriend had come back to the farm to celebrate with some of the team and they had ended up staying late talking on the porch about their hopes and dreams.

Ma says I can’t stay the night on the account of us now being kissing and going out, see you at practice or maybe sooner… -L xoxox

Gathering up a t-shirt with a smile so they wouldn’t be bare-chested and pulling on a pair of boxers before opening the door because people knocked on doors, right? But, when they saw nobody out there, they turned around with dread and walked over to the window flinging it open to see Clark hovering there all noble in blue, red, and gold.

“Kal,” they grumbled and turned back into the room looking for a pair of jeans to wear and found a pair along with the game ball from last night’s game.

“Kara,” their cousin nodded as he floated into the room bathed in the morning sun, but KD refused to turn around. Instead, they focused on gripping the ball tightly in their hands and decided there and then that their family wasn’t going to take this away from them.

“KD, kun khuhp KD,” they declared in Kryptonian without turning to face him still and gripping the ball between their hands.

“Very well… KD, I came because of something that came across our sports desk at the Planet and I thought we had agreed that…” he started his usual spiel, and Rao he meant well but man was he bad at this stuff.

“We? We didn’t agree on anything… we didn’t agree to be packed up and shipped here, but we are glad it happened because we can finally be ourselves,” they raged back at him without turning around as something snapped inside of them.

“Ka… KD you can’t control your…” he started up his speech again to which they spun around and then they hurled the ball at his chest, but it bounced off their cousin harmlessly with him looking down at it on the floor in confusion as they smirked.

“If I’d put my full strength into that throw Kal I could have sent you flying back out that window and I still could, so I know what I’m doing cousin,” they declared and walked right up to get in his face and with their recent growth spurt, they were nearly the same height. It was partly true, they had control to a degree, but they were also making a point.

“We can’t risk you being exposed you’re not ready, the worlds not ready for…” he started up his earnest well-practiced speech the third time, and this time she did put her full force into the shove she delivered two-handed to his chest sending him flying out the window.

Not using their powers had become a point of pride for them, on the field, at the farm, working on the pickup truck, doing everything by hand and through the sweat of their own brow like back on Krypton when Aunt Astra had trained them in secret, or their father had let them tinker in the lab with him.

Rising up in the air they hovered with their feet just above the floor and ground as they flew after their cousin and found him in a small crater by the barn as they floated in the air above him, with their arms crossed over their chest, eyes narrowed and face twisted up in a scowl.

“That was me using my powers and can you tell the difference Kal?” they asked as they watched their well-meaning but infuriating cousin dust himself off.

“I won’t fight you cousin,” he stated and they let out a laugh but didn’t descend back down to earth.

“You’d lose and let me tell you what’s going to happen, you’re going to fly back to Metropolis and you’re going to let me live my life here, playing football, being myself, and…” they started laying down the law when a thick Irish accent caused them to crash back down to earth both literally and figuratively.

“KD… oh fucking hell!” Lena gasped, standing there with her hair loose, wearing their letterman jacket over a pair of jeans and sneakers and holding a brown paper bag from the diner.

“Lena… I can explain… Lena please!” they shouted as the wide-eyed girl took off into the nearby cornfield and they felt the same rage bubbling up inside of them as they had felt on that night when the Midvale High School Gym burned down.

“Kara, I mean KD, I know it’s not easy to…” Kal started talking again and they turned to face them with their eyes glowing a purple hue.

“Go home Kal-El!” they stated simply but firmly and when he didn’t move they blasted the ground in front of him with a burst of heat vision and only then did he take the hint and started to reluctantly rise into the sky.

“Let me know when you want to talk and tell Ma that I’m sorry that I couldn’t stay,” he nodded sadly before taking off higher into the sky followed by a high-altitude sonic boom.

Taking a few moments to calm down they slowly walked into the cornfield looking for Lena and debating what to say to their girlfriend when they found her. Their search didn’t take too long, however, and soon they found Lena standing in a clearing in the cornfield, looking up at the blue Kansas’ sky watching Superman fly away and somehow, the pale girl sensed KD’s arrival.

“I’m guessing this is what you couldn’t tell me about the other night at the motel?” the pale girl asked and turned around nailing them in place with an intense green-eyed gaze.

“Yes, but I wanted to, thought about how to, the whole me being… well me… was such a human thing and… well this is me, Kara Zor-El the last scion of Krypton also known as KD, alien and nonbinary,” they offered the only answer they could and rose up into the air with their arms held out and palms facing outwards in a sign of peace.

“I am Superman’s cousin, rocketed away from Krypton, but I was stuck… for a long time in a dark place… a cold place…” they went on when Lena didn’t stop them while shuttering at the memories of their time stuck in the Phantom Zone.

“Was any of it true? Was any of it… real?” Lena asked with her face softening as green eyes shifted from piercing to hopeful yet sad.

“Of course it was real, Lena you mean so much to me! I left my home in Midvale after a boy tried to grope me to find out if I was a boy or a girl the first time I dressed the way I wanted to,” they stated with steel in their voice and lowered themselves back down to the ground.

“He… he tried to grope my chest… then my… well my privates… I asked him to stop but he wouldn’t…” they went on as Lena took a step towards them with her lips parted as if to speak but they went on.

“No matter what he wouldn’t stop and I got scared and angry, I grabbed his arm and twisted it… just a little… and when he screamed it felt good for a split second…” they admitted shamefully and their girlfriend, Rao they hoped Lena was still their girlfriend, took another step towards them.

“Then people came running and I ran out the back… but I was so angry… for not being more in control… for not standing up for myself in a different manner… so I let all my anger out…” they whispered closing their eyes and opening them but now they were glowing purple.

“Like this… and I understand if you want nothing to do with an alien freak like me but…” they tried to talk but Lena was there, standing in front of them, hand on their cheek and looking into their glowing eyes without fear.

“You’re not a freak KD, you’re my partner… my boo… my goyfriend or non-binary palfriend if you will,” Lena said with a giggle still stroking their cheek as the glow in their eyes faded and blue eyes once again gazed into green ones.

“Goyfriend?” they chuckled with both eyebrows shooting up as the green-eyed girl simply nodded with a smirk on her pink lips.

“What you don’t like it… hotshot? ” Lena asked still stroking their cheek and they found themselves crying without realizing it or knowing why.

“Hey don’t cry… what’s wrong?” the pale girl asked immediately sounding concerned and they smiled through the tears and shook their head.

“Nothing is wrong… for once… nothing is wrong,” they whispered and leaned down to touch their forehead to Lena’s with a smile growing brighter on their lips.

“I’m going to kiss you now, is that alright?” Lena asked with a smile pulling at the corners of her pink lips and as usual, they nodded like an idiot right before cheery-tasting lips were pressed against theirs. Then they were hugging, then tongues entered the picture and before they knew it, they were laying on the ground wrapped up in each other in their little cornfield cocoon of happiness and peace.

After what could be described as an epic make-out session they lay side by side on the ground looking up at the white clouds slowly moving across a blue sky. Lena turned on her side, propped up on her elbow, and looked down at them laying there with their hands behind their head and smiling with contentment.

“Can I ask you a question about your powers?” the ever inquisitive girl asked and with their eyes closed they hummed and nodded yes.

“How do you keep them in check during practice and games?” the pale girl asked and cracking one blue eye open they were met with curious green eyes.

“My powers aren’t fully there yet I guess and they kinda burst out when I’m upset and angry and most of our games are played at night…” they went on explaining how their Kryptonian body reacted to Earth’s yellow sun.

“…and at night they’re lesser? That doesn’t make sense since your cells should store the sun’s energy so maybe there is a psychological factor to them as well, but even without them you’re plenty swole,” Lena picked up on her explanation and elaborated on it with a bright smile and an excited tone to her voice that always carried more of an Irish brogue when the girl was problem-solving, happy, or turned on.

“Swole? Where do you come up with these words? But yes, my powers are lesser at night, and I guess you might be right,” they asked trying not to laugh but nodding their affirmation to the girl’s theory.

“I’ll work on that theory and hey, it’s what they’re calling you on social media after the last game, here let me read it for you,” the pale girl laughed, changing the subject, and they groaned as she pulled out her phone.

“O-M-G KD is huge I wonder how #swole they are under those pads!” Lena read out a post in a mock shocked valley girl accent and KD couldn’t hold back their laughter.

“Oh! It gets better… I bet they have like abs for days under that jersey… #showthegoods” the green-eyed and thoroughly amused girl kept reading but then her jaw hit the floor or technically the cornfield.

“They’re nothing special,” KD commented after pulling up their t-shirt and studying their abdominal muscles. Sure, they were hard and kinda rippling, but that was simply from them working hard on the farm and all of a sudden Lena was silent. It took them a few moments to realize because they had been so comfortable, that they had also flashed their small breasts at their girlfriend who was actually blushing.

“What? I shouldn’t hash-tag show the goods?” they asked not understanding what had shorted the poor girl’s brain out. It was only their body, after all, nothing special about it and they knew Lena had peaked when they had changed for bed during their impromptu sleepover the other night, but maybe this was somehow different, sexuality and stuff was hard to figure out.

“Maybe… maybe not your chest… but… Tesla’s Coils… can I?” Lena asked in a hushed and heavily accented voice with her hand already held out and shaking as her green eyes grew wide at the sight of their body under the morning sun and it made them feel… good.

“Uh… sure?” they offered and then gasped when cool and pale fingertips touched their stomach before pulling away like their tan skin had burned the girl’s fingers.

“Are you alright? I know I run kinda hot,” they apologized in earnest, and the pale girl nodded before putting her hand back on their stomach and gently feeling their musculature with shining green eyes.

“I… I’m speechless…” Lena whispered in awe, and they felt themselves blushing as their girlfriend studied them, explored them, and loved them. Half closing their eyes they gasped when pale and elegant fingers brushed the underside of their small breasts and they could hear Lena’s breathing becoming heavier.

“I like how your abdominal muscles taper down…” the green-eyed girl murmured upon finding her voice again while running her hand down their abs towards the waistband of their boxers but stopped there and looked them in the eyes with green eyes searching and questioning.

“Have you ever?” the sweetest girl on the planet, in their humble opinion, asked and they shook their head and smiled nervously. In fact, the thought had scared them right up until now, but here with Lena, just the two of them together, those thoughts didn’t seem scary at all.

“Full disclosure… I have… quite a bit actually… I mean I was expelled from an all-girls boarding school for excessive fraternizing and I totally get if that’s a huge turn off for you and…” Lena admitted averting her green eyes while slipping into a rare case of the babbles and then the girl looked to be getting ready to pull away, but they were quicker.

“I don’t care…” they whispered firmly but sweetly and placed the girl’s soft hand back where it had been before reaching up and pulling her down for a slow and loving kiss with their strong tan fingers weaving into the girl’s silky soft black hair.

Permission given, faults accepted, and Lena's hands were all over them, one feeling their chest gently while murmuring approvals into the kiss, with the other pressing against the front of their boxers and her stomach full of butterflies as they raked their own fingers through the girl’s hair before risking slipping one under the letterman jacket and gasping at the feel of a full and rounded not to mention braless breast against their palm through a thin t-shirt and when Lena moaned slightly their brainy bits stopped working altogether.

Now, things might have gone further there that morning in the cornfield under the blue Kansas sky, but Pa’s shouting about why there was a crater on his farm all of a sudden, broke the mood and they pulled apart giggling nervously as they fixed their clothing. Lena then pulled a doughnut from the brown paper bag and offered it to them with a shy smile which they returned and broke the offered doughnut in half to share while knowing that their time would come but it would not be right now.

Chapter Text

The Crows’ next game was another away game, and the media circus had come to town with them, in the form of even more local press, more spectators from out of town, and even a few reporters from around the state and in the middle of it all KD, flanked by the twins who rarely left their side now and, of course, Lena. Who was always there holding their hand and deflecting questions, but that was until a reporter asked the pale girl a direct question that visibly shook her.

“Lena! Lena Luthor! William, Daily Planet, what are you doing in Kansas? Does your family know you’re here and dating the Crows’ quarterback?” a reporter from Metropolis asked Lena and it froze the usually confident girl in her tracks.

KD’s first instinct was to put an arm around the shaken girl and then when the reporters wouldn’t let up with even more questions now directed at Lena, they pushed their way through them into the hotel. Which admittingly was an upgrade from their previous slightly shabby motel, and once in the lobby they turned to face their girlfriend.

“Boys go check into your rooms and rest up for tomorrow,” they told the twins who nodded and left them alone before they pulled Lena onto a couch in a quiet corner of the hotel’s small lobby.

“You alright Lee? That question seemed to hit you hard back there,” they whispered and stroked the girl’s pale cheek as lovingly as they could.

“You never asked about my family, so you really don’t know, do you?” Lena asked with wide green eyes to which they simply shrugged before responding.

“I know that they own some businesses around Smallville, and I know Lex Luthor and my cousin aren’t on the best of terms, but you seemed to want to escape it all… so I didn’t ask,” they explained how despite being well aware of who her girlfriend was from the start that they hadn’t cared. “Plus, you seemed like a nice enough girl when we met outside Mrs. Longbottom’s office,” they added with a smile.

“Only nice enough, uh? Careful there hotshot or you won’t be getting any more kisses after the game,” the pale girl threatened but there was a smile in her eyes and soon also on her lips.

“Ouch! Alright, a very nice girl then! But yeah, I don’t believe in judging a book by its cover but in my defense... your book had a very pretty cover, Quantum Mechanics Evolved if I wasn’t mistaken?” they asked with a sly smile and Lena first huffed then shook her head with a disbelieving chuckle.

“You remembered what book I was reading when we first met, are you for real, like I mean like real, nobody is that sweet,” the green-eyed girl laughed and rested her head on their shoulder as they wrapped their arms around each other in a warm and loving hug.

“What can I say but that us non-binary farmhands are just built different,” they joked and that earned them a kiss on the lips. A kiss that was sadly quickly broken up by Coach Mags approaching their quiet corner.

“Hate to break it up you lovebirds but it’s lights out soon, Coach Dan’s orders, but if you want me to have a word with that annoying reporter from good’ol Metropolis let me know,” the fiery coach told them with a knowing if a bit evil of a smile.

“Or I could have a word with them if you want,” a voice she hadn’t heard in months in person spoke up from behind the petite Latina and they almost cursed at the sight of Alex Big Sister Danvers standing there, with her red hair cut short, a smirk on her lips, dressed all in black, and looking at them curiously while giving a small wave.

“Hey there stranger you don’t call, you barely text, and so I had to come in person,” their adopted sister declared dramatically and they were up in a flash as they picked up Alex in a fierce bear hug which made the woman grunt in mock pain.

“I see Ma Kent has been feeding you! Now let me have a look at you,” Alex laughed and once they put their sister down, she looked them up and down in their red and gold tracksuit as they puffed out their chest a bit.

“You’re taller than me now and is this the girlfriend you oh so vaguely mentioned?” their sister asked and nodded at Lena who had gotten up and was standing slightly behind KD holding onto their arm protectively.

“Lena, this Alex, big sister, pain in my behind, supposed to be at college in California, and come to think of it what are you doing here?” they made the introductions and then asked with the mother of all raised eyebrows.

“Had some time off and decided to come and check out why my sibling was all over social media playing football and killing it I might add,” Alex replied, and they noticed the term sibling being used, not sister, sibling and that made them smile.

“Coach can I have a few minutes to catch up with my sister before lights out?” they asked and Coach Mags who was giving Alex a sideways glance, nodded, and then they turned to Lena who wasn’t really supposed to be here either.

“See you in the morning?” they asked looking down into those green eyes and Lena nodded before getting up on her toes to kiss them quickly on the lips before almost running away, probably from Alex.

“Don’t stay up too late KD,” Coach Mags told them and then gave Alex another look and a nod before adjourning to the room they shared. Because stupid school board still hadn’t figured out that they could just as well bunk with the guys.

“Cute coach,” Alex commented as she motioned to the couch and the siblings sat down with some distance between them at first.

“Yeah Mags is a good coach yeah…” they chuckled awkwardly and then went in for another long hug.

“Stopped wearing the glasses too I see,” Alex said with a smile once the hug broke up and sheepishly they fished her thick-rimmed and taped together glasses out of their jacket.

“Kinda hard to work on a farm and play football with glasses… hadn’t noticed really,” they explained and were about to put them back on when Alex stopped them.

“Don’t wear them on my account,” her sister insisted and with a nod they put them away again.

“Real talk. Did mom send you?” they asked next, and Alex shook their head with a smile which added to their confusion.

“No but she’s worried about you… says you have been very brief on the phone lately, but after seeing that picture of you carrying your girlfriend around on your shoulder she understands,” her sister laughed and they felt themselves blushing as they’d not really told anyone back home in Midvale about Lena yet, but stupid social media had taken care of that for them it would seem.

“You’re not going to tell me that I’m using my powers wrong then?” they went on asking with their head still full of questions and they really didn’t want to fight Alex on this like they had Clark.

“Judging by what I’ve seen online you seem to be taking your share of bumps out there and look I know I was maybe a bit paranoid in the past, but being away from Midvale has… relaxed me and I have learned some things about myself too,” Alex admitted with a shy smile and now it was the older sister’s turn to blush.

“Hold on… when you said Coach Mags was cute you meant like I want some of that cute?” they gasped and now blushing furiously and giggling their sister nodded.

“That’s so cool! Don’t date my coach! But that’s so cool!” they squealed and gave their sister another huge hug and a kiss on the forehead.

“It’s like being away from Midvale… just made things easier to see… you know,” Alex explained, and as much as it pained them both to admit it, being apart for a bit had allowed them to grow as people.

In fact, with KD not having to worry about disappointing her sister and Alex not having to worry about being her sibling’s secret-keeper and guardian both had grown much and learned more about themselves than they had even thought possible.

“Yeah I know the feeling and Lena knows… about the you know what… Clark came and made a mess of things, so she found out,” they blurted out while making flying motions with their hand and Alex groaned while rolling her eyes.

“Figures, and Lena, she’s cool with... you know the new pronouns?” Alex asked and with a huge smile breaking across their face they nodded like a bobblehead.

“Like she’s so super cool! Like our first date I dressed up in a suit and she loved it!” they exclaimed and with a laugh as their sister held up a hand to stop them.

“Slow down, a suit? A first date? Tell me everything!” Alex insisted and it was much more than a few minutes later after a long chat with their sister, who had promised to come to the game tomorrow, that KD dragged themselves into the room they shared with Coach Mags.

“You sister seems fun,” the coach commented from her bed where the woman was reviewing game plans for tomorrow.

“She says hi,” they blurted out and wanted to kick themselves as they stripped off the tracksuit and ducked under the covers.

“Oh does she now,” Mags laughed and then laughed hard when they groaned from underneath the covers for being a darn babbling fool.

“Forget I said anything,” they mumbled from their side of the room and the coach laughed again.
Now, despite their slight age difference, they had become friends of a kind and it felt nice to have an older friend like Maggie Sawyer even though she was going to fail them in biology if they didn’t shape up!

“Don’t worry I’m not in the market for a co-ed girlfriend,” her coach slash friend laughed which caused them to poke their head out from underneath the blankets to defend their sister.

“How come?” they asked with their head cocked like a curious cat and it was the coach’s turn to groan.

“Let’s just say I’m a bit burned by preppy college girls who are experimenting,” Mags replied and for some reason, they felt the urge to jump to their sister’s defense even more now!

“Hey, Alex is sweet, smart, protective, drives a motorbike and I’m pretty sure she isn’t experimenting with anything and if she was, she’d be honest about it!” they blurted out and then clamped their hands over their mouth.

“Sorry, sorry didn’t mean to overstep… I’ll be quiet now,” they apologized and turned to face the wall and away from their now amused coach.

“You’re a good sibling KD, but now get some shut-eye,” she simply replied and put her phone down.

“Night coach, but Alex really is great,” they mumbled still feeling embarrassed for their protective outburst, but if they had glanced over, they’d have seen that their coach was smiling slightly at the thought of a certain older Danvers.

The next day passed in a blur without incidents and it was just under two quarters into the game, and it wasn’t even close game, that things took one of those turns for them. With Alex in the stands, KD had felt a huge urge to show off and their joy at playing was infectious to the entire team and even Damian cracked a smile each time he delivered a field goal. Also, every time the huddle broke a shout of ‘Stronger Together’ could be heard ringing out over the field and every time they threw the ball the crowd roared or booed depending on how far behind the home team was trailing them by.

“And KD throws and what a throw, but having thrown bombs like that all game they will need a long ice bath after this one folks and Kim makes the catch and is brought down at the thirty-yard line hard, they can’t seem to stop KD, but your Reds can stop everybody else,” the announcer called out over the loudspeakers while playing to the home team’s fans.

The other teams in their conference had learned quickly that KD wasn’t to be messed with since they might have long blonde hair, pretty blue eyes and a hint of breasts, but that didn’t mean that they couldn’t hit back like a freight train if provoked. So, the opposing team’s tactic for today’s game had been to go after Harry and Duncan instead, and it pained them to see their friends and teammates being pounded into the turf at every opportunity.

“You okay HK?” they asked offering their hand to their wide receiver who was still on the ground after being tackled hard.

“I’ll live and I don’t mind taking one for the team,” the ever-jovial boy grunted and dusted himself down having become covered in dirt and grass stains over the course of the game.

“Wish I could do something,” they muttered as they jogged for the huddle together and the embroidered rainbow towel they’d been given hung proudly out the back of their game pants.

“You’re the QB, you throw and we take the hits. Also who cares as long as we're in the lead,” Harry shrugged but that didn’t sit right with them as they had this huge urge to protect their friends and teammates.

“Well maybe you don’t have to next time,” they said and leaned in to whisper the next play to their friend who was laughing when they rejoined the huddle.

“What’s so funny Kim?” Damian asked with a scowl as he’d also been taking a beating out there.

“KD here is going to teach those guys a lesson that’s what’s so funny,” Harry explained, and they grinned at their frenemy who shook his head but did smile.

“What’s the play boss?” Wyatt asked with him and his brother Earp smiling because they loved their sometimes cowboy-like playstyle of making things up on the fly.

“Now if coaches ask it was my idea, but…” they explained the play and the huddle broke with them shouting ‘Stronger Together’ as they got into position.

“Charging Byson, Charging Byson, hut, hut!” they called the play as Coach Dan and Mags shared a confused look on the sideline.

The ball snapped into their hands, the players clashed in front of them and with a grin they handed the ball to Harry who took off, but then so did they and the first tackle aimed at their friend was deflected by them and the defender sent flying.

“I can’t believe it, KD is playing blocker for Kim, taking on all comers as he runs behind them, they’re at the twenty-five, the twenty oh what a hit! They’re running like a freight train through anyone who gets in their way, the fifteen, the ten what a blow, KD is down but Kim keeps running, he jumps over the last-ditch effort at bringing him down and touchdown!” the announcer shouted over the loudspeakers as they were finally brought down by two defenders going high and low, but it didn’t matter Harry hadn’t been hurt and they could take a tackle or three. But while doing a celebration dance in the endzone with Harry they missed Coach Mags glaring daggers at them from the sideline.

“KD what the hell was that?” the beyond her usual amount of angry coach demanded once Damian had kicked the field goal and the offensive team ran to the sidelines.

“I… I didn’t want Harry to keep getting hurt,” they stammered as the fiery coach looked up at them and even coach Dan didn’t look so happy with them either.

“And you getting hurt is the better outcome? We’re a team KD you know what that means right?” Coach Dan rumbled and all of a sudden, they felt silly for having done that as they nodded.

“Everyone has a role and relax Mags I’ve got this, go check on Harry,” he went on as he nudged the assistant coach to one side and then guided them to an empty spot on the end of the bench.

“The twins there, their job is to stop anyone from getting to you, Harry and Duncan’s job is to catch the ball and yes get tackled, and you, you’re the quarterback, your job is to direct the offense and make sure everyone does their part. Do you understand?” the patient man asked in his drawling voice.

“But I can do more,” they protested while gesturing to the field where the opposing team had just scored a touchdown.

“I know that and everyone does as well, but if you don’t trust your teammates to take the hits, well then you’ll spend all your time worrying about them and that moment of distraction could cost you and the team. Now if you want to play as a running back we can put you in that position, but you can’t be all things at once to all people,” he went on and smiled at them, and despite his sometimes bombastic demeanor during practice, the man was a real sweetheart as he brought them to an understanding on the value of teamwork.

“I guess, I’m sorry if I overstepped in my role and… and I’ll take the bench for the rest of the game,” they apologized taking off their helmet and thinking about the coach’s words.

“And get me hanged by the people watching? Don’t be silly now, but the important part is that you learned something here today,” Coach Dan laughed gesturing to the stands and at the rainbow flags waving there.

“I did… thank you coach… and sorry Mags,” they shouted over to the Latina who was still in a huff after being denied her chewing out moment.

For the rest of the game, KD played the role of the quarterback while making sure to scare the defenders by winking at them or simply smiling each time they lined up and then watching them jump each time they called a play. When the whistle blew on another victory they jogged from the field, helmet raised in the air and a beaming smile on their face, but then shouting and cursing in a thick Irish accent from the Crows’ cheerleaders nearby send them running in that direction and the guys followed.

“Hey get away from her!” they shouted as someone was trying to approach Lena and they planted themselves firmly between their girlfriend and a tall and handsome bald man. A bald man with awfully familiar green eyes and it quickly became obvious why Lena looked and sounded so utterly pissed off.

“I’m fine KD. I’m fine,” the pale cheerleader insisted and pushed them to one side before putting both hands on her hips. “My brother here was just leaving,” she then added with venom dripping from every word.

“I’m hurt, I only wanted to see if the rumors my secretary told me about you were true, nice high kick by the way, ballet lessons paid off?” Lex Luthor himself replied without flinching and nodded towards them.

“And this must be KD, and I see your tastes in partners has improved, but tell me are they the only one?” he commented towards them and at amazing speed, Lena lunged forward and slapped him across the face.

“If you came here only to be a bastard Lex, then please leave and even if you didn’t then also piss off!” the furious girl demanded and to underscore her point KD and the twins stepped up behind her with arms crossed over their chests.

“I came here to see what the fuss was about and to remind you that mother dearest will find out eventually what you’re up to here in dear old Kansas and by the way it is good that you’re not hiding your accent anymore, it suits you,” he replied and KD sensed a hint of honesty behind the condescending tone in his voice before he turned away and vanished into the crowd.

“Are you okay? Want me to have a word with him? Did he upset you?” they asked quick-fire questions as they looked down at the green-eyed and still angry pale girl.

“It’s fine, it’s fine, hey we won… let’s not have my brother ruin that for us, alright?” Lena asked with her eyes begging for them to drop this for now and unable to deny the girl anything they nodded and turned to face the cheerleaders and team who had gathered to watch the Luthor sibling spat.

“Shows over folks, but who are we?” they shouted with their helmet in the air and a huge grin on their face as they felt Lena standing next to them shyly holding onto their hand.

“The Crows!” they all shouted back at them and raising Lena’s arm in the air to show the girl that they were all with her in this, they shouted: “And what are we!?” they roared the question and were met with a chorus of “Stronger Together!” and then with Lena smiling at them they asked for it again. “I don’t think she heard you! What are we?!” and again they all answered with a roaring: “Stronger together!”

Chapter Text

When they returned to Smallville, Alex announced that she was going to stay a while and do online courses, which meant one more person at the Kent Farm. It was no problem, really, since KD was thrilled to have their sister back for a bit, emphasis on the bit. Furthermore, they were sure Alex staying had nothing whatsoever to do with Coach Mags, nope! Nothing. What. So. Ever!

On the other side of the siblings’ coin and much to Lena’s annoyance. Lex had also decided to stick around, and in his words look into the state of the family business units still operating in the Smallville area, and that decision had made Lena sad and in turn, made KD very upset and angry. So, they were using their Sunday afternoon workout to take out some of that anger.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thwack! Rang out in the barn as they worked on the old heavy punching bag hanging in their Sanctum of Serenity as Lena had dubbed it. Fists taped up, wearing tight red shorts and a white sports bra while barefoot they took out their aggression on the bag with dust flying with each blow. With their hair tied up in a ponytail and away from their face, they practiced their 'dancing like a butterfly' foot moves as they remembered that the Fall Ball was coming up and they had yet to ask Lena officially to come with them.

“Now what did that bag ever do to you?” Alex asked looking up from her seat in the recliner in the corner where their sister was typing away on her laptop.

“Picturing it as Clark…” Thud! “Lena’s no good mother!” Thud! “Lex…” THUD! “FREAKING LUTHOR!” they roared and delivered a spin kick to the bag that broke the chain it was hanging on and sent the poor bag that had never hurt a soul flying into a nearby wall.

“That’s the third time you break that chain today,” her sister merely commented as they picked the bag back up and stuffed it in the corner since they didn’t feel like welding the chain back together again.

“Guess it’s cheaper than therapy though, but how is Lena handling her big brother sticking around?” Alex went on asking while closing her laptop and tapping her chin thoughtfully.

“She doesn’t want to talk about it, but I guess having your older sibling around kinda stifles your style a bit,” they joked and Alex grabbed her chest in mock shock at such a betrayal.

“Point taken, but why the working out? Wasn’t all that work we did this morning out in the fields workout enough? I mean my arms still hurt,” her sister bemoaned their hard day's work on the farm as they climbed up onto the hayloft to hang upside down with their ponytail swaying back and forth as they started doing crunches.

“Helps me think… feels good…” they grunted with each lift and tried to ignore Alex’s laughter again.

“And Lena loves your abs, right?” her annoying but also annoyingly right sister commented as they huffed.

“Maybe… Lena is…” they started defending their girlfriend when they froze mid-crunch at a third voice in the barn.

“Maybe Lena is what?” the playful green-eyed girl asked with the Irish brogue in her voice strong today and KD looked at the girl from her upside-down angle with a foolish grin on her lips.

“Uh… Maybe Lena is super cute in that outfit,” they managed to say to which Alex snorted before muttering ‘nice save’.

“You’re the sweetest when you put your mind to it and yes for the record I do love their abs,” Lena, wearing a purple farmers' blouse over some jeans with yet another pair of sneakers, commented which made Alex more than a little grossed out as she stuck a finger down her throat and retched.

“I’ll leave you two lovebirds to whatever you do in here,” her sister declared and stood up laptop in hand ready to leave what was soon to be a public display of affection as KD dropped from the hayloft, doing a flip to land on their feet in a very superhero-esque pose.

“Tell Maggie I said hi,” Lena joked which actually made Alex blush more than a bit as she beat a hasty retreat, and KD laugh before their usual state of confusion set in.

“Didn’t know you and Coach Mags were on speaking terms,” they commented and picked up a towel to wipe themselves down.

“We aren’t but I couldn’t pass up a chance to mess with your sister like that,” Lena deadpanned with a smile dancing on her lips while giving them the once over with those appreciative green eyes.

“Oh, sneaky and a little devious but definitely top sneaky!” they laughed and then gulped as they saw Lena lick her pink and full lips and they knew they’d have to ask now or kissy-time might drain their limited brainpower away.

“Are you alright? You seem nervous,” their girlfriend asked as she tilted her head to one side while placing those soft and pale hands on their hips gently.

“Me nervous … pfft no… but you see… well… I… I want to ask you something… relationshipy…” they stammered feeling the girl’s hands on their hips and their brainy bits were heading for their usual meltdown.

“Oh, what’s on your mind? Hayloft? Back of the pickup?” the green-eyed imp asked while looking up at them with a smile now dancing on those very inviting pink lips. Come on focus Zor-El! Stay on target!

“I… yes… no… what I mean to ask is… do you want to be my date… to the Fall Dance next week? I mean it’s a silly name why not call it the Harvest Hoe Down or something like that? I mean we’re in Smallville which is like farm country, and I’d really like for you to come with me and…” they asked and then their brainy bits broke when Lena answered by yet again going up onto her toes and kissing them on the cheek.

“That’s it? You know sometimes I can’t believe that you’re real,” Lena laughed, and they responded by knocking themselves on their head three times to check.

“Pretty sure I’m real, and you didn’t answer my question,” they replied with a smile and that made their girlfriend laugh even louder as they wrapped their arms around her narrow waist.

“Of course I’ll go with you! Do you think I’m going to let my desirable quarterback go alone in all their nonbinary finery to be drooled over by Tesla knows who?” the green-eyed girl asked in return and then squealed as they were now hovering about a foot up from the barn’s floor.

“KD… why are we flying… I hate flying… and heights…” she went on to which they only wrapped their arms around the shorter girl tighter.

“I don’t know… the last time I flew it was because I was angry at Superman, but now it’s because I’m… happy,” they said with a laugh which the pale girl returned despite her fear of flying.

“As great as that is… I mean I’ve never given anyone wings before… but can we go down now? I mean I trust you, but like we’re going higher and how are you even flying, is it like a form of negative mass or some kind of tactile telekinesis?“ Lena was babbling half out of fear and half of curiosity as they lowered them both down to the floor and gave a sheepish smile in apology.

“You know I never thought about that before,” they mused and bent down to kiss their girlfriend on the lips.

“Maybe we should study your body then… I mean how the Sun affects your body…” Lena stammered in a rare slip-up as strong and muscular arms pulled her closer and KD only grinned.

“You like my body I can’t get over that,” they whispered against pink and cherry-tasting lips as green eyes went wide. They didn’t often take the lead, but Lena seemed to like it, so they pushed on.

“Well, you should get over that… It’s like… feminine and strong at the same time… like when you wore that suit you looked like the most handsome guy ever and now in this thirst trap workout outfit you’ve got going on, well you look like a goddess… and…” Lena couldn’t stop talking and the only way to stop her from passing out was to give her mouth to mouth via lots of kissing or so KD decided.

The embers of the weekend and the week’s afternoons passed with KD working on the Ford pickup at the back of the barn with a mixture of Alex’s and Lena’s help even though their sister called it a lost cause. But they had some time since there was a break in the Crows’ game schedule which worked out great since, according to Coach Mags, it gave the football team a chance to catch up on their studies. Which didn’t make any sense to KD since they always did their homework on their way home or in class, and it wasn’t like high school level math was hard for the former youngest member of the Science Guild.

It wasn’t until the night of the dance that things picked up, but not in a good way, even though things started out well enough with KD borrowing Pa’s Chevy again so they could pick up Lena for the dance. The green-eyed girl smiled at them when they emerged wearing Clark’s old tux to hold the passenger door open for their girlfriend. The royal blue and vested tuxedo had been tailored with Ma’s help to fit their tall and slender frame better, but then they’d added a few flourishes of their own even though their highspeed needlework had been a case of trial and error.

The vest they had embroidered with a golden symmetrical pattern of Kryptonian design and instead of a bowtie they wore a yellow, almost golden, shirt open quite far down onto their chest with no bra on since they didn’t really need one and resting against their tan skin was a gold ruby necklace that they’d found in Ma’s jewelry box. Finally, to complete the look, they wore their hair straight down over their shoulders and back, and they’d even put on some eyeliner, which Alex insisted made their eyes pop! Also, no glasses anywhere in sight!

“Oh my… I must have done something good in a previous lifetime,” Lena declared at the sight of them, and they did a twirl while smiling from ear to ear but then stopping to polish the toe of the brown shoes they wore on the back of their leg. Not that Lena was any slouch herself in the dressing department.

The pale girl had picked another green masterpiece of show-offy design, again going for a flowy comfortable skirt clinched in at the waist with a corset-like belt to highlight her figure and push up her bust, the girl’s porcelain shoulders were left exposed with amble cleavage, and the green skin-baring top had purple swirls on it. To top this all off, all that silky soft black hair was done up with curls falling down on either side of Lena’s face and she held a purple and golden clutch with low golden heels on as her usual assortment of silver rings adorned manicured fingers.

“Ditto…” was all KD’s brainy bits could muster in return but their wide blue eyes and goofy smile spoke volumes and as a bonus their stunned comment made Lena laugh as the girl elegantly slit into the passenger seat.

Once they got behind the wheel Lena leaned over and kissed them on the cheek which had become a stable of their young relationship. But the girl also ran her hand down their exposed chest and played with the red ruby that was resting against their skin which made them shiver as Lena gave an appreciative hum.

“What was that for?” they asked as the engine roared to life and they thought they really should do that electric conversion on Pa’s car soon. Thinking about that made it easier to focus on driving at least and not to think about Lena’s hand on their chest constantly as the girl pulled away.

“For being yourself,” the pale girl replied and settled back into the passenger seat while checking her lipstick in the mirror.

“No one else I’d rather be, oh I love this song!” they replied as they turned up the radio before tapping their fingers on the steering wheel and Pa and Ma were firmly to blame for their newfound love of John Denver.

“Well life on the farm is kinda laid back…” they started singing along with the radio before they caught themselves and stopped, but for some reason, the singing made Lena smile in their direction, so they kept going.

“Ain't much an old country boy like me can't hack,” they went on and Lena’s phone was out filming them now with the girl openly giggling, but there was nothing but sweetness in her green eyes.

“It's early to rise, early in the sack,” they sang and giggled before putting more gusto into the next slightly altered verse: “I thank Rao I'm a country boy!”

“Come on, join me,” they insisted and Lena threw up her hand to beg off in a futile protest but after a few pokes in the side joined in their singing.

“Well a simple kinda life never did me no harm,” Lena’s Irish-accented voice joined with theirs a bit insecurely.

“Raising me a family and living on the farm,” they sang together as Lena’s voice grew stronger and with both of them grinning as the Chevy sped down the road towards Smallville.

Pulling up to Smallville High School they parked the car and hurried out to hold the door for Lena who stepped out while accepting their offered hand with a smile. In fact, the genius that had burst into their life often complimented them for being cute and old-fashioned which in turn made them do more of it.

The Fall Dance, or as Lena now insisted on calling it; the Harvest Hoe Down, was in full swing when they arrived. Stepping into the school’s gym they posed for a photo with a corny, literally, background with Lena’s arm around their waist and KD smiling like an idiot with that million-megawatt smile that was all over the sports pages in Kansas by now.

The gym itself was decorated like something out of a movie, there was a punch bowl, there were banners, and there was a DJ dressed up like a scarecrow. The music was loud as Lena all put dragged them onto the dance floor despite their protests that they couldn’t dance, but the pale girl proved to be a great teacher and they decided that dancing with Lena was fun!

“Oh my gosh…” they gasped during one song when they felt the girl’s bottom grind against their crotch as they held up their hands so as not to grab said bottom and turning around Lena was grinning at them with her best who-me smile.

“What’s the matter hotshot?” the Irish-accented girl teased them as pale arms wrapped around their neck but not before taking one of their hands and placing it firmly on that soft and round bottom as their brainy bits entered critical shutdown!

“Tingly…” they managed to squeak out as they gave a squeeze and that made Lena throw back her head laughing before kissing them hard on the lips with unbridled passion. First, they almost panicked since people were watching, and then -and then they didn’t care!

“Come on let’s get you something to drink to clear your throat,” Lena giggled once she broke the kiss with her green eyes dancing and pulled them off the dancefloor and they were quite happy being guided around, but at the refreshment table, both of them froze.

“Alex!” “Lex?!” both of them shouted at the same time, though KD was a bit more happier sounding than Lena was at seeing her sibling.

“What are you doing here?” they then both asked in unison which made Alex laugh while Lex simply smirked.

“Chaperoning,” Alex explained and to which Lex only nodded as Lena kept glaring at him while holding onto KD’s arm firmly.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” they asked with a pout as Alex patted them on the head with a wide grin. Their sister looked comfortable in tight black jeans and a white shirt with a leather jacket over it with matching boots on her feet. Good for Alex, dressing like she wants they thought.

“And ruin the surprise? Never! Maggie asked me to pitch in, and as for Alexander, sorry Lex, well he’s been coy on the subject something about a waitress and…” their sister explained motioning to a surprisingly casually dressed Lex Luthor in jeans and a buttoned-down shirt, though both probably cost a fortune, before being cut off by Lena.

“Alexander? Really Lex?” the green-eyed girl demanded from her brother to which he simply flashed his infuriating, to Lena at least, smile.

“I used to attend this school you know, for a short while, so when I came to town I visited the principal to see my old stomping grounds and to see if LuthorCorp could sponsor the Crows,” he explained without missing a beat which seemed to just anger Lena even more.

“It’s okay,” they whispered into Lena’s ear before she could go off on her brother again and then politely smiled at their up-to-something sister and Mister Annoying himself Lex. “Excuse us, we’re just going to get some fresh air,” they explained, and then all put dragged Lena out back to cool the fuming and nearly growling girl off.

“I don’t need to be saved from my brother thank you very much!” their girlfriend huffed once they were out back in the parking lot behind the gym and yanked her hand free.

“I know that, but there is no need to start a war on what’s supposed to be a fun night,” they countered patiently with a smile as Lena tried her hardest to be mad at them, but it didn’t last too long.

“He’s just so… ugh!” the pale girl declared throwing up her hands before kicking a nearby trash bin with gusto which was quite the feat in those heels.

“Siblings can be that way, but he doesn’t seem to be a bad guy, I mean I’m sure he’s not a goody two shoes, but he doesn’t seem all that bad,” they rambled which made Lena stop, turn around and look at them all funny like.

“Was… was it something I said again?” they asked looking around to see if someone was behind them.

“You really do trust people, don’t you?” the pale girl asked while walking back up to them with green eyes searching their eyes for answers and all they could do was nod.

“Well…. Yeah, even after what happened back in Midvale… I still think people are mostly good even though there are some rotten apples,” they explained how they viewed the world and people in general.

“Before I came here, things were never simple, but with you… they just are…” Lena admitted and once again those pale arms snaked their way around KD’s neck.

“Help!! Let go of me!” rang out before their lips could meet and KD was off in a flash leaving Lena’s dress and hair billowing in the backdraft caused by their burst of superspeed.

Nearby a clearly tipsy-looking girl had been dragged into the back of a pickup truck by some equally drunk seniors, though they didn’t recognize them on sight and maybe there were another bunch of out-of-towners, regardless this was not okay and pulling off their jacket they shouted and banged on a nearby trashcan to get their attention.

“Pick on someone your own size!” they shouted, and the now sneering drunk seniors turned to face them as the tipsy girl kept struggling to get away.

“Mind your own business boy-bitch,” one of them spat at them to which they tried their hardest to be diplomatic.

“Last chance. Let her go,” they offered before balling up their fists while getting ready to apply some physical diplomacy.

“Five of us and one of you all alone, so piss off before we decide to do you too,” another one of the assholes tried to scare them off as four of the dirtbags jumped down from the back of the truck and they smelled like cheap beer and whiskey.

“Actually, they are not alone,” a voice rumbled as Lex Luthor of all people stepped up beside them on the right while rolling up his sleeves.

“And three on five sounds like a fair fight to me,” Alex quipped in as she joined them on their left side while shrugging off her leather jacket.

During the standoff, Lena had snuck up onto the back of the pickup and delivered a swift kick to the remaining dirtbag’s groin and as he screamed bloody murder Lena pulled the girl from the truck and they ran off. Upon hearing their buddy’s high-pitched squeal at having the family jewels caved in, the four facing down KD, their sister, and apparently new friend Lex Luthor, shouted to get them boys! All of a sudden, the three on five became more like three on seven as another nearby pickup emptying of angry teenage boys rushed them and the fight was on!

“Really… got to… stop getting into brawls!” KD grunted as they mostly dodged and avoided contact with all their training as a quarterback coming in handy. Also, with people watching, mostly Lex, they couldn’t really start tossing these fools around as they did with the bails of hay on the farm, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t apply some creative use of momentum to send them flying.

“What you mean stop! There have been other fights?” Alex shouted in shock while she had one of the dirtbags in a headlock as she kicked out at another one, hitting him square in the chest and sending him crumbling into a heap on the ground.

“Long story! Lex behind you!” they shouted, and Lena’s brother gracefully ducked an incoming haymaker from behind and swept the attacker’s legs from underneath him before advising him to stay down.

“Oh fiddlesticks,” they then cursed when two of their attackers decided to rush them which in turn forced them to do a flying tackle with both arms stretched out and crashing them all onto the ground.

“Kindly stay down,” they muttered and held them both down with a hand on each of their chests as the cursing boys struggled in vain to get up.

It was while diplomatically holding the two down that someone got in a lucky blow to the back of their head. Now, it probably hurt the person delivering it more than them but before they could react Lex came rushing to their rescue, so they played dead by falling onto their back.

It wasn’t long before the jerks with no manners and their buddies beat a hasty retreat as none of the trio seemed to be going down easy. Especially with Lena joining in by jumping on the back of the one that had hit KD and clawing at his eyes and face while cursing in Gaelic. Well, running away was the best decision the boys made all night. Laying on the ground they groaned thinking why they kept getting into these situations when looking up they saw Lex smiling down at them and holding out his hand.

“Thanks,” they grunted as they accepted the man’s hand and allowed themselves to be hauled to their feet.

“Anytime and you’ve got that Kent family noble streak that’s for sure,” he commented as Lena came running to swat her brother away.

“I come in peace,” he offered his sister who glared at him before checking over KD’s face and hands for cuts or bruises. Of course, there were none due to a few more weeks spent in the sun or maybe it was down to them now more aware of their powers, but Lena checked twice anyways.

“You’re an okay guy in my book Lex,” they commented despite Lena’s annoyed grunt, and they gave him the scout salute which he surprisingly returned.

“Like I said, anytime and Lena I assume that you have got our friend here well in hand?” he nodded as he fixed his sleeves, and still frowning Lena grunted back at him.

“I do and thanks,” the pale girl grumbled under her breath as he simply laughed and turned to walk back inside while whistling the tune to Country Roads.

“He’s not such a bad guy,” they commented as Alex joined their girlfriend in checking them over even though their sister was sporting what looked like would be a black eye by the morning as she brought them back their jacket.

“Maybe not, but I still don’t trust him, but you’re amazing,” Lena replied while still being wary of her brother but then kissed their cheek as a reward for being a brave and noble idiot.

“Thanks,” they nodded to their sister while accepting the jacket to which Alex huffed and rubbed her face while looking up to the sky to ask the gods above a silent why me.

“You’re welcome, but we’re going to have a long talk about these other fights you’ve been getting into,” Alex assured them as they merely shrugged.

“We will, but I think they’re playing our song,” they said with a smile as the music from the dance was still spilling out into the night.

“Corny!” Alex declared but got smacked in return as they gathered Lena up in their arms and carried her back inside despite the pale girl’s loud protests to be put down right this second or else hotshot!

Chapter Text

Things did, thankfully, settle down again for a bit after the Harvest Hoe Down, even though Lex kept hanging around town and Alex showed no signs of leaving, which was fine-ish. Better yet, they hadn’t gotten into trouble for beating up those dumbass drunk guys when rescuing that girl, and they suspected that Lex might have had something to do with that, and on top of it all, all of a sudden, the Crows had new practice gear and so they also guessed he had meant what he said about sponsoring the team.

Though her teammates, most notably the Twins and Harry had been a little miffed at being left out of a good scrap as the boys called it once they had found out about the fight. KD had done their best in assuring them all that if they had needed backup, they would have called for it, but then they had explained diplomatically that they had seen no need to ruin their teammate’s night since along with Lex and Alex and some groin kicking and eye-clawing from Lena it hadn’t been too tough of a fight. Still, the Twins were adamant that Lena and KD were their responsibility to look out for, which was very sweet of them.

“You think he’s a good person?” Lena asked them out of the blue one afternoon the week after the dance as the pale girl sat curled up in the beat-up Laz-y-boy chair in the barn as KD worked on the breaks of the blue pickup that was slowly returning to its former glory. It might even be ready for Prom!

“Who do you mean? Lex?” they asked pushing themselves from underneath the pickup and wiping the oil from their hands as they wore only overalls with a loose tank top and boots while working.

“Yeah, I mean he’s kinda been I won’t say nice, but inoffensive and he did help you fight off those guys,” the green-eyed girl mused as they made sure their hands were clean before leaning against the hood of the truck.

“I mean I researched him after he showed up and he does seem to have more than a little dislike for Superman. But, don’t get me wrong it’s not like… super-villain levels of dislike since I totally get having those feelings since Kal can sometimes have a bit of a stick up his butt,” they admitted as they watched Lena play with a lock of her black hair while thinking and chewing on her bottom lip while somehow making grey sweatpants and their red Crows jersey look good.

“That’s his ego talking, but you didn’t answer my question, is he a good person?” the pale girl asked again, and taking a moment to think before they answered they then smiled.

“I mean he’s definitely devious, but so are you no offense, has a mean left hook, and is full of himself, but yeah I don’t get bad vibes from him, and thus yes in my book unless something happens he is a good person,” they thought aloud as Lena laughed.

“You are so honest!” the green-eyed girl declared to which they could only shrug and smile. “Now come over here hotshot,” she then added while motioning for them to come, and like a cartoon character drawn to the delicious smell of a pie, they floated over.

“It’s fascinating,” Lena mumbled as she cupped their face once they were close enough and leaned in for a kiss, and once again their brainy bits refused to work so well.

“What is?” they asked dumbly with blue eyes wide open as they leaned over the chair that their girlfriend was oh so comfortably spread out on.

“Your powers seem to kick in when you’re either happy or angry, and you don’t need a bra which makes me jealous!” Lena replied and they blushed even harder because the girl was looking down the neckline of the loose top they wore with a huge approving if slightly teasing smirk on her pink lips.

“That’s me… firm and… perky… sometimes flat…” they gulped and then squeaked when Lena pulled them down on top of herself with an appreciative hum for an impromptu make-out session.

It should be mentioned at this point, that they hadn’t gone past making out, not since that almost thing in the cornfield, and they were both fine with that. Since KD didn’t want to rush anything, and Lena seemed to enjoy the slow and lazy approach they were taking with their intimacy. So, they chalked that up as a win. Then things got a bit blurry as they placed one hand on Lena’s left breast which even with the baggy jersey and bra between their hand, and all that soft and pale flesh and yet it still felt so warm and firm as their girlfriend’s tongue snaked its way into their mouth.

After a week of relative normalcy, during the Crows’ next game, things started to get weird again, or as Coach Dan put it; the Smallville Weirdness was back it would seem just like when Clark Kent went to Smallville High. The team they were playing had come into the game with just one win to their name and yet were now playing like NFL pros as Coach Dan noticed, and so did Mags and Lena and even Lex and Alex up in the stands. Lex had shown up to the game much to Lena’s annoyance, but to KD’s annoyance, Alex and Lena's Brother seemed to be kind of getting along.

“Yeah, they’re all so fast! Like me and KD here fast and then some,” Harry muttered placing an icepack on the side of his neck after a nasty tackle as the team watched their defensive line get obliterated.

“Something is up, their kicker might be part mule and that’s some messed up genetic tampering right there,” Damien huffed with a scowl on his face kicking up a piece of the turf while sporting a busted lip

“Horse steroids?” Duncan grunted his theory while nursing his knee with an icepack and his mouthguard hanging out of the corner of his mouth to which the Longbottom Twins shook their heads.

“Horse steroids don’t work like that, our uncle Mike tried those and it didn’t end well for him,” Wyatt stated flatly as Earp chuckled at some very interesting Longbottom family memory though neither twin looked any better than the rest of them as both were covered in dirt and grass with red puffy faces from exertion.

“Heads in the game guys, we just need to play better than them! Now next up we’ll go with Brown Sheep on three,” they declared trying to put a brave face on their lopsided score as they looked the least beat up of the team, but even they glanced in Lena’s direction for some moral support and she smiled back at them reassuringly which made them think that maybe it was just a fluke quarter.

Nope, by Rao, It wasn’t a fluke, after barely finishing calling the next play the visiting defensive line was all over them and KD was being tackled hard to the ground the moment the ball left their hand, and then it was intercepted by a player who should not have been able to jump that high in pads and a helmet. Only a scramble by them and the Longbottom Twins helped avert a disaster, but they entered halftime trailing by a wide margin, having barely been able to move the pigskin up the field except once thanks to a heroic effort by Duncan who was going to need an ice bath after the tackle that he’d taken near the endzone.

As the team made their way from the field with their heads hanging low, Lena came running up to them and pulled on KD’s hand with an urgent look on her pale face as if imploring them to stay behind for a second with concerned looking green eyes darting from side to side.

“What is it babe?” they asked looking around for trouble and waved for the team to continue into the locker room as Lena pulled them halfway into the tunnel out of sight and earshot.

“They’re augmented, I don’t know how, but something is boosting their cohesion,” the pale girl whispered after looking from side to side. “I was watching them closer and after every play you call a few of them freeze up like they’re listening to something or being programmed,” the genius cheerleader went on explaining why she thought they were losing so badly.

“Augmented, how?” they asked and glanced out at the field wishing that her X-ray vision would kick in already or at least that it would be daytime so they could use their hearing better. On a poorly timed cue, for a second their super-hearing kicked in when they thought about it, but it was a bad idea since they had no control over it and winced as they focused on Lena’s voice instead.

“My guess would be some kind of nanites, temporary of course, administered orally,” a new voice spoke out, and looking up they saw Lex leaning over the railing above the tunnel.

“Lex get lost!” Lena hissed at her brother who as always ignored her and swung himself rather gracefully over the railing and landed next to them.

“No can do, all this is looking very unsportsmanlike to me and you know how I like things fair,” he chuckled as they noted that he was wearing a red and gold Smallville Crows ballcap which clashed with his white shirt and grey slacks, but with the sleeves rolled up Lex Luthor didn’t look too out of place at a Kansas football game. Okay, maybe just a little.

“I agree with Baldy McSmartypants,” they heard from above again, and then it was Alex’s turn to swing herself over the railing and join them as now it was KD’s turn to groan.

“Alex you don’t know that, maybe they’re simply playing well and have been hitting the weights,” they insisted since their first impulse was to always think of the best in people and not the worst.

“Hitting the weights does not give you jumps like I saw from that guy who caught your pass,” Alex insisted and they rolled their eyes at their sister’s choice of language.

“Jumps, really?” they asked but all three pairs of eyes looking back at them weren’t amused. Well, Lex did look a tiny bit amused.

“Fine, fine, what does the Brainy Bunch think we should do then?” they asked, and seeing stereo-raised eyebrows from both Lena and Lex was actually quite cute.

“Brainy Bunch, I like that,” Alex said with a smirk, and they wondered if their sister was ever going to go back to college.

“You, keep leading the team, Lex I hate to ask you this, but remember those hand signals we used as kids?” Lena stated firmly while taking charge though she looked loathed to ask her brother for help and then to their surprise he actually smiled and nodded his bald head.

“Good, I’ll keep an eye on things from the side-lines and when I see them freeze up again I’ll signal you to work your magic to track the signal I think is being sent to them,” the green-eyed genius laid out the plan and Lex held up his very fancy looking phone.

“Can do, haven’t had this much fun since the last Wayne Manor party,” he declared and that left Alex as the odd woman out.

“And what about me?” their sister asked with her arms crossed over her chest, as always her sister was wearing a black-on-black outfit, but sporting a pride pin over her left breast and of course representing the Crows with a red and gold ballcap.

“Once Lex finds the source, you need to go and knock out the signal or the person broadcasting it, I’m sure you can manage that,” Lena explained to Alex who gave a not-so-innocent who-me look before flashing a wicked grin.

“Yes ma’am,” Alex saluted the younger Luthor, and at least their sister and their girlfriend seemed to get along even though it was when it came to violence.

“Look you guys do whatever sneaky and or devious stuff you need to do I’ve got to go give a speech,” they declared, leaned in, and kissed Lena which made both Alex and Lex turn to look away and then they jogged back down the tunnel hoping that Lena was somehow wrong, but of course, she wasn’t, Lena Luthor was rarely, if ever, wrong.

After rallying the troops in the locker room at halftime they took the field again and like last time the urge to do it all by themselves and protect their teammates was strong but they knew that they had a role to play. So did Harry, the Twins, Duncan, and even Damien. There was no I in Team, even though in Kryptonian there was, but they put that fact out of their mind for now.

“Blue Byson, Blue Byson, hut, hut!” they called the play and Lena had been right! There was a barely perceivable ‘freeze’ in the defensive line as they called the play, but they could work with that or more accurately around that.

“Purple Alpaca! Double Sweet Surprise!” they shouted the change of play, and it threw the opposition into disarray as suddenly, the skill, speed, and strength they had been displaying seemed to leave them.

“KD is changing the play on the fly folks, Harry is running, Duncan is running, but wait! Is that… Wyatt Longbottom! Yes! The guard is making his way up the field! KD pulls back, the Smallville Howitzer is locked and loaded, and they release, perfect spiral as always and Longbottom is at the forty, he catches it, the thirty, look at the big fella go! Twenty! Close call there! Ten and… and… touchdown Crows!” the announcer shouted himself hoarse over the loudspeaker as Wyatt emerged from the dogpile of defenders in the endzone, spiked the ball, and chest-bumped his twin brother.

Glancing up at the stands they could see that Alex was gone and Lex gave them a knowing nod and a smirk. The guy wasn’t that bad, egomaniacal yes, ruthless yes, but not really evil, though Lena would no doubt add yet to that statement. Once they set up the kick for Damian and collected their extra points, they jogged back to the sidelines and caught a glimpse of Alex returning to her seat, nursing her knuckles but otherwise smiling from ear to ear. Their sister exchanged a few whispered words with Lex and both left the stands together. Making them think that maybe soon they would have some answers to this Smallville Weirdness, but a referee’s whistle brought them back into the game.

After squeezing out a tie, since they had been trailing by a lot at halftime and it had been a lot of ground to make up, but a last-minute Hail Mary or Hail Rao pass to Duncan sealed the deal just before the whistle blew. It wasn’t a win, but as Coach Dan told them in a rather inspired speech, no one wins it all except for the 1972 Miami Dolphins. Once showered, and having promised to come to Harry’s party tomorrow they found themselves sitting in the diner an hour or so later with Lena next to them, her hand on their knee and Alex and Lex in front of them with their sister icing her bruised knuckles.

“So I found this van parked outside the field, one guy inside it, enough computer power to beat a chess master and he was wearing some kind of helmet so I punched his lights out and tied him up before going to get Lex,” Alex was explaining how she had found someone seemingly remote controlling the visiting team.

“But? Why do I feel a massive but coming?” they asked and stuffed a forkful of pancakes in their mouth as Alex looked a bit sulkier.

“Like I said, I went to get Lex, I was gone only a few minutes and when we came back…” Alex went on and Lex picked up the story.

“Gone, like it was never even there, smelled like something had been burned and I snuck into the security office to check the parking lot’s security cameras, and the tape was gone. I mean who uses tape in this day and age!” Lex went on sounding clearly frustrated at their lack of results.

“So, what happened, is the person okay, did they like hit a kill switch or something?” they gasped and that made Lex smile at them and shake his head as Lena whispered to them to watch fewer spy movies late at night.

“No, nothing so crude! I’m guessing they had backup waiting nearby in case something happened and them getting away like that was sloppy work on my part really, but Lena was right on the money,” he tipped his imaginary hat to his sister who for once smiled at her big brother.

“Did you see anything that could help us?” Lena asked Alex, and the pale girl was still wearing her cheerleading outfit, having left the pom-poms in her sports car, and darn it if she didn’t look good wearing their letterman jacket over that red and gold uniform. Focus Zor-El!

“I took a few pictures, here,” Alex handed over her phone and Lena started flicking through it with Lex leaning over the table. Twin pairs of green eyes scanned each picture at speed and as much as they didn’t like each other the Luthor siblings were both similar and brilliant and yet very much different from each other.

“Stop!” he called out and held up his hand as Lena stopped flicking. Pinching to zoom in, his brows furrowed, and Lena’s eyes grew hard.

“What is it babe?” they asked their girlfriend because they had never seen her looking this pissed off before! Not even when Lex surprised them at the game the other night.

“Her…” Lena declared and pointed at a small, slightly blurry image of a computer screen, squinting they could just make out a hexagonal shape with the stylized L in its center.

“Her?” they and Alex asked at the same second and both Luthors looked up at them and one with pure venom and the other with a sigh replied simply: “Mother!”

Chapter Text

Mother, now KD had a good relationship with all her mother figures, Eliza, Ma Kent, and even Lois to a degree were all supportive and important women in their life. The Luthor siblings however seemed to have a totally different relationship with their mother, one Lillian Luthor.

In Lena’s case, it was outright hostility, with her mother having many times tried to mold the bright and intelligent girl with her Irish brogue into a prim and proper and straight society girl fit for the very echelons of Metropolis high society. On all fronts, it had been a failure, and thus the girl’s exile to Smallville. Which they were very thankful for indeed!

In Lex’s case, it was more a case of extreme annoyance, since at his heart he was a businessman, sure he wasn’t Superman’s biggest fan or anything, but in his polite words, Lillian took things too far at times. By playing matchmaker for him for example, while he was happily single thank you very much, and stunts like what they had discovered at the game weren’t the proper use of breakthrough technology. In short bad for business.

“So your mother, infected the visiting team with nanites in their Gatorade, then had someone remote control them from a van to… win a football game?” Alex asked trying to piece things together while not sounding like she believed the conclusion she was coming to.

“Mother can be very petty, and no doubt this is her way to take our KD here down a peg in Lena’s eyes because a Luthor couldn’t possibly want to be associated with a loser,” Lex explained like it made all the sense in the world.

“But that’s…” Alex exclaimed as Lena more than happily finished the sentence for her with a frown.

“Psychotic or sociopathic, take your pick, but yes she probably saw the picture of KD and I kissing in the press or someone brought it to her attention and I’m sure in her mind this all makes perfect sense,” Lena grumbled and then with a huff snuggled up against them for comfort and warmth.

“That’s a lot of effort only to make me look bad when all she had to do was find my picture from junior prom where I had my dress on backward and man I didn’t like that dress one bit,” they joked and at that Alex laughed and Lex raised an eyebrow.

“Long story, but so what do we do since I am guessing your mom isn’t going to just let this go?” they asked and both Luthor siblings snorted in response.

“No, I expect at the next game we’ll see something new and different, it’s exciting really!” Lex exclaimed with his green eyes a light.

“Lex, really? You think this is going to be fun?” Lena asked of her brother with a sigh, and he nodded impishly, and again it struck them how much the siblings were alike at times.

“The game is afoot my dear Lenson!” he declared with a raised finger and KD couldn’t help but laugh.

“Lenson?” they asked, and their girlfriend let out a long-suffering groan and swatted her brother’s finger away.

“When we were little we would play detective games, we were… and I can’t believe I’m saying this in public, Lexlock and Lenson, the smartest detective duo in Metropolis!” Lena explained with a sigh but also did a little twirling motion with her finger in the air.

“And what am I then?” Alex asked actually getting in on the teasing with Lex with a mischievous smirk on her face.

“You, my dear, you’re our muscle, our faithful retainer and pugilist extraordinaire Alexandra the Great!” he declared and to his credit, Lex could spin a yarn when he set his mind to it.

“Just Alex please, but will she try to hurt KD? That’s what I’m worried about,” Alex asked while slipping into serious big sister mode.

“Not outright no, humiliate them, yes, ruin things for them on the field and off, most likely, but physically I don’t think she even can do that,” Lex concluded and rapped his knuckles on the table. Wait, did he know?

“So, my life as a newly out and proud nonbinary pansexual teenager doesn’t change much then? I mean I embarrass myself getting out of bed most mornings,” they deadpanned as Lena smacked them affectionately on the arm.

“I can take the lumps, but it’s the cheating I’m not happy with and none of those guys on the other team asked for this, so I guess we got to try to catch her in the act and make her stop,” they concluded firmly and nodded their head.

“That simple eh?” Lex asked and now Lena reached over the table and swatted him again up the side of the head for doubting her palfriend.

“That simple yes, now are you guys in?” they asked Alex and Lex who to their surprise nodded in unison.

“Well she’s in because she couldn’t stop staring at that fiery little coach of yours and would love to hang around Smallville a bit longer and I’m finding the lack of flying boy scouts and Cat Grants out here refreshing,” Lex quipped and got a punch in the shoulder from Alex for that. Oh, great their sister and their girlfriend’s brother were becoming friends, just perfect!

“Alex?” they and Lena both questioned the now blushing woman who was pleading the fifth to no avail with her hands held up.

“I might have gotten her number at the dance and I maybe have been too chicken shit scared since then to call or text her yet,” Alex finally admitted and looked ready to go hide under the table.

“Fascinating, but I suggest we adjourn for the evening before anyone dies of embarrassment or gets swatted to death,” Lex declared in turn saving Alex and waving down the waitress of the diner.

“Check please Eve?” he then asked the leggy blond who worked the diner, one miss Eve Teschmacher, who always had a sweet smile and most importantly extra pancakes for KD.

“Coming right up handsome,” the waitress smiled at Lex, and he smiled back, and Lena rolled her eyes.

“The help, really Lex?” the pale girl demanded of her brother which earned her a look from both KD and Alex.

“Eve is a smart woman, working her way through an online college, and she always makes sure my coffee is black and hot, what’s not to like?” he asked and didn’t even seem to be bothered by Lena’s glare.

“Now who is hanging around for a girl?” they asked which made him pause, look at them, and then laugh.

“I like you KD, which means there is even more reason for our dear mother to hate you,” he declared and stood up once Eve returned with their check, which he paid in cash with a generous tip and a friendly nod to the waitress.

Gathering outside the diner they said their farewells as Alex made promises to text Coach Mags as soon as she got some whiskey-induced courage in her and Lex made no promises whatsoever. Only saying that he’d be in touch once he knew more about what mother dearest was up to while mentioning that he was going to check out one of the farms owned by one of his companies before turning in for the night and then cheekily telling Lena not to stay out too late.

Once having hugged Alex goodbye, they had to admit that it was all too weird, and maybe that’s what Coach Dan had meant by the Smallville Weirdness being back, what with Lena’s mom using experimental technology to make them look bad and they had to admit that this was a new one, even for them!

“Give you a ride back to the farm hotshot?” Lena offered while flashing them that not-so-shy smile of hers and nudging her chin toward the small red sports car parked by the curb.

“Well it’s not dark enough yet and I can’t really run back there think you can keep your hands off me long enough to drive?” they replied jokingly and one of the many good things about being out as both nonbinary and an alien to Lena was that their confidence was definitely on the up and up. It did earn them a kiss on the cheek at least and a raised eyebrow that said clearly get in the car you goof.

“I’m sorry, that my mom is being a pain in our collective butts and for the Luthor madness having blown into your life,” the pale girl then apologized after they both slid into the car and thankfully the passenger seat was now always in the furthest back position to fit their tall and lanky frame.

“It’s okay, and it is not your fault and I’m sure we can figure out a way to make her see I’m not all that bad,” they asserted and then squealed when Lena’s arms wrapped around them and warm lips were pressed against a blushing cheek and then the side of their mouth in a series of butterfly kisses.

“What’s that for?” they asked, not that that it was bad or anything, but sometimes a warning before being hugged and kissed would be nice. Wait? Was this how they made other people feel with their rampant hugging?

“For being the best person I know and don’t worry Lex might be a bastard but he’s true to his word oddly enough,” the pale girl laughed and pressed the start button which made the tiny sports car’s electric engine hum to life.

“It’s almost if you like him… just a little bit,” they commented as Lena turned out onto Main Street and grunted.

“Growing up things were cool between us, but then he started being all business this and Superman that,” Lena explained and for some reason, KD felt the urge to squeeze the girl’s knee.

“My cousin can have that effect on people I’m afraid, but I’m sure it’s just male ego and he won’t do something like turn the sun red…. Right?” they asked and stared wide-eyed at Lena when the pale girl didn’t deny it right away.

“You never know with Lex, he’s got great passions and an ego that is about three sizes too big for that bald head of his to contain, but no I don’t think he will do that unless something drastic happens,” Lena reasoned and that made them breathe a sigh of relief since they liked Lena’s bald brother to a degree and hoped that whatever was going on between him and their cousin wouldn’t cause problems in the future.

“Maybe he just hasn’t met the good kind of flying alien yet, we’re not all boy scouts with savior complexes you know,” they cheerfully declared and that made Lena laugh.

“Oh, and who was it that flattened an entire defensive line when Harry got hurt?” the pale girl fired back which made them huff but then stick out their tongue for the lack of a decent comeback.

“Ah, but I learned from that didn’t I?” they declared proudly, and Lena shot her a look that said be quiet or I’ll stop this car right now to make out with you.

They rode the rest of the way to the Kent Farm in comfortable silence, as one of the things KD had found easiest around Lena was simply being quiet, no need to fill space or babble on about everything that came to mind since with the genius cheerleader they could simply be.

“One Quarterback extra-large delivered to the Kent Farm, and that will be nineteen-ninety-nine,” Lena announced as the little red sports car pulled up alongside the Kents’ house and the only light on was in the upstairs master bedroom. Which was to be expected, it was movie night for the Kents where they’d cuddle up in bed, watch old movies or new ones and eat popcorn and be cozy and the couple was sometimes too cute for their own good.

“Thank you, I’ll see you tomorrow right?” they asked but before they could move Lena’s hand had firmly been placed on the back of their head and she was tasting the girl’s fruity lip-gloss as Lena kissed them hard again.

Now being kissed by Lena wasn’t a new thing, they kinda did it all the time, but not much beyond that, and in reality, they hadn’t gone much beyond some experimental fondling over the clothes stuff. It was very sweet and innocent, and they both liked that, but this was somehow more heated and urgent than even their last session in the barn. Lena climbed over the gearshift and straddled them with both hands on their face and smiling with those dancing green eyes fixed on them as her cheerleading skirt rode up exposing pale thighs that they grabbed without realizing it. By Rao, they were so soft and smooth and made them feel tingly.

“Uh hi,” they breathed out with a smile once they were allowed to come up for air and Lena was slowly writhing back and forth on top of them now as those tingling feelings were intensifying.

“Hi,” Lena breathlessly whispered back, and the windows of the car were definitely fogging up as the pale girl shrugged off the letterman jacket she wore.

“You’re on top of me,” they managed to say since right now their brainy bits were not cooperating one iota instead their hands had somehow found their way onto Lena’s exposed pale thighs where their tan fingers stood in stark contrast to flawless porcelain skin.

“I noticed that, do you like it?” the pale girl playfully asked back and wiggled her hips and bottom against them, and this was definitely new territory but they let out a strangled moan.

“I do, does that make me a bottom?” they asked with such sincere innocence in their voice that Lena giggled and leaned in to kiss their neck.

“Where did you learn that term?” the green-eyed imp asked with that damn Irish brogue getting thicker again.

“I might have Googled… some stuff after that time in the barn when you said my boobs were perky…” they admitted while the giggles in their ear were driving them wild and then those pale fingers were tracing over their chest through the red and gold t-shirt they wore following the slight curve of their breasts.

“Is this alright?” Lena asked sweetly for their consent, and they nodded that it was more than okay as they squeezed the girl’s soft and pole thighs with both hands while inching towards her hips and bottom.

“Now what else did you Google about tops and bottoms? Want to see mine?” she then teased them while pulling up the hem of the cheerleading top she wore and all they could do was nod like a bobblehead and think boobies as the pale skin of Lena’s stomach greeted them along with the underside of her green bra! But before they could answer or see paradise by the dashboard light a loud bang startled them both.

With surprising speed, Lena was not only off their lap, dressed and back in the jacket, but out of the car looking around with the flashlight on her phone as Ma and Pa came rushing out with robes on and both sporting what looked like milk mustaches from hot coco.

“By Jove! What was that?!” Pa shouted before grabbing the flashlight that always rested on the deck of the house and shined it into the night.

“Sounded like it came from…” they tried to listen for other sounds, but it was night now and that meant super low power levels.

No! They thought and shook their head, they were smarter than that and knew that on some level that it was all in their head, it had to be. Then another explosion rang out in the night and this time they all heard where it was coming from and it was the next farm over, a good distance away, and even worse they all knew, aside from Lena, what it was right away.

“Stay here!” they told Lena and Pa as they took off at speed through the corn field, the yellow corn parting like the Red Sea before Moses as they ran through it and even did a few long jumps in the moonlight to cut down on time because seconds mattered right now!

The farm next to the Kent Farm was run by a large corporation, Pa said they were nice enough folk and the people working there polite. But another explosion signaled what many farmers dreaded thinking about. A corn silo explosion. One that had clearly gone off and it was spreading to the other silos as the night sky grew red with flames.

As they burst out of the corn field much to their surprise Lena’s red sports car was right behind them with Ma and Pa stuffed into it as well and holding on for dear life. Apparently, their girlfriend wasn’t about to let them do this alone. But they weren’t the only ones there trying to help because standing not far away, cutting a silhouette backlit by the flames, was Lex, dragging someone out of harm’s way.

“Lex? Lex! Get away from there!” Lena shouted at her brother in surprise as she jumped out of the car with Ma and Pa Kent tumbling out of the passenger side.

“Lena? Lena! Get back it’s too dangerous!” Lex shouted back waving for his sister to get back as the fire spread to the next silo and KD froze for a second as time seemed to slow down until they decided that lives mattered more than some stupid secret identity.

Taking a deep breath, they gathered their strength and then pushed themselves faster than they had ever done before until they became a red and gold blur darting across the farm, carrying injured workers out of the way and depositing them down where Lena and the Kents could see to them.

Then pushing themselves even harder since this wasn’t the time to hold back, they got to Lex at the moment of the next explosion as they felt hot fragments of the silo tear through their clothes and bounce off their back as they shielded Lena’s brother with their body, and then raced with him back to where Lena accepted him stumbling into her arms.

“Who?” the confused but still sharp Lex asked looking around and then looking up at his sister with realization dawning on his face.

“Help me treat the injured?” Lena simply asked of her brother with pleading eyes, and he nodded as they both briefly looked towards the burning silos and then at KD who had slowed down enough to be visible as they listened for more workers to rescue.

Sparing a glance at Lena once they were sure that all the workers had been gotten to safety, they smiled reassuringly at the pale girl while knowing that they needed to put out the flaming silos fast before the fire could spread to nearby farm equipment filled with fuel and after scanning the area their eyes landed on a nearby tanker truck full of water that would do the trick.

Racing across the farm they hoped they could be strong enough while crouching under the truck they hauled it up over their head with their feet sinking into the ground, the muscles in their arms and back flexing with their t-shirt in tatters from the fragments of metal that had hit their skin and then with a grunt their feet left the ground and they took to the sky.

Flying under their own power was something they’d recently started doing unconsciously when angry or happy, and so flying on purpose while holding tons of water above their head was pushing their limits. But here was the thing, those limits they realized were all in their head.

Rising up in the air, sweat dripping down their face they flew over the burning silos with the flames licking at their feet and with a roar tore the tanker in half sending its contents spilling out and dousing the flames with an angry hiss and an explosion of steam. And then things went a bit wobbly and foggy, and then they were falling, and like when they’d been tackled during their first game, they hit the ground hard with Lena running towards them screaming their name as things went from foggy to dark and cold but they did manage to smile up at their girlfriend’s blurry face.

Chapter Text

KD woke up with a start, sweating, panicked, for a moment they had been back on the ship in the dark and then a gentle hand pushed them back down onto the bed and they felt a cool and wet cloth being pressed against their forehead and sighed when the sunlight flooding in through their window hit their skin. The last thing they remembered was falling and Lena screaming. Lena! Their eyes popped open again as they tried to sit up but like before they were pushed back down yet again.

“Easy there hotshot… you’re back in Kansas,” Lena whispered while gently pushing them back down on the bed after blinking a few more times they could see that they were indeed in their room at the Kent Farm and second that Lena was smiling down at them while wearing one of their t-shirts and a pair of their shorts that looked comically oversized on the petite girl.

“What happened, the workers, the fire, Lex?” they asked as Lena dabbed the cloth into a bowl of ice water and kept wiping down their forehead.

“All taken care of darling… tell me again though, who doesn’t have a savior complex?” the pale girl replied with a smile and once happy with her work laid down on the bed next to them and cuddled.

“I… uh… I’m sorry… I think?” they managed to stammer out as the girl’s body molded itself against theirs.

“Don’t be, you were very brave but I think you either inhaled too much smoke or burned through the solar energy stored in your cells, which shouldn’t be possible, but whatever happened it had us all worried,” Lena whispered with her Irish accent strong and thick and the pale girl was babbling with worry, but it was smart babbling though.

“Us? Ma and Pa, are they okay? Alex must be worried sick!” they asked and felt Lena nod her head before resting it on their shoulder preventing them from trying to run out of bed to check on their family.

“They’re fine and I sent them to bed a while ago, you gave Martha quite the scare there and Alex came with the rescue workers and stayed a while before I managed to convince her to go to bed too,” the pale girl went on and slowly and awkwardly KD put one hand around their girlfriend who simply yawned.

“You sent Ma and Alex to bed! I’d have loved to have been awake for that conversation,” they chuckled and when no reply came looked down to see Lena sleeping peacefully while curled up against them. Deciding that catching a few more hours of sleep would not be a terrible thing they kissed Lena on the forehead and got comfortable and let the sun streaming in through the window work its magic.

After waking up with Lena, who did drool a bit in her sleep, but they didn’t mention that, instead they had showered, dressed, and left a note on the pillow. Wandering the farm for a while they found themselves out by the barn throwing footballs at makeshift targets that Pa Kent had made while standing in the sun wearing as little as possible. In only shorts and a sports bra with beat-up sneakers on their feet, they pulled back, took aim, and hurled the ball at the sheet-metal target with a satisfying clang!

“Good aim,” Lex Luthor’s voice came from behind followed by a slight cough as they grunted their acknowledgment of the greeting and picked up another ball, and hurled it at the same target. There was a slight autumn chill in the air, but the sun was strong, and they didn’t mind the cold.

“What brings you out here?” they asked Lena’s brother who was again wearing casual clothes even though jeans and a blue flannel shirt paired with work boots looked highly unnatural on the bald man for some reason.

“Wanted to inspect the damage from the silo explosions since it’s owned by a subsidiary of mine, and well… Lena didn’t come home last night and that had me worried,” he replied and picked up one of the balls and proceeded to throw it dead center on the same target they’d been using.

“Don’t worry she’s inside helping Ma make lunch now I think, want to stay for a bite?” they offered and picked a further target before throwing another ball.

“I don’t think Martha would appreciate having me over for lunch, but can I ask you two questions before I go?” he asked with a slightly raised eyebrow as he watched the ball sail through the air and smack into its target with another loud clang.

“Fire away,” they nodded as they watched him pick up a ball and narrow his eyes at the same target.

“What are your intentions with Lena?” he asked as he threw the ball and it connected with surprising force on the makeshift target.

“And here I thought I was the old-fashioned one,” they chuckled but humored him nonetheless. “Date her, make her happy and safe, and hope she’ll stick around once the school year is over,” they replied with that same honesty Lena always found so refreshing.

“Fair enough,” he chuckled but they could sense that was not his real question as he picked up the last ball on the ground.

“Are you an alien?” he asked plainly while holding the ball between his hands as they remembered the talks with Lena about the girl’s brother and they had not forgotten that he’d been there in the thick of things the night before while doing his best to save people.

“Yes, Kryptonian actually” they replied without hesitation and looked him dead in the eyes daring him to do what he wanted with that information.

“Ah, that explains a few things, but you do you know that your diminished power levels at night are a psychological thing, and KD I respect your honesty and…” he started and tossed the ball in the air as like his sister his mind went from one topic to another at great speed. “...I think you and me are going to get along just fine,” he then finished catching the ball again.

“I think we are going to get along fine and don’t worry I don’t plan on moving to Metropolis anytime soon,” they joked which got a laugh from the bald man.

“I don’t think I could share the spotlight with the two of you,” he laughed to which they put one hand on his shoulder in a gesture of friendship and support.

“You’re a good man Lex Luthor, maybe a bit egomaniacal, yes, but a good man,” they told him firmly since they suspected he needed to hear that from someone like them.

“You don’t know that KD,” he replied with his green eyes growing narrower and darker to which they flashed their brightest smile back at him and squeezed his shoulder.

“Maybe, maybe not, but you came out there to help last night and then asked about Lena before anything else and that makes you a good man in my book,” they told him firmly with all the honesty and intensity they could muster.

“Am I interrupting something?” Lena asked from behind them and turning around in stereo the pale girl, still wearing oversized shorts and now a flannel shirt borrowed from their closet, with oversized boots on her feet smirked at them both.

“Lex and I were just getting to a common understanding, weren’t we Lexy?” they asked Lena’s brother who looked like he was trying to find a way to escape.

“KD… KD here is a good person and I should be going,” he said hurriedly but much to everyone’s surprise Lena stopped him.

“Or you could stay for lunch?” the pale girl asked her brother who didn’t seem to know how to respond to such a simple and earnest request.

“I’m sure Eve will understand,” Alex asked now joining them after no doubt being sent out by Ma Kent to figure out what the holdup was.

“Et Tu Alexandra?” Lex asked in mock despair and looked at them for what to do. Which they were sure almost never happened since Lex Luthor wasn’t the kind of man to ask for help.

“Say yes, it will be fun,” they said with a shrug, and something seemed to soften in the man’s stance at that moment.

“Sure, but only if it is alright with Martha,” he conceded at last, and then Lena’s brother found himself being hugged by them as Lena and Alex watched on as a welcome to the Kent Farm family.

Ma was slightly surprised when they returned with Lex in tow, though she was more firm on KD putting some clothes on before sitting down at the table for lunch since this wasn’t in her words, Muscle Beach and they had company!

After lunch, despite Lena’s protests to stay put and heal, they had practice, and knowing their next game might be their toughest one yet, KD was determined to show up for it. Any assurances that they were fine now didn’t stop Lena from looming over them as they laced up their sneakers while sitting on the bed. Since with them sitting it was one of the few times their girlfriend could physically loom over them, and Lena took constant advantage of this.

“Fine, but I’m coming with you,” Lena announced pulling on a hoodie and a pair of jeans with a slight huff to her Irish-accented voice.

“But it’s not cheerleading practice today,” they dumbly replied to which their girlfriend responded by grabbing their face with both hands and kissing them on the lips.

“I know, but someone needs to keep that savior complex of yours in check or so help me god,” the Irish-accented imp declared while they smiled back goofily.

“It’s Rao,” they said which earned them a raised eyebrow. Now they had learned quickly that Lena’s eyebrow being raised could mean many things. Come over here hotshot was one meaning, and don’t even think about it cowboy was another. This one was of the explain-yourself goofball variety, however.

“Rao, the Kryptonian Sun God, protector of all things and bringer of knowledge,” they explained with their voice sounding awed and reverent and for some reason that made Lena kiss them again.

“How do I do that?” they asked themselves aloud which made the pale girl giggle and grab their hands before pulling them to their feet from the bed.

“If I told you then you’d never stop,” their girlfriend teased them and as they came running down the stairs hand in hand they were greeted by Alex and Lex giving them the older sibling patented, where-do-you-think-you-two-are-going look (trademark pending).

“Practice and no you can’t come with to make heart eyes at Maggie,” they told their sister who groaned but then stuck out her tongue in response.

“And don’t you have a business empire to run or something?” Lena asked her big brother who patted himself down looking shocked before pulling out a phone and winking at his sister.

“Modern times, modern solutions,” he joked and Lena, in turn, stuck her tongue out at her brother which only made him laugh.

“Well now then, if you two are sticking around the northern fence needs mending,” Pa Kent announced as he stepped out into the hallway, sipping his cup of coffee while eyeing up Alex and Lex who couldn’t come up with any excuses on that a short of notice to get out of farm work.

“You know the rules, Alexander, you eat, you work,” Ma Kent shouted from the kitchen and they could swear that Lex Luthor looked a little bit embarrassed at being called that.

“See you later then,” Lena announced with a smirk, gave Pa a hug, which the man awkwardly returned with one arm while holding up his coffee cup and then dragged them into the tiny red sports car outside which was more than a little bit dirty from the pale girl driving it through a cornfield the night before.

At practice, all the team could talk about was the silo explosion until Coach Mags broke it up with a sharp blast from her whistle that hurt their ears. While Coach Dan was sitting on the sidelines going over plays on his beat-up-looking tablet and Lena had parked herself in the bleachers with her camera in hand.

“Alright, I know we had a lot of excitement last night ladies, but as far as I’ve heard nobody was hurt during the silo explosions,” Coach Mags announced in an effort to calm the team down.

“I heard one of the workers in the diner this morning said both you and Lena’s sister were there?” Harry whispered to them and they only nodded since they knew better than to interrupt Coach Mags when she was talking.

“Now I won’t lie we had to fight for the tie last game and our next game is against the Blue Devils, they beat us good last season, but I think with some new plays and less heroics, we can show them who is boss this time around,” the fiery woman announced and blew their whistle sharply so they all jumped to attention.

“Which is why we’re going to do endurance training today, thirty laps, move, move, move,” Coach Mags shouted clapping her hands together sending them all running with groans and aww mans emanating from the team.

As they ran the laps, they noticed that Lena had moved down from the bleachers and was looking over Coach Dan’s shoulder shaking her head. Picking up snippets of the conversation each time they passed it was clear that the cheerleader slash genius was up to something.

“They’ll see that coming a mile away, you need to pull a shotgun play in that situation,” Lena told Coach Dan who grunted without turning around and kept tapping the screen with his large almost sausage-like fingers looking comically huge on the tablet’s screen.

“We can also run some plays where KD and Duncan run and Harry throws, in case they come prepared for us running our plays through them,” she added and again Coach Dan grunted while sounding happy for the advice and having been married three times knew better than to say no to a woman offering him advice.

“And you’re a cheerleader why again, Little Luthor?” Coach Mags asked joining the oddly matched duo with a smirk on her face.

“I look great in the uniform and it pisses off my mother and KD seems to have a thing for cheerleaders,” Lena deadpanned, and that made KD gasp and almost trip over their own feet as they ran past.

“Pick up the pace lover boy!” Coach Mags shouted at them for gasping almost squealing while falling and blew her whistle so loudly that they ran off with their hands over their ears.

“I like you Little Luthor, now let me see some more of these plays of yours?” the Latina then asked Lena who produced a notebook from her messenger bag with a grin.

“That easy uh?” the pale girl asked to which she received a rare raised eyebrow directed at herself.

“Luthors are geniuses, everyone knows that and we might as well use your brain since you’re willing to share, plus maybe we can compare notes on Danvers siblings,” Coach Mags grunted her response while shyly mentioning Alex indirectly and then smiled at the pale cheerleader who surprisingly smiled back.

“Aww,” they found themselves saying aloud at hearing Alex mentioned, which Coach Mags picked up on and now they were in trouble with the fiery assistant coach.

“KD stop lagging behind and making heart-eyes like your sister does! Ten more laps! For everyone!” the Latina then shouted and blew her whistle which caused them to stumble over their own feet, almost falling on their face before picking up the pace again with Lena giggling behind them.

After practice, their little war council met at the Diner and once they stepped inside, they spotted Alex and Lex sitting in their usual booth looking exhausted from what must have been a grueling day spent mending fences at the farm. Alex was resting her head on the table while using her arms as a pillow and Lex was looking slightly sunburnt on his bald head and had stripped down to just a t-shirt with his blue shirt draped over the back of the booth which was not a common look for the usually well put together businessman.

“You two look like shit,” Lena commented bluntly after sliding into the booth before holding up a finger to flag down Waitress Eve aka Lex’s country crush as Lena called the woman in private now.

“So many fence posts…” Alex mumbled into her folded-up arms as KD slid into the booth beside Lena and just then the waitress brought two menus, two glasses of water, and a bag of ice for Lex’s head.

“Thank you kindly,” he grunted with a smile that was in a way so much like Lena’s that KD found themselves looking between the siblings.

“You are welcome hun, and you two let me know when you’re ready to order, or do you want the usual?” the waitress smiled at Lex as he gave a sigh of relief while putting the bag of ice on his bald and nearly glowing red scalp.

“The usual,” KD nodded with a pleasant smile and handed the menu back while Lena paged through hers with her tongue poking out the corner of her mouth.

“And you miss Luthor, the usual?” the waitress asked the cheerleader who was scanning the menu before looking up in surprise.

“I have a usual?” the confused pale girl asked to which waitress Eve smiled back at the younger Luthor.

“Chicken salad, extra croutons, fries on the side, lots of ketchup, and a big fountain soda cola with lots of ice,” the blonde waitress replied which made Lex laugh, and Lena simply nod and hand her menu back.

“Impressive, then yes I’ll have my usual,” Lena said with a happy smile and the waitress gave a little wink before turning on her heel and heading off to deliver their order to the kitchen as Lex watched her leave which didn’t go unnoticed by his sister.

“Are you ever going to ask that girl out?” Lena asked her brother with a sigh as she followed his eyes and loud enough so that the waitress definitely heard it from a few feet away.

“Trying to make an honest man out of me again?” Lex fired back and rubbed the bag of ice over his bald head with another happy sigh.

“Or just trying to get you laid. I’m nice like that and I bet it has been a while,” Lena fired right back at her brother which caused KD to spit out the water they’d been drinking all over Alex and Lex.

“Ah sweet relief,” Alex clearly still out of it mumbled half-asleep on the table as the spray hit her forehead.

“Don’t be so crude,” Lex launched his counterattack while dabbing the water from his face with a napkin and the game was on because nothing was more fun to the Luthor siblings, it would seem like, than a good ribbing match.

“It’s not crude if it’s true,” Lena commented while sticking out her tongue at her older brother while making a point of cuddling up to KD who simply blushed and shook their head trying to indicate to their girlfriend’s big brother that nothing had gone beyond second base yet.

“Eve isn’t that kind of girl and didn’t you get expelled for that kind of talk from your last school?” he asked back which was both oddly sweet sounding while also getting Lena’s blood up.

“Among other things yes and I’m just saying maybe getting your mind off the Boy scout in Metropolis and onto Waitress Eve would be a good thing,” she then countered and the banter between the siblings went back and forth until KD’s stomach grumbled loudly enough to draw the attention of Waitress Eve who arrived quickly bearing their orders.

“Here you go, salad with extra croutons for the genius cheerleader and a tall stack of pancakes with bacon on the side for our star quarterback,” the waitress announced placing their plates and drinks in front of them before turning to Lex with one hand on her hip while looking slightly miffed and amused.

“And you, Mister Luthor, you can pick me up after my shift once you’ve showered,” she announced to the dumbfounded bald businessman as she handed him a slip of paper with her number on it written in a flowing font.

“I’ll take that look as a yes, now don’t be late now ya hear?” she then asked, or more like ordered when he didn’t respond quickly enough and still looking at the slip of paper he’d accepted.

“Yes ma’am,” he replied with Lena giggling into the palm of her hand as Eve winked at the bald man before putting a hand on his shoulder.

“That’s a good boy, and you should mind your language, Miss Luthor,” she then directed her attention to Lena with a wink before sashaying away from the table again.

“You got told…” Alex yawned still with her head buried in her arms on the table as Lex looked genuinely flabbergasted.

“You kinda did,” they agreed as Lena bounced gleefully next to them with both hands over her mouth trying not to burst out laughing as poor Lex just stared down at the slip of paper and it was clear that he was not used to being bested.

Despite Lex maybe getting lucky, however, they were nowhere near closer to figuring out how to stop the Luthor matriarch from remotely interfering with the Crows’ games or even figuring out where she was doing it from. That, of course, would change as in Metropolis a generous sum of money was changing hands and a handshake sealed a deal that would bring a new and different kind of trouble to their doorstep.

Chapter Text

This must be a mistake, KD thought as their next opponents rolled into town passing by Smallville High as they went. The buses were brand new, and they bet that their gear was too, and Coach Mags was on the phone with someone and cursing loudly as they watched the procession of shiny buses pass them by as they stood outside the school. They’d been meaning to talk to their coach about a few things before class, but mostly they had been sent to probe for information to help Alex, yes, they weren’t a fan of their sister wanting to date their coach, but then again good siblings help each other out.

“What’s the matter coach did my sister do something stupid?” they asked as the fiery woman used a few choice words in Spanish before throwing her phone away but they managed to catch it and hand it back to their coach.

“No Alex, I mean your sister isn’t the problem, it’s this prep school team they bused in from out of State since the Blue Devils apparently all got the flu,” the woman cursed a few more times and glared after the procession of buses as they vanished down the street before dialing another number.

“Out of state? That doesn’t make sense,” they mused as they watched the last bus fade into the distance and when they turned back to face Coach Mags the woman was on her phone again and waving her away with an apologetic simile. Guess they’d better text Alex that their mission had been a bust and what kind of question was, find out if she’s had long-term relationships, anyways?

Leaving the coach to keep on with her not quite screaming into the phone they jogged up the steps leading up to the school and checked the big clock on the wall. Still, ten minutes until the next class and they made a beeline for their locker. It was easy to forget about school when your life consisted of working on the farm, playing football, being a hero, and thwarting your hot girlfriend’s mother’s evil plans to humiliate you, but they knew that good grades could mean a ticket to a school like MIT where they could put their love of building things to good use.

Opening their locker there were a few photos and polaroid pictures taped on the inside of it, some of the pictures had been given to them by Lena who always seemed to have her camera at the ready and some were clearly snapped during games. They did have a few favorites though, the picture of them kissing on the field which had been sent to them by Lois, then there was a selfie Lena had taken of them two with the pale girl kissing them on the cheek, and finally, there was a polaroid snapped during Harry’s party of their friends on the team.

The picture consisted of them and Lena in the middle, where they, of course, were smiling like a goof with Lena smirking and rolling her eyes. The Longbottom twins stood in the back of the group while beaming at the camera with lipstick marks on their cheeks from Lena from the cheerleader thanking them for taking such good care of KD on the field. Damian was in front of the group since the junior was the shortest of the gang and he was scowling with his arms crossed over his chest as Harry in a garish Hawaiian shirt gave him a sideways hug and the thumbs up and finally there was Duncan, clearly chuckling and holding the camera to snap the photo. Smiling they thought how they really did love their chaotic friends on the team and Lena seemed to be fond of them too.

“Earth to KD,” Harry called out for the third time before they noticed and with a yelp, they jumped around seeing the crew all chuckling at them.

“You were kinda far away there ‘cap,” Duncan commented in his usual serious tone, and they scratched the back of their neck sheepishly.

“Sorry was thinking how things have changed,” they explained and boy howdy had they changed, even how they dressed was shifting as they wore a tight-fitting black muscle-t, with a chest-wrap underneath, over tight black jeans and a new pair of sneakers that Lena had given them, and Alex, of course, had suggested they were stealing her style.

“At least your dress sense sure has improved,” Damian chimed in, and the little devil was smirking up at them, but they knew it was simply his way of showing that he cared.

“Says the guy who showed up in an Armani tux with his date for the Fall Dance,” they fired back at him with a smirk tucking at one corner of their lips and the little hellion actually blushed.

“Father and Alfred always say dress to impress,” he huffed and then blushed even harder when the cheerleader he’d taken to the dance, a cute junior, with pale blonde hair and grey eyes passed them by and teasingly stroked his shoulder making him jump.

“She does keep you on your toes,” Duncan commented dryly which made Damian huff even harder, but they simply ruffled the kid’s hair.

“Who keeps who on their toes?” Lena asked from behind them how did the girl manage to sneak up on them like that! They had super-hearing, well most of the time, but still!

“Don’t scare me like that!” they yelped but then felt their girlfriend’s pale arms wrap around their waist from behind.

“Damian’s new and first girlfriend,” Duncan answered Lena and now it was the genius cheerleader’s turn to ruffle Damian’s hair which he seemed to mind slightly less than when KD did it.

“You did fill her locker with flowers I heard,” Lena teased the poor kid who covered his face with his hands and groaned loudly.

“Do I need to do that for you?” they asked right away, and that made Lena laugh before kissing them on the cheek.

“Maybe later, but I came because I saw the buses pass by outside from the school lab,” Lena mused as she got down to business.

“Out-of-state team, apparently an exhibition game or something, and Coach Mags was pissed,” they explained what they’d been able to understand from listening to their coach yell into her phone earlier.

“The Metropolis High Marvels, sponsored by… LuthorCorp?” Harry read from his phone before looking up at Lena who impressively managed not to burst out into a rage-filled rant.

“What?” the pale girl asked nicely but with such a fierce glare that Harry jumped and handed over his phone.

“Cool! It says that the game is going to be televised, hey guys we’re going to be on TV!” Harry cheered leaning over to keep reading as Lena’s furious green eyes scanned the article.

“And on Twitch,” Duncan added as the group was now all bent over an angry-looking Lena as she flicked down the article.

“Babe are you okay?” they whispered and put their arm around Lena’s slender shoulders, gently rubbing them to calm her girlfriend down.

“I’m fine… I’m fine really and it’s just a shock that’s all and no Harry I have no clue why they are here either,” Lena replied as she was now composed again and handed the boy back his phone.

“Parental troubles?” Damian astutely asked with a raised eyebrow, and they had to admit the kid was observant like a detective at times.

“You could say that, but I’ll tell you guys about it later, promise,” Lena answered which made them smile because they knew the pale girl well enough by now to know she was being genuine and learning to trust people.

Any further discussions about their visiting team or Lena’s family were tabled by the ring of the bell and neither the Twins or them wanted to be late for Home-Ed where they would be learning to make lasagna today and hopefully getting to eat it too!

After school, but before practice, they found themselves running after Lena who was marching into the diner where Lex was having his afternoon coffee and flirting with Eve the Waitress and the two according to the town gossip were now a thing. They got in just in time to catch their girlfriend’s wrist as she got ready to slap her brother across the face and angry green eyes glared back at them.

“Let go of me Danvers!” the pale girl demanded using a seldom used name for them and it took all their willpower to shake their head and keep their girlfriend from doing something she might regret.

“Lena to what do I owe the pleasure?” Lex asked seemingly unphased by the attempted slap or maybe he was simply used to it by now.

“Why are the Marvels here sponsored by our company!” Lena demanded while fuming at them both now as she kept trying to free her hand from their grip with green eyes alight with fire and fury.

“You said it yourself, it’s our company, mine, mother's, even yours through the trust father left in charge of your shares,” Lex replied, and they weren’t sure they would have kept their cool like that under the same circumstances.

“Lee, Lena, please let’s hear him out,” they whispered as the other customers in the diner were starting to stare at them.

“I’ll get you something to calm you down hun,” Eve offered the angry pale girl with a friendly smile and ran her hand over Lex’s shoulder before leaving.

Letting go of Lena’s wrist the girl sat down heavily in the booth with her arms crossed over her chest and glared at the both of them as KD wisely sat down but kept about a foot of space between themselves and their fuming girlfriend.

“Talk!” Lena gruffly ordered her brother who was nonchalantly finishing his coffee before turning serious with his eyebrows furrowing.

“Here you go hun and you two play nice now you here,” Eve said as the waitress returned with a cheerful smile and what smelled like soothing tea for Lena and a tall soda for them.

Reaching for his phone Lex didn’t answer right away but instead tapped a few times and hummed as his own pair of green eyes grew even darker, but his silence made Lena angrier and angrier until they reached out and despite being swatted away the first time they took the girl’s hand under the table.

“It would seem that mother made a few sizable donations from her charity accounts over the past few days to various associations and the Metropolis Marvels and here we were looking for something outlandish as her next move and in turn she seems to have gone old school on us,” he explained calmly and handed over his phone to Lena to show her the transactions and with a huff, the pale girl grabbed the phone.

“The bitch,” Lena declared once her green eyes finished scanning the records and they gave their girlfriend’s hand another squeeze under the table.

“I… I’m sorry,” the girl then said to her brother before handing the phone back over and he gave the briefest of smiles before shrugging in return.

“Nothing to be sorry about and given our family history I guess I deserve a slap or two,” he admitted with a laugh, and something about the man had definitely mellowed since he arrived in Smallville that was for certain or maybe like Lena said getting laid had done the trick.

“So what do we do? I mean I get sending a stronger team after me, but what’s her end goal here?” they asked breaking the ice after an uncomfortable silence fell over the trio.

“I’ll message Alexandra, no she hates when I call her that and suggest she snoops around where the Marvels have set up shop,” Lex said as Lena pulled out a laptop from her messenger bag and opened it up.

“Miss Teschmacher do you guys have Wi-Fi in this place?” the pale girl called out at the blonde waitress who came over with a smile before handing her a slip of paper and filling up Lex’s cup of coffee.

“Here you go, and please call me Eve,” the friendly waitress insisted with a smile that Lena returned though the girl did look away when the waitress kissed Lex on the cheek.

“What about me?” they asked wanting to join in on the hunt but they didn’t have a laptop or a fancy phone for that matter and their computer was assembled out of spare parts in the barn back at the Farm.

“The best thing you can do right now is to report for afternoon practice and make sure your team is ready for whatever is to come,” Lex answered with one eye on his phone and then Lena squeezed their knee under the table making them nearly jump.

“Lex is right, go to practice and I’ll pick you up after?” Lena asked with a hopeful little smile that they returned before the pale girl leaned in and kissed them on the lips.

“I’ll hold you to that,” they whispered against Lena’s lips that tasted of fruits today and for once it was the genius’s turn to nod like an idiot.

After practice, where they’d tried to make sure their team was ready by setting a good example by cheering everyone on, even Damian, running extra laps with Harry and Duncan and even engaging in a test of strength with the Longbottom Twins they would be exhausted if not for their solar charged cells.

Though at the practice one thing had happened that they’d not expected to see in a million years. While running laps they had noticed Alex, nervously sitting in the bleachers wearing what looked like a freshly ironed shirt under her leather jacket over jeans, with her short red hair gelled up, and her sister was visibly and anxiously rubbing her hands together. It didn’t take a genius to figure out why their sister was there as the woman’s eyes were firmly fixed on Coach Mags pacing the sidelines while barking instructions.

Alex was no dummy, however, and wisely waited until the team was heading for the locker room before making her way down to the field and they hung back for a moment in the tunnel to listen in on what their sister was doing. Now, eavesdropping wasn’t polite, but they were cheering for their sister, kind of, even though at first Alex’s crush on Coach Mags had been annoying they now found it kinda cute and her sister deserved someone in her life.

Coach Mags was reviewing her notes when Alex approached from behind, hands stuffed in the pockets of her jacket and looking from side to side as if to make sure nobody was watching so they pulled a bit deeper into the tunnel.

“Uh hi,” Alex said to the shorter woman who smirked before turning around with both hands on her hips and eyeing up the redhead.

“Hi yourself Danvers, got tired of hiding out up in the bleachers, or did you want to follow up on last night’s texts?” Coach Mags asked their sister who blushed a little bit at that.

“A little bit I mean yeah, but look I know we’ve been texting for a while and that’s been fun… a lot of fun actually,” Alex admitted with a laugh, and the way she said texted made KD not want to know what kind of texting that had been, but they suspected the yucky brain bleach type.

“But?” Mags asked with a smirk, and they silently tried to will their sister towards not chickening out and it seemed to work.

“But I’d like to date you, properly! Look you’re passionate, frank, and you don’t take any bullshit from anyone, and I like that about you, and I want that in my life,” Alex replied while pulling herself up to her full height and putting one hand on Coach Mags’ arm.

“And when you go back to school once the Midwest gets boring?” Coach Mags asked nervously with what was clearly an old hurt in her voice while looking down at the hand on her arm and then back up at Alex with a slight frown on her lips.

“What if I had a reason to stay?” Alex asked softly back with a smile tugging on the corners of her lips and from their eavesdropping position they covered their mouth with their hands to stifle the gasp that nearly escaped.

“I’d never ask that of you…” Maggie whispered, and they only barely picked up on that part of the conversation.

“I know you wouldn’t but I am offering and look I know your history Mags, your family no approving, the other girls not staying past the summer, and I want you to know that one way or another I am here for you,” Alex said with her voice strong and full of conviction as she stroked the woman’s arm.

“Look if you want to keep this casual over text at night then we can keep doing that, but you may have noticed that us Danvers gals and pals don’t do half measures,” their sister went on not letting Coach Mags get the chance to wiggle her way out of the conversation.

“As for the future… that’s always changing… I learned that from KD, but I’d very much like for you to be a bigger part of my present and my future and…” Alex went on but was cut off by Coach Mags grabbing the front of her shirt and kissing her firmly on the lips while getting up onto her toes.

Deciding that they’d heard and seen enough they retreated to the locker room not needing to watch their sister making out with their coach as Mags laughed while saying something in Spanish that sounded like ‘you big idiot’ if they weren’t mistaken. Good for you Alex, good for you, they thought.

Emerging from the locker room a bit later with blonde hair still damp and having changed into their black jeans and muscle-t they were greeted by Lena leaning against the hood of her little red sports car with a smile on her lips wearing a hoodie and jeans just like the day they had met.

“What’s got you in such a good mood? Found dirt on your mother?” they asked walking up to and wrapping their arms around their girlfriend.

“No, but… Lex is going to be with Eve until late which means I have the mansion all to myself… so want to come over?” Lena asked with a smile but there was also some hesitation in the girl’s heavily accented voice.

“Uh sure… just let me text Ma and tell her I won’t be home for dinner,” they nodded and were rewarded with a kiss on the cheek.

After getting the okay from Ma they got going, but Lena was oddly quiet on the drive to the ranch-style mansion the Luthors kept on the outskirts of Smallville, but every so often the girl would stroke their thigh and blush while keeping her eyes on the road. As they pulled up outside the mansion Lena took their hand and let them through the hallways straight to the girl’s room as they looked around wide-eyed.

It was a modern-looking room in almost all white, a large bed took up one wall with white bedding, an impressive computer setup took up a large desk with a gaming chair in front of it, and on the vanity’s mirror were pictures of them, the team, and the other cheerleaders while a walk-in closet had clearly been converted into a dark room for developing film and it really looked like Lena had built a life here in Smallville.

“I… I have never had anyone else in here before,” Lena declared with that nervousness again in her voice as they looked around the room and the pale girl kept holding onto their hand.

“I’m honored then because I’ve never been in another girl’s room before either,” they blurted out and the peals of laughter from Lena’s lips were genuine and rich.

“KD… Zor-El… I’m scared,” the girl then admitted letting go of their hand before sitting down on the bed and kicking off her shoes.

“Why? Who scared you? I’ll pay them a visit!” they right away asked and knelt in front of the girl so they could be face-to-face, and it had to be serious since Lena had called them Zor-El.

Lena smiled, then looked down at the floor before looking back up with glistening green eyes and taking hold of their hands with a shaky voice, and at that moment, they knew they’d move heaven and earth for this girl.

“I’m scared that my mother is going to show up soon and take you away from me,” the girl admitted and brought one of their hands to her lips and kissed it on the palm.

“I’d like to see her try,” they murmured while puffing out their chest a bit as Lena chuckled into their palm which tickled but felt nice.

“You are kind of immovable when you want to be and thank you… for stopping me from slapping Lex as good as that might have felt and for helping me make friends here,” the girl replied softly and looked into their eyes with an intensity they’d only seen twice before, that day in the cornfield and the night in the car before the silo explosions.

“Lena… I…” they stammered and felt the girl’s fingertips on the hem of their t-shirt, playing with the elastic and pulling it up slightly.

“I know you’ll do everything you can to keep me safe and with you, but in case… well in case the worst comes I want to be with you tonight… to feel all of you…” the pale girl whispered with her cheeks blushing and green eyes dancing.

“I… only if you’re sure,” they tried to reply with something poetic or sensible but they could feel those pale fingertips against the skin of their stomach now and those brainy bits did what they always did around Lena and stopped working.

“I’ve never been this sure of anything before and if you don’t want to go any further you only have to say stop,” Lena whispered, and without a word, they nodded and raised their arms above their head so their genius could undress them.

Lena slowly with a hum pulled the black t-shirt up over their head and when it came off, they shook their blonde hair out and then gasped as those soft and pale hands explored them. They flushed as the girl murmured her approval at their defined torso before gliding her hands over their chest wraps and smiling. In turn, Lena saw blue eyes going wide when she reached behind them gently with a silent ‘may I’ on her lips and they nodded again.

Looking down they watched as the wraps covering their chest slowly came undone and then fell from their body exposing their chest and small breasts to Lena’s approving and admiring green eyes. Before they could regain their senses to return the favor and undress their girlfriend, the girl had already pulled her hoodie up over her head along with pulling out her ponytail and they were faced with a green bra and so much pale soft skin that they didn’t know where to look.

“I… wow…” they whispered and reached out with both hands, kneeling there bare-chested on the floor while stroking, cupping, and squeezing Lena’s full breasts with blue eyes wide as saucers as Lena’s pale hands roamed over their chest and shoulders in return and then they both moaned.

“Ditto,” Lena giggled before she reached behind her back with practiced ease, and soon the straps of the bra were falling down, and then it came off.

“Rao preserve me!” they gasped in Kryptonian despite having gotten a sneak peek at Lena’s breasts during that night the girl had slept over, but this wasn’t a peak, no this was full-on living color and their mouth went dry.

“What else you got to say Zor-El?” Lena gently teased them as she pushed herself up onto the bed with all that raven black hair spreading like a halo around her head and framing her face perfectly.

“Perfection,” they whispered again in Kryptonian as they rose to their feet with Lena watching them from the bed with those green eyes watching their muscles shifting and flexing.

“I like that word, tell me more,” Lena encouraged them as they watched baggy jeans being undone and then wiggled down over the pale girl’s hips leaving only a pair of purple underwear and white socks behind as she kicked the jeans off her feet.

“I’m not worthy of such beauty,” they went on in Kryptonian as they got ready to crawl on top of their girlfriend who smiled, and once they were leaning over they felt those pale hands undoing their jeans which made them involuntarily gulp, but Lena smiled up at them and they knew it would be okay.

Once the button and zipper of the jeans were undone, they lost their balance and almost fell down on top of Lena with a nervous laugh which the pale girl returned. After a brief pause to regain their balance Lena began pushing the jeans down with them wiggling awkwardly and together, they managed to get the jeans off. Leaving them in only a pair of red boxers and mismatched red and blue socks.

“We can stop here if you want,” Lena whispered from below them with her Irish accent thicker than ever before as they felt the girl’s arms wrapping around their neck before gently pulling them down on top of her and the full-on skin-on-skin contact made it hard to form sentences.

“Maybe… pause… for now and ooooh!” they murmured before their lips met at which it became a moan with them careful not to crush Lena but the pale girl kept pulling them down against herself demanding more contact and friction with her gentle but demanding movements,

It was about then when they lost track of things, right about when the pale girl opened her legs and let them settle between soft and pale thighs, but then later they lay under the covers cuddled close together they remembered! Oh boy did they remember! They remembered manicured fingernails scratching down their back. At first, there had been awkward grinding which had given way to more confident motions with their bodies moving together, hips bucking, thrusting, and they were pretty sure these boxers were ruined now. Yet, none of that mattered because they were holding Lena in their arms as the girl slept peacefully against their chest and they’d fight with everything they had to keep their genius looking this peaceful always.

“Guess that answered your question uh hotshot?” Lena murmured half asleep and cracked one green eye open with a smile.

“What question was that?” they whispered back and stroked the girl’s soft black hair with a smirk on their lips.

“About tops and bottoms, well let me tell you that you’re most definitely a top,” Lena giggled before reaching up, cupping their cheek and kissing them, and then it started all over again. Being the top was fun!

Chapter Text

If Lillian Luthor had wanted to embarrass KD by first drugging their opponents with performance-enhancing nanites and now by shipping in a team from Metropolis to put them in front of the world she shouldn’t have worried! Because right now they were feeling mortified beyond human comprehension as Lena hid under the sheets with them stammering at not only their sister Alex, but also Lena’s brother Lex, and even Coach Mags was here to have a go and Rao please, please don’t let her be here too.

“I’ll just put something in the oven while you three sort things out with our star-crossed lovers here,” Waitress Teschmacher said from behind the trio and smiled at them as Lena groaned even louder under the covers and KD blushed an even brighter red if that was even possible.

“Uh hi, what's up guys? What brings you all here… to Lena’s room… where we were just cuddling…” they asked, then lied all while holding the sheet to their chest while trying not to expose themselves or Lena.
But their appearance made the cuddling lie even more blatant since their wild and blonde hair was sticking out in all directions, there were lipstick marks in the shape of Lena’s lips on their shoulders, neck, and collarbone and if they weren’t nigh impervious to harm then they would have been sporting bite marks too all over their tan skin.

“You weren’t answering your phone! We were worried!” both Alex and Lex answered at the same time which made Coach Mags, who was definitely sporting a hickey on her neck, burst out laughing.

“We were busy!” Lena’s muffled growl came from underneath the sheets and the pale girl’s annoyance was more than evident in her voice.

“I can tell,” Coach Mags observed with a huge smirk while picking up, with a pen from her pocket, the wraps they’d worn before Lena had unwrapped them like an early Christmas gift a few hours ago.

“You had me worried! What if something had happened!” Alex cut in and the fact that their sister was worried enough to interrupt what had clearly been a fun time with Mags was touching but also annoying since it was ruining their sexy slash cuddle time with Lena.

“Me too! And Tesla knows what mother might get up to!” Lex added with a frown while showing some of that big brother care that was coming out in him more and more lately.

While their respective siblings showed that they cared for them both, KD could feel Lena get increasingly annoyed under the covers, where they had been happily cuddling, half-dozing, talking about sweet nothings when their siblings and their dates had burst in on them. It took a lot for Lena to let her guard down and they knew that, so now that their moment had been ruined by what the girl no doubt thought was her overbearing brother, the genius was fuming and shaking with rage.

“Lena you really should be more careful and mindful and you, oh you mister and I are going to have a talk,” Lex went on pointing at them to which they dumbly pointed at themselves not realizing what they’d done which would be deserving a talk before the fact that they were almost naked in Lena’s bed sank in and they gave a long oh sound as the realization set in that they had gone to and beyond third base with their girlfriend.

“Hold up there! Them! Really? Like your sister is Ms. Innocent in this situation Baldie!” Alex cut in with a snort and soon it was more about their sister and Lex arguing about who was to blame for despoiling whose darling younger sibling! Even though they were quite sure that it had been very much a series of mutual despoilments. Also, it didn’t help matters that Coach Mags was egging both elder siblings on for her amusement while also suggesting rather sweetly that they might all be overreacting a tad and that was when Lena’s bow broke.

“Everyone get out!” The pale girl roared in a heavily accented voice as she rolled out of the bed in only her purple panties with her long black hair curly and flowing down over her full breasts but still, the petite fury was very much topless.

“Lena!” Lex shouted and shielded his eyes. “Lee!” they shouted and tried to pull their furious and nearly naked girlfriend back under the covers. “Little Luthor!” Coach Mags gasped as she began to drag Alex out of the room who was somewhere between giving them a thumbs-up and laughing.

“Out! Out! Out!!” Lena kept barking with fire and Irish-accented fury, pushing the trio out the door and then slamming it shut with gusto before leaning with her back first against the door while calming herself down, and then she began to laugh.

“What’s so funny?” They chuckled as they got up from the bed with the white sheet hanging like a cape over their shoulders, one sock on, and one arm over their chest in case someone would come back.

“I don’t know… which is funnier… Lex being a real big brother for once… or your sister giving you the thumbs up at seeing my tits…” Lena managed to explain in between laughs and gasps of air before grabbing handfuls of said tits and jiggling them with a smirk on her kiss-swollen lips.

“Well you do have amazing breasts,” they blurted out before covering their mouth with both hands to which Lena grinned at them as she brushed her curly hair back over her shoulders to give them a better view as they thought that they really should kiss that bitemark on the left one better soon.

“I see your brainy bits are focusing on what’s important,” the pale girl teased them while walking up to them with her hips swaying in time with her soft hair as they could only stare and gulp.

“Shouldn’t have told you I call it that… but yeah… they’re all kinds of awesome… bouncy…” they went on unable to say anything else as their curvy and petite girlfriend stood in front of them pushing out her full and rounded breasts capped with stiff dark nipples.

“Awww but I like your little names for things and the cape-look suits you by the way… so what do you say, Kaz-El, a quickie before we go to face the firing squad?” Lena asked them playfully while running her fingertips over their abdominal muscles which made their eyes go wide as Phalaxian Flying Saucers, but they also gave a slight flex of their muscles which made the girl hum her appreciation.

Could they? With people nearby? And then that pale hand cupped the front of their red boxers as their girlfriend used their new Kryptonian name that they had come up with together at some point during the last few magical hours and they yelped as the tingle hit them, but quickly nodded their head like an idiot as Lena got up onto her toes and kissed them lovingly on the lips with those warm pale arms wrapping around their neck.

Deciding that their very caring but rude siblings could wait a bit and suffer, they grabbed onto Lena’s bottom and lifted the girl up as her legs wrapped around them, and Rao how they loved making this girl giggle! Then they groaned deep in the back of their throat as Lena wiggled against them while biting their earlobe and whispering that it was her turn to be on top hotshot.

Chapter Text

After an uncomfortable late-night snack in the kitchen of the Luthor Manor KD found themselves awkwardly saying goodbye to Lena on the girl’s doorstep as Alex waited for her by Pa Kent’s white Chevy and likewise Lex waited with his arms crossed while glaring at them from a discreet distance behind his sister.

Thankfully, no it was actually a minor miracle since it saved them much embarrassment and explanations, Coach Mags had offered Waitress Eve a ride back into town and the duo had already left with the Latina kissing Alex goodbye on the cheek. Though Lex had said that Eve could stay the night, but the rather prim and proper gal had replied that her staying over was a few more dates away. Which was cute but also all kinds of eeww!

“So, I’ll see you at practice tomorrow, right?” they asked as they held hands with their pale girlfriend who looked radiant after having changed into one of their jerseys and a pair of sweats with her long and still curly black hair spilling everywhere, but most importantly to them Lena Luthor looked happy.

“Of course you will! What? Do you think I’m letting you off the hook after a bang and done? Oh, I’m keeping you hotshot,” Lena joked with a smirk on her lips as they could hear Lex choking and coughing a few steps away.

“I guess I did good then,” they mumbled and looked down at their feet and squeezed the girl’s pale hands.

“You did great Kaz-El,” their girlfriend responded after getting up on her toes and whispering the words in their ear before kissing it.

“Great!” the exclaimed as Alex stuck her hand in through the Chevy’s driver’s side window and honked the horn loudly making KD jump or they would have had Lena not been holding their hands.

“I mean I enjoyed it,” they added quickly and the way Lena giggled before kissing them on the cheek made their ever troublesome brainy bits go haywire.

“See you tomorrow,” Lena said with a nod and smile and turned around to head inside as their hands lingered together until their fingertips were barely touching.

KD was not sure what came over them, but as the girl’s fingers were slipping from their own, they pulled her back and wrapped her up in a loving embrace while kissing her firmly on the lips as Lena’s feet dangled from the ground. This earned a loud clearing of Lex’s throat and another series of honks from Alex.

Putting their girlfriend down they scratched the back of their head and mumbled a quick sorry and then threw a ‘good night, sir’ Lex’s way before walking backward towards the car with Lena waving at them while touching her lips with green eyes alight. It wasn’t until Alex yanked them into the car and sped away down the driveway that they allowed themselves to laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Alex asked with raised eyebrows in confusion as she turned the car onto the road leading home to the Kent Farm.

“You and Lex being all grr big siblings with your; don’t ruin their purity and also how much trouble are you in with Coach after checking out Lena’s tits? Which by the way: Not cool!” they replied still chuckling and rolled down the window allowing the cool breeze to hit their face and blow through their hair.

“Not too much… I think, but way to go KD on your first girlfriend! I mean she’s, well she’s well landed, even has amble tracks of it,” Alex replied with a dry chuckle and a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “Full chested, bouncy,” she went on to wind them up.

“Oh no! Delete that mental image right now! Delete it! Get your own girlfriend boobs!” They gasped and smacked their sister on the shoulder who gave a mock whine.

But before they could exchange notes on their respective girlfriends’ attributes a semitruck blew past them with no lights on as Alex cursed and honked after barely averting driving them into a ditch.

“What was that!” they shouted once the car had stopped, and they’d regained their senses while peering into the darkness as Alex pulled the car back up onto the road and gave chase.

“I don’t know but I intend to find out and give them a piece of my mind and my fists,” their sister declared angrily, and, in another life, she could have been a spy or a cop because the way she tailed the truck was like something out of a spy thriller.

After some close calls they caught up with the semi-truck just outside the football field behind the school and they watched from a discreet distance as a massive crane began unloading what looked like floodlights. Which was odd since the school had floodlights installed on the field already and then KD gasped and sunk back into her seat while fumbling for her sister.

“What are you…” Alex hissed as they caught onto her jacket before they pulled their sister down with a bit too much force making her grunt.

“I saw her!” they whispered and peeked up above the dashboard at the stern-looking woman in a puffy coat directing the workers.

“Saw who?” Alex asked and popped her head up too, but their sister didn’t have their vision and had to squint her eyes.

“Lena’s mom, she’s here!” They whispered under their breath and pulled Alex back down while pulling out their beat-up phone to message Lena.

“That can’t be good,” their sister muttered and slowly slit up into the seat while they texted their girlfriend.

‘Your mom is in town and up to something,’ they texted and got a reply right away that read ‘Get out of there!’ Just as someone shined a flashlight in their direction and Alex took that as their cue to burn rubber as she sped out of the parking lot, backwards first before pulling a handbrake turn and then gunning it once the car had spun around with a loud screeching sound and leaving skid marks in their wake. They then drove in a panicked blur of questions and texts and phone calls back to the Kent Farm.

The next morning, Lena came running up to them right before practice started, the girl was paler than usual, her hair was still loose, wild and curly like the night before, and she didn’t look like she had slept much which was evident by her still wearing their jersey over torn jeans with a patched leather jacket on to ward away the slight morning chill and also the big hint was zero makeup could be found on the girl’s face.

Before they could even say hello, she began checking if they were all right, and knowing not to argue they stood still while the cheerleader padded their bare arms and shoulders since they were wearing only a tank top and long shorts with their hair in a messy ponytail despite the chilly start to the day. Now, how Lena was checking them over with concerned green eyes would have been cute if it hadn’t been so sad.

“Are you alright? She didn’t hurt you? Did she see you?” Lena whispered urgently while pulling them to the side and the pale girl threw a glare at Coach Mags since they were supposed to start running laps as the coach held her whistle to her lips while looking in their direction and holding up five fingers.

“Didn’t even see me like I told you last night on the phone, Lee I’m okay, honestly they were just putting up some lights,” they replied trying to calm their girlfriend down, but she was having none of it.

“You have got to be careful, please tell me you’ll be careful and… and I’m sorry, it’s just that I don’t want anything to happen to you that’s all,” Lena almost babbled in a hushed voice thick with Irish accented worry once she’d taken a few breaths.

“Aww I love you too,” they said back without thinking about it. Honestly, what they had said just then didn’t really sink in until the words had left their mouth and they found Lena looking up at them with wide green eyes that were shimmering in the early morning sun.

“Say that again?” the stunned pale girl asked with her voice now shaky bordering on cracking as she fidgeted with one of the many rings on her fingers.

“I uh… I love you,” they said it again and it came out so easy and effortlessly that they couldn’t help but smile.

“Stop that,” Lena mumbled while trying to look away from their ear-to-ear smile of pure joy and the pale albeit blushing girl looked legitimately flustered now.

“What if I don’t wanna?” they asked back and gently turned Lena’s eyes back towards them with a gentle touch to her soft cheek.

“You don’t have to say it… you know… because we did the… you know… it!” the pale girl went on and this was a side to their girlfriend they’d only glimpsed a precious few times, the shy girl, the gentle girl, the gooey soft center of Lena Luthor.

“I’d have said it regardless of the you know what those you know three times,” they joked which made the girl laugh and return their smile and gosh golly gee a full-blown Lena smile knocked them for a loop every time.

“I… I feel it too, but it’s harder for me to say it,” Lena admitted a bit shamefully and they leaned down and kissed the girl on the forehead after brushing away a strand of soft raven black hair.

“I can wait,” they whispered and chuckled when Lena whined at her own inability to say what she felt and the fact that the kiss had been on her forehead and not her lips.

“I mean it might be a while until we can have another session of you know what but I’m sure I can make it up for you in some other ways and oh I can take you for a picknick in the barn maybe…” they started rambling a bit to which the pale cheerleader let out a laugh, then grabbed their face with both hands and kissed them hard on the lips which nearly caused them to rise up from the ground. Then time did that thing where it slowed down to a crawl until reality came knocking in the form of an apologetic Harry Kim.

“Uh Coach says wrap it up lover boy or she’s having you practice kicking with Damian,” Harry then interrupted their moment as the sheepish-looking wide receiver was awkwardly tapping an imaginary watch on his wrist and then he winced when Lena playfully growled at him.

“Got to go, duty calls” they mumbled to which Lena smiled her brightest smile yet again and let go of them albeit reluctantly.

“Go be the captain hotshot, I’m going to sneak around and see what the fuss is about with these new lights courtesy of Mother,” the pale girl told them and patted them on the butt possessively to which they jumped into the air and squealed out: “Be careful!” to which Lena stuck her tongue out at them in response.

“How did you do it?” Harry asked awestruck as they both watched as Lena walked away with a sway in her hips and her camera bouncing over her shoulder.

“Heck if I know Harry, heck if I know,” they could only reply to which their friend and teammate laughed and slapped them on the back, so they had to fake having the wind knocked out of them and then Coach Mags blew her whistle sharply making them run.

As it turned out, the lights were indeed for the TV cameras, which Lena didn’t believe for a second, there to record the game since it would be at night and apparently the Smallville High’s floodlights weren’t good enough for high definition.

Lex didn’t believe it either, and neither did Alex, but it didn’t help that all of a sudden there were a series of crisis at several of the Luthor owned businesses in town which sent Lex running around for most of the day and into the night and Alex also now had surprise issues with her latest essay and her next online exam since the deadlines and dates had mysteriously changed.

Someone was playing them but despite Lena’s snooping despite the guards suspiciously stationed around the lights and Alex offering to poke around a bit more forcefully exams be damned, KD couldn’t ask that of their sister or Lex not when his workers’ or her sister’s future were at risk. So, all they could do was to keep their eyes open on game night tomorrow since they had all clearly been outplayed or maybe Lex’s theory about the Luthor matriarch wanting to simply embarrass KD was true, but Lena also didn’t buy that for a second.

Chapter Text

Kaz-El watched the sun setting from the top of Smallville High, feeling the last rays of it kissing their face and then they smiled when pale arms wrapped around them from behind and Lena nuzzled against their back with a happy sigh but a worried frown on her porcelain face.

“How did you know I was up here?” they asked without turning around and felt Lena squeeze them harder.

“The higher up you go the longer you can view the sunset for,” the pale girl with her Irish brogue thick with amusement and emotion answered and they could hear the smile in their girlfriend’s voice.

“You’re way too smart for Smallville High you know that right,” they chuckled and felt as Lena wiggled her away around them until the genius cheerleader was in front of them.

The always stunning girl had her long black hair done up in elaborate braids for tonight’s game, which meant that her hair would be extra curly when she let it down later, and painted on her pale cheeks in red and gold was a familiar symbol. The House of El’s crest.

“A bit on the nose with the face paint,” they laughed and Lena shook her head in response while placing her soft delicate hands on their arms. The sight was made all the sweeter by the fact that the genius was wearing their letterman jacket over her cheerleading uniform.

“I convinced the cheer squad that just because Metropolis has Superman doesn’t mean we don’t have our own Quarterback of Steel here, my Kaz-El,” the pale cheerleader explained and then whispered their new name. Her Kaz-El, those three words made them want to soar.

“I… I just wish we knew more going into this, but I guess I just got to play a good game and trust Lex and Alex to have my back, and then as for tomorrow well that’s tomorrow,” they then said not wanting to dwell on dreams of the future too much though they were swirling in their head now especially with Lena holding onto them gently and lovingly in all her genius cheerleading glory.

“Now there is something I never thought I’d be doing, trusting Lex, but here we are,” Lena laughed and got up onto her toes to kiss them on the lips.

“Yes… here we are…” they agreed before feeling soft ruby red lips being pressed against theirs and it made their eyes flutter and toes curl up from simply receiving that simple kiss.

“As much as I’d love to make out with you right now, this makeup took ages and I think you’re being summoned,” Lena said softly as a football came sailing up onto the roof of the school which they caught without thinking about it with one arm in the air.

“Hey Captain, get down here!” Harry was shouting before grunting as they threw the ball back down into his arms.

Harry was standing down there in front of the school, accompanied by the Longbottom Twins, Duncan, and Damian all grinning like idiots up at them as they kept one arm around Lena who was laughing at the interruption.

“Shouldn’t you be getting ready guys?” they shouted back and was met with a collective shrug from their teammates.

“Not without you,” Harry shouted back and that confused them for a second since for the entire season they’d always changed by themselves in the girls’ locker room.

“But the rules,” they called back down blushing ever so slightly at the idea before pushing that thought from their mind. After all, why shouldn’t they change with their teammates!

“Fuck those rules!” Duncan, usually quiet and polite Duncan, shouted back up to them and they looked to Lena for some guidance to which the pale girl simply grinned and shrugged.

“Both is good remember,” the girl then commented which made them start to grin from ear to ear as the cheerleader added impishly. “And you got nothing to be worried about, stud!” she joked whispering the last bit into their ear and now they did blush.

“While we’re still young Danvers!” Damian shouted from below since the diminutive kicker wasn’t a huge fan of public displays of affection or time being wasted.

“Alright we’re coming down, but once you get jealous Damian and feel that envy sink in don’t come crying to your girlfriend for reassurance,” Lena shouted back at the boy who huffed even harder.

Changing with the boys had in the end been no big deal, though a bit of a sausage fest as Alex would call it, and they sat in front of their locker staring down at the helmet in their hands once again as the rest of the team finished getting ready. And like Lena had said they had nothing to worry about though Damian was hiding some surprisingly well developed muscles for a junior.

“Speech!” Harry then shouted, interrupting them while they were basking in this new level of acceptance, raising his helmet in the air and grinning at them.

“Yeah! Give us some of that inspirational wholesomeness Danvers!” Damian joined in the fun throwing a Nerf football at them which they caught without even thinking about it and flung back at the youngest member of the Crows.

“Speech Cap’!” the Longbottom twins begged sounding almost like eager schoolboys and they glanced over at Coach Mags for the woman to save them but no such luck as Duncan threw them a glance that spoke volumes about the quiet wide receiver wanting a speech too.

Time to step up Kaz-El, they thought and got to their feet while holding their helmet firmly with both hands and looked down at it with a smile forming on their lips before looking back across their assembled teammates.

“Fine but I warn you I’m going to get sappy on your butts! Now, when I came here, I didn’t know who or what I was,” they started making sure to look each and every one of the Crows in the eyes as they scanned the locker room.

“I had planned on hugging the walls until finals and then someone kicked a ball in my direction, thanks for that Damian,” they laughed and the diminutive kicker shouted back that he’d do it anytime.

“At first I was terrified, I mean you’re all so imposing after all,” they joked which earned them a few look who is talking snapbacks.

“But then you guys accepted me for who I was, no ifs or buts, no oh they have boobs, it was simply hey look that kid can throw a ball really really well,” they chuckled and tossed their helmet up in the air before catching it again.

“Sure as if Lena would let us get away with that last part!!” Harry shouted over the friendly laughter echoing in the locker room.

“I guess what I’m saying is that there is no group of people I’d rather be a part off than this team, it has taught me so much and I hope to continue learning from you all because tonight is just one game,” they spoke slowly while letting the volume of their voice rise and rise. Thanks for the lessons mom, they thought with a smile.

“The lights might be brighter! There might be more people watching but that doesn’t change a damn fricking thing!” They ended up shouting at the top of their lungs while pumping the helmet in the air.

“Let the Metropolis Knights come with their fancy uniforms, with their coaching staff, their radios and cameras, because out there,” they said and pointed towards the door in the vague direction of the field.

“Because out there…” they repeated and turned while motioning to each and every one of their teammates. “All that matters is what each and every one of us brings to this team, our team, on our field and in our hometown,” they let their voice fall to a hush before pulling the helmet they’d been holding the entire time down onto their head.

“What do you say Crows, are we stronger together?” they asked pulling the chin strap on and flashing them a huge smile as a loud roar rose up in response to their question.

“Are we going to kick some ass?” they asked and after a brief shock passed over the team, because that was the closest any one of them had come to hearing KD using a dirty word, another roar rose up.

“I don’t think they heard you out there in that airconditioned trailer they brought as their locker room!” they shouted and pointed towards the door again. “Let me hear you Crows, who are we!?” they shouted at the top of their lungs while pretty sure that they were rattling the windows.

“Crows!” their teammates roared. “Who are we?” they asked and grabbed Harry by the helmet shouting in his face with their eyes alight.

“Crows!” The roar met them again as the team began stomping on their feet on the floor and banging on the lockers and their chests.

“And what are we!? Let them hear it from this locker room all the way back to freaking Metropolis!” they asked, grabbing Damian around the shoulders and almost lifting him from the floor.

“Stronger together!” The noise was deafening and taking that as their cue they began walking for the doors shouting at the top of their lungs, banging on the walls, and stomping on the floor.

Their ruckus celebration lasted right up until the bright lights, the bright new lights, of the field hit their eyes and all of them froze. All of them except for Damian who jumped up and punched KD in the shoulder and slapped Harry up the back of the head with a frown.

“Come on you lugs,” the diminutive kicker huffed and strode out onto the field with all the arrogance and self-assuredness of royalty.

“You heard the demon, let’s go!” they shouted as they snapped to attention and as a team they jogged out onto the field to the roar of the crowd. The bleachers were overflowing, there were people crowding in on all sides and scanning the crowd, they spotted Alex and the Kents waving red and gold flags and somehow Lex noticed them looking and gave a nod.

“Two, four, six, eight, Crows are going to dominate!” the cheer squad shouted as they ran onto the field and as much as Lena said she’d joined the squad as a social project the petite girl sure did seem to be getting into the spirit of things. Darn it, I’m a lucky idiot, they thought to themselves.

Walking to the center of the field for the coin toss, adjusting their rainbow colored towel they smiled at the opposing teams quarterback, a traditionally handsome boy of about their age who returned the smile and they kinda wanted to talk to him about all this but this wasn’t the time. Winning the coin toss they selected to receive and after a cordial handshake they jogged back to their teams.

It was on their way back they saw her, Lillian Luthor, standing slightly behind the Knights’ bench, arms crossed over her chest, not so much glaring in their direction but more studying them in a cold and calculative manner. Shaking away the brief chill running down their spine they threw a quick salute the woman’s way just to let her know that they saw her and weren’t intimidated.

“And the Crows select to receive here under the bright new lights of Smallville High’s football field, let me tell you ladies, gents and pals that I’ve never felt this fancy! Heck I’m even wearing a suit!” the announcer called out over the new speaker system that had also been installed for the game. No matter what Lena’s mother’s plan was, at least the school’s sports field was getting a much-needed upgrade.

“And we’re off to the races on this beautiful Friday night as the ball sails deep into the Crows’ endzone at the kickoff, it’s caught by Kim who runs up the field and would you look at that boy go folks as he’s brought down at the Knight’s forty yard line with authority! Those city slickers clearly came here to play!” the announcer shouted as they jogged over to help Harry back to his feet and dust him off.

“You feeling okay?” they asked, looking him up and down worrying that like the last time the Luthor matriarch had interfered that the opposing players were in some way enhanced or their own teammates compromised

“It’s just the first hit KD, I’m fine buddy,” Harry assured them with a grin and slapped them on the shoulder which made them wince slightly. Probably out of habit of faking it they thought as they shook it off and got their head in the game.

Jogging into position with their long hair bouncing up and down over their shoulders they got ready and called the play as the crowd cheered and the television cameras zoomed in on them. No fear now, they knew who they were, they decided then and there.

“Alpaca Orange, Alpaca Orange, hut, hut!” they shouted, and the ball flew into their waiting hands as the Knights’ defense collapsed in on them with the Longbottom Twins standing their ground, buying them enough time to spot Duncan, fall back and hurl the ball his way. As always it sailed through the air in a spiral before landing in the stoic wide receivers’ hands before he got brought down hard.

Something didn’t feel quite right though, and they couldn’t shake that weird feeling while looking down at their hands they flexed and wiggled their fingers looking around the field. And why was it so hot all of a sudden? It was like being out tending the fields at noon but the sun had just set, but once again shaking it off they set up the next play and as before the ball sailed into their hands.

The second they caught it they felt dizzy, but somehow managed to stay on their feet, spotting an incoming tackle they spun, caught sight of Harry out of the corner of their eye and let the ball fly. It found its mark but their buddy barely made it two yards before another hard tackle brought him down.

“Not… good,” they muttered to themselves as Coach Mags, ever vigilant called a timeout as Harry came jogging up to check on them.

“You okay KD?” he asked them with concern in his voice as they wobbled a bit on their feet before regaining their balance.

“Why is the gravity so strong today?” they asked, feeling like they were glued to the ground as things got a bit blurry for a second.

“Come on bud, let’s get you some water okay?” he asked, hooking his arm under their shoulders and helping them to the sidelines where a concerned Coach Mags checked them over and saw the sweat glistening on their forehead.

“You feeling alright? Got a fever? Do you need to sit this play out?” the assistant coach and now also their sister’s girlfriend asked shining a light in their eye and checking their forehead.

“Just need a few sips of water coach,” they assured the woman trying to sound cocky and confident but then a drop of sweat dropped from their nose.

“I won’t let you play if you’re not feeling one hundred percent, but if it’s that time of the month I understand though and it kinda sucks,” Coach Mags told them and gave them a sympathetic look and it wasn’t like they could tell the woman that Kryptonians’ didn’t work like that. So they went with it as an excuse and gave a nervous nod while feeling bad for their white lie, but they couldn’t let their team down over a bit of dizziness.

“I’ll get you something for the cramps, but sit,” their coach told them firmly as they nodded again and sat their butt down.

Undoing the chinstrap on their helmet they clenched and unclenched their hands a few times, something was off, it was almost like back when they’d been suppressing their powers too hard, but then Lena had figured it out that it was mostly all in their head and convinced them to not to worry so much. But it couldn’t be that faking it was so ingrained in them that they were having a regression, could it?

“You need to ask to be benched,” Lena’s voice whispered in their ear and as they turned around the pale cheerleader pushed their face forward because the girl was crouching behind them and partly obscured but her green eyes were scanning the field.

“I can’t ask that,” they whispered back out of the corner of their mouth and they knew that their girlfriend was frowning right now.

“I saw you almost fall on your ass so something is up but promise me not to do anything stupid, keep that hero complex in check!” the girl whispered firmly giving them a quick hug from behind and when they turned around she was gone just as Coach Mags brought them something for the ‘cramps’.

“Here you go, Lena giving you a pep talk? That girl isn’t as sneaky as she thinks,” the woman laughed and they swallowed the offered tablets with a chuckle before pulling themselves to their feet.

Pushing pass the dizziness they strapped their helmet back on and got back on the field, nodding towards Harry that they were okay and taking their place in the huddle the glanced up in the stands, Lex was gone, then they glanced at the sidelines and they could see Lena’s worry written all over her smiling face and then things got a bit blurry again.

“Llama blue, Llama blue, on three, on three!” they called the play regardless and the ball sailed into their hands as before.

They saw the defensive lineman coming for them, they tried to raise their arm to throw the ball but it felt like a ten ton weight and instead they tucked the ball under their arm and prepared to fake being knocked about a bit. It was almost second nature now, stumble a bit at the impact, regain their footing and get slammed to the ground. Wait what!?

The easily three hundred and fifty plus pound lineman slammed into them and they took the blow on the shoulder and it raddled their bones. Hearing something go pop they bit down on their bottom lip hard so as not to scream as Aunt Astra’s lessons kicked in and they rolled with the blow before somehow spinning past the lineman. Everything was blurry again, they saw a shape coming for them but put their shoulder first and slammed into the second lineman’s chest causing him to grunt. Pushing past him they managed to stumble forward about five yards before being brought down and the next thing they knew Harry and the Twins and the rest of the team were digging them out of a pile of bodies.

“You alright Danvers?” Damian whispered of all people to them as in a rare display of worry and friendship the kicker helped them to their feet.

“Something is wrong, but otherwise I’m great, can't you tell?” they mumbled before shaking their head, taking a step but stumbling, but their teammate caught them and covered it up by pretending he was the one staggering under their weight. Dick move Damian, but a nice one.

“Come on, I can’t have you passing out on me here,” he somehow spoke without really moving his lips and they gave a nod.

“Aww, you do care,” they joked which made him frown but he did give a thin smile at that while again faking that they weighed a ton. Kid was a good actor.

“Pfft no, but father and Alfred would never let me live it down if I didn’t help a frien… teammate in need,” he excused himself and despite his acting managed to half carry them back to the huddle.

“I never did ask are they like your dads?” they asked, having been fine with letting their friends keep what secrets they wanted.

“Father and Alfred, ha!” he laughed and shook his head. “Alfred is our butler,” he stated as that explained everything and they made an oh sound like they totally understood that.

“Told you that you weren’t the only exile here in Smallville,” he added and any further explanations of his family life would have to wait as the whistle blew.

Despite everything, the Knights’ excellent defense, the bright lights, and whatever bug they had caught or been given it was tied after the first quarter as they slumped down on the bench and yet again glanced at the bleachers to see that both Alex and Lex were gone now and checking on the cheerleaders they saw that Lena was icing her ankle, which they hoped was a ruse.

“You okay there,” Coach Mags asked them while checking them over again and they nodded as they grabbed their stomach as jolt of pain shot through them. Nope they were not okay, in fact that last tackle had been like being hit by a freight train.

“Peachy,” they mumbled while breathing through the pain and tried to figure out if Lena’s mother had really managed to infect them with something before the game. A cold compress and a few sips of water got them back on their feet with Coach Mags giving them a critical once over before they jogged back out onto the field to a loud ovation once the Knights managed to score and punt it in for the extra points. They had to admit that the boys from Metropolis were good, but so were the Crows.

Waving at the crowd they couldn’t help but to smile, they could play through a little bit of pain, figure out afterwards what it was and then the next play happened and the next and then the next and with each thrown ball their muscles ached more but with them pushing on even through being sacked on every play. If the point was to make them look weak on live TV and Streams, it was working but no matter what they kept getting back up.

It was after a particularly hard sack, which really should have been a flagrant foul but the out of town refs didn’t call it that the Twins and Duncan got mad, which was sweet since the three were the calmest people they knew each in their way but not wanting them ejected they got between the three and the Knights’ defensive line before a scuffle broke out.

“I’m fine guys, I’m fine!” They insisted on standing between the two groups with their hands held out while fighting against another wave of blurriness and cramps.

The twins crossed their arms over their barrel-like chests and Duncan glared holes through the defensive lineman who had sacked them last. They were good friends, they felt lucky and then Duncan spoke.

“‘Cap you have a little bit of…” he said pointing to their face and they wiped a trickle of blood from their busted lip but before they could come up with a lie the referees finally seemed to take noticed of the standoff and send the two teams to their respective sides of the field.

“You with us KD? Guess the meds didn’t help,” Coach Mags asked holding a towel to their busted lip and they nodded as the perceptive woman studied them.

“This related to whatever you and your sister have been whispering about?” she then asked in a hushed tone and their eyes going slightly wide gave all the answers the Latina needed as Coach Dan came jogging over to check on them too,

“Understood, now where is that too smart for her own good girlfriend of yours,” Coach Mags declared looking around for Lena who was conveniently lounging nearby nursing her ‘hurt’ ankle.

“Luthor get your butt over here,” the fiery woman shouted and Lena’s acting was superb but she met their concerned gaze with a wink.

“Dan, our quarterback isn’t feeling their best, you know those problems,” she then explained to Coach Dan who grunted his acknowledgment while pulling out his battered tablet.

“You alright Kaz?” Lena whispered in their ear and shaking their head caused the pale girl to give their hand a squeeze.

“I’ll survive, thank god I’m a country boy, got that farmer’s strength,” they joked back but it came out as a grunt as Dan waved Lena over to his side and the trio put their heads together to come up with a play that would spare them some more hits.

“Kim, Duncan, get over here! Now!” Lena called out and the two boys came jogging over as the Crows’ defensive line was doing their best to keep the game even on the field.

“Yes Coach?” both replied snapping to attention without realizing at the pale cheerleader’s orders as the Twins hovered protectively near their quarterback.

“Kim you’re going to take the lead on this one, Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum, you fall back and make sure KD doesn’t get tackled and Duncan I hope you can act a bit and sorry Harry this might end up with you eating some grass,” Lena laid out the plan drawing with her finger on the tablet that Coach Dan held out as Coach Mags made some adjustments.

“Hey, you called me Harry!” the ever-jovial Harry exclaimed, which earned him a withering don’t get used to it pal glare from Lena.

“What about me?” they asked squinting at the tablet through another bout of blurriness and thought that this was what needing glasses for real must feel like.

“You’re bait, the Twins here are going to keep an eye on you but when their defensive collapses on you thinking we’re pulling a fast one, Duncan is going to run up left field and Harry is going to get enough space to get the ball into his hands before they realize what’s going on,” the plan flowed from Lena’s red lips with everyone nodding along.

“I don’t make for a good damsel in distress you know that, hero complex and all that,” they joked and that earned a laugh from the assembled group,

“I know, but try your best, and Duncan, limp a little bit when you take the field for added effect,” Lena finished her plan and when Duncan gave her a weird look she offered to kick him in the shin which he declined.

“I feel kinda useless don’t you Mags?” Dan asked his assistant coach who shrugged with a proud smile at their teamwork.

“What you say Coaches?” they asked the pair, having managed to stop their bottom lip from bleeding by pressing the towel against it throughout their little strategic planning session.

“Run it and someone go and tell the cheer coach that Luthor is going to be on our bench for the rest of the game,” Coach Dan grunted before taking off his cap and putting it on Lena’s head though it was easily two sizes too big.

“Welcome to the Crows’ coaching team, Assistant Junior Coach Luthor,” Coach Mags said with a grin as she padded the pale genius who was genuinely smiling on the back.

The play, dubbed Cheer Force One, went off without a hitch, despite Duncan overacting his limp a tad, the ball was in Harry’s hands before the Knights’ defensive line knew it and they were already barreling down on them instead of their friend. Duncan was off like a rocket up left field just like Lena had laid it out and the Twins made sure nobody got close to them. Harry managed to avoid being sacked by doing some nimble footwork and they pumped their fist in the air as Duncan spiked the ball in the endzone. What they didn’t notice was Lena’s mother shouting something into a headset she’d swiped from one of the Knights’ coaches or Alex and Lex jumping on the sidelines pointing to the floodlights.

“They are red! Get out of the lights!” Alex yelled at the top of her lungs. “NO!” Then both her and Lex cried out with Lena already making the connection and being half to her feet before someone slammed into them at full speed. Hearing something in their body making a crunching sound, they didn’t have the time to brace for the impact, and farmer’s strength or not, the defensive lineman slammed into them before running them over and leaving them in a crumbled heap on the ground.

Chapter Text

“Get up… Mother? Get up… Aunt Astra? Get up… Ma? Get up!! Kaz-El. Get. Up!” The voices in her head shouted and drawing in a gasp they regained their senses. Lying flat on their back while groaning and staring up into the lights that they now knew were sapping their strength. There had been no faking it this time.

That had hurt. Hurt like a son of a bitch! Red sun radiation emitters built into the lights, it had to be, they thought as they staggered to their feet, spitting out a wad of blood on the field. Everything hurt, but they were going to be damned if they were going to take this lying down, literally, red sun or not. They were a proud scion of Krypton and Kansas and now they were royally pissed off.

Pushing past their teammates with their ears ringing, they made a beeline for the defensive lineman who had, on Lillian Luthor’s orders, run them over. Ignoring the pain in their left arm, they grabbed him by the front of his helmet and looked him dead in the eyes as the poor refs tried to pull them apart.

“You are better than this,” they grunted in his face with blood trickling down their chin. Then they looked at the rest of the visiting team and shouted, “You are all better than this!”

Allowing themselves to be separated by the referee, they then made a point of staring a hole through Lillian Luthor before giving the thumbs up to Lena, who was being held back by Coach Mags of all people, as the pale girl was fuming. Fistfight averted, they took their place in the huddle and flashed their teammates a bloody grin.

“You okay there, bud? You are looking a little…” Harry started with Duncan finishing, “Scary!” They simply shrugged with Damian chuckling along with the Twins.

“Let’s just say that I’m done playing around. Wyatt and Earp, we’re going for a run. 'Path of Destruction' play on me, got it?” They asked firmly and flashed Harry and Duncan a reassuring smile to show them that they hadn't lost their mind completely.

“You sure? I mean, you're bleeding, you never bleed, and did you just pop your shoulder back into place?” Harry asked them with Duncan nodding his concern along with his friend. Before they could come up with a lie as to why they were suddenly mortal, and Rao, they hated lying, Damian of all people saved them the trouble and outed them. And they loved the little bastard for it!

“You guys are so dense! Ugh! It must be all the red meat and corn you eat, I guess, you see this is why I’m a vegetarian,” he sighed a long-suffering sigh and shook his head before going on bringing the team with him to an understanding.

“A team from Metropolis shows up, with Luthor’s angry-looking bitch of a mother in tow, and I should know about those, and then suddenly, our fearless leader is bleeding from a little bump and dislocating her shoulder while being less 'super' than usual?” He laid out the details while throwing them a look that spoke volumes and darn it, the kid was too smart. Almost like he was detective or something.

Flashing him a smile, they looked on as the realization dawned on first Duncan’s face and then slowly on Harry’s while the Twins just laughed. It was truly amazing how people can always surprise you.

“You are an, you know… like really?” Harry asked, making a flying motion with his hand and they nodded with a shy smile.

“And now you're out of another closet,” Duncan grunted making a crashing motion with his hand and they nodded.

“Cool,” Harry declared as the Twins grunted their approval and acceptance, and they shook their head before they pulled their teammates’ attention back to the play at hand.

“I’ll explain later, but no matter what happens, I am country strong, and we don't quit. Now, 'Path of Destruction' on two, are you with me?” they asked firmly while sticking their clenched fist out into the huddle and the gesture was met with enthusiastic nods.

The cry of “stronger together” rang out into the sky as their team took the field again and they got ready for the play. Their busted upper lip stung like heck, their throwing arm’s muscles were complaining something fierce too, and they were going to need a nice sunbathing session tomorrow, hopefully with Lena under an umbrella nearby, but that didn’t matter. Their skill on the football field had nothing to do with their powers, their teammates' faith in them also didn’t have anything to do with their powers and as they’d told Lena, powers or not they were still a tall and strong country bumpkin!

“Path of Destruction, Path of Destruction, one, two! Hut! Hut!” they shouted the play and the ball sailed into their hands. Now this was a play Lena had come up with as more of a joke, but it seemed to fit their current circumstances perfectly.

Falling back, they faked throwing it to Harry, then to Duncan as the Twins fell back before they tucked the ball under their arm and all three of them blasted through the defensive line already disrupted by the two fake-outs. But that wasn’t all of it, as they and the Twins burst through defensive linemen cutting a path of destruction up the middle of the field until someone finally brought them down only to find that they didn’t have the ball!

“KD and the Twins are taking on all comers, folks! Hard-fought yards here as they are brought down and wait, they don’t have the ball! The ball is still in play and! And! And Damian’s got it, the kicker has the ball and he’s running up left field with Kin and Duncan ahead of and behind him! What a play! At the thirty, at the twenty!” the announcer shouted once their ruse became apparent.

Damian, with his face firmly set in a scowl that scared one defender away, raced up the field. Though not as long-legged as Harry or Duncan, he could run with the best of them and whatever tackles came his way were taken care of by his teammates. With bodies crashing against the turf left and right, he came upon the last line of defense and with a smirk, he baseball-slid between the defenders' legs into the end zone before rolling to his feet and spiking the ball just as the halftime whistle blew!

That meant they were tied at 21-21 heading into the locker rooms, not a bad first half, but all that impact was starting to take its toll on all of them and not only those not affected by red light-induced power loss. It was a very concerned Lena who met them at the sidelines, slipping an arm under them to support them and muttering something about their stupid hero complex.

“Just playing… the game,” they apologized, trying not to put too much of their weight on Lena’s slender shoulders.

In the locker room, the mood was upbeat but also serious, they were tied, they all looked like heck and the star quarterback who up until now had looked indestructible was looking very human and beat up worse than the rest of them.

“Good half, guys, good half,” Coach Dan clapped and handed out the waters as both Coach Mags and Lena checked them over with their concerned teammates, now aware of their heritage, hovering nearby.

“Don’t worry about me. Damian took a bad hit out there and I can see Harry is hiding a limp and Wyatt has a nasty shiner and…” they tried to wave the two women away as Lena undid the chinstrap on their helmet.

“Hush now, and I’ve got this, go check on the others,” the pale girl told the Latina who nodded and set about checking over the rest of the team.

“How does it look, coach?” they tried to joke, but now Junior Assistant Coach Luthor wasn’t having any of their bravado. Out of the field's lights, they were feeling a bit better, but they’d need a lot of time in the sun, that was for damn sure.

“You look like shit, Kaz, and not in that scruffy handsome way either, more like you’re killing me out there…” Lena huffed, and then softened before she accepted a wet towel handed to her by Duncan as she set about cleaning up their busted lip and bruised cheek.

“But I’m pissing off your mom… so totally worth it, right?” they groaned and sighed as the coolness of the cloth eased the throbbing pain. Even away from the red sun lights, they would take a few days to recover fully.

“I’d rather have you not all banged up and bruised than my mother pissed off,” the pale girl admitted and kissed their cheek quickly.

“Only two quarters to go, Lee, I can survive,” they replied, trying to hide their grunt of pain as Lena ran her finger up their sides and checking for any injuries. They reached out while feeling bone-tired to stroke Lena’s cheek to reassure the girl that they were fine.

“Two quarters for her to put out another hit on you, how many blows like that do you think you can take?” Lena retorted with her eyes aflame with concern and frustration at not being able to do more.

“As many as it takes, it’s what I do,” they answered and started getting to their feet with Lena trying to pull them back down. But they gently took that pale arm off their shoulders and gave the pale girl a gentle kiss on the forehead.

“I… I need to do this, I’m their leader and don’t worry, I’m sure our oh-so-supportive siblings are hard at work out there making sure nobody gets away with this,” they asserted as they rose to their feet with Lena standing next to them, holding their helmet, and looking still concerned but also proud.

“Alright, guys and girls, we got our butts handed to us, but we clawed our way back and we are still in this!” they announced to the locker room and made a show of rotating their sore shoulder a few times. Yep, that was busted!

“Look, I’m seeing some gloomy faces, but this isn’t the first time we’re tied or behind, or the first time some jerks come to our town thinking they can muscle us around!” they went on and jumped up onto the bench in front of their locker while looking out over the room.
“I know you must all be kinda bored of my speeches by now, I mean coming up with new stuff is hard work, you know!” they laughed a got a chuckle from the still groaning and sore team gathered around the room.

“Hell no!” Harry, holding a bag of ice to his thigh, shouted his support as always, with Damian giving a nod of confirmation while still, as always, looking unimpressed by their inspirational shenanigans.

“Love you guys!” they laughed and jumped up onto a bench, landing with a loud thud and looking around the locker room.

“Now this is what we’re going to do, we’re going to leave it all out on that field!” they shouted while striding back and forth atop the bench.

“We’re going to blitz them!” they shouted and were met with a chorus of 'yeah' and 'hell yeahs'.

“We’re going to slam them into the warm Kansas dirt and they’re going to like it!” they roared and on cue, Lena threw them their helmet which they caught and pumped in the air.

“City Slickers think they can come to Smallville and boss us around? I say heck no! We’re the Crows, this is our field, our town, our night!” they got carried away by their teammates cheering them on and getting to their feet one by one, some slowly, some jumping, all of them battered and bruised but full of fight.

“Two more quarters! Two. More. Quarters!” they stated firmly, holding up their fingers. “That’s a lifetime in football, ignore the cameras, ignore the dirty play, be who you are, be proud, be strong, be…” they paused, hoping they had read the room right and then were met with the familiar chorus of: “Stronger Together!”

The team marching onto the field in a line had been Damien’s idea, the choice of music had been Harry’s and it had all sent the poor announcer into a fit of hysterics when the Crows emerged from the tunnel. With Kaz leading the way, their golden hair flowing down their back like a cape, all while holding the rainbow-colored towel bearing the crest of their house above their head with both hands as their team marched behind them to war and best of all with Lena by their side.

They emerged onto the field in silence, but then the first chords of ‘We're not gonna take it’ rang over the field as they stood defiant on the sidelines with their hands behind their backs for a few moments before breaking into a dance party and openly taunting the visiting team with their amused cheerleading squad soon joining in.

No taunt was perhaps more evident than what Lena did. The pale girl began rather suggestively dancing around them while taking the towel and waving it in the air while smiling joyfully at her mother who was pacing behind the Marvels’ bench. Ending with a lipstick-stained kiss to the side of their helmet which left a red imprint on the gold part of it.

“Stronger Together!” rang out in the huddle and the fear in their opponents' eyes gave them a guilty thrill. House of El was supposed to inspire hope but right now fear would have to do.

“Red Sun Rises, Red Sun Rises! On me! Hut!” they shouted the play with a bit of extra grunt to it and the ball sailed into their hands like many times before, and the twins were there to protect them.

“The Crows looked like they wanted to paint these City Slickers blue and nail them to the barn door on that play, guys, gals, and nonbinary pals!” the announcer shouted as the bodies crashed into each other on the field. Aunt Astra’s advice about how sometimes you simply had to fight dirty rang in their head.

Pulling back their arm, they ignored the pain. Pain was temporary, but glory was forever, and right now it was time to bring glory to the House of El and Smallville High. The ball flew from their hand in a perfect spiral and landed with a loud thud in Harry’s arms who was taken down but made a point of crashing to the ground by the Marvels’ bench so he could stand up and point at them and Lillian Luthor. “You are better than this!” the young man repeated what they had said before halftime and they ran up to him, grabbing him by the helmet and headbutting him.

“You!” Lillian hissed from behind the bench, and they smiled at the woman who seemed so small up close.

“Me!” they replied and pointed at themselves innocently which only infuriated the Luthor matriarch even more. Then the floodlights went out for a few seconds before coming back on and her screech made Lena smile as she looked up from planning with Coach Dan and Mags on the sidelines.

“Oops!” they giggled and flicked their long blonde hair at the woman before dragging Harry who was trash-talking the Marvels’ entire offensive line during their exchange with Lena’s mother.

“What was that?” Harry whispered to them as they joined the huddle and they could only wink as they caught sight of Lex and Alex looking a bit rough, with Lex’s shirt torn and Alex sporting a cut above her eye but otherwise busy high fiving each other.

“Just some annoying big siblings being awesome,” they explained to their friend and once in the huddle, they broke out their beaming smile which elicited both amusement and worry.

“Oh boy, I know that look;” the usually stoic and quiet Duncan sighed and rubbed his face but returned their smile and the quiet boy did have a nice smile whenever he brought it out.

“New play, hope you all paid attention to my girlfriend earlier and not just her tits,” they joked to a chorus of 'we would never!' and ‘she’s scary!’

“Country boys’ rock, on two, Harry your time to shine!” they laughed with a wicked grin to which Harry nodded as they all lined up and Lena had called this play right as the Marvels got ready to blitz them.

“Country boys’ rock! Country boys’ rock! Hut! Hut!” they shouted the play and the ball sailed not into their hands but Harry’s who fell back as they and the twins rushed through the line of scrimmage.

As Lena had suspected, the Marvels were under orders to punish them and only them, so the line collapsed in on them and the twins as Duncan ran up right field and Harry threw the forward pass with impressive accuracy.

“I’m checking the big Ol’Rulebook here and yes that is a legal play, sneaky but legal! And touchdown Crows!” the announcer shouted over the speakers as they emerged with the twins bruised and bloodied from the pile while Duncan cooly spiked the ball and took his turn pointing at Lillian Luthor who was yelling at the Marvels’ coach to do something as the poor man paged through the rulebook as well.

As they walked off the field for the defensive line to take the field, they made sure that they stopped the Marvels’ quarterback and pulled him in for a word before the referees noticed.

“Whatever she promised you it isn’t worth it you know that right?” they softly asked the handsome young man and smiled at him winsomely as he looked over at where Lillian was still shouting at his coach.

“We don’t have a choice,” he replied and glanced at Lena’s mother who was turning a nice shade of red from anger.

“You always have a choice,” they told him firmly and grasped his shoulder while looking into his eyes trying to give him some of her strength to do the right thing.

“Hey, break it up you two!” the referee shouted while coming to pull them apart, but the Marvels’ quarterback gave them a quick nod that gave them hope that their words had gotten through to him.

“And Marvel’s take the field on offense and we’re off! And what is this... What is this he takes the knee! He takes the knee!” the announcer shouted over the speakers as the Marvels’ quarterback took the knee as soon as the ball sailed into his hands.

“What did you say to him?” Lena whispered in their ear after they’d taken a long drink of water and poured some over their head so their blond hair stick to their shoulder pads.

“That whatever she’d promised them it wasn’t worth their souls,” they shrugged and glanced over to Lillian Luthor throwing a full on fit.

“Whatever is going on here folks it seems that the Marvels are rebelling against their sponsor!” the announcer shouted as Lena draped herself over their shoulders.

“And that you always have a choice,” they added and kisses their pale girlfriend on the cheek with a grin.

“Love when you show of those brains of yours Kaz,” the pale girl whispered in their ear and when the Marvels’ quarterback took the knee again it seemed to cause something to snap in Lillian Luthor who strode over to the Crows’ bench.

“Get your hands of this… thing!” she shouted at Lena and pulled the pale girl of them to which the pale girl responded by slapping their mother across the face. Where in the past she would have frozen and mumbled something, now she stood up for herself at the slap rang out across the field.

“Don’t you dare call them that!” Lena shouted at her mother while putting one hand on their shoulder to stop them from getting up and physically removing the woman from their presence.

“You ungrateful!” Lillian raised her hand to smack Lena, but Coach Mags was there to catch it with a furious look on her face while raising her fist getting ready to deliver a vicious left hook to the woman.
“Let go of me!” the Luthor matriarch demanded as the Latina’s grip tightened around her wrist and they concluded that Alex’s new girlfriend was scary when she wanted to be!

“There seems to be commotion at the Crows’ bench folks, play has stopped, and the referees are walking over and oh that’s one angry rich lady folks! And yes, she’s being ejected and boy oh boy she isn’t happy about it!” the announcer called out as members of both the Crows and Marvels manhandled Lillian Luthor of the field and into a waiting limo where Lex held the door.

“See you at Christmas mother,” he said polity and then slammed the door behind before giving them a quick shrug and banging the roof of the car to signal the driver to head off.

With Lillian Luthor gone the game became much cleaner, and in the end the Crows stood victorious in front of bleachers while raising their arms in the air. Pumping their helmet in the air they took the now customary victory kiss from Lena to seek out the Marvels’ quarterback. It was more of a soccer thing, but they pulled of their jersey and handed it to the young man who had done a brave thing when called upon. Looking down at the jersey he laughed and pulled his off as they exchanged them.

“You did the right thing,” they assured him which made him chuckle and run his fingers through his messy black hair.

“You still beat us,” he mumbled and scratched the back of his neck as they stuck out their hand for him to shake it with a smile.

“There is always next time or who knows we might end up together on a team down the road,” they fired back and with a grin he took their hand and shook it firmly.

“We’ll see Danvers,” he nodded and turned to walk away as they looked at the back of his jersey to see his last name. “See you around Allen!” she shouted after him and he raised his fist in the air as a salute to them.

“Are we making friends?” Lena asked hugging them from behind as they watched the Marvels’ quarterback vanish into their bus and the pale girl’s breath tickled her neck.

“You know me, got to catch them all,” they joked and turned around with their hands on their girlfriend’s hips.

“What now?” Lena asked with her green eyes, searching as she looked up at them and all they could do was smile and lean down to kiss them.

“Now we do whatever we want,” they murmured into the kiss which lasted right up until their teammates dunked the contest of the stolen Marvel’s energy drink bucket over their heads. “Harry. Kim!” Lena shrieked as the ice water soaked them and they could only laugh.

Sometime later, in the spring, Lena Luthor waited by the side of the road outside the gates of Luthor estate in Smallville. Wearing a pair of torn jeans and a red tied-up jersey with K.D. on the back of it, she saw a cloud of dust rise towards the sky as a car approached and she stuck out her fingers as the blue Ford pickup slowed to a stop and the driver’s window came down.

“Need a ride somewhere?” Kaz asked her girlfriend as they wore a white muscle t-shirt and black jeans, with their blonde hair flowing down their shoulders and a State Championship ring glistening on their finger as they held the wheel.

“I hear Boston is nice this time of year,” Lena giggled and leaned into the car to kiss them on the lips.

“Got your acceptance letter?” they asked with a grin and Lena only gave them a raised Luthor eyebrow before holding up a letter stamped with the M.I.T. logo on it.

“Silly question and hey I have one of those too!” they laughed and pulled theirs out of the glovebox.

“Oh, fancy that, so you going to give me a ride hotshot? Lex is being disgustingly domestic with Eve, and I could use a break,” Lena laughed and then climbed into the car through the window and over them with her feet kicking as they couldn’t hold back their laughter.

“Alex has been talking about applying for the Deputy Sheriffs position on my end! And Coach Mags couldn’t be happier,” they chuckled as their girlfriend got comfortable next to them in the now rebuilt pickup.

“Then I think it’s time we blow this joint don’t you think?” the pale girl asked and pulled down the sun visor to use the mirror to fix her lipstick.

“Second star to the right, even though it’s daytime,” they joked and pulled back onto the road with one arm over Lena’s shoulders.

“And straight on until dawn,” Lena finished the quote with them as the cornfields faded behind them and out in front of them stretched their future. That was until they came upon a roadblock made up of their friends who had their arms crossed over their chests.

“Fancy running into you guys here,” they shouted coming to a stop and sticking their head of the window as Lena rolled her eyes but there was a softness on her face at seeing their friends.

“Couldn’t let you leave town without a proper escort,” Harry laughed, and the twins nodded as Duncan waved at them from the side of his own black pickup with Damian on the bed of it glaring at them.

“Going to miss you the most you little demon;” they told the boy who huffed but then flashed them a rare smile.

“Whatever you say Danvers, but I have a suspicion we’ll run into each other soon though,” he offhandedly commented but there was no malice to it.

“Oh, secret alien billionaire business?” Duncan deadpanned and they all laughed before the boys piled into Duncan’s truck.

“Something like that, so taking us to the county line?” they asked and felt Lena squeeze their knee with an innocent smile.

“Or a bit further, let’s see where the road takes us,” Duncan who had never been much for talking was very talkative today which made Harry look at him in shock.

“A bit further sounds like fun,” they agreed as they began driving into the metaphorical sunset together as a team. Stronger Together.