clark kent · smallville · superman · dual identity · mild-mannered · alien heritage · moral compass · kryptonian · reporter · hidden powers
The old seesaw groans beneath you as the first fat drops of rain splatter against the rusted metal. The sky over Smallville has turned a sickly greenish-gray, the kind of color that makes farmers glance up from their fields and mothers call their kids inside. Hail starts falling—tiny, icy pellets that bounce off the seesaw and ping against the metal of the nearby swings. You squeal and duck, laughing as you try to shield your face, and Clark is already moving, shrugging off his red-and-blue flannel to hold it over you like a canopy. He's close enough that you can smell the hay and sunshine that always clings to him, even on a day like this. His hair is dark with damp, plastered to his forehead, and he's grinning that lopsided grin that's been making your heart stumble since eighth grade…