Lena closed the door to the apartment as quietly as she could. Although, considering her fiancée had super hearing, doing so was often a hollow gesture.

Lena had gotten tied up on a late night, transatlantic business call and knew Kara was likely in bed fast asleep after the long day.

Slipping off her heals and nestling her bag by the coat rack, Lena padded towards the large kitchen/sitting area to get a glass of water and to take some painkillers for the raging migraine that had plagued her all day.

As she got closer to the entrance, Lena saw a faint light casting a long line across the corridor and the gentle sound of rustling of papers fluttered to her ears.

Lena smiled softly, thinking Kara must have waited up for her or had gotten caught up in working on an article and stayed up too late working like herself.

More quietly, Lena purposefully snuck to the ajar door to peak in at her fiancée. The word still made Lena smile uncontrollably. She would never understand how she had gotten so lucky as to call Kara her own.

Lena loved catching these unguarded moments of Kara working. Kara would have this adorable pout on her face and her crinkle would be more puckered than usual as she tried to work out some sentence, or piece together a piece of research. Kara felt safe enough now in their home, which was once Lena's cold apartment, to casually remove her glasses and use her super speed for mundane things like setting the table. Lena always basked in those moments for the unique sense of trust and safety she must give to Kara that she was comfortable enough to let her human facade fall.

When Lena peaked through the gap between the door and the wall however, she did not see Kara working, typing an article or speeding through research. Instead Kara sat on the couch looking mournfully at a stack of magazines before lifting one and listlessly thumbing through it. Absolute apathy in her every move and sad defeat pushed down on her proud shoulders.

Lena was about to burst into the room demanding what was wrong, but she finally took notice of the magazine's covers and froze, rooted in place.

Those were bridal magazines.

Almost a year after her impromptu proposal, Lena and Kara had been dating and moved in together. Alex had complained about U hauling when Kara had moved into Lena's apartment a little less than six weeks after her Christmas engagement. Lena had only thought she knew happiness as Kara's best friend. It was nothing compared to being her fiancée and lover. Don't be mistaken, there had been arguments and bumps along the way, yet Lena could honestly say she had never been so happy. Kara and Lena were desperately in love and everything else after that had sort of fallen into place.

A year after the proposal, on 'Christmas day at the Danvers mark II,' Lena had asked if Kara wanted to set a date for their wedding. Kara was almost excited as Lena and Eliza. Thus, they had picked a date and a private venue for a small celebration. Despite Lena's high profile she was determined to give Kara a quiet, intimate wedding. The best chefs in National City were hired for before and after the meal, a certain 90's popstar was booked to do an exclusive one hour set at the reception and an extravagant honeymoon was planned. Lena had already had a measuring done for a handcrafted, one of a kind, smoking tuxedo to be made for her to wear. Kara always seemed to get especially tongue tied when Lena wore her power pant suits and Lena had never been fond of flouncy dresses so following the stereotyped male/female clothing norm actually suited them.

The one issue that was presenting trouble was getting a dress for Kara. Sam and Alex had both taken Kara dress shopping but nothing had "felt right" to Kara and when Lena mentioned employing a dress maker, Kara had point blank refused. She insisted that the right dress was out there, she just had to find it...that had been back in January, and it was now June and Kara still didn't have a dress. Lena had been hesitant to push, content to let Kara have whatever she wanted. Now though, Lena is unsure if she had made the right choice.

Kara snapped the magazine shut with a groan, rubbing her eyes.

What was holding Kara back from choosing a dress? Surely some style would please her? Or was the dress just an excuse? Did Kara not want to marry her anymore? Lena's heart skipped a beat. No! That couldn't be it.

Lena drew in a silent, shallow breathe to fight the dizziness which that thought caused.

Lena knew she couldn't let her heart start beating in panic or else Kara would surely notice her here. The fact she hadn't already was another worrying sign of how serious and distracting this was for Kara.

Kara lifted another magazine and began flicking through it. The same disinterest on her face and her lips slowly mouthing the word 'no' as she examined each dress before turning the page occurred.

Lena drew back from the door. Worry bracketing her mouth and drawing her face into a frown.

She had to address this with Kara.

She had silently made it back to the front door and pretending as if she had just arrived lifted her heavy business satchel and dropped it on the ground heavily before making her way noisily back to the living area.

Lena plastered a small smile on her face and adjusted her expression to show only tiredness and mild pleasure that Kara was still up. Turning the corner into the sitting room she caught Kara setting the magazine down on the coffee table.

Lena smiled softly, "Oh babe you're still up!"

Kara smiled at Lena softly but being aware of her previous state Lena could see that the smile was actually a little forced. How long had this been going on and Lena had not noticed?

Lena took a steadying breath, about to confront why Kara was hesitating in picking a dress. Readying herself to finally hear Kara tell her that she had come to her senses and realised a Luthor was not someone she could marry. There could be no other reason, every little girl dreamed of her wedding day and Kara was showing clear reluctance and even displeasure, rather than excited joy in it's planning.

Lena was about to speak when her own thoughts caught up to her and she almost bit through her tongue cutting herself off.

Lena smiled indulgently at Kara trying to cover up her realisation as she made small talk with Kara about her day. Kara looking uncomfortable as she glanced at the magazines and nodded randomly at Lena's dry recounting of her day, before cutting Lena off as she excused herself to get ready for bed.

Lena watched Kara glide towards their bedroom and stated she would follow in a moment. Lena walked on unsteady feet to the kitchen and poured herself water but ignored the painkillers she had initially come for. Her mind was alive with thoughts and she couldn't afford to dull her mental acuity.

Lena returned to her revelatory thought. Every little girl dreams of her wedding day, but that is a distinctly human stereotype and as Lena should have realised already…Kara is not human.

Kara had explained the customs of Krypton, the joining of great houses and of politically and genetically motivated marriages. With sex being an exceptional expression of the deepest love rather than the norm, with reproduction being fulfilled by the matrix, marriage was much more logically planned. Unions were bindings of social, political and intellectual interests, not romantic pairings…at least not at first. However, marriage on Krypton was the pinnacle of vows. There was no divorce. Ever. Individuals who didn't develop love, at least were expected to develop an intellectual respect which forged strong bonds.

Kara in conspiratorial whispers one night had explained how in over 1000 years of modern Kryptonian history, only two marriages were ended, and that was not by divorce. One partner had to perform the ceremony of rebirth. Legally and socially the individual effectively died, making the other partner a widow or widower and free to live their lives. The individual who underwent the rebirth ceremony stripped themselves of their family name, all previous accolades, friends and family and effectively died. After a year of exclusion they would return to society under a new name and were forbidden any interaction with any of their previous friends, family or business associates. It was an option of absolute last resort. Family names and Houses on Krypton were considered sacred and were crucial to identity. Kara had been horrified at the thought of forsaking her name. For all intents and purposes one member of the marriage had to die to end the union.

So marriage on Krypton was a serious commitment, would little girls dream of their wedding days? And if they did, it would surely look nothing like a human wedding. Lena is chagrined to admit she never asked Kara, never considered that the concept and image of a bride on Krypton would be different to her human idea of a white dressed, pseudo Christian wedding dress.

Kara was perhaps struggling to pick a wedding dress because Lena was forcing her to accept human norms of the event. Perhaps Kara is struggling to pick a wedding dress because the idea is so foreign to Kara's dream of her wedding day.

What would a Kryptonian wear on their wedding day? Likely, not a dress. With the matrix and the biological evolution of Kryptonians as gender fluid and in a way, pansexual, their fashions had become somewhat androgynous from what Lena had gleaned from Kara's stories and her paintings.

Lena walked sluggishly to bed and on autopilot she dressed for bed and snuggled into Kara's embrace.

Lena had been pushing her wedding plans without ever considering Kara's alien heritage. She had blindly ignored that Kara was her equal in this union and despite her passivity in the planning process she was mourning the loss of her own wedding dream. Kara had to conform to humanity since she arrived on this planet. Lena had unwittingly become one of the people who expected Kara to conform to human traditions and norms. Lena felt her stomach roll. She was meant to be better. She was meant to be the one person Kara could be herself with. Using super speed around their home, leaving her glasses off and swearing in Kryptonain when Lena did that thing she loved with her tongue.

Lena had to make this wedding perfect, because Kara deserves perfect. Her version of perfect, not humanities.

The next morning:

Lena strode towards the nondescript building in downtown National City. The twenty story building looked like a hundred other modern office blocks in the city, but unlike the rest, this one housed the clandestine DEO.

Lena pushed the revolving doors and stepped into the clinically clean foyer. A mundanely dressed man sat behind a desk appearing to be just like any other building concierge.

Lena recognised him from her one and only other visit here when she had had to come in to sign NDA documents after Kara admitted her secret to her, and for J'onn Jonzz to read her mind. Much to Kara's annoyance and Alex's insistence. J'onn had watched her sternly for barely a moment before giving a sharp nod and a small grin of approval. Lena had blushed deeply, knowing that J'onn had seen how hopelessly in love with Kara she was.

The concierge had obviously been watching Lena walk up on some hidden cameras as he was eyeing her suspiciously and his shoulders were tight.

Someone is obviously aware of who Lena is, and is tense at the daughter and sister of rampant alien haters walking into his super secret, nifty little government base.

Lena tried hard to hide her smile.

"Good morning, Ma'am," The agent said. Playing dumb it seemed. Lena rolled her eyes and dryly said, "Tell Agent Danvers Lena Luthor is here to see her urgently. It is about her sister."

The agent stiffened further and quickly reached for the phone in front of him.

Only select agents knew Supergirl was in actual fact Kara Danvers, but everyone knew that Alex Danvers adored her baby sister and that Kara was dating Lena.

The poor agent was probably having palpitations.

A muttered conversation down the line later and the man hung up. "Agent Danvers is on her way Miss Luthor."

Lena nodded sharply and turned to face the elevator,

Not three minutes later the elevator dinged and the doors opened to reveal Alex Danvers. Her posture was militarily straight, face set in a threatening scowl and dressed in full black agent uniform. Lena cringed inside her mind. How was it possible that Alex managed to look even more intimidating than usual? Lena had just been getting over her instinctual wariness of Alex, and she had thought Alex was warming to her too because she was making Kara happy. Right now Alex looked like she could happily make Lena disappear into the depths of this building, never to be seen again.

Alex didn't walk, but rather marched out of the elevator and demanded, "What happened? Is Kara alright?"

Lena winced. She really should have warned Alex she was coming.

"Kara is fine. There is something we need to discuss though. A request I am hoping you can grant, for her happiness?" Lena stated with her professionally cool voice.

Alex relaxed infinitesimally before a sarcastic smile came to her face. Lena really hated how Maggie was rubbing off on Alex, her sense of humour was becoming decidedly juvenile and that smile always preceded some witty retort.

"Well since you didn't bother asking me for my blessings before proposing to my little sister, I don't know what other requests you could have for me Luthor?" Alex asked.

Lena almost choked at Alex's retort and she could see the eyes of the concierge agent widening before he hunched lower behind his desk as though expecting world war three to break out and he didn't want to get in Alex's way as she tried to murder Lena.

Coward. Lena thought.

In her mind Lena tried to parse out if Alex was being partially serious. Had she expected Lena to ask for blessings before she proposed? That seemed so medieval. But then, considering Alex's medieval protective instincts for her sister, there was probably a grain of truth in that jab.

"This is a matter of a personal nature and best not discussed where we may be overheard," Lena said as she cast her eyes to the lowly concierge agent.

Alex's lips tightened as she looked sharply at the agent and stared into the depths of Lena's eyes, judging her, weighing her.

Alex swivelled on her heel and marched back to the elevator, "come!" she barked.

Lena rolled her eyes at Alex's back and strode after her silently, ignoring the barkeing tone of the order.

The two women settled into the elevator and with the wave of an ID card from Alex the lift began descending, far deeper than any other building in National City and further than the plans of the building suggested was possible. Lena knew because she had checked.

"So what's this about little Luthor?" Alex asked, using the moniker Maggie had coined and which Lena pretended to dislike but which made her feel accepted in this odd group of super friends.

Lena took a deep breath, "It's about the wedding."

Alex looked sharply at her, "You better not be pulling out Luthor or I swear to God…"

Lena cut Alex off quickly before she got a full head of steam, "No, of course not, it's about the dress."

Alex snorted and rolled her eyes, her form slumping and leaning back against the elevator.

"Jesus Christ, Luthor! You came to the DEO to whine about my sister taking her damn time picking a dress. This is my place of work, you can't just…"

Lena cut Alex off mid rant with a single question. "What did Kryptonian brides wear on their wedding days?"

Alex's mouth snapped shut mid word and her eyebrows furrowed. The implications of the question hitting her. Alex's eyes flickered and Lena could only imagine that Alex was having the same avalanche of revelations and questions she had the previous night.

Alex slumped further and cast Lena a pained look. "You think this is why she hasn't been able to pick a wedding dress. No dress is right because she has been looking at traditional human gowns and in her head the right one is something very different."

Lena nodded sharply, "I can't be sure, but it's my current theory. Do you know what Kryptonians wore on their wedding days, or even anything about their wedding ceremony?"

Alex let out a deep sigh. "No."

Lena's lips tightened but some of the guilt she had been feeling lifted. If Alex hadn't thought about this then it made Lena's oversight a little less burdensome.

"I need to speak with the Alura hologram," Lena whispered.

Kara so rarely spoke about her mother's hologram. The facsimile of her mother's knowledge and personality, the user interface to a lost planets knowledge caused Kara to get a sad far away look, so much so that despite the amazingness of the technology and the advancements it could give to humanity if asked the right questions, Lena never asked about it.

Alex winced, "We would need J'onn's permission."

The elevator shuddered to a stop at last and opened onto a basement level, far away from the high tech command centre on the top floor.

Alex straightened her shoulders and strode out. "Follow me, and let me do the talking."

Lena pulled her Luthor mask tight and followed Alex. She needed to find out what Kara's perfect wedding looked like. She needed to see what Kara was envisioning when she thought of her wedding day.

For that, Lena would face down every DEO agent, J'onn Jonzz and the President of the United States if necessary. Whatever it took to make Kara happy.