A/N: From a Tumblr prompt posted to: supercorp-prompt-zone
Prompt: I would love to read a prompt about Lena confiding in Kara about her abusive childhood
Settling on the couch, Lena swirled the Scotch in her glass. The silence in the room grew and grew until it pressed at her. The weight of Luthors Past sitting on her chest until she struggled to breathe from it.
A sob rang like an explosion through the penthouse. Lena closed her eyes and gripped her glass. Damn it! She never lost control like this. Never. Except tonight. The nightmares twisted and turned her thoughts until reality and horror were indistinguishable.
"Lee?" Kara's voice brushed across Lena's consciousness.
If only it was real. Lena jumped when a warm hand cupped her cheek, Scotch sloshing over the lip of the glass onto the NCU hoodie she'd borrowed from Kara during a sleepover and never returned. "How did you get in?" she asked as she forced burning eyes open.
The front door was locked. Lena remembered throwing the deadbolt when she'd gotten home.
"You always forget to lock the balcony door," Kara said with a tiny grin that quickly disappeared. "You look terrible. What happened? Do I need to throw your entire Board into the sun?" There was a steely determination in her blue eyes that said Kara would do it. A look Lena normally only glimpsed when Kara wore her family's crest. Not when she was in a pair of soft flannel pajama pants with dancing penguins on them and a threadbare tank top.
Kara shrugged when she caught Lena checking out her clothes. "I heard you cry out. I thought you were in trouble."
Lena unwillingly relaxed and leaned into Kara's touch. "What would your sister say if a picture of Supergirl in her pajamas ended up on Instagram?"
Rather than answer, Kara took the glass of Scotch and set it on the coffee table. Then, she picked Lena up, sat on the couch, and rearranged Lena in her lap. "Don't tell Alex, but... I don't really answer to her or the DEO. What's wrong, Lee? I can't help if you don't tell me what to do."
"You can't help," Lena whispered. It was a lie. Kara's warmth was already beating back the cold that had frozen her to the bone. The slow, steady beat of Kara's heart lulled Lena closer to sleep.
"I'm a superhero. You'd be surprised what I can do." Kara pulled the afghan from the back of the couch and tucked it snugly around Lena. "Close your eyes. Listen to my heart beat. Did you know I listen to yours some nights? It helps me feel less alone."
"You're not alone," Lena mumbled through a yawn. "Why don't you call me? I'd come over."
Kara's chest vibrated with her laugh. "I know you would. Just like I'd come if you called me - but you don't. Talk to me, Lee. I promised that you'd always be safe, and I'd always be here for you. I meant it. Nothing you tell me will make me go away."
Lena didn't want to talk. She never wanted to talk about the things haunting her dreams. Listening to Kara's heart and feeling Kara's arms tight around her, though, broke through her walls. "Today's the anniversary of my adoption."
There was no stopping now. Not when Kara's lips pressed against her hair and they began to rock gently.
"I was never good enough for Lillian." Lena curled against Kara, trying to get closer. To hide from words pouring out. "Did you know she locked me in a closet once because I refused to attend one of her parties? She said if I wouldn't socialize with the guests she'd chosen then I didn't need to talk to anyone."
Kara's arms never loosened. Not even when Lena talked about her last day at Luthor Manor. The day Lillian had invited the son of one of the LuthorCorp investors to the house and turned a blind eye to his attempts to rape Lena.
She'd managed to hold him off with one wickedly-sharp, five-inch heeled shoe and a prototype stun gun.
Finally, Lena ran out of stories to tell. The silence had returned to the penthouse. Somehow, though, the feel of the room had changed. Warmed. "You're still here," she marveled.
"One day," Lena opened her eyes at the tight, strangled sound of Kara's voice, "you'll believe me when I say you're stuck with me." Tears shimmered in Kara's eyes. "Until then, I'm simply going to say it over and over. You're safe. You're not alone. And I cannot imagine loving you more than I do right now. Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me. You're the strongest person I know, Lena Luthor."
"I'm not..." A finger pressed against Lena's lips.
"You are." Nestling Lena's head beneath her chin, Kara began to hum Lena's favorite piece of music, Pachelbel's Canon in D.
Warm, safe, loved. Lena sighed as those unfamiliar emotions draped over her along with the afghan and Kara's arms