Lena heard a crash of breaking glass and a yelp, and without further thought threw herself through the door, whipping her taser from her handbag. "Kara!"
She froze just inside the door as she took in the scene in front of her. There were no masked men ransacking the place or threatening Kara. Instead, Kara stood in the middle of her kitchen, broken glass littering a puddle of water at her feet.
"Kara?"
"Oh, Lena, hi!" Kara's head whipped up, although she didn't quite make eye contact, and she directed a wave a little bit to Lena's left. "Fancy seeing you here! Because I can, see, that is."
Lena cocked her head at Kara's odd behavior, but brushed it off in favor of gesturing at the broken glass. "Need some help?"
"Oh, no, that's okay, I can just -" Kara squatted down and began to reach out towards the shards around her feet.
"Wait!" Lena said, causing Kara to freeze. "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to pick up broken glass with your bare hands? You could cut yourself."
Kara's eyes widened slightly and she flushed, sheepishly fiddling with her glasses. "Oh, yeah. Right."
"Where do you keep your broom? I'll help you clean it up."
Kara pointed vaguely towards the corner of the kitchen. "It's in the closet over there." Lena made her way over, even as Kara continued, "You really don't have to, I can -"
"Don't be silly," Lena cut her off, turning to face her with the broom in one hand and the other on her hip. "Of course I'll help you." She walked over to Kara, gesturing for her to stand up. "Now, up you get, so I can sweep around you."
Kara did as she was told, keeping very still as Lena cleared the glass from around her bare toes. Her head tracked Lena's movements as Lena swept around her, ensuring every last shard was cleaned away, but, though Lena tried, she never quite made eye contact.
By the time Lena gathered all the broken glass into the dustpan and thrown them away, she could feel some her stomach had started to twist itself into knots, worry filling her at what she could've done to make Kara not look at her. Had she forgotten about some plans they had made? Had she hurt Kara's feelings, or slighted her in some way? Or had Kara finally realized she didn't want anything to do with a Luthor?
Trying to calm her racing thoughts, she drew a deep breath and nervously asked, "Kara, is everything... alright?"
"Sure, of course it is!" Kara, who had gone to grab paper towels after Lena told her it was okay to move, whipped around to face her, pulling half the paper towel roll with her. She plastered on a big smile, but still looked towards Lena's right ear instead of her eyes. "Why wouldn't it be?"
"You're not looking at me."
"I'm not?" Kara winced, shifting her eyes as if searching for Lena. She muttered, "Shoot."
That certainly wasn't a response Lena had been expecting. "Kara, what's going on?"
"Nothing!" she exclaimed, tearing off a handful of paper towels and crouching to scrub at the floor. "Everything is totally normal! I'm absolutely fine."
"Kara," Lena said, her voice flat with disbelief. "The water is two feet to your right."
With a grimace, Kara climbed back to her feet, hanging her head. "Okay, that was a lie. Truthfully, I'm sort of, maybe… temporarily blind."
Lena felt her stomach drop through the floor. "Blind?" she repeated, shock turning her voice into a whisper.
Kara put her hands out to stave off Lena's panic. "Only temporarily! It'll wear off!"
"Are you certain?" When Kara nodded, Lena asked, "How do you know?"
Kara fiddled with the cuff of her shirt. "It's a… known substance." She thought back to the goo-shooting alien she had fought that afternoon. The DEO database had said the goo's blinding properties weren't permanent, but it had still been one hell of a shock to wipe away the spurt to her eyes and find she still couldn't see.
Lena took a step forward, finding herself reaching out to still Kara's fidgeting hands before stopping herself. "What happened?"
With a flush, she said, "I was… in James's dark room, yeah, and I got… chemicals in my eyes."
"And you've been to the doctor's? They told you you'd be okay?" Maybe Lena was being nosy, but she couldn't stop the questions from spilling out.
"Yeah, I got checked out." Kara nodded quickly. "Alex, uh, took me, and then she brought me home and made sure I ate…"
Lena was suddenly struck by the conspicuous lack of Kara's sister, or anyone, for that matter, in Kara's apartment. "Speaking of, where is she now? I wouldn't think she'd like to leave you alone…"
"She didn't, I made her leave," Kara shrugged. "She has a thing with her girlfriend tonight that they've been planning for a while and I didn't want to make her miss it. She made me promise I'd stay on the couch, though."
Lena raised her eyebrow. "I see you've taken that promise very seriously," she said teasingly.
Kara immediately put on her best pout. "I was thirsty," she whined.
Lena laughed, coming up beside Kara to grab a new glass and the pitcher of water Kara had left on the counter. "Well then let's get you a new glass and get you back to fulfilling your promise."
She filled the glass and gently pushed it into Kara's hand before helping to guide her back to the couch. She watched as Kara curled up into the corner of the couch, snuggling down into the cushions.
"Do you see my blue blanket?" Kara asked.
Lena glanced around, finding it hanging over the arm of a nearby chair. "Yes, here it is. Let me just…" She got up and picked up the blanket, leaning over to wrap it around Kara's shoulders.
With a huff, Kara stiffened and shrugged Lena's hands away. "I can do it."
Lena immediately drew back. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…"
"No, I'm sorry. That was mean. I'm just…" She groaned. "I hate feeling powerless. Or, not powerless! Just -"
"I understand what you mean," Lena said. She sat back on the edge of the couch, briefly touching Kara's ankle where it lay next to her leg. "But I still shouldn't have treated you like you're two, so I'm sorry about that."
Kara nodded. "I forgive you." She drew the blanket more fully around her shoulders, snuggling down into the couch again.
They sat in silence for a moment, Lena perched stiffly until Kara's foot moved, toes pressing into her thigh. It made the corner of her mouth quirk up, and as Kara shuffled around to lean closer she relaxed into the cushions.
"Lena, not that I'm not really glad you're here, but why are you here?" Kara broke the silence. "Did we have something planned and I forgot again?"
Warmth rushed through Lena's chest at the first part of Kara's sentence, and it took her a second to get her thoughts back in order to answer her question. "No, no, we didn't have anything planned. I just… wanted to see you and thought I'd surprise you," she admitted sheepishly.
Kara grinned in her direction, her cheeks coloring prettily. "Well I'm glad you did."
Lena didn't know what to say to that, so she settled for patting Kara's shin.
There was another moment of silence, bordering on awkward, until Lena spoke up.
"So, since you're, um, blind at the moment, is there anything you'd like to do? Netflix might be hard like I was originally thinking we might…" Lena might have kicked herself if Kara hadn't answered immediately, looking so shy and sweet as she did.
"Can we, uh, just talk? The silence feels really loud at the moment."
Lena relaxed at the simple request. "Of course we can talk. What would you like to talk about."
Kara thought for a second, then perked up, wriggling closer so her knees were pressed against Lena's hips. "Tell me about your latest project. Use all the big words you want."
Lena chuckled, turning to face Kara more fully. She started describing a new device L-Corp was developing, and soon lost herself in the conversation, chattering on as Kara nodded along and asked all the right questions. Eventually, they moved on to other topics, ranging from serious to silly; their favorite books, the state of current politics, the best sandwich they ever had.
As they talked, they drew closer and closer together. If Lena thought Kara had been tactile before, her affectionate nature was increased tenfold by being unable to see. She was constantly touching Lena, her hands flitting from Lena's knee to her wrist to her shoulder, playing with strands of her hair. Kara knew it was silly, but she felt like she had to constantly reassure herself that Lena was really there, ground herself in the blackness with Lena's warm skin and silky hair. Somehow, without either of them really realizing, they ended up with Kara's legs tucked over Lena's, Kara practically sitting in her lap.
The conversation started to wind down, and Kara snuggled in closer, laying her head on Lena's shoulder. It was wonderful, Lena thought, having Kara so close and soft in her arms - except that the corner of Kara's glasses was jabbing into her neck.
"Kara, dear," she said, nudging lightly at her. "Not to ruin the moment, but it's - your glasses…"
"Oh!" Kara popped back upright, straightening the frames, and Lena immediately missed the contact. "Sorry…"
"It's all right." A thought suddenly occurred to Lena. "Why do you still have them on? I mean, they're not doing much at the moment."
Kara fiddled with them again. "I guess it's a comfort thing." She thought back to when she first arrived on earth, and how Jeremiah had made them to help her. "My foster dad gave them to me when I first came to live with the Danvers."
Lena watched as Kara's face grew sad and reflective, feeling badly for ruining the wonderful mood from a second ago. "He must have been a wonderful man, to have had a hand in raising such an amazing woman."
Kara smiled at her softly, finding her hand and giving it a squeeze. "Thank you. He was." She went quiet for a moment, thinking back to the dreadfully short amount of time she had had with him, until a memory widened her smile. "I remember this one time, Alex and I were playing in our backyard, and I decided I wanted to climb all the way to the top of this tree…"
The story led to another, and another, and soon the two were giggling together over the antics of young Kara. One story in particular had Lena in stitches, her eyes closed and hands clutching her sides as she laughed loudly.
At the sound, Kara found herself wishing ardently for her sight to come back. She imagined how Lena might look in that moment, her eyes sparkling with mirth, her cheeks rosy as she smiled the smile on Kara seemed to pull from her…
She found herself reaching out towards Lena's face, her fingers seeking the dimples she knew must be there.
As her fingers landed on Lena's cheek, Lena froze, her eyes flying open.
Kara yanked her hand away as if scalded, rushing to apologize. "Oh jeez, I'm sorry! I don't know why I did that, I -" She scooted backwards, trying to put space between them.
Lena put her hand on Kara's hip to stop her from pulling away, and, shit, maybe that was a bad idea. They both stalled for a second until Lena removed her hand and cleared her throat. "No, it's all right. I just… wasn't expecting it. What were you doing?"
Kara flushed, turning her face away and fumbling with her glasses. "I, uh, haha, it's silly…"
Lena laid a hand on Kara's arm, urging her to go on.
Coughing a little, Kara continues, "Well, um, I just know you have the most beautiful laugh and smile, and since I can't see it, I wanted to… feel it?" Her face turned tomato red as she finished her sentence.
Lena was shocked into silence. She had never had anyone want to do anything like that before. How was she meant to respond?
When Lena didn't speak up, Kara felt the mortification setting in, and she babbled out another apology. "I'm so sorry, I should have asked, I caught you totally off guard, I promise I won't -"
"Would you still like to?" Lena blurted out.
Now it was Kara's turn to freeze as Lena blushed. "What?"
"I - I mean, I wouldn't mind, if you… if you still wanted to feel…?" God, why did she have to make everything so awkward?
Kara's eyes flicked back and forth, fruitlessly searching for Lena's face. Did she mean it, or was she just saying that to make Kara feel like less of a weirdo. "I… o-okay."
Lena nodded, then, realizing Kara couldn't see that, echoed her. "Okay."
The two women fidgeted on the couch, repositioning themselves until they were facing each other. Kara reached out, and Lena took her hand, gently guiding it to her cheek.
Kara brought her other hand up to Lena's face, stilling a moment to take in the warmth of Lena's cheeks, feeling her breath ghost against her wrists and listening to the rapid beat of her heart. Slowly, she began to move her fingers, brushing over the apple of Lena's cheek and following the line of her cheekbones to the edges of her face. Resting her fingers at Lena's temples, she skimmed her thumbs below her eyes, along the ridges of her eye sockets. Lena's eyes fluttered closed, her lashes tickling the pads of Kara's fingers.
Kara moved higher, tracing up her hairline then down over her forehead, smoothing her fingertips along Lena's sculpted eyebrows. Lingering over the scar at the corner of Lena's eyebrow, Kara moved her fingers to the bridge of her nose, stroking down its sharp line. She followed Lena's cheeks back to the corners of Lena's jaw, cupping her face in her palms.
Haltingly, she moved her thumb, the pad of her finger catching the corner of Lena's mouth and running along her bottom lip.
Lena let out a gasp, her eyes shooting back open. The look on Kara's face had her breath catching in her throat; Kara's eyes were half-lidded, her cheeks a lovely pink, her mouth slightly open, lips looking soft and full and oh-so kissable…
Without thought, she found herself leaning in, surprised to discover Kara doing the same. They met in the middle, the press of their lips sending sparks shooting through both of them.
Kara let out a quiet moan, causing heat to pool in Lena's belly. "You taste so good…"
Lena's hand went to Kara's side, fisting the fabric of her shirt in her fingers. "Fuck, Kara…" She pulled her closer so she was really on her lap, pressing their bodies together.
Moving away from Lena's mouth, Kara began pressing her lips along her jaw, working up towards her temple. "I think," she said, laying a kiss on her eyebrow, "this is a much better way of doing this."
Lena let out a laugh, burying her hands in Kara's hair. "I'd have to agree."
She pulled Kara back down to her mouth, their tongues meeting in an eager, open-mouthed kiss. Kara's hands were in constant motion, stroking up and down her arms in long strokes, roving down her back and to her hips. She shifted so she was straddling Lena's lap, and Lena tipped her head back with a moan.
"Oh Rao, Lena, I wish I could see you," Kara said, tracing her way back up Lena's sides. "You sound so sexy."
Lean wrapped her arms around Kara, drawing her impossibly closer. "I wish so too." She looked up at Kara's face, into her unfocused eyes. "If we do this, I want to look into your eyes and see you looking back."
"We should stop then?" Kara contradicted herself with a long, slow roll of her hips.
Lena groaned. "It's for the best," she said, only half convinced by her own words.
Kara leaned down, pressing another lazy kiss to Lena's lips before swinging off her lap. Lena couldn't help but pout, but Kara didn't go far, snuggling down into her side. They both took a moment, letting their hearts slow down and their breathing return to normal.
"What time is it?" Kara asked after a while.
Lena looked at her watch, moving to get up when she saw the time. "It's almost eleven. I didn't realize it had gotten so late, I'll get out of your hair -"
Kara's hand caught her wrist, keeping her in place. "Wait. Do you… Would you mind sleeping with me?"
Lena let out another groan. "You can't ask me something like that right now."
Kara gave her a playful shove. "Mind out of the gutter," she teased, but a light flush gave away her lingering arousal. "I just meant, would you mind staying? I still don't… really want to be alone right now."
Immediately softening, Lena takes her hand in her own. "Of course. Should I stay here on the couch?"
"Can you -" Kara played with Lena's fingers, her blush deepening. "I mean, would you mind sharing my bed?"
Lena swallowed, but knew she couldn't deny Kara anything. "Whatever you want, Kara. I promised I'll be a good girl and keep my hands to myself," she joked.
Sticking her tongue out, Kara climbed off the couch, then held her hand out. "C'mon. I'll let you borrow some of my pjs."
Lena took her hand, walking beside her to make sure she didn't bump into anything as they made their way back into her bedroom. She pointed Kara towards her dresser, and she pulled out two sets of sleep clothes - worn sleep shirts paired with pajama pants. Lena chose the pants with clouds on them, leaving the ones with bears for Kara. She went into the bathroom to change, and when she came back out, Kara was already snuggled under the covers.
"I'm back," she said to announce her presence, and Kara lifted the blankets for her.
She slipped underneath, laying on her back beside Kara, carefully leaving space. Kara patted across the covers until she found Lena's shoulder.
"Goodnight, Lena," she said sleepily. "Thank you for staying."
"Always," Lena murmured.
Kara left her hand on Lena's shoulder as she dropped off into sleep, and, despite thinking otherwise, Lena soon followed.
The bright morning sunbeams streamed through the gaps in Kara's blinds, making her blink groggily against the light.
Wait … sunbeams? Hold on. Her eyes popped open again, taking in her zigzag comforter, bars of shadow marching perpendicularly across. She could see again!
Her eyes scanned happily around her room, reveling in the simple act of seeing all her belongings, until they landed on the figure in bed beside her.
She sucked in a soft breath, her chest clenching at the lovely sight of a sleeping Lena. Lena had rolled onto her side while she slept, her dark hair fanning out over her pillow as one hand reached out towards Kara's. Her lashes lay against her cheeks, and her pink lips parted just slightly. She had kicked away the covers in the night and her shirt had ridden up, exposing a sliver of pale belly.
Kara felt an unimaginable rush of warmth at getting to see Lena so relaxed and peaceful. She would have been content to just watch her sleep, but then Lena began to stir, stretching briefly before opening her eyes.
"Mmm, morning," she drowsed, smiling up at Kara so sweetly she felt like her heart would burst.
"Morning beautiful." Kara tucked a piece of hair behind Lena's ear, tracing the shell of her ear.
Lena simply looked up at her for a moment before her eyelids started drooping again. Suddenly, her eyes shot back open, and she stared at Kara with her mouth open. "Kara? You can see again?"
Kara grinned at her. "Yep. And what a perfect first sight."
Lena giggled, shoving playfully at her. "Flatterer."
She threw her arms around Kara's shoulders, drawing her down into a chaste kiss. When she let her go, Kara drew back with a cheeky smile. "Good to see you, too."