"You can't say no forever," a finger jabbed her ribcage, distracting Lena's focused stare on the road ahead. She glanced over to see her girlfriend peering at Lena with pleading sapphire puppy dog eyes; the very same expression that always got Kara into trouble.

"What are we going to do with a dog?" Lena inquired, focusing her attention on the road ahead,"We can't leave it at home alone all day." She had no issue getting an animal, but a dog required so much work and attention.
"When I'm out as Supergirl he can keep you company. I can take him to Catco with me, I'm sure Nia would love to help me," Kara replied instantly, as if she had every situation planed out. She had been dropping hints all week, like asking Lena her favorite breed, complaining that she never had a dog growing up. Ever since Lena mentioned the donation drive she started at L-Corp for the animal shelter, Kara had been relentless at pestering not only fellow Catco employees for donations, but DEO agents as well.

"Kara… I don't know," Lena sighed as they turned into the street where the shelter resided. Deep down, she knew what this meant. This was a drastic step in their relationship, caring for a dog would test their abilities to parent a living creature. If they did succeed, than questions would start arising about establishing a family. That, or Kara just really wants a dog and she is just being dramatic.

"You can't resist me forever," Kara crossed her arms and looked away, resuming an adorable pouting posture.

"Just watch me," she planned on just dropping off the donations and leaving, hoping to escape before Kara discovered the archive of animals within its walls. Lena highly doubted that that tactic would work, but it was all she could try.

"Why don't you love me anymore?" The Kryptonian woman whined as Lena parked at the front of the shelter.

National City's animal shelter was just the run of the mill animal rescue, struggling to stay open and feed its massive stock of strays and abandoned animals. It was Kara's interest in animals, particularly her story about her former cat Streaky, that persuaded Lena to get involved. It was not L-Corps money she invested into the shelter, but her own personal money, an early anniversary present for the woman she loved. She was not doing this for positive press, but the joy it brought Kara was reward enough.

"Kara, darling, I do. But we have so much going on at the moment," they were both extremely busy with their extracurricular activities, hardly finding time to themselves as it was. Lena hopped out of the van, greeted immediately by the shelter manager.

"Ms. Luthor, what a pleasure to meet you. We are extremely grateful for your donations, it will surely be appreciated by all the animals," he raised an eyebrow as Kara made a run for the shelter entrance. Any hope of leaving without an animal burnt away when she disappeared through the door without even a look over her shoulder.

"It was my pleasure, anything else I can do to help?" Lena asked, shaking her head in a mix of disappointment and amusement. She resisted the urge to tear off after Kara, not wanting to appear rude and ditch the kind shelter manager.

"The food and medical bills you covered is more than enough," he motioned for the team of volunteers to start unloading the van,"I see you have other matters to attend to."

"Please, if anything comes up, don't be afraid to ask," Lena nodded gratefully, shaking his outstretched hand. With urgency driving Lena to walk faster, she swung open the door to faint howls and barks of distressed dogs.

"Did you happen to see where a blond girl in glasses went?" She asked the receptionist. They did not look up from the stack of paperwork they were working on, simply pointing to the door on the left labeled 'Dogs'.

"Thank you," Lena pushed open the door, the heartbreaking barks of desperate dogs overwhelming her senses as a maze of kennels outstretched in front of her.

Her heart twisted at the sight of the dozens of miserable dogs, cowering as she walked by. Dogs of all shapes and sizes, each of their own personality were caged up as they waited to be adopted. Now she understood why Kara cared so much, why she wanted to help any and every animal possible. No living creature deserved to be locked up like this for their lives, it just was not right.

She turned the corner to see her girlfriend crouch, hand pressed against the wire cageside. Kara was so entranced by something on the other side, she did not even know that Lena approached until she rested a hand on her shoulder. Kara's determined sapphire eyes were shiny, on the verge of tears. There was no way on any earth that Kara would leave without this dog.

"Just look at him, Lee," Kara murmured, holding out her hand. Lena gave up any reservations and sat down on the floor, peering through the wire panel in curiosity.

She was expecting Kara to be fascinated with one of the many husky mixes, maybe even a German Shepherd mutt, not the snowy white pit bull mix that had pink scars scattered around his muzzle. His head was massive, especially for his scrawny body that showed similar scarring across his shoulders. He had the prettiest ice blue eyes that pierced her soul, an elated expression slapped across his silly face as if he knew he was going to be adopted.

"This is Arthur, he came in a couple months ago from a fighting ring. We have had a tough time adopting him out because he is such a handful, not to mention that he is deaf and has strict dietary needs," volunteer said, pulling out a thin slipknot leash.

He squeezed into the kennel, easily looping the leash around his thick neck. Arthur was wagging his tail so hard his entire body shook as the scrawny man lead him out of the kennel. The massive dog immediately plopped himself down in Kara's lap and started licking her face with a large black tongue.

Seeing the girl she loved so much so happy and giggling as Arthur slobbered all over Kara's gray sweatshirt warmed her heart. She would do anything to make Kara happy and if that meant adopting this adorable dog than why not? Lena had never owned a dog before, let alone a relationship where she could trust that the other person enough to do her share of work.

"You are going to be the death of me," Lena stroked the dogs head as she saw the full extent of his pink scars. It was a miracle this dog was even alive, let alone how friendly he was,"We will adopt him."

"Oh my Rao thank you!" Kara tackled her to the ground in a suffocating hug. To Lena's disgust, she kissed her just to share the saliva of the dog.

"Gross, get off!" Lena tried to shove her away but was joined by Arthur.
"You already got what you wanted, just let me breathe," Lena narrowed her eyes playfully at Kara, unable to resist a laugh as Arthur gave her a couple of quick licks.

Kara untangled herself from Lena as the volunteer led the dog away to the adoption office. Lena rubbed the excess slobber with a sleeve, adjusting her oversized hoodie with a couple tweaks.
"I mean it, thank you," Kara said quietly, batting those convincing eyelashes,"I'll make it up to you."

"You don't need to, I think he'll be a good fit into our little family," Lena smiled, dark mint gaze soft with affection. She laced their fingers together, leading Kara away from the kennels before she fell in love with another dog.

"Our family," Kara echoed, bringing a broad smile across her angelic features. Kara's arm looped through hers, they walked side by side throughout the rest of the dog section until they found the adoption office.

The paperwork itself did not take long, the manager fast tracked it as appreciation for the supplies. No questions had to be asked if the dog would be properly cared for, Kara was on the floor playing with Arthur the entire time and Lena certainly had the money for a proper veterinary for a deaf dog. With a couple of signatures and the adoption fee paid, Kara and Lena were out the door with their new dog in tow.

"You better tell Alex to not call unless a monster is destroying National City, because we're spending the rest of the day shopping and settling him in," Lena commented as Kara lifted Arthur into the van. She plopped down in the passenger's seat, directions already loaded on to her phone for the nearest pet store.

"Don't worry, i won't leave you two unless the world is ending" she replied, turning so she could see both Lena and Arthur. The dog had already popped his head between the two front seats, tongue rolled out of his side of his mouth with the silliest expression.

"You're testing my limits today," Lena sighed, her affectionate grin gave away any intentions that could be appear as short tempered.

"I wonder myself how you tolerate me," Kara scratched Arthur's head to distract him long enough for Lena to back out without her arm being completely slobbered,"It can't just be my irresistible smile?"

"I do love staying up late worrying about your missions. At least now I'll have someone to keep me company."
"Lee, I always come back," her Kryptonian partner rested a slightly wet hand on her shoulder,"And I always will."
"Yeah, I know," Lena nodded. The familiar pang of worry stabbed at her gut, the same sickening feeling at the thought at Kara not returning. The heavy panting of Arthur reminded her to keep her turns slow and easy to avoid rocking the dog around the van.

"Are you mad?" Kara hesitantly questioned,"About our new pet?"
"I could never be mad at you, Kar," Lena knew that she would not be able to resist that goofy dog for long, she knew that she would end up loving it just as much as Kara already did.

"Don't tempt me, love," she grinned as if Lena had challenged her to further push her buttons,"Oh! Turn right at the next light."
"Thanks for the warning," Lena grumbled, slowing rapidly to avoid missing the turn.

"Do you like the name? We can change it."

"I think it fits him," she reassured, pulling the van into a parking spot close to the store,"Like King Arthur, strong and courageous. That dog went through hell and back and is the happiest creature I've seen, with the exception of a certain reporter I know."

"Good, so Arthur it is," Kara agreed with the brightest smile she had ever seen.

The women were greeted by a bubbly employee that was very eager to help them find everything required for a dog. The easiest part was finding the food and bedding, but everything else proved to be harder. After gratefully dismissing the employee, Lena and Kara ventured over to the wall of collars.

"I like this light gray collar, it highlights his eyes," Lena was examining a selection of leather buckled collars.

Kara knelt down, shielding whatever she was putting on Arthur from Lena's view. She stood up, revealing a broad nylon rainbow collar that brought warmth to her chest,"Perfect."

"Now the best part! Toys and bones!" Kara grinned, attaching a matching leash to the metal band and removed the slipknot leash given to them by the shelter. Arthur just stood there, joyful to just be loved.

"Oh Rao," Lena sighed, pushing the cart after Kara as she darted to the aisle stored the bones. Arthur was immediately glued to the bully sticks, picking himself out the largest stick possible. Kara took that as a sign, grabbing a handful of them and tossing them into the cart.

"How many of those does he need?" She examined some of the other types of bones, taking several antlers off the shelf.

"This is enough bones, but toys however…" Kara flashed a quick wink before weaving her way throughout the other customers with Arthur trotting happily beside her.

"I swear…" Lena sighed, narrowing her eyes as some of the customers attempted to sneakily take a photo of the L-Corp CEO on a day out with her girlfriend. Never one can she have a peaceful day without someone invading her privacy.

She raised her head proudly, avoiding the curious stares of the rude customers as Lena walked slowly through the isles in search of Kara. There she was standing on the last toy aisle, testing out toys with Arthur to see what he liked.

Kara tossed a handful of toys into the cart, including several stuffed dinosaurs and a large rubber ball. Lena knew that this was just the start, that Kara would immediately order double this online throughout the next week as they got to know Arthur's personality more.

"Come on you, before I have to buy the company," Lena playfully jabbed Kara in the side, edging her to the register with the cart.

"Fine, I've tortured you enough shopping for our dog," she staggered back a couple of steps, acting as if she was caused immense harm.

"Who exactly is paying for this?" Lena said, feigning an annoyed tone as she slide the cart up to the next available register. The cashier immediately jumped to action, scanning each item with practiced efficiency.

"And I'll pay you back," Kara whispered, wrapping her arms around Lena's waist and rested as they waited for the cashier to finish ringing them out.

"I'm sure you will," Lena replied, swiping her card after the employee rambled off what they owe.

The drive home went smoothly, Kara chatted away about all the tricks she was going to train Arthur to do. Lena took note to make an appointment with the vet to ensure Arthur's health and to see if any other ailments tainted the pit bull mutt.

Alex called as they turned into their apartment building, alerting Kara that she may be needed if a mission went sideways but that was unlikely. Kara excitedly asked her sister to stop by the apartment after work for a surprise.

"Just make sure you both are dressed," Alex groaned before hanging up.

"She's never going to let that go, is she?" Lena chuckled, face growing a deep red with embarrassment as she recalled the incident where Alex let herself into Kara's apartment early one morning; a mistake she will never make again.

Kara tossed the hefty bag of dog food over her shoulder, arms lined with several bags. Lena grabbed the dog bed and the remainder of the bags before heading up to their apartment.

She opened the door to their penthouse, eagerly awaiting to curl into bed for an afternoon nap once Arthur got settled.

"No, no she will not," Kara shook her head in agreement,"But this surprise is not going to be as scarring as the last time. I think she would like him."

"How can she not?" Lena set the dog cushion by the base of their bed. Kara unhooked the leash, letting lose the monster of a dog. Arthur charged around the apartment, running in and out of each room, sliding across the floor to avoid crashing into a wall.

"He needs a toy basket," Kara commented, dumping the bags on to the table. Toys and treats covered most of the kitchen table.

"Think you went overboard?" Lena raised an eyebrow as Arthur plopped himself down on the expensive velvet couch.

Kara shook her head vigorously, snapping off tags and tossing the toys on the floor,"Nope."

"Do I need to remind you that this is a big responsibility?" Lena teased as Arthur jumped into action, zooming wildly around the living room.

"I single handedly tamed a Luthor, I think a dog would be no issue," she responded nonchalantly, pulling Lena in for a kiss. Her heart swelled, almost bursting at the seams with joy. Everything started to fall into place, perhaps this was a step in the right direction. If they could take care of Arthur, than maybe she had a chance of starting a real family with the person she loved more than anything else in the world.