A/N- I watched Hozier's 'From Eden' music video and couldn't get this idea out of my head. Enjoy. (will be probably 5 chapters)
Title is from 'From Eden' by Hozier
Lena pulls the screwdriver out of her backpack slung over one shoulder. She inserts it into the window frame and slides it easily along until it catches in the latch. With a quick twist move and extra hip bump there is a click and the window popped up an inch. Her green eyes sparkle in triumph and she easily shoves it the rest of the way open.
"Two minutes, kid." She promises ruffling the little boy's hair. With both palms flat on the window frame, she pushes herself up and gracefully perches on the ledge. She spares time for one last wink at Kara before she swings her legs over and drops into the dark house.
The moment she disappears, Joseph grabs hold of Kara's hand and trains his eyes on her watch. She knows that he will be carefully counting down the two minutes. It is the routine they had made on the first house they broke into as a trio. Lena always promised to have the front door open in two minutes, and Joseph always held her to it. She was never late.
This time though, she cuts it close and the front door squeaks open after one minute forty seven seconds of waiting to reveal a pink cheeked Lena.
"Kitchen's down the hall on the left." She says, trying to hide the smile that pulls at her lips when Joseph gives her a half second side hug before bolting to get some food.
"Thirteen seconds to spare, cutting it a bit close aren't we?" Kara teases.
Lena shrugs, her eyes darting over her shoulder to the noise Joseph is making in the kitchen. The mask of concern is in full effect across Lena's face, it's a rare moment to see her relaxed, rarer even now ever since they picked up the third member of their little family, "I don't want to spend more than one night here, the owners must be loaded."
Kara nods, she pulls the brunette into a quick embrace, kissing her on the forehead before following Joseph's lead towards the kitchen. She finds the boy perched on a barstool at a granite island, a bowl full of cereal in front of him and a few escaped frosted flakes strewn across the counter.
"Find anything good?"
He shrugs noncommittally. Kara pours herself a bowl of cereal too.
When Lena joins them, she still appears on edge. She quickly and methodically goes through the cabinets and drawers, pulling out what she deems will be useful. Kara watches her add a pocket knife, a bic lighter, some bakers twine, and a handheld can opener to her backpack. Looting done, Lena scrutinizes what the two blondes have selected for dinner and shakes her head.
She pulls open the refrigerator and pulls out a variety of vegetables that she expertly cuts and tosses for a salad, "With the way you two eat, it's a miracle neither of you has diabetes." She puts hefty portions of salad into three bowls and sets them out, Kara and Joseph both pull faces at the healthy food, but Joseph eats his without complaint.
He would go to the ends of the earth for Lena, Kara too, but the bond between Lena and the boy has always been something special.
When dinner has been eaten and food has been packed away to take with them in the morning, when the shower Lena insists Joseph takes is finished, when the closets have been pilfered and the valuables tucked away to pawn in the next town over, the three settle in to crash for the night. Joseph falls asleep on the couch while the women are still turning the house over.
"Now that the children are asleep, how about mommy and daddy have a little fun?" Kara asks with a devious twinkle in her eyes.
Lena chuckles, "Which one are you supposed to be?"
"You're clearly the dad." Kara answers easily, her hands land on Lena's hips and her thumbs draw circles just barely under her shirt.
The brunette gives her girlfriend a look, but lets herself be drawn in closer. She follows when Kara leads her up the stairs and to the first bedroom they find. It's painted grey and the bed has dark blue sheets, the walls are decorated in sports and band posters, and Lena feels a pang of something like longing.
She pushes it down, however, because Kara's hands are on her hips, her lips are at her neck, and she feels the back of her knees hit the edge of the bed and she lets them tumble down together. They have quick, rough sex, Lena comes silently with her back arched, and her eyes shut tight.
When they've recovered their breath, Lena kisses down Kara's body worshipping every inch. She worships until Kara's legs tremble.
After, they shower together exchanging soft loving kisses. They redress and Kara goes to find the master bedroom, Lena goes downstairs. Carefully, so as not to to wake him, Lena picks Joseph up and carries him up the stairs. The three of them sleep snuggled together Joseph holding tight to Lena's jacket, and Kara protectively curled around them.
…
The house is old and abandoned and especially run down in comparison to those around it, but it's quiet and there's nobody near to poke their heads in. Nobody but the two women who park on the street and walk quickly to the house. The smaller one is in the lead, her hooded sweatshirt pulled up obscuring her face. She reaches the house and pulls a screwdriver out, poised to jimmy the door, but once she lays her hand against the wood, it gives way and swings in.
The two women share a look and the taller one shrugs. She clicks her flashlight on and takes the first step in the house.
The short woman follows with a frown, "You know I don't like it when the locks are broken."
The tall blonde laughs, "You don't like it because it means you don't get to break in, Lena." She swings the beam of her flashlight around, catching the terrible state of the home.
Lena rolls her eyes, "That's not it." They spread out and surveyed the first floor. The ground is strewn with broken needles and empty vials, the hallmarks of a crack house. Empty bottles stand in the corners, and there are multiple pairs of shoes on the ground.
They reconnect in the kitchen where Lena is already searching the cabinets and drawers and coming up empty. Kara sweeps her flashlight across the counter and prods an empty package of cornstarch, there are four all stacked together.
"You think the people who lived her made lots of gravy?" Kara asks with a little smile.
Lena doesn't turn from her task of ransacking the cabinets when she answers, "It's burn. Crack addicts put it in empty vials and resell it."
"How do people not notice?"
"You have to sell it to the right people." When she turns around, she sees Kara staring at her with that look, "What?"
"Nothing." Kara says quickly looking away, sometimes she forgets. She forgets that Lena grew up with people more likely to have track marks than paychecks. She forgets that they met on the streets and that ever since she's known her, Lena's been running.
"Let's check out the upstairs." Lena says, breaking the silence.
She follows the brunette's lead, nimbly sidestepping the rubbish on the creaky stairway. The upper floor is in a similar state of disarray as the lower one, and each room they enter is bare save for trash. The last room has peeling children's wallpaper and a stained mattress on the floor, it's the only indication that people actually lived here.
"This is tragic." Kara says, using the toe of her shoe to nudge a worn teddy bear that is hemorrhaging stuffing from various holes.
Lena hums in agreement, crossing to the closet to peek inside. When her flashlight cuts through the broken doors, she withdraws with a gasp.
"What is it Lee?" Kara asks, the shorter woman doesn't say anything. She is frozen in place, one hand covering her mouth, the other holding the flashlight is shaking.
Kara steps to her side, "Lee?" Her gaze shifts to the closet, and she feels her heart break.
Huddled in a corner is a small boy. He's staring up at them with terror in his eyes, wrapped in a threadbare blanket.
"Oh my God." Kara breathes.
She crouches down in front of the closet, "Hi." She says gently. The boy recoils and tries to scrunch further back into his hiding spot, "Hey, hey, we're not going to hurt you!" Kara tries, holding up her hands placatingly, "Where's your parents?"
He doesn't say anything, but he peeks up at her cautiously.
Kara sighs and tries a new tactic. The boy is incredibly thin, and has dark circles beneath his eyes. She is amazed that he isn't shivering, "Are you hungry?"
The boy gives her another measured look before nodding. Kara quickly digs through her bag for a granola bar, "It's a little crumbled up, but it's chocolate chip." She says offering it to him.
The boy takes it from her hand quickly, clearly afraid of her still. He looks at it for a second, as if determining if it was safe to eat before ripping into the packaging and practically inhaling the food.
"How long have you been alone here?" Kara asks. The boy shrugs, he's finished the granola bar, and looking sadly at the empty package, "Do you want another?"
He nods eagerly.
"Ok." She hands him two more granola bars before realizing that Lena still hasn't moved from her shocked still pose just behind her, "Don't eat those too quickly, you might choke." She warns before standing back up and grabbing Lena's elbow to pull her out to the hallway.
"We have to take him with us." She says.
Finally Lena's expression changes and she seems to come back to herself, "Kara, we can't possibly-"
"He's been abandoned here Lee! God only knows how long he's been here all alone!"
The brunette shakes her head, and turns to retrace their steps back down to the first floor, "You do realize that if we do this there's no going back. We're talking about a felony here, Kara!"
The taller woman follows her with quick steps, "Right, because what we've been doing up until this point has been all above the table!"
"You know what I mean!" Lena glares, "This isn't some gas station robbery or a house break in alright, what you want to do is kidnapping for Christ's sake!"
Kara lets out a frustrated sigh and paces down the hall a bit, when she stalks back, her voice is low and serious, "Who are we kidnapping him from Lee? Where's his parents? Where's anyone in this fucking world who gives a shit if he starves alone here tomorrow? Is it really kidnapping if he's been abandoned here like this?"
Lena bites her lip and rakes a hand through her hair, "Are we even qualified for this?"
"He's a kid, it isn't exactly rocket science."
She looks over Kara's pleading face once more before scanning a glance around the kitchen where they've wound up. The wallpaper is peeling and flat out ripped off in places, there is a deep brown stain on the worn linoleum around the refrigerator like it has been leaking for years. Dishes are piled high in the sink, and the cabinets that still have doors on them stand open and empty, "We can't just leave him here, Lee." Kara says softly.
"Fine."
Lena gets a blanket from their car and they go back upstairs. They learn that his name is Joseph and he's six.
"When was the last time you saw your parents, Joseph?" Kara asks, she's sitting on the mattress next to him, Lena is sitting against the wall opposite them.
"I haven't seen mom since Christmas." He says, holding the old teddy to his chest.
Lena and Kara share a look, it's March.
"Have you been alone here since then?"
"No, sometimes Johnny comes by."
"Is Johnny your dad?"
"No." The boy shakes his head quickly, "He's a salesman."
Lena is not at all surprised, but Kara quirks her eyebrow in confusion. 'Drug dealer' Lena mouths in response.
"How would you like to come with us?" Kara asks.
The boy scans the two of them critically once more, then glances around the room, then nods. He brings the teddy bear with him.
A/N- Let me know what you thought.