Author: Ashley
Title: Waking Up Without You
Rating: M
Part: 2/3
Pairing: Mon-El and Kara Danvers (Zor-El)
Word Count (Part Two): 2,375
Summary: "There were moments where she thought that she was okay; the times where she almost forgot that he wasn't around. Then she'd remember, and it was like a montage of scenes would go through her head. A constantly playing loop that would remind her of everything she loved about him; everything he did that would make her laugh; everything he did that would make her feel special. A constant loop reminding her that he was in fact gone." - Post 2x22: Nevertheless, She Persisted. Mon-El who is now immune to lead finds his way back to Kara.
Disclaimer: I don't own Supergirl, DC Comics or anything related to such things. The ideas, dialogue and plot points were inspired by the show, but they are my own. Plagiarism isn't nice. Please don't steal my ideas.
A/N: Hi everyone! Chapter 2 is finally here!
It's a little less sad, too.
I don't think this would happen on the show at all, but since I'm not an avid comic reader, I wasn't sure about doing anything in relation to the LOSH as I know about 0% of the plot in any of the comics LOL...and I wanted to try something different.
Hope you all enjoy!
Part Two
His heart was pounding as he stood on the street corner and looked up at her apartment window. He took in a deep breath; in through his nose and out through his mouth. He relished in the fact that he could do that here again. After he had thought for so long that he'd never be back here. That he'd never stand on this corner again. Never stare up at that window again.
Never see Kara again.
Just thinking of her brought tears to his eyes. When he thought of her, her smiling face as she sat in his lap, her sleepy eyes at night as she watched him quietly just before she slipped into slumber, the way her eyes would light up when he'd surprise her with Chinese food on the way home from his shift at the bar. But then those memories would disappear, fading away and being replaced with her red tinged face, tears streaming down her cheeks as she waved at him and tried not to sob.
That was the memory that made him stand by Cisco's side every day for the last five months until they figured out a way to get him back home to Kara; back where he belonged.
When Kara had told everyone about the Luthor device, about how no Daxamite could survive on the planet with its use, his heart had sunk to his stomach, his stomach fell to the floor, and he was pretty sure he was going to pass out. But then he quickly realized that he couldn't stand in the way; he couldn't stand in the way of the wellbeing of an entire planet. And he wouldn't let Kara have to make that decision.
"Well, if it comes down to it, you use it." He had said it and his heart clenched when he did. He couldn't believe he was saying it but he knew that it was the truth. If their Earth was going to be taken over by his mother, they had to use it. There would be no other way to save everyone on the planet from her wrath. He'd sacrifice himself for that; his life on Earth for the wellbeing of billions.
It was when he was pacing the floor of the DEO that he thought of the idea; the idea in the case of a worst case scenario. If Kara had to use the device, if she had to expose them all to lead, only then would he need to use it. And if the DEO was missing it for a while, that would be okay. They'd never really used it before so they'd probably never miss it; never even notice that it was gone.
The interdimensional extrapolator.
The one that Cisco had given to Kara during the Invasion. The one that the Music Meister had stolen from Kara's hand after he'd whammied her in order to get himself over to Earth Prime.
Earth Prime.
That's where he could go. He took the device from the DEO and shoved it in the pocket of his uniform.
Except he'd forgotten about it.
After all that, he'd forgotten about the device being in his pocket. Not that he knew how to use it in the first placeā¦
He was so surprised when the breach appeared in front of him, seemingly out of nowhere and he couldn't find a way to divert the ship in time; to avoid the gaping hole in the universe he'd just witnessed. He frantically looked to the buttons in front of him, momentarily forgetting how to program the ship as he panicked. He was so taken back, so surprised, that he didn't even think of the hole as being a breach. It didn't even occur to him that that's what it looked like. Before he knew it, he was being sucked in, the pod being flung into the darkness and he shut his eyes. He felt the pod crashing to the ground, his body bouncing in his seat, the walls of the pod shaking around him.
When he opened his eyes, he was nearly attacked by the brightness of the rays of a yellow sun. He blinked confusedly as he tried to get his bearings. He was in a field, extremely similar, literally identical to the one he had just been in; the one where he had to leave a sobbing Kara.
But Kara wasn't there anymore.
He cautiously stepped out of the pod, his heart pounding as he took a breath. He didn't feel that pain in his chest; that telltale burning in his lungs that told him there was lead in the air. Then his eyes finally caught the man standing in the distance.
Cisco.
Standing in the middle of the field, waving wildly at him. He squinted, shook his head and he was still standing there. They both moved toward each other.
"You did this?" Mon-El asked when they finally reached each other.
"Open the breach? Yeah. You activated the tracer..."
Mon-El stared at him blankly.
"The interdimensional extrapolator?" he noted confusedly. "Didn't you? It has communication functionality. You pressed the button, I was sent the tracking details of the device and I opened a breach in front of you. Pretty hard to do when you're in a moving ship, by the way, so I'm glad it worked!"
His hand slipped inside his pocket and locked around the device that he'd hidden in there; the one that he'd forgotten about during all the craziness. He pulled it out and his eyes fell down to it. A little green light was blinking repeatedly.
"See?" Cisco stepped closer to him, his finger pointing at the flashing light. "Communication function activated."
"I didn't press this, Cisco. I must have accidentally knocked it when it was in my pocket."
"Oh..." he spoke, his eyes widening. "My bad! So, you don't need my help then? Okay, good, I mean...I thought there was some kind of emergency. I responded and I didn't get another notification back. I should have realized it was an accident when-"
"No, Cisco!" His hands moved to grab the man's shoulders. "I need your help! I need to get home!"
"No problem, I can just open another br-"
"No, Cisco, wait. Let me explain."
It took Cisco, Caitlin and the team five months to figure out a way to beat the lead allergy; a way to prevent lead from affecting him entirely. They'd hidden him from the yellow sun for days at a time and then injected him with a substance that was able to change his immune system; to stop his body from reacting to lead as an invader on his system.
The tests were endless. The majority of them during the first few months he was on Earth Prime failed miserably. But eventually, they couldn't cut his skin with it. Couldn't pierce his veins with it. Melted lead had no effect. An aerosol version breathed in and out of his lungs didn't burn anymore. They'd even shot him a few times with lead bullets and they'd just bounced right off of him.
He'd cried tears of joy and a few weeks later, when they were absolutely, positively sure that he could survive, they'd organized a practice run. Cisco opened a breach to Earth-38, they arrived, he breathed in the air for a few hours and they returned to Earth Prime. They'd waited a month. A torturous, anxiety filled month to see if anything happened to him; if his system just needed time to react to the lead, but he was fine. He hadn't felt a thing.
The injection had worked.
He could go home.
He could go back to Kara.
Yet he still stood here on the dark street corner when he really should have jumped through her window into her apartment by now. His heart was still pounding in his chest, his stomach clenching in knots, his head feeling dizzy.
What if she had changed her mind about them? What if she didn't really miss him all that much? As far as she knew, she had no idea where he was and she thought he'd never come back. He couldn't come back. She was strong. She likely had found a way to move on and get over him; over their little love filled affair that had spanned merely a few months. She'd been doing fine before he'd arrived, falling into her life from the sky. Surely she'd be able to carry on, probably easier now without him hanging around at her heels all the time. She was so much more important here than he was. She wouldn't spend her days thinking about him. She'd trained him well; she'd done her job. He was supposed to find a way on his own, as would she.
Would she even be happy to see him?
Maybe him coming back into her life would just complicate things again.
When he arrived at the corner, he saw her apartment light flick off, her shadow moving across the panes of the window in the darkness before falling, likely as she slid into bed. Maybe he shouldn't bother her right now. It was late and she was likely tired.
But her window was still open. She always left her window open. He knew he could count on that. He'd go in there and if she was sleeping, he'd just leave. He only wanted to see her face for a second. Just a second so that he could get a new visual in his head. An image of her calm, content face that overcame her as she slept, so that he could replace the tear-stricken one of the last moment he had seen her.
So, because he was making himself too anxious, he leapt up and slid inside her apartment through the window, his feet landing with a quiet thump on her floor, a sound almost non-existent.
He looked over and into her bedroom. She lay there in bed, seemingly asleep with her back to the window. Just one peek. One peek at her beautiful face and then he'd go. He tiptoed toward her and hoped that she was too far gone to hear him and assume he was an intruder in her home. He moved toward her face, sliding across the floor before stopping in front of her.
He wished the room wasn't so dark; at least then he could see her better. He almost wished he'd been mistaken and that she was awake. That way he'd be able to see those comets; those bright, shiny blues looking up at him and sparkling.
Her golden hair had fallen into her face. The strands were skimming across her nose and fluttering lightly with her even breaths in and out. He crouched down, his head becoming level with hers as he ever so slowly reached out, a single finger hooking around the curls and pushing them away off to the side. Her nose twitched and he quickly jumped back. Her eyebrows furrowed and she let out a little whine before turning over, her hands clutching the comforter tightly as she shifted beneath it. He smiled.
He'd missed her so much.
He glanced around the room. Maybe he'd stay for a little while. For just a little while he'd lie next to her, back on the bed that they used to share and just watch her sleep. Just to be near her again, if only for a little bit, and then he'd leave her alone. He didn't want to overwhelm her by waking her up in the middle of the night. He'd find her at the DEO or somewhere tomorrow; seek her out calmly rather than ambush her with his presence in the middle of the night.
He slid off his shoes (even without his living there, likely the strict loft-policies still applied) and he moved around to the other side of the bed. Her side. That's when he realized that she was sleeping on his side of the bed. His eyebrows furrowed as he took in her appearance. Even in sleep her lips were in a small pout, her crinkle was pronounced and visible between her eyebrows and her eyes looked a little puffy around the edges. Her sleep shirt was baggy, the sleeves hanging long down her biceps as she clutched at the comforter, the neckline low, arching deep along her chest. He squinted as he watched her. He was pretty sure that was his shirt.
He looked around the room, his eyes drifting into the rest of her apartment. A pile of his clothes still sat atop her dresser. His favourite sneakers were still sitting by the sofa where he'd left them. His jacket was up on the hook by the front door and he was pretty sure that was his bottle of shampoo sitting on the floor by the bathtub. His eyes landed on her again.
Maybe she did miss him. Maybe this was just as hard on her as it was on him.
He moved closer to the bed, leaning on it gently as he reached to roll down the comforter. He thought about it briefly before he stripped down to his boxers and slid under the covers next to her; just like he used to all those months ago. He sighed lightly. His heart was aching in his chest. This was where he belonged. He'd missed this so much the past five months. All he could think about was Kara and now he was here, watching her face as she lay in front of him. He wanted to reach out and touch her, his hand just a light caress to her cheek but he knew that would likely startle her awake and he could now see how tired she looked; as if she weren't getting enough sleep lately and the last thing she would want would be to be woken up.
He'd leave just before daybreak; before she woke up and noticed him here. He was okay now; they had time. He would find her tomorrow and tell her about their success on Earth Prime. He'd just watch her now for a little while longer, just so his heart would stop aching.
A/N: Thanks again for reading everyone! One more chapter to go!
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