Note: this is the 2nd part of Hugs, Comfort & Blankies and follows up Comfort Me
Disclaimer: TV/Comics/Books characters do not belong to me. I write for fun and the only thing I get from this is lots of more fun. There might be some TV/Comics/Books Canon, but it's mostly for background's sake. There might also be characters that are not TV/Comics/Books related – those are mine.
Chapter Two
Somewhere over the Atlantic…
Lena pushed the stack of reports away and rubbed her tired eyes, while setting her glasses aside. She was up since 5am, her flight scheduled for an early start, because it would take them around ten hours to fly to Dublin.
She was excited to go back. Dublin had been her home for almost half her life and she missed the simplicity of the Irish, even if the weather was still quite unpredictable, unlike National City, where it was mostly sunny and warm year-round.
Mostly like Kara.
Lena sighed and looked out the window, the clear, blue sky blurred on her unfocused eyes.
Kara.
A slow smile came unbidden to her lips as she thought of her bubbly girlfriend.
Her girlfriend. How long had it been since she'd had a girlfriend, since she'd had any lasting relationship for that matter?
Jack had been her last attempt at a serious relationship. She had loved him, and his death still weighed heavily on her heart, but the truth was, she had never really allowed herself to fully let go with him, or anyone else; never really allowed anyone inside, until Kara.
Kara had the power to destroy her and she briefly wondered if the Kryptonian was aware of that.
This was all still new to her, this deep feeling, the sense of belonging; the feeling of being freely loved and having friends who truly cared for her, and, who knew, one day, maybe even having a real, loving family.
It was all new and scary and exciting, and it was all because of Kara Danvers.
Lena closed her eyes and allowed the memories from early that day to resurface.
Lena watched amused as Kara insisted in scanning her private jet once more, before takeoff. It was endearing, really, the way Kara looked out for her, cared for her. /i/p
"All clear?" Lena asked with a smile.
Kara pushed her glasses up her nose and gave her a warm smile.
" Yes, all clear." Kara fiddled with her glasses. "Thank you for indulging me."
Lena moved closer to her, craving her warmth, her presence, and placed a hand flat on her chest, over her heart.
"I have to admit it does make me feel a lot safer now that you've scanned the plane."
Kara gave her a winning smile.
"Anything for you, Lena, you know that."
Lena leaned closer and kissed her softly, deepening the kiss when she felt Kara melt into her. This was going to be hard. They'd been apart already, but they never really had to say goodbye before.
She felt Kara's hand on the back of her head, the alien's long fingers twinning with her hair, slightly brushing her sensitive scalp. Lena pressed her body against Kara's, her hands slowly tracking up her torso, underneath her cardigans, stopping just under her breasts. Kara's breathing was ragged as Lena pulled away, just enough to look into glazed and unfocused blue eyes.
It was a nice feeling, knowing she could make Supergirl breathless with one just one kiss when the woman hardly even broke a sweat in a fight.
Kara dropped her forehead against Lena's, her eyes closing, her breathing still slightly uneven.
"I really don't want you to go…" she whispered.
"I know, sweetheart, I know…" Lena said just as softly, her hands touching both sides of Kara's face in a gentle caress. She knew Kara loved it when she did it, particularly if she kissed her like she was about to, just a brush of lips, a ghost of a touch. She knew Kara thought it to be a very intimate touch and Lena had to admit, the sigh of longing that always left Kara's parted lips, left her wanting more, so much more. "I'll be back before you know it."
"Please, be careful." Kara begged, their lips still barely touching.
"Always." Lena brushed their lips again, but this time, pressing a little longer, wanting a little more. "I l-"
A clear of throat interrupted her just in time, just before she said something that was still too soon to be said; something she was still fearful was not reciprocated, but how desperately she wanted to believe it was.
"We have to leave, Miss Luthor."
Lena heard the grave voice of her pilot and gently nodded her head against Kara's.
"I have to go, sweetie. I'll call you when I get there."
"Immediately when you land," Kara demanded still very much attached to her.
Lena chuckled.
"Immediately." She agreed. "Now go. My driver will drop you off anywhere you like and has instructions to drive you anywhere you need, whenever you need. His number is in your contact list." Lena nuzzled her nose against the soft skin of Kara's cheek. "Supergirl can fly anywhere in the world, but not Kara Danvers."
"You take such good care of me…"
Lena's lips moved, the words desperate to come out, to be said, but instead, she gave her one last, hungry kiss and hurried inside the plane without looking back, before she made a rash decision and cancelled everything.
"I'm missing you already…" she whispered, knowing Kara could hear her. "Please, be careful and take care of yourself. It worries me that you're still having trouble sleeping."
She dared not look out the window, knowing Kara was still there, knowing she wouldn't leave until the plane was out of her sight.
"I love you…" she whispered to no one in particular, her eyes still closed. It was silly, but it felt so good to hear herself saying it out loud.
A self-deprecating chuckle left her lips: she had it bad for Kara Danvers and she wanted to shout it out loud for the whole world to know.
With a heavy sigh, she glared at the reports in front of her. She really should get on with it, to be as prepared as possible for the hostility she knew was waiting for her, for the false smiles and deceit, and the back stabbing, and very possible attempts on her life.
The board of the UK branch wanted to buy her share and she wanted theirs, so they both had a problem. Unfortunately for them, Lionel had left her his share of the company in his will and nothing for Lex or Lillian, meaning she now had the majority ownership, but that didn't mean she still didn't want to weaken their power in the international branches, where most of her brother's devotees still lingered.
A powerplay was afoot from both sides, and she had to come on the winning side. They couldn't win, but they could seriously undermine her leadership as CEO if she didn't anticipate their every move. It was like playing chess, really, only the price was too high to pay.
She wished everything was different this time, that Kara was here with her and they could just take some time out. She would love Ireland, she was sure of it.
She buzzed her butler and started looking around her bag for her painkillers. She knew she would soon develop a headache from the poor hours of sleep for the past few nights and staring for too many hours at the boring financial reports, so she might as well keep them handy.
This is not how she envisioned how her life would be once she graduated. She was a lab rat, a scientist, not an executive.
"Your usual, madam?" the polite, tall man approached her desk and waited patiently, his hands crossed behind his back.
"You know what I really crave right now, John? Something that I like very, very much and that very few people know that I do."
The man blinked at her. Sometimes his young boss would exchange polite conversation with him, ask about his family, how his son was doing in college. She had even sponsored him for Metropolis University, with a full tuition, something he would never be able to provide, but she never once engaged in personal conversation with him. So, when Lena Luthor mentioned a craving, he was all ears.
"And what would that be, madam?"
Lena flashed him a grin, somewhat mischievous.
"Hot chocolate."
She kept rummaging through her bag, therefore missing the sudden paleness on the tall man's face.
"Hot chocolate, madam?" he repeated to make sure he heard it right the first time.
"Yes…" a frown came upon her as she peered inside her bag. "Where did I put them?"
"Madam, we don't have hot chocolate here." John went on, just a hint of fear in his otherwise steady voice.
Lena mentally rolled her eyes.
"Relax, John, I'm not my mother. I know perfectly well you wouldn't pack anything I didn't pre-approve and…"
She stopped when her eyes spotted a very familiar package, a silly grin coming unbidden.
"Madam?"
Lena held up a handful of hot chocolate packets from her favorite brand.
"Hot chocolate!"
John blinked at her but took the packets from her.
"Please add these to the list next time." She mentally shrugged as she surrendered to her cravings. "And fresh cinnabons and donuts from Noonan's."
"Yes, madam."
Lena didn't even hear him leave as she opened the small note that was glued to one of the packages.
"Hey sweetie,
I know it's a long flight and that you'll probably want to get done as much work as possible, but you need to rest too, and I worry about you. You hardly slept these past nights.
So, here are a few goodies for you. Please, just take a break and have some hot chocolate and a snack. I also smuggled a freshly made veggie pizza for your lunch. I know you have a nice mini-oven there, so just follow the instructions on the box.
Oh! And there's also a pen with 'How to train your dragon', I know how much you love that one, and the latest of Star Wars (Alex says you'll drool over this one, so if it's not good, yell at her!).
If you check the bottom drawer of your desk, you'll find blanky to keep you company while you watch your movies.
Please, please rest.
xoxoxo
Kara
Lena rubbed her eyes to stop the tears from falling. No one had ever cared for her the way Kara did. It was overwhelming sometimes, because she had stopped dreaming and hoping about this kind of affection a very long time ago. Her mother had seen to that.
Now it was given to her freely, no strings attached, despite her name, despite her brother's madness and her mother's crimes.
She finally had it and she often felt the urge to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming.
"Madam,"
John's voice and the smell of steaming hot chocolate interrupted her musings.
"Thank you, John." She gave him a grateful smile, hoping he wouldn't notice the tears in her eyes.
If he did, he kept it to himself and that was fine with her.
"Please, help yourself and ask George and Sandie if they want some too. There's more than enough for all of us."
"Thank you, madam. I will ask."
"John," she called as he was about to walk away. "I'm sure you'll find a veggie pizza in the mini fridge. That would be lunch."
The man stared at her, obviously bewildered, but nodded politely and walked away.
Once she was alone again, Lena allowed herself a moment of pure bliss and gratitude as she sipped her beverage. Kara was adorable and funny and sweet and brave, and she was madly in love with her.
She needed to tell her soon, how much she loved her, or she would burst.
But her adorable and sweet girlfriend was still struggling with the events from two months before, and she suspected it ran deeper than the fact that she couldn't save the woman in the blown-up apartment, and the memories that event brought on. No, she suspected Kara was starting to remember the events of the crash; the events that nearly ended her life.
Kara was very likely suffering from PTSD and there was nothing any of them could do about it.
Lena spotted Kara as soon as she stepped inside Noonan's, her happy smile dying on her lips. Her girlfriend was sitting on their usual booth, her hands covering her face, long, strong fingers rubbing her eyes, her glasses up on her forehead, showing no sign that she heard Lena's arrival. She always heard Lena long before she walked inside.
"Kara?"
Kara rushed to straighten herself and shot Lena a tired smile.
"Lena! Good morning!"
Lena leaned in and gently kissed her forehead. They had both agreed to keep their relationship away from the public eye for as long as they could, which they both knew wouldn't last long, so no kissing in public, but that didn't mean they couldn't still say hello as always.
"Morning, sweetheart," Lena whispered before she sat down.
Kara made a move to touch her hands from across the table, but quickly stopped herself and smirked.
Maybe sooner than either of them expected.
Lena watched her carefully as their usual request was brought to the table, Lena being a regular ever since she befriended Kara. At least here, no one cared if she was a Luthor. Here, she was just Lena, Kara's friend, and apparently everyone liked her.
"Nightmares?"
Kara's shoulders slumped visibly.
"I've had a busy night." Kara fidgeted with the cutlery on the table, eyes low. "There were two fires, one robbery and at least two serious car accidents, and…"
Kara stopped talking when she looked up at Lena, only to be faced with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow.
She swallowed, averting her eyes again.
"That too."
Lena quickly changed her demeanor to concerned.
"Honey, you can't keep this up. You need to sleep."
"I—"
Kara stopped herself, and Lena read the frustration and sadness in those expressive blue eyes. She was confused: Kara didn't usually have nightmares when Lena spent the night at Kara's after game night. They usually fell asleep snuggled in each other, while watching a movie or simply in the middle of some silly and meaningless conversation. She needed to talk to Alex urgently. Kara wasn't well, and they needed to do something about it.
Before she could even think about what she was doing, Lena reached across the table and intertwined their fingers, her eyes locked on the bent head.
"Lee…" Kara looked up, eyes darting nervously around them.
"I don't care anymore, Kara. You need this, and I don't care if people know about us. Well, I do, but…" Lena let out a frustrated breath. "I just wanted to spare you for as long as I could of the circus the media is going to make about us being together."
Kara gave her a grateful smile, her eyes shining with something Lena couldn't quite understand.
"I can handle it, Lena."
"I know you can, it's just…" Lena shook her head. "Can I stay over tonight? I miss snuggling with you."
She must have said the magic words, because Kara's whole face lightened up.
"Just the two of us?" Kara asked softly, her eyes hopeful.
"I don't want to sound selfish, I do like your friends, but I want you all to myself tonight."
Kara nodded, obviously relieved.
"They're your friends too, Lena."
"One day, maybe." Lena smiled to take the sting out. "I can leave early and make you dinner."
Kara's bright smile was enough to short circuit her brain.
Tonight, she would test her theory about Kara's nightmares.
That night, they had shared a homemade meal, prepared from scratch. Kara had been delighted to find out one of Lena's many skills was to cook and made her promise they would have to do it again soon.
Lena smiled at the look of absolute bliss on Kara's face when she tasted her cooking for the first time.
That night, shortly after dinner, Kara fell asleep in her arms, her belly full and exhausted from lack of sleep. That night, Kara Zor-El slept all night, only waking up once, when they migrated from the couch to the bedroom.
Lena sighed, still sipping her hot chocolate. Apparently, Kara would sleep soundly if Lena was close to her, and now she worried that Kara would spend many sleepless nights while she was away.
She knew Alex would keep an eye on her sister. They had a sort of system worked out to make sure at least one of them stayed at Kara's for as many nights as possible, and Maggie was being such a trooper about it, even spending a few night's over when neither of them could. It didn't work out as well with Maggie, but at least she slept most of the night.
Lena knew Kara was onto them, but she was too weary to call them on it.
Kara needed to sleep and face her demons, and they couldn't keep this up forever. They had to figure out a way to help her and fast.
Alex looked up from her microscope when she heard her walk inside her lab.
"Lena!" Alex greeted her with a smile and enveloped her in a warm hug. "What brings you to my neck of the woods?"
Lena was still surprised with these sudden displays of affection from Alex and Winn, the smiles, the hugs. She kept wondering when the other shoe would fall, when it would all end. She hardly ever had any of those when she was growing up, and, as an adult, they become practically inexistent until Kara Danvers popped into her life. The woman was a confessed hugger and had a need for touch that she always believed she would find overwhelming, but how Kara had proved her wrong: she was just as starved for touch as Kara.
"I need to talk to you, about Kara."
Alex pointed to a chair nearby.
"I know she's all right, because everything's calm today. I have no reports of any major incident."
Lena nodded.
"Physically, yes, she's doing just fine." Lena gave the agent a somber look. "But I'm worried about her state of mind."
Alex frowned.
"What do you mean? Is she acting weird again? Lena, if she said or did something offensive to you, she didn't mean it. She can't control herself."
It was Lena's turn to frown. What was Alex talking about and why was she rushing out the door?
"Hey! Wait!" Lena grabbed her arm just as she was about to leave the lab. "Kara didn't do anything to hurt me. Why would think that?"
"She's not acting weird?"
Alex looked apprehensive. Lena shook her head and watched as Alex let out a breath of relief.
"What's going on, Alex?"
Alex shook her head.
"Long story short, a couple years ago, Kara was affected by red kryptonite and it messed her up." Alex gave her a thin smile, sitting back down on her chair. "It erased her inhibitions. Kara became… offensive and cruel, acting on every single bad thought she ever had. The filter was gone. We had to track her down and stop her. It was not a good time for her or National City."
"Oh…" Lena frowned. Fact was, before coming to National City, she had a background check on Supergirl, but nothing too extensive, just enough to allow her to know a possible enemy, but she didn't remember reading about that. "That must have been hard on her."
"It still is. She's terrified that the red kryptonite will pop up again and affect her judgment. We've taken precautions, but…"
Lena nodded, understanding, and quickly added a note to her 'Save and Protect Kara's' list on her cloud, where she kept all her ideas about protecting and helping Supergirl.
"The danger is always there."
Alex nodded.
"So, if Kara is not under the influence of red Kryptonite and not in danger…" Alex rolled her hand in the air, willing her to explain.
"She's not sleeping."
"What?" Alex frowned.
"She keeps having nightmares and I think it's getting worse." Lena pursed her lips. "I think she's starting to remember some of what happened at the crash."
Alex sighed and scratched her head.
"Damn it…"
"Alex, I think Kara is suffering from PTSD or something like that. A lot has happened lately. There's only so much a person can take." Lena took a deep breath. "Is she seeing a therapist?"
Alex shook her head.
"Why not? She should. She's not getting any better, Alex."
Alex started pacing.
"We considered bringing in a psychologist, but the fact is that no one passed the background checks for clearance. Dr. Bowden is the resident psychologist for the DEO, but I don't trust him with Kara's mind. Neither does Hank. He has a too deep friendship with General Lane, and that's just asking for trouble." Alex lifted both hands in surrender. "And Kara would never accept it. I've been trying to get her to talk to Alura, the AI of her mother, maybe she can find some solace with it, but… As a last resort, Hank will talk to her. He can read minds and help people, but he can't read Kryptonians. She has to allow it."
Alex scratched the bridge of her nose.
"I've even taken a few classes on psychology. It's boring as hell and I'm sure I've slept through half of it, but I have to try something."
Lena gave her an affectionate look. She wished she had a sister like Alex when she was growing up. Lex had always been kind to her, but he was mostly too focused on his own schemes to pay any real attention to her.
"All right, so a therapist is out of question, Hank is a last resort and an AI might help." Lena nodded to herself. "I like our odds."
Alex chuckled.
"For start, we have to make sure that she sleeps. If she's exhausted, she'll sleep like a rock and probably won't dream at all." Alex was lost in thought for a while. "I can start training her twice a day, make it more intense."
Lena nodded. That could help.
"I realized that Kara tends to sleep better if I'm close to her, so…" she stopped herself when she noticed Alex's smirk, a knowing glint in her dark eyes. "Nothing happened!"
Alex chuckled, amused.
"You mean, you two haven't… you know."
Lena felt her cheeks burn but held her head high.
"No, not yet. We're… It hasn't come up yet."
"Ah!" Mercifully, Alex left her off the hook. "All right, I think we have a plan and we should implement it at once." Alex gave her a wink. "Let me hunt down my sunny baby sister to tell her the good news about her new training schedule."
Alex's voice held a too gleeful tone and she had a feeling Kara was not going to like this. Alex, on the other hand, was loving it.
But now she was crossing the Atlantic and she had no idea how Kara was going to handle all of this.
She made a quick note on her phone. She knew a psychologist in Dublin she trusted, and she could ask some questions. She didn't even need to come up with an excuse, she just wanted to help a reluctant friend. That might work.
Her eyes fell once again on the stack of papers in front of her. Lena rubbed her eyes and groaned and lifted her hands as she surrendered to the inevitable.
She packed the reports back in her briefcase and picked Kara's pen drive.
"You're a bad influence, Kara Danvers. Why did it take me so long to find you?"
With a chuckle, Lena plugged the pen in her laptop and snuggled on Kara's blanky with the warm, fuzzy feeling of being cared for.
##
Her phone started beeping uncontrollably the moment flight mode was turned off. It didn't surprise her to hear the repeated sound of the email notification, that was a given, but to hear her WhatsApp notification sound beeping repeatedly, well, that was new.
Lena opened the app at once, checking the received messages. There were several messages from Kara, Alex, Jesse and Winn, and even from Maggie. It filled her heart with warmth. It seemed she did have friends after all.
Kara Danvers 07:05: I'm missing you too already. Please don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Just concentrate on outsmarting those old sharks and come home soon.
Kara Danvers 07:06: Call me when you get back ❤❤❤
Lena smiled at her girlfriend's sweet text and didn't bother opening her other messages. She would check them once she was settled. She had something more important to take care of first.
She switched to her speed dial list and pressed Kara's name, her girlfriend's smiling face materializing in her screen.
It rang twice before it was picked up.
"Lena!" Kara's excited voice sounded from the other side.
Lena smiled instantly.
"Hello, sweetheart."
"Did you have a nice flight?"
Kara's voice sounded a bit off, slightly breathless, and Lena frowned.
"Kara, are you picking up your phone again in the middle of a fight?"
"What?" Kara chuckled. "No. I promised I wouldn't do that again."
"You did," Lena relaxed, staring outside the window as the jet was steered through the airport lane. "So, why do you sound winded, then?"
"I just won a bet for the DEO and beat up some muscled soldier armed with a top-notch exoskeleton and was rewarded all the pot-stickers I can eat for a year! A year, Lena!"
Lena laughed softly at the giddiness she could hear in Kara's voice. The woman was adorable, and she wished fervently she could be there with her right now, so she could see those incredible blue eyes shining with excitement.
"Pot-stickers for a whole year? Now, that's right up your alley. Do they supply it daily?"
"Oh, it's not every day, just when they come to NC, but Winn already exported their scheduled visits to my calendar, so…"
Lena grinned: Kara was delighted, she knew. She would have to thank Alex for keeping Kara busy and distracted from the flight.
"Good thinking. That way, they won't get away."
"I'll fly to whatever base they're hiding at and make them pay up!"
Lena chuckled at the threatening sound in Kara's voice. One would be reckless to come between Kara and her beloved pot-stickers!
"So, how was your flight?" Kara asked again, her voice softening. "You didn't spend ten hours reading reports, did you?"
Lena smiled.
"Well, that was the plan, but then I found myself sidetracked by hot chocolate, a pen drive and your blanky. Care to explain?"
"Huh… Well, I—I hum…" Kara stuttered, and Lena heard her take a deep breath. "You need to rest, Lena. You can't spend all of ten hours in an international flight just working. The time zone is different there and you won't even have time to adapt to that before you're thrown into the shark's thank, and…"
Kara stopped rambling when she heard Lena's gentle laughter.
"What's so funny?"
"You, Kara Danvers, are bad influence."
"I am?" Kara's voice sounded confused.
Lena nodded as if Kara could see her.
"You are, but you're a good 'bad influence' and I lo— I'm so thankful for that."
"Oh! Thanks…"
Lena closed her eyes and imagined Kara's blush, because she knew that right now, she was blushing and probably fidgeting with glasses that weren't there. God, she loved her.
"So, instead of spending all my time reading those awfully boring reports, I just took care of a few and spent the rest of the flight watching movies and eating veggie pizza. I even took a nap."
"I'm glad you did," Kara said softly, and Lena could hear her smile. "Did you like the movie Alex picked up for you?"
"I did. Remind me to thank her later," Lena answered and looked up as the jet came to a full stop, the seatbelt sign turning off. "By the way, how did you manage to get the pizza in the fridge? My butler thinks I've developed superpowers overnight."
Kara chuckled smugly.
"I may be a terrible liar, but I can be stealth and subtle when I want to, despite popular belief."
Lena laughed.
"Thank you for taking such good care of me, Kara. Your note made my day."
"Well, someone has to, and you do the same for me."
John's signal caught her attention and she sighed. She didn't want to hang up just yet. Kara's voice did wonderful things to her mood and she craved that sunny smile, even if she couldn't see it right now.
"We take care of each other."
It was a promise, one shared not that long ago.
"We take care of each other." Kara repeated softly.
"I have to go now, sweetie, my car's already outside. I'll call you once I'm settled."
"All right, and Lena,"
"Yes?"
"Please, remember, if you need me, I'll be there in less than 30 minutes. Please."
"I will, sweetheart. I must go now. Talk to you later."
"Later."
The call ended, and Lena left the jet, strolling straight to her limo, sunglasses in place.
"Miss Luthor,"
Lena watched as her head of security opened the door for her.
"Any news?"
"The report's already inside. I believe my findings will be quite… elucidative."
Lena gave the man a thin smile.
"Good, let's get to work then. Instruct the driver to take us straight to my office downtown. We have the surprise factor on our side and I'd like to take full advantage of it."
The burly man lifted a dark eyebrow, is face otherwise impassive.
"Yes, ma'am."
He closed the door after her and hurried to the passenger side, instructing the driver.
Lena looked outside the window as the car pulled away, an absent look in her eyes, her mind already reeling with the information that might be in the dark L-Corp's folder by her side, a haunting, familiar name printed in silver bold lettering in its center: GAEL.
She briefly debated with herself, her fingers rhythmically tapping on the folder, before picking up her phone again and opening Alex's text.
Alex Danvers 11:23: FYI, Kara is onto you. She knows something's up. She can read you like an open book, Luthor!
Alex Danvers 11:24: Hope you had a good flight 😉. Call me when you get this.
Lena sighed heavily and pressed dial on Alex's contact. Should it all go accordingly to plan, she would be back home by the end of the week, with one less problem to worry about.
###
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