Kara intends for her return to Alex's apartment to be less dramatic than last time, and for the most part she succeeds. She swoops in through the still-open balcony door, looking very graceful and superheroic up until she catches sight of Lena, curled up on the couch and wearing one of Alex's flannels and a pair of sweatpants, and briefly loses control of her momentum. It's the airborne equivalent of stumbling over her own feet, and Lena's eyes snap open at the sound of Kara thudding into the ceiling, tensing up until Kara rights herself into a more familiar shape.

"Supergirl," she murmurs, the word rolling warmly off her tongue and landing squarely in Kara's chest. "You startled me."

"Sorry," Kara says, dropping towards the floor. Her heart is doing a weird little two-step under her ribcage, and she's uncomfortably aware of how dishevelled she must look as Lena's eyes flick down her body. Her gaze lingers on where Kara's skirt is wet enough to cling to her legs, and Kara feels her face growing warm as she fidgets under her appraisal.

"Seriously?" Alex says as she emerges from the bathroom, interrupting the moment and making both of them jump. "I just finished mopping. Go do your whirly tornado thing outside," Alex tells her, pointing towards the balcony. Kara pouts and opens her mouth to object, but Alex points again, insistent, and Kara groans but gives in, gathering her cape up and resisting the urge to stomp as she goes back out onto the balcony. The rain in intensifying, the distant rumble of thunder heralding the arrival of a true storm, but the covered part of the balcony is still mostly dry.

Keeping a firm grip on the free end of her cape to stop it flaring out too far, Kara moves under the roofed section and pirouettes rapidly on the spot, centrifuging the water off her body. It's a trick she and Alex came up with when they were teenagers, but it makes her look ridiculous, and Kara finds that she's oddly pleased that Lena can't see her from where she's sitting.

Once she's relatively dry, Kara darts back into the apartment. Alex is mopping up the puddle of water Kara had left in her wake, and Kara's thankful that she hasn't noticed the wet patch on the ceiling yet. Lena is still curled on the couch, knees pressed to her chest, and she looks worn out. She's twisted her hair up in a loose bun, and Kara can see the corner of a bandage peeking out from the collar of her borrowed shirt. It's slightly too small on her, and Kara catches her eyes tracing the lines of the fabric over her chest until she notices what she's doing and jerks her gaze back up, feeling her face heat up when her eyes meet Lena's and she realises that her friend had been watching her.

"I wasn't expecting you back so soon. Have you got something?" Alex asks, coming to stand beside her, and Kara jumps. It's noticeable enough that Alex eyes her for a long moment, and Kara tries to cover it by bending down to retrieve Lena's phone from where she'd stashed it in her boot.

"I found more of the alien metal at L-Corp. Winn's running tests on it to make sure it doesn't have any nasty side-effects. Also, the bomber sent a message," Kara explains, offering the phone to Lena. She unlocks it and stares down at it for a long moment, her face impassive as she reads while Kara summarises it for Alex. She's not looking at Lena as she talks, so she misses the first quiver of her lips, but when she lets out a little snort of laughter, Kara trails off as she and Alex both turn to face her.

"Lena?" Alex asks slowly, but Lena just shakes her head and dissolves into laughter, clutching her stomach with one hand and rocking ever so slightly in place as Kara eyes her with alarm.

"Lena? What did you give her?" Kara asks, shooting Alex an accusing look. Her sister puts her hands up defensively.

"Nothing! She wouldn't even take an aspirin," Alex answers, but even as she's speaking Lena trails off into giggles.

"My tech. My tech is their problem!" she giggles, her tone bordering on hysterical. "Not even the dangerous stuff. Not the weapons, not the anti-alien bombs I'm supposedly developing in my free time. They want to kill me for the things I'm designing to help people." She dissolves into laughter again, though there's nothing even close to mirth in it, and Kara and Alex share a look before Kara moves to stand beside her.

"Lena…" Kara starts, sinking down next to her on the couch and reaching for her hand. Lena clings to it as her laughter trails of into something that sounds like a sob, and Kara has to actively fight the urge to pull her into her arms. Instead, she just eases the phone out of her grip and passes it to Alex before squeezing Lena's hand gently. "It's gonna be okay. We won't let them hurt you."

"I doubt even you can protect me forever, Supergirl. One of these days, someone's gonna get a lucky shot," she says, sounding tired and small and hopeless, and Kara finds that even thinking about the possibility makes her feel sick in a way she can't describe.

"I won't let that happen," she says, cupping Lena's cheek and tilting her head up so she'll meet her eyes. "I'll never stop protecting you, I swear." It's desperately important to her that Lena knows that, and there's something in her chest that tightens when Lena's eyes widen ever so slightly.

"You'd…" she starts, but trails off, her eyes flicking rapidly between Kara's own. Her hand is tight around Kara's fingers, and when Kara uses her thumb to wipe the moisture from under her eye, her lips part and she leans into the touch. Kara's stomach is fluttery and tight, and her skin is tingling in all the places they're touching. There's an odd itch in her spine, pushing her to lean in, to close the distance between them and—

Behind them, Alex clears her throat pointedly and they both flinch and pull back. Kara pulls her hand away from Lena's cheek, but when she tries to reclaim the other one, Lena just tightens her grip and refuses to let go. Alex eyes them both for a long moment before speaking.

"So judging from that message," she starts, deliberately breezing past the interaction she'd interrupted, "whoever sent the bomb thinks it worked and you've been killed. I say we let them keep thinking that."

"You want to fake my death," Lena says flatly, and Alex shrugs.

"It's the easiest way to keep you safe until we work out who's trying to kill you," she says, and Kara finds herself agreeing.

"It won't be for long, Lena, I promise. I'll find who did this," Kara says, squeezing her hand, and Lena's eyes flick between her and Alex for a long moment before she deflates, looking weary. It's a sharp enough contrast to her usual confident demeanour to set alarm bells off in Kara's head, but Lena speaks before she can react.

"Fine, one week," she says with all the enthusiasm of someone agreeing to sleep in a bear pit. "Where will you put me? I assume you don't want me checking into a hotel."

Alex shakes her head. "You're too recognisable to hide anywhere public. Is there anyone nearby that you trust?"

Lena's eyes cut sideways to Kara before she shakes her head. "Nobody I'll risk putting in danger if this plan doesn't work."

"You could stay at the DEO," Alex offers, and Kara frowns at her in confusion.

"There are beds there?" she asks, tilting her head. She's caught Alex sleeping on a couch in the break room before, but she's never mentioned a DEO bedroom.

"Well, I mean, technically they're cells, but—"

"No," Lena says immediately, cutting her off.

"We obviously wouldn't lock you in—"

"No."

"Alex!"

"Okay, it was just a suggestion," Alex says, holding up her hands placatingly.

"I could take you to the Fortress," Kara says, and Lena shoots her a surprised look. "It's cold, but you'd be safe."

Lena stares at her, eyes wide. "You'd trust a Luthor there?" she asks softly, and Kara squeezes her hand gently.

"I'd trust you there," she says, but Alex is shaking her head.

"It's too far away. We might need you on short notice." Alex frowns and rubs her head. "I guess we could put you in one of the bolt-holes." At the twin head tilts she gets, Alex elaborates, "They're like safe houses for our undercovers if the op goes bad. There's one nearby that's empty."

Lena eyes her warily. "What's the catch?"

Alex rolls her eyes. "There's no catch. They're basic, but secure. You'll be safe there."

"It's just for a few days," Kara says, smiling encouragingly, and Lena sighs and relents.

"Fine. How do we get there?" Lena asks. Alex looks pointedly between her and Kara, and Lena groans. "We're getting wet again, aren't we?"