As day broke in Metropolis, Terry awoke on Superman's couch, roused by the sound of Kara fixing breakfast. She had dressed herself in an incredibly oversized men's shirt that Terry assumed belonged to Superman, given the way it hung on her slight frame. Terry could see that with superpowers came super hunger; she had fixed herself a huge stack of pancakes, complete with bacon and scrambled eggs. He saw steam rising from a smaller plate next to it, a short stack of pancakes with a few strips of bacon and a modest helping of eggs.
"I hope scrambled is okay! I didn't know how you liked your eggs." Kara called out without turning away from the stove. Evidently her superhearing had alerted her to the fact that he had woken up and was now sitting upright. "I'm almost done with the hash browns, if you want some of those too."
"Sounds delicious." Terry called out as he rose from the sofa, buttoning the shirt that he had left undone as he fell asleep with Supergirl in his arms. He walked over to the table as Kara was dividing the hash browns between the plates. As she went to get herself settled in, he pulled her chair out for her. It was an uncharacteristically old-fashioned thing for him to do, but he was in the past after all; only made sense, particularly if she went to all the effort of making breakfast.
"Well, aren't you a gentleman?" Kara said with a grin as he sat himself down and pulled his plate closer.
"It was the least I could do, since you made breakfast." Terry replied, loading his fork full of eggs and stuffing his face.
"I was happy to." she replied somewhat wistfully. "Falling asleep with you was the most comfortable I've ever felt on Earth. I don't feel quite so alone with your arms around me, the warmth of your body seeping into me. It was something I desperately needed, Terry, and you were there to give it to me. What's a stack of hotcakes in comparison?"
Terry, unable to think of a response to such a profound question, chewed his food quietly. They ate the rest of their breakfast in silence, neither of them sure what to say.
As the dishes were cleared, the quiet persisted until finally Terry ventured "Kara? I want you to know that for as long as I'm here, I'll be here for you. Just like I promised I would last night. And you don't need to worry about repaying me, or feel the need to somehow earn it from me. I'm happy to do it. I'm happy to be with you. I'm happy to make you happy. And knowing that you understand me in the way I understand you makes me even happier. That's a rare thing to experience in life and we've found it in each other. And I'm confident that someday, you will feel at home again. Maybe it's just my keen detective sense, but I just know somehow that you won't feel like this forever. So don't focus on the past. While I'm here, try to focus on the present. And once you've helped me get back home, focus on the future. After all, that's where I'll be."
Kara, who had been tearing up by the time he was half finished, burst into sobs at the last sentence and literally flew toward Terry, wrapping her arms around him so tightly he felt he might pop. She cried into his shoulder, whispering "thank you" into his ear between sobs. When she relaxed her grip enough for him to move, he again wiped the tears from her eyes and kissed her, first on each tear-stained cheek, then on her lips.
Terry stood there for a while, holding Kara as she let it all out. Crying the last of her tears, Kara again felt drained. In all her time on Earth, she'd never opened up like this, hiding away her pain and frustrations for fear that she wouldn't be able to adequately express it to Superman and Barbara, or even Ma and Pa Kent. And yet here, in the span of 15 hours, she'd vented to Terry twice. She hoped beyond hope that his words of comfort were true, that someday she'd find someplace where she felt as much at home as she did in his arms.
As she again felt exhausted, Kara leaned against Terry to remain upright. He placed a kiss on her forehead, shot her a grin, and picked her up, supporting her body in both arms. He carried her over to the couch, again marveling at how light she seemed, and sat down with her body sprawled across his lap.
As she lay there, Terry stroked her hair in the hopes it would help her relax. As he ran his fingers through her blonde hair, Kara smiled up at him, feeling utterly contented and unbelievably lucky to be right where she was at this exact second. She wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled his head down by hers, planting her lips right on his and kissing him with every bit of emotion she had been feeling since he spoke up after breakfast.
"You know, Terry, you keep being this wonderful, I might just make you lunch, too."
"What do I have to do to earn dinner?" he replied with a smirk.
"Lemme show ya." she shot back, pulling him down for another long smooch