Pariah
Notes: Find me on Tumblr at spoopercorp and on AO3 as Local_Asshole.
I'm sorry for the long ass wait again. T^T
Lena groaned, staggering into the apartment, her steps wobbly and Kara trailing carefully behind to make sure her friend would not fall over. Then Lena sighed, ungracefully flopping onto the couch face first into the cushions, eyes squeezed shut to alleviate the spinning.
She turned her head to the side and opened one eye, seeing Supergirl with her arms folded and glaring unimpressed daggers at her.
"What?" Lena finally asked.
Kara faltered slightly. "What do you mean 'what'? You just got released, you should've been at home resting! Not out partying a-and making out w—"
"I'm resting now," she countered.
"No," Kara snapped, "You're going to sit up a—" She paused, an angry crinkle forming between her expectant brows. Her arms were still folded, but now her foot was tapping impatiently.
Lena groaned, pushing herself up into a sitting position. "Continue."
"And we're going to talk."
Lena scoffed, her blank eyes fell, pinned to the floor, "Fine."
"Look at me," Kara said quietly.
No response. The Luthor remained still as a statue, then her gaze tilted away to the side, staring at nothing.
Kara's eyes narrowed, her expression was stern and intimidating and very reminiscent of Supergirl's powerful demeanor that the public knew so well.
Though her voice was softened, gentle unlike the tense look that she sported.
"Hey..." Kara urged.
"I can't!" Lena shouted, clenching her eyes shut, her shoulders taught and her posture stiff. She shook her head and buried her face into the palms of her hands.
The hero inched closer, kneeling before the woman.
"Why?" Her eyes pleaded for an explanation.
"No," Lena choked out, flinching away from the close proximity. "You...just please take the suit off. Change out of it. I'm begging you," she quieted down to a hoarse whisper, "I don't want to look at Supergirl right now."
Kara took a step back and she felt her chest beat heavily at the broken request, felt her stomach drop painfully to the floor. Nevertheless, she agreed.
"Of course. I'll be right back."
She retreated into her room at a human pace and changed slowly in her closet. She knew Lena needed the time to regather her composure. Kara needed it to think too. They both did.
When she finally returned to the living room, she found Lena in a tightly shrunken position on the edge of the couch with her eyes clenched shut.
"I'm changed," Kara murmured, walking towards her friend, who still refused to open her eyes.
Her brows scrunched together in concern, the trademark crinkle etching itself onto her skin. She kneeled once more and slowly cupped Lena's wet cheeks.
"You can open your eyes now," Kara mumbled comfortingly, wiping the streams of tears away.
She smiled when Lena exhaled unsteadily and finally cracked her eyes open.
Kara dropped a hand to wrap around her friend's trembling fingers, her thumb tracing soothing lines across slightly bruised knuckles.
It was then Kara remembered where they were from—when a delirious Lena Luthor witnessed the destruction of her project towards a twisted kind of happiness; she slammed her hands against the girl of steel in retaliation, overcome with madness and grief.
She was still mourning for that lost, and probably would for the rest of her life.
In the span of several seconds into Kara initiating physical contact, Lena's hands flinched and pulled away, her head reeling back and turned to the side to avoid the gentle touch that caressed her cheek.
Lena retreated back into her shell, and Kara witnessed helplessly the verdant eyes darken and jade. She knew better than to disturb, the thought overpowering a guilt so cumbersome, so manifested in her mind. She had to watch her best friend spiral down into an abyss right in front of her, and the uncertainty of what to actually do was further complicated because she was essentially the source of this precarious climate—this cloud of tension shrouding them, isolating them from the rest of the world.
So Kara sighed disappointedly, finally ceasing the nervous fidgeting her fingers did. Then she walked towards her bedroom, glancing over her shoulder to the woman sat on her couch, unmoving as before.
"Um, if you'd rather sleep on a bed, let me know."
Kara frowned at the silence that seemed to speak for itself. She released another sigh.
"You know where the extra blankets and pillows are, in the closet in the laundry room. Goodnight, Lena."
The door creaked as it was swung towards the frame, then clicked softly shut.
"What do you think you're doing? It's like seven in the morning. On a Sunday," Kara yawned, stumbling towards the door and effectively blocking her guest from exiting her apartment.
Kara put her hands on her hips, groggy eyes squinted to scrutinize the woman in front of her, dressed in professional business attire. A few strands were loose in her high ponytail, and she still seemed slightly unkempt thanks to the hangover she was sporting.
She hid it well though.
Lena held her chin up high, folding her arms and remaining firm in her stance.
"Work," she answered evenly, leveling a hard glare at the Kryptonian. "What does it look like I'm doing? Do you think a company will run itself without the CEO at its helm?"
"That was a rhetorical question," Kara sighed, rubbing the sleepiness from her eyes.
"I don't have the luxury of time,"
Lena simply stated, "I can't afford to waste it on rest when I can be productive."
Kara felt her insides simmer. "Remember the last time you told me that you wanted to be productive?"
Lena blinked owlishly, as if she just registered the subtle jab, and memories of her staying up day and night working on her Black Mercy project in her private lab flooded her mind.
"Excuse me?" she scoffed belatedly, her crossed arms tightening against her torso even more.
Kara looked away, grumbling, "You heard me."
Neither of them could continue the conversation, neither of them could fathom the direction it was spiraling towards, but the tension was torturous and palpable and just waiting to be snapped.
Lena narrowed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath, "That was a low blow, Kara."
The tension bent.
"You're not going to work today," she repeated, growling between clenched teeth.
And bent.
"Get out of my way."
And bent.
"No."
And snapped.
"You're not my babysitter!" Lena shouted, "I'm a grown adult!"
Kara shot back at the outburst. "You're a woman who tried to kill herself just a few weeks ago!"
"I knew very well what I was doing!" Lena countered, "I'm a businesswoman! I thought everything through! You think I'd make a heavy decision like that without considering every single consequence?"
Kara saw red.
"No! You didn't consider every single consequence!" she screamed, throwing her hands up in frustration.
Lena startled slightly, surprised by the amount of venom that laced the words.
Kara answered her question before she could ask her to elaborate.
"You don't think anyone cares! You don't let yourself think that! Somehow you've made that an impossible thing for you to accept! You didn't think of Jess! Or your employees that hold so much respect for you! Or all the little girls interested in the STEM fields that admire you! You didn't think about the emotional impact!" Kara sobbed, voice cracking hoarsely as she burst into tears. "You didn't think about what it'd do to me! Your friend!"
Kara rubbed at her eyes, wiping at the endless tears.
"Y-you were gone..." she hiccuped, taking hold of Lena's hand, "And I watched it happen then and there and every single night after I closed my eyes. You can't imagine the guilt I felt for hurting you, and the pain I didn't notice you were in."
Lena's mouth was parted, opened, but unresponsive—shocked into speechlessness. Then her face fell, eyes glued to the floor. She pulled her hand away and wrapped her arms around herself protectively.
"You...you pulled away first. After the Daxamite invasion. All the ditching, the cancelling, the cold shoulder, the silent treatment... I've never had any real friends, and your actions seemed like pretty clear ways to cut ties. I know enough to determine whether or not someone cares—I've figured out that you didn't," a pause.
"I wish I could say I believe you," she finished with a ghost of a whisper.
"I do care!" Kara protested, "I do love you! You're my best friend! I didn't go back in time to—"
Her eyes widened at the slip-up, mouth snapping shut so hard her teeth audibly clacked together.
Lena's wars perked up and twitched at the disclosure, she felt her blood suddenly boil, but she was petrified on the spot.
"You...you what?" she gasped softly, leveling a glare her way.
"I—"
"Kara," Lena raised a hand and cut her off. "What. Did. You. Do?"
Each acid-dipped word was carefully punctuated.
Normally, Kara would have bowed her head in shame, but this was a decision she did not regret, so she held her chin up high and stared straight into the knowing green eyes.
There was no use in denying anything anyway.
"I travelled back in time. To save you."
Lena felt her lungs become breathless at the simple admission, felt her shoulders drop and her stomach fall at the heavy confession.
"So I...I did die. I did get my happy ending. And you...you brought me back?" she mumbled in disbelief.
Lena's vision tunneled, her hearing muted, and all she heard were murmurs and echoes from Kara's soundless lips.
Eventually, her muffled brain caught up to the situation at hand and her blood ran cold when she fully registered the weight of what was happening. But her lips refused to move, gaping open slightly, speechless.
After a moment of silence Kara gently eased through the tension with a worried crease between her brows. She tried to catch her friend's eyes, but they were frozen to the floor. She noticed the woman's pale hands tighten into fists at her sides, trembling.
Kara opened her mouth to say something, but Lena cut her off with a cold glare.
"I hate you..."
Kara staggered a step back, her shoulders dropping along with her heart.
"You don't...you don't mean that..."
"Oh, do you want me to say it again? I can't fathom how much more clear I could be," she scowled, storming past.
Kara let the shoulder push away her own, not wanting to hurt her fragile human friend any further.
Lena stopped at the frame of the exit, whispering under her breath.
"You know, Mother was right about me eventually coming to hate you," a pause, "Just not about the right reason."
Kara saw Lena take one step out of her apartment, complemented with the click of a heel.
Then she broke.
"I missed you!" she cried, and Lena stopped in her tracks, though she did not bother to turn around, much less look over her shoulder.
It seemed she was not going to engage in another conversation, so Kara continued rambling.
"I missed your smile! I missed your voice! I missed your expensive perfume! I missed the lunches we had together! I-I even missed the way you'd try to get me to eat healthier! Can you believe it? I missed kale! Of all things! All 'cause you were gone! 'Cause you... You... Right in front of me... And I couldn't do anything... I-I watched... Just like Krypton... Don't you get it? You died! I carried you in my arms! I brought your lifeless body back to be buried!"
Lena tilted her head up towards the ceiling and sighed, defeated and weary, "I didn't want to be saved... Do you understand that, Kara? Do you understand what you took from me? Again?"
Her quiet voice was calm and collected, terrifyingly so. It made Kara shiver.
"I... Yes. I do."
Lena scoffed under her breath, shaking her head, "No. You don't."
They both stood in place, Kara scrambling to rectify the situation with something—anything. But no words were on her tongue, no ideas conjured up in her head. As the seconds ticked by her fear of losing Lena forever became more apparent, made her heart beat faster and faster, made her breathing more panicked and rapid.
She looked down at her hands, saw them covered in blood.
"Why?"
Kara stilled at the sound—a pitiful whimper—and in a flash the red on her fingers vanished.
Lena pivoted, turning so they were finally face-to-face, not bothering to hide her tears, "Why did you do it? You...you pulled away first. After the Daxamite invasion. All the ditching, the cancelling, the cold shoulder, and the silent treatment..."
No answer. Kara was still stunned, watching as her friend's silent tears trailed down her pale cheeks.
Lena lost her patience, gritting her teeth.
"Why?" she demanded.
"I wasn't strong enough, okay?" Kara shouted, heaving each breath, "I watched the world move on without you! They left me behind and I was the only one left mourning for you and it made me so mad! I was angry and devastated all the time! The guilt was going to kill me and I fell apart! Supergirl fell apart! And the world didn't understand why she was so torn up over a Luthor!"
"Well, was it worth it?" Lena seethed.
Kara did a double take, "Was what worth it?"
"Ruining me."
"I-I didn't know. I didn't mean to—"
"That doesn't make it okay!" Lena interrupted, her body shaking, "You never mean to! That's all I hear from you! And you know what? Fuck you, Kara!" She jabbed a finger at her. "That's bullshit! You meant to! You meant to! And you left! You deliberately went out of your way to avoid and ignore me when I tried to reach out to you! You were hurting! I wanted to be there for you! To comfort you! You don't get to just abandon our friendship and come back whenever you want! Even I know they shouldn't work like that!" Her chest heaved with exertion, her rant draining what little energy she had left. "I guess I should've known you didn't cherish the friendship we had as much as I did."
Kara's heart shattered when Lena referred to them in the past tense.
"Y-You're right," she choked out, furiously wiping at her tears, "It doesn't excuse what I did. I did it. And I'm sorry for hurting you, for giving you so much pain and suffering, it wasn't my intention. But I don't regret my decision. If I had to do it over again I'd make the same exact choice, but do it differently. You mean so much to me, I can't lose you."
"You have the whole world groveling at your feet, Supergirl," Lena hissed, lacing her time with venom, "I'm nothing. Just get the device I made, bring Mon-El back, and leave me the fuck alone. Go to hell while you're at it."
Kara flinched when the door slammed violently shut.
"Miss Luthor?" Jess tilted her head to the side in curiosity. Her eyes widened in shock as she witnessed her fuming boss storming into L-Corp. She quickly stepped away from the warpath and trailed after her.
Jess quickly closed the elevator; the ride to the private office on the top floor was quiet and long, and she broke the silence with an awkward cough.
"I thought you were staying with Miss Danvers to recover?"
She did not miss the way Lena's shoulders tensed, the way her fingers curled her hands into fists, and she observed the set jaw, taut and grinding together.
Once the elevators reached the top and slid open its doors, Lena strided out towards her office.
"Miss Danvers and I had a little bit of a disagreement," she explained, pulling her posture upright as she took a seat behind her desk.
Jess was observant enough to know that it was an understatement, but she was more concerned about—
"Miss Luthor, I don't think you're in any condition to resume working. You need rest."
"I've rested quite enough, thank you for your concern, but I'm physically recovered and now ready to continue work," she explained, sifting through stacks of files.
"If I may speak freely..." Jess saw Lena nod and continued, "Emotional and mental recovery is just as, if not more, important than physical health."
Lena gave her assistant a hard stare and Jess matched it with something softer and more akin to worry. But Lena would not let up her glare and eventually Jess relented with a sigh and slight head shake.
"What else can I do for you?"
Lena gave her attention to the pile of papers on her desk, her request unhesitating.
"I will no longer show favoritism nor lax my procedures—I need you to revoke Miss Danvers' pass."
Jess broke her pencil in the middle of writing things down onto her notebook, her jaw dropping in surprise. Lena eyed the lead tip that clattered to the floor with tiny sounds.
"She will no longer interview me for CatCo, please notify her supervisor to send someone else from now on," she elaborated, returning to her paperwork, "And Miss Danvers must also schedule appointments with me like all other visitors, but only through you and I personally have to approve the request as well."
Jess short circuited, her brain on autopilot as her wrist moved across her notes with a pen, but she really did not register the extent of the order.
"Is that—"
"That's all," Lena finished for her with a dismissal wave, "You may leave, Jess."
The secretary nodded in uncertainty and exited the office.
It was difficult to turn away Kara Danvers, she was the personification of sunshine many of the days she visited, and Jess was always grateful for the coffee whenever Kara went out to buy lunch—Lena often forgot to eat when she was immersed with a project.
So when Jess had to catch up to Kara and place a gentle hand on her shoulder for her to stop, the arduous task felt even more cumbersome.
The blonde turned around with a curious glint in her eyes, her hand clutching a bag of sweets and the other a bouquet of plumerias.
Jess frowned, noting that the tension between her boss and the woman before her was on a much more personal than professional level. And it seemed bad, at least from Lena's end.
"I'm here to see—"
"Miss Luthor is currently busy today," Jess coughed, it was painful to see the woman's expression fall flat, "You'll have to schedule an appointment."
Kara's ears twitched, she could hear a lie from a mile away, literally.
"But, she said I could come in whenever..."
She trailed off at the solemn expression Jess held.
Kara felt her heart sink.
"I'm afraid she revoked your access," the secretary explained, head dipped down in sympathy. "You have to schedule an appointment, then it'll pend approval, and then then I'll notify you if it has passed. That's the procedure from now on."
The somber look on Kara's face was heartbreaking, and Jess had to force herself to look past her and stare at the wall.
"I uh...I understand she's a busy woman." Kara made a failed effort to smile that Jess returned sadly. She hesitated, contemplating, voice timid. "I guess... Um, just make sure she gets these delivered to her."
Then Kara sniffled, reluctantly handing over the flowers and the sweets, successfully managing to keep her tears at bay before she exited the building.
Lena should have known not to underestimate Kara's stubbornness and tenacity when she set her mind on something. For once Lena was thankful for all the nosiness in National City; when word spread that the Luthor was back behind the reigns of L-Corp, reporters and cameras from all over the city surrounded L-Corp—Kara was unlikely to have any conversation with such publicity.
However, when they all trickled away to pursue another headline, Lena ran out of luck and anxiety filled her to the brim at the idea of confronting her former best friend. Her body was overwhelmed with jitters after over a week of silence; the time that passed allowed her to brew in her memories of the fight and she found that guilt resonated deep in her chest whenever she pictured the broken expression on Kara's face.
Lena buried her head in her hands, trembling with anxiety, caffeine, and sleep deprivation—she should have been better, her reaction was explosive and she regretted that she was unable to control her fury. She did, after all, want to be alone and clearly cut off her friendship with Kara, but if she had to do it all over again she would have made it more civil; she could not bear the thought of leaving things between them on a sour note. However, Lena was aware of Kara's insistence, and throughout her days she spent some of her time rehearsing in her mind what she would say if her former best friend barged through her office doors.
As prepared as Lena tried to convince herself, when a woman with a head of golden hair and thick-framed glasses that perched upon a pair of sad blue eyes timidly opened the door, she froze.
"Ahem, may I come in?"
Lena was still petrified into silence and gawked as Kara cautiously slid into the room and quietly shut the door behind her.
"Who—" Lena cleared her throat, her brain running a million miles per minute, going over every scenario possible within the span of five seconds.
"Who let you in? I told Jess—"
"I'm pretty fast," Kara said, her smile half-hearted and pained. "Jess was confused about what let the draft in."
Kara hesitated, clasping her hands together to keep her fingers from fidgeting.
"But, I mean," her shoulders sagged and she sighed, "If you want me to leave, I will."
Lena knew her answer before gazing into the blue pleading eyes.
She let out a shaky breath and gestured to the couch, "Please, sit. Would you like a drink?"
Kara shook her head.
The women rested upon the cushions with a large gap between them, one on the far end and one on the other, both incredibly tense.
Lena's voice was gruff, eyes cast to the side, "What is it?"
She could see in her peripheral vision how nervous Kara was, twiddling her thumbs and bouncing a leg. She noticed her movement and quickly grabbed a pillow to rest on her lap—her hands played at the corners.
"I just wanted to apologize," Kara sighed, "And that might not be what you want to hear, 'cause it isn't enough; I don't have an excuse for what I did, and my reasons for doing so were selfish at its core. I know that."
Lena nodded silently. "I'm sorry too, for leaving so...atrociously," she whispered, "I should've kept my emotions in check. I shouldn't have exploded. I didn't want to end things like that."
Kara sucked a sharp intake of air at the last sentence.
"Lena," she paused, "Lena, please look at me."
Kara shifted her position to more directly face her friend, whose eyes were averted and whose body was turned away from the object of her despair.
A moment passed before Lena mustered up enough courage to meet Kara.
"What?" she breathed.
"Please," she begged, "I'm not asking for forgiveness, you can hate me forever, but please tell me how to fix this—tell me how to make it better for you."
Lena felt her heart race when Kara slowly reached for her hand; she panicked, flinching away and bolting up. She took a step from the couch to create distance, with her arms stiffly folded across her chest. She felt her heart hit her ribcage with a single painful beat when she caught sight of how hurt Kara was at her reaction.
Lena closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, letting out a huge sigh, "I'm sorry. You can't. There's nothing you can do."
Kara stood as well, the desperation never left her expression.
"Please, let me help you."
"And we know how that turned out, don't we?" Lena snapped.
She immediately regretted letting those words fall from her lips when Kara visibly winced.
"I'm sorry," she apologized, "Just give me a moment. I need to...gather my thoughts."
"It's okay," Kara frowned, "I deserved that."
Lena shook her head, "No. You didn't. And I don't deserve all..." she gestured widely. "...this."
She shot Kara a somber look. "I didn't want to be saved."
"I know."
"I was happy."
"I know."
"Then you had to be the hero," she smiled dryly to herself, "As always."
"I know."
"The only person you were trying to help was yourself."
"I know."
Lena dropped her eyes to the floor. "Good. I'm glad you understand."
The room went silent, their conversation suddenly hanging in the air—suspended—but Kara knew her friend had more to say, so she nodded encouragingly to urge her on.
"You know," Lena continued, backing up until she leaned against the edge of her desk. "I've never really thought of crime and justice as black and white, nor good and evil, nor heroic and villainous..." she shrugged and chuckled darkly, "Even when people were trying to kill me. It might not be the case for you, but their reasons were valid. They were afraid, and my fears were the same as theirs."
Lena trailed off, deep in thought as Kara watched with a perplexed expression painting her face.
Lena let out a shaky breath, full of burdens and worries, and a phenomenal weight to carry.
"I think," she whispered hoarsely, "That for the first time, I've really thought about my life as an ethical sort of narrative." She gave a bitter grin. "A Luthor doomed to bear the hatred of the world no matter all the good that was done."
Lena shed several tears and held Kara's wettening eyes with her own.
"I know you're used to it, Supergirl, being the hero of every story," she mumbled, the half smile she sported weighing heavier at the corners.
"But you're the villain in mine."
Kara inhaled sharply, her heart stuttering at the dread that froze her body. She was speechless, but her silence communicated everything—guilt, regret, sorrow...
Her lips parted, a desperate breath escaping from her lungs to protest, to explain, to do something.
But it did nothing, instead she felt all the blood drain from her the next moment.
Lena closed her eyes, shaking her head. "I love you, Kara. I always will. But we're not friends—what we had simply isn't salvageable; it passed that point long ago. I'm sure you've noticed that our friendship tends to be prone to edging towards the unhealthier side, ever since the Black Mercy. I realize now that you've only shown me how little our friendship meant to you, now I'm questioning...everything that happened. Your secret; it was always yours to keep, I don't mind that you decided not to disclose that sensitive information—although, looking back, I simply can't bear the thought of you deciding not to because I'm a Luthor," she spat, the name tasted acidic on her tongue. "I had to accidentally stumble upon your secret and inadvertently figure it out myself."
Lena clenched her fists, watched as her knuckles turned white from the force.
"After being sidelined time after time again with Lillian choosing Lex, Lex choosing madness, and you choosing..."
She trailed off in frustration.
"Look. You're my friend, Kara. I don't have a lot of those if not any. You've always been one of my top priorities." Lena unsuccessfully hid a sob with a strangled chuckle, "But this time...this time I'm my priority. I...I want to be first."
She shook her head, radiating with disappointment at herself. "And I know I'm selfish for wanting to be above all else when you're so noble and heroic and off saving people; Supergirl is more important. But I don't want to be last anymore. I don't want to be an afterthought, I don't want to be sporadically left in the middle of a brunch, a movie, or any other activity. You can't offer that. It's difficult to be best friends with a hero, you know, with all the increased assassination attempts, public relations events, and the world hating the Luthor name even more just because I'm close to Supergirl..."
"W-What are you saying, Lena?" Kara asked, desperate.
"I don't want to see you again," she answered, "Please leave, you can see yourself out. I'm sure you know, the exit is that way."
Kara felt her chest tighten, her heart was in a precarious position, hanging just by a thread. "Please, just rethink this, okay? I-I said I'd protect you. I promised—"
"Your promises mean nothing to me," Lena cut in harshly, her expression hard and unrelenting. "Not anymore. Please, get out, Kara. If you don't leave, I'm going to have to call security to escort you."
"Lena please—" she begged.
"It's 'Miss Luthor' now. Goodbye, Miss Danvers."
Lena pivoted, back facing the door as she mindlessly tapped away at her tablet to distract her from looking over her shoulder.
"No."
Lena's ears perked up at the resolute statement and scoffed, "Excuse me?"
"I said no," Kara repeated, "We're going to sit here and talk about this. You're not going to push me away and shut me out." She took a deep calming breath and lowered her voice. "Let me help you. I want to understand why."
Lena narrowed her eyes and ground her teeth together. "You won't understand."
"Then make me!" Kara shouted, "Then help me understand!"
"You didn't even think about the consequences of your interference with time travel!" Lena growled, still not facing Kara, "You didn't think about what you were risking in the past, present, and future for saving one person! What if you paved the way for another disaster to devastate National City? Or even Earth? Or—"
"We both know it's not me messing with time that you're upset about," Kara muttered under her breath.
"What?" Lena snarled.
"You heard me."
Lena slammed her tablet onto her desk, effectively cracking the glass screen. She whipped around, her green eyes dangerous as she stomped her way towards the offender. "Because I wanted to not be treated like shit!"
Kara's eyes twitched, widened slightly at the woman's outburst, but she held her ground.
"And I got that!" Lena shouted in frustration, "Then you took it away from me! Now...now I'm back here, where everyone hates me because I'm a Luthor, where my own family hates me because I've never been enough of a Luthor. I saved National City's alien population from Cadmus's virus. I developed a device to save National City a second time." Lena gestured towards her balcony that overlooked skyscrapers and the hustle of the citizens. "But I'm still the enemy! I didn't even expect them to show gratitude either! I just wanted them to stop demonizing me for my family's actions! And this is all because you decided to play God—to travel back in time to save someone who didn't want to be saved!"
Their eyes blazed, glued to one another's in equal passion. They leaned far too close against each other that Kara could feel the ragged puffs of Lena's breathing after her venomous tirade.
Their connected gazes lingered, steadfast in their positions and unwilling to relent.
"Get. Out."
Kara narrowed her eyes farther, but she finally conceded with a nod.
"Fine."
Her voice was honeyed, as golden as her hair, and gentle but firm as the shaky lilt in her tone communicated her affection.
As Kara closed the door, she stole one last look at Lena; her back was facing the only entry and exit, her arms folded tightly across her chest, and she was looking over her shoulder to make sure her visitor actually would leave this time around. Her jaw was set, sharp and jagged and unwelcoming. Her green eyes were jaded and glazed over, on the verge of tears that expressed a hollow, empty void in her heart.
And Kara saw it, disturbing and haunting and melancholic, a young child lost and confused; Lena bloomed in the dark—beautifully resilient to adversity—alas wilted in the shadows, in the cruel care of the Luthors.
Notes: Constructive criticism appreciated.
