Tumblr Prompt - Pleeeeeease write about Lexi getting told she is going to be adopted. And them bringing her home for the first time! I love that little girl!
This is the first of many prompts I've received for this chapter, and I daresay it's probably my most requested fic! So I really hope it lives up to standard and you guys enjoy it! let me know what you think in the comments below! Important side note - there are TONS of kids out there who need a home, just like Lexi. Especially neurodivergent kids! So next time you're family planning, give adoption a thought!
The orphanage is so loud.
It's always loud.
And there are other kids everywhere, all the time.
The only saving grace is that they had eventually stopped trying to talk to her or get her to play once they realized she had no interest in talking to them. It's not that she didn't want to, really; she just didn't know what to say, or how to play their games, or how to stand being around them when they were always so . . . loud. It's stressful, and she'd much rather spend her time reading, or coloring. And the other kids are mostly happy to leave her to it - for that she's grateful.
None of them really like her, she doesn't think.
No one ever really likes her.
Her parents must not have liked her all that much to have left her in a place like this. Not that it's all that bad for an orphanage, but Lexi doesn't have to be a child genius to know that an orphanage is a place to send kids you didn't like. Or kids who didn't have anyone else.
"Once you're here, you never leave." Hailee, one of the older kids had told her when she first arrived. Hailee had been adopted not long after, so there was some irony.
Lexington is still here though, almost a year later, so maybe there's some truth to the statement as well.
Ms. Peggy used to read to her, in a soft voice that didn't make Lexi feel like she wanted to clamp her hands over her ears a squeeze her eyes shut. But Ms. Peggy had left a long time ago.
Ms. Janice and Mr. Pete, they're nice enough, but she can tell they don't really know what to make of her. They look at her like they're studying her, with sad eyes and sad smiles, and she isn't sure how to respond to that.
So she doesn't.
She hears the grownups whispering, hears words like 'autistic' and 'mute' - but she doesn't understand what they mean.
It's just as well.
She's content to sit and read or color, and ignore the the children around her.
But some days, like today, they're just so loud.
Too loud.
She hates this feeling inside her, like her bones are vibrating and her insides are bubbling up and -
It's too much.
Pressing her palms against her ears, she darts from the room, evading Ms. Janice and slipping out the door.
The old building's hallways are a maze, but she knows where she's going.
The garden is small but quiet, and she loves it here - when she's by herself, and that hardly ever happens unless she's trying to escape from the noise. They always find her, but if she's lucky, she gets a few minutes peace.
She presses her back up against the giant statue, sinking down until she's sitting cross-legged on the grass, hands still clamped against her ears, eyes squeezed shut.
Dr. Egrett smiles at them across the desk.
"So, this is the final bit of paperwork, all you need to do is sign here and you'll be good to go!"
"Actually," Kara looks to Lena for confirmation. "We'd like a chance to speak to speak with Lexington first, if that's all right."
"Of course, just -"
A knock on the door interrupts him, and one of the teachers sticks her head in.
"Sorry to interrupt, but she's in the garden again."
"Oh dear." Dr. Egrett looks worried.
"Is something wrong?" Lena's fingers tighten around Kara's. "Is it Lexi?"
"She's fine, she just - she has episodes."
"Episodes?"
"Sometimes things get overwhelming for her she hides in the garden. It can take a long time to coax her back inside, I should go."
"If you don't mind, I'll go." Kara suggests and Lena nods.
"Very well, the garden is right this way."
Finally, the awful feeling inside her dies down, and she lets her rocking slow to a stop. Her hands slip from her ears to rest in her lap and her eyes blink against the afternoon sun. She doesn't always get this much time to herself, usually Dr. Egrett or Ms. Janice has come to try and talk to her by now; and she hates that, hates how it adds to the noise. This time, the only sound is the fountain trickling beside her, and she glances around, suddenly anxious to be left alone.
But Kara is there, watching her with a smile.
"It got a little bit loud, huh?" The blonde woman whispers, and Lexi pauses before nodding.
"I used to have a a lot of problems with that when I was younger. Still do, sometimes." She smiles again, and Lexi can't help but smile with her.
"Is it okay if I sit with you?"
Lexi nods again. She likes Kara, and Lena. They've come to visit her a lot lately, and she wonders why. She's heard the bigger kids talk, knows that grownups come and sometimes kids leave with them, but more times than not, they don't.
She tries not to get her hopes up.
They sit in silence for a long time, before Kara scoots down to lay in the grass, watching the sky above. Curiosity gets the best of her, and Lexi crawls over until they're side by side, strands of black and blonde hair mixing in the grass as they stare up at the clouds.
"Sometimes," Kara says softly, "when I feel overwhelmed, I like to just watch the clouds go slowly by. If you're focused on one small thing, it's easier not to let all the things going on around you become too much."
"Plus they look like weird shapes sometimes, so that's cool."
"Like that one," Kara points above them. "that one looks like a dog."
Lexi follows her direction, and it does, indeed, look like a dog.
"Or that one, it kinda looks like a dragon."
"Or a bird." Kara shivers. "I don't like birds."
"Not that you should not like birds, they're not really dangerous or anything. I just . . . don't like them."
It's a long time before another voice softly cuts through the silence.
"You two look to be enjoying yourselves! May I join you?"
Lexi squints up into the sunlight to see Lena standing over them. She nods, grateful when Kara adds -
"We're looking at clouds."
"Ahh, well in that case." Lena lies down on Lexi's other side so that they form a sort of half circle, the crowns of their heads meeting in the middle.
"That one looks like a carbon atom." Lena says after a long pause, and Kara answers with a laugh.
"A carbon atom? Really, Lee?"
"What? It does!"
"You're such a nerd!"
"Mmm, says the woman who's read every Lord of the Rings book twice."
"I'm a geek, there's a difference."
"Whatever you say, love." Lena's shoulders shake in laughter, and Lexi can't help but giggle.
"Oh great, you guys are already ganging up on me? We haven't even made it home."
Lexi wonders at that, but nothing else is said - at least about the going home part, and she tries not to let herself hope.
The next half hour goes by with Kara and Lena pointing out various shapes and images, complete with a mini-lecture on cloud composition and formation from Lena. Kara paints a picture of what clouds feel like, claiming Supergirl told her once, and Lexi can almost imagine that she's up there, floating among the clouds.
But like all good things, it must come to an end; and all too soon they're sitting up, pulling Lexi with them. She thought at first they were going inside, but instead they just sit, maneuvering so they're all in a little circle facing each other.
"Alright, Little One, there's something we need to talk to you about." Kara starts.
"It's nothing bad." Lena promises, reaching out to pluck stray grass from Lexi's hair. "You're not in trouble."
"Oh! No, nothing like that! I didn't mean for it to sound like you were in trouble! It's a good thing! Or at least, I hope it's a good thing!"
Lexi watches them carefully. 'Good things' didn't always mean good things.
"We know that you've been living here for a while, and trust me, I know places like this can be scary." Lena clears her throat. "But we would actually like you to come live with us. If that's something you would want."
"You'd get your own room! And we have dogs, two of them! They're not exactly like Krypto in your book, but I think you'd like them."
"And I know it's a lot to take in, and it would probably be a overwhelming at first, but you'll have plenty of time to adjust - we promise not to rush things. We'd love to have you be a part of our family."
They're both staring at her, and it's too much, too many thoughts, and too many feelings.
So Lexi does the only thing she can think of -
She runs.
"Well, that didn't go as expected." Kara's voice is steady, but Lena can hear the pain in her words.
"No, not really." Lena lets herself be pulled up from the ground, and dusts off her pants.
"What do we do now?"
"I don't really know?"
"I'm not sure what I expected to happen, but I certainly didn't expect her to run away." Kara worries her lip, reaching for Lena's hand.
"Not exactly the desired effect."
"I thought she liked us."
"She's been through a lot for someone so young. I'm sure it's a lot to take in."
A moment passes before Lena speaks again.
"I wanted to tell her about all the books we were going to read, and the chocolate chip cookies we would bake, and her Supergirl bed, and the little tiny desk she could color at, and how we've been so excited to have her; but I didn't want to sound like I was bribing her. Maybe I should have said all of that."
"Lee, you don't have to bribe her, she's not even three. Like you said, I'm sure she's just overwhelmed."
"So you think she'll change her mind?"
"I don't know, but she has to make the decision for herself."
"I know, I know. I just . . . hoped she would choose us."
Kara's arm comes up to drape across her shoulders and she feels a kiss being pressed to her hairline.
"I know, me too."
"I guess we should go talk to Dr. Egrett, see where we go from here."
Kara murmurs her agreement, and they make their way back to the old brick building, Lena's heart growing heavier with ever step. When they open the door, Dr. Egrett is waiting on them.
"So it seems there's been an unexpected development." He says without preamble.
"Not exactly what we expected, but maybe she just needs time to adjust to the idea?"
Dr. Egrett blinks at them.
"Time to adjust? She's packing a bag!"
Lena meets Kara's gaze, heart pounding in her chest at the implication of his words.
"I'm sorry?" She finally stutters out.
"Oh, it's not all of her things, obviously." He waves a hand. "Toddlers are not efficient packers. But it appears that either she's running away or preparing to go home with the two of you immediately. As her usual response to stress is to hole up somewhere, not runaway, my bet is on the latter."
"You think she wants to come home with us?" Kara stutters.
"Now, Mrs. Luthor-Danvers, I know you were planning on returning for the child tomorrow after giving her tonight to adjust to the idea, so I understand if you would like keep that arrangement; however -"
He's cut off by a tiny blur of Lexi rushing past him but she pulls back and stops when she sees Kara and Lena. Her hair is a wild mess around her face, and her hand-me-down t-shirt is wrinkled and skewed; backpack over her shoulders and the Supergirl coloring book Kara had given her clutched in her hands as she stares up at them; bright blue eyes unblinking as a shy smile spreads across her face.
Lena kneels down, motherly instinct taking over as she straightens Lexi's shirt and brushes back her hair.
"Did you go get all this because you didn't want us to leave without you?"
Lexi nods frantically.
Lena feels Kara kneel beside her, knows without asking what their decision is - knows even before her wife speaks, one hand on Lena's back, the other extending to Lexi.
"Well, come on, Little One. Let's go home."
Important side note - there are TONS of kids out there who need a home, just like Lexi. Especially neurodivergent kids! So next time you're family planning, give adoption a thought!
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