Author's Note: I just want to remind you guys that this story is based upon prompts from a challenge back in October, so while I typically would have stretched out this conflict in a normal case, this is not normal. The chapters are supposed to be short, mostly so that it can be a side project when I'm not working on my other stories, so the conflict is resolved quick.
Day 13 Theme: Balcony
Happy Reading.
Chapter 13 - My Apology
Ever since Lena returned to her lab, she had been in a mood, and every little thing set her off. She was pissed at Kara, yes, but she was also mad at herself because she didn't handle the situation in the best of ways. There were so many other ways to handle what had happened, and she took the wrong path. But she pushed on, and worked. She worked through the anger, the sadness, frustration, all of it.
Hours passed by before she'd completely lost track of time. In the midst, her phone died so she had no sense of time at all but her body and mind were telling her it was late. She needed to go home.
She needed to go home and tell Kara how sorry she was for handling the situation the way she had. She just needed to curl up in bed with her wife, and forget about this day completely.
A few minutes passed, and she arrived back up in her office to collect her things and that's when she learned it was midnight. Her laptop had still been on, and when she brought it from sleep mode to turn it off, it shocked her at how late it had been.
Kara would surely be asleep by this point.
Lena hung her head low in the realization of that fact as she put on her jacket, and placed the necessary items into her purse before turning the light off and heading home.
She got into her driver's black sedan, and looked out at the sea of lights as her driver drove her home. Since the likelihood of Kara still being awake was low, she'd talk to her in the morning.
Her house keys slipped into the lock with ease, and she walked into the room. She pulled off her jacket, and placed it on the coat rack next to the door, grabbing her bag to enter the kitchen area, when something and someone caught their eye.
Kara stood next to the balcony door in her pajamas, clearly having just woken up from some sort of nap, as her hair was all over the place, but what was on the balcony, that's what stopped her.
"What is this?" Lena asked wondering if she'd somehow missed an anniversary.
Kara straightened her hair as best she could, "Sorry, I meant to be here looking nicer but I fell asleep and I didn't hear you until the door shut." She defended her disheveled look. "I wanted to apologize for being an idiot. I know that what I did wasn't good, I recognize that I screwed up immensely with the ring, and I wanted to make up for it. I just wasn't expecting you to come home so late..." She rambled still waking up from her little nap on the couch.
Lena took a few steps into their home, "I should be the one apologizing-"
Kara shook her head, taking a couple steps toward Lena, "You have nothing to apologize for. You had to do something to rattle me sane. I could have easily removed my ring all of those times, but I didn't. I made a conscious decision to not remove my ring. I know it was stupid, and I know how careless it was. For years when I first became Supergirl, I had to take off all of the clothes I was wearing so remembering to remove articles of clothing is not difficult, I chose to do this one." Again she rambled off her thoughts but she had spent so much time thinking about why she was doing what she was doing and she just had to say it all.
Lena took the remaining steps to Kara, "Then why? Why risk your identity for a ring?" She asked, letting curiosity take her over.
"Because I love you," Kara answered plain and simple. "I know that is an insane answer but it's the truth. When I'm Kara Danvers, I want the world to know that you have my heart, and when I'm Supergirl, it just felt right to shove it in others' faces that I was taken. Seems out of character for me, and it definitely felt like it at times, but I've never loved someone as much as I love you and I didn't care who knew it. Then you came home several hours ago, and you told me that someone figured it out, that my identity was found out, that the world could find out who I was… and it was like time froze for me."
Lena understood where Kara was coming from on the front of being proud to have a ring that says you're taken. It had definitely helped her in a few moments in the last couple of weeks with flirty businessmen.
"You know, I wake up everyday with the fear that someone is going to find out who I am, and by extension everyone I love, and I have to push that fear down so far to get up." Kara admitted a truth she wasn't sure she'd told Lena before. "What I didn't realize was that someone might connect a simple ring with the person who wears it so I didn't think anything of it. Then you said someone did, and my whole thought process came crumbling down. I would hate for someone to connect who I am, and put everyone I love in danger, but especially you. I know you can take care of yourself, hell you've saved me a number of times, but you're my heart. I couldn't bear it if something ever happened to you because of my mistakes."
Lena smiled at the level of thoughtfulness that was emanating from Kara at this moment, "Kara, I appreciate everything you've said, but I feel terrible for not giving you the chance to defend yourself. So I want to give this back to you. I realized that if you, Kara Danvers, all of a sudden didn't have their wedding ring and Supergirl also doesn't have a ring that that would create even more problems. So I am going to trust that you can keep your word and not wear the ring when you are out as Supergirl, please." She handed Kara back her ring, she had kept it in one of her pants pockets for safe keeping.
Kara picked up the ring and put it back in it's rightful spot, "I promise you, that I will be more careful." She leaned forward connecting their lips in a brief short kiss.
Lena pulled back, her eyes drifting back to the balcony, "So you did all of this…" She motioned to the balcony waiting for Kara to answer.
Kara nodded, "Yeah, I was hoping we could watch the sunset together but it's a little late for that now. I had this whole plan, but I fell asleep on the couch waiting for you so I couldn't make it happen."
Lena smiled, "Always the romantic. While I would love to just sit and eat with you, do you mind if we do this another time? It's really late, and I would rather just go to sleep."
"Of course," Kara agreed as a yawn took her over. "Sorry, I guess I am a lot more tired than I thought I was. Does that mean that I am sleeping on the bed then?" She asked curious to know if she was still in the doghouse or not.
Lena looked at Kara with a look of confusion with a smile, before turning to walk to the bedroom. Kara stood in place in the living room as she hadn't gotten an answer. "Are you coming?" Lena called from the bedroom.
Startled, Kara finally moved and walked toward the bedroom to go to sleep. While the day was definitely a stressful one, she's glad they were able to make it work. It wasn't fun being on Lena's bad side, she'd done it before, she didn't want to do it again.
