Lena had given her a few more gentle kisses. But for Kara the moment had passed. The marks on Lena's back had kept forcing themselves onto her mind. Kara knew it was only a matter of time before bruises would appear on Lena's back. She had felt self-conscious and unable to surrender to the comfort of the moment, the softness of Lena's lips.
Kara knows Lena must've noticed. She'd pulled back and looked Kara in the eye. Feeling vulnerable and wishing to escape the intensity of Lena's gaze, Kara had looked down.
Kara had expected Lena to say something, to force her to talk, but Lena had remained silent.
Finally Kara had looked up. Lena's gaze had been soft. There was no judgment, no impatience there, just acceptance.
She had let herself fall into Lena's arms, her own arms remaining firmly by their sides.
Not long after, Lena had left. Kara had lent her a coat and had watched her walk down the hallway and turn the corner. She had stepped back into her apartment and closed the door. Expecting the emptiness of the loft to feel oppressive, Kara was glad to realize it didn't. The quiet had felt soothing; it had felt good to spend some time on her own.
Kara had let herself fall down on her couch. Two hours later, she's still there, on her back, staring up at the ceiling. At first the memory of her fingerprints on Lena's back had come back again and again. It had made Kara feel slightly sick. But then slowly her mind had fixed itself on other things: how amazing Lena had smelled when Kara had pressed her lips against her neck; how soft Lena's skin had felt underneath her fingers; how broken Lena had seemed the night before; how Lena's tongue had felt against her own; how there were still these moments where Lena seemed a perfect mystery to her; how Lena's lips had felt on her neck; how Lex had come so close to killing them both; whether the fact that kissing Lena felt so good made her officially bi; how it probably didn't matter either way; how it still felt like it did.
And then once again her mind goes back to how easily she had hurt Lena and how unperturbed Lena had seemed by it. It amazes Kara how vulnerable Lena allows herself to be with her. Lena has experienced how much Kara can hurt her, both emotionally and physically. Yet rather than closing herself off and making sure Kara can never hurt her again, she continues to come to her.
Kara grabs a cushion and pulls it against her belly. She closes her eyes.
Friday morning, Kara heads to work early. She sits in on a few meetings and then heads out to conduct some interviews. It's a clear, sunny day, and it feels good to be out and about, putting a story together.
In the past, she'd often caught herself thinking about Lena. But now it seems like she can't think of anything or anybody else. There's a nervous excitement that has taken hold of her body.
By the time Kara heads out of CatCo, it's late, and she can't wait to get home. As she walks out of the building, she sees old lady collapse onto the sidewalk only a few yards away. Kara rushes back inside, finds a spot to change and heads back out. She flies the old lady to the nearest hospital and drops her off at the ER.
As she flies back home, Kara stops when she's right over the city center. She glances down. The city, its vast darkness punctured by thousands of lights, looks beautiful.
Without consciously deciding to, Kara finds herself flying to Lena's apartment. As she approaches, Kara sees Lena lying on her white couch, a blanket on top of her. She seems to be asleep. She looks so peaceful. For a few moments, Kara remains suspended outside of Lena's window. Then she flies home.
The next morning she calls Lena. A nervousness rises up in her as she waits for Lena to answer.
"Kara."
Even just hearing Lena say her name fills Kara with happiness.
"How are you?", Kara asks.
There's a long pause. "I'm okay." Lena sounds tired. "The FBI brought me in for questioning yesterday."
"What? Why didn't you call me?"
"It's okay. It's good they're doing this above board."
Kara doesn't know what to say.
"My lawyer says they seem to be treating it as a justifiable homicide. And with Lex escaping from prison, which never should've happened in the first place …. Well, she thinks I'll be okay." Lena takes a moment and then adds, "They did say they will need Supergirl's deposition at some point."
"Of course." Kara feels momentarily overwhelmed by this new information. Then her attention returns to Lena. "Are you okay though?", she asks.
"It was horrible spending hours recounting what happened. Telling them what he did to you." Lena swallows hard and then adds, "But it also felt good getting it done."
Kara wishes she could see Lena's face. "Where are you now?", she asks.
"I'm at work. A lot to catch up on. But enough about me. How are you?"
Kara takes a moment to actually take stock of how she's feeling. "I'm actually okay. I had a good day yesterday and I feel pretty good," she says.
"Really?". Kara hears the relief in Lena's voice.
"I'd love to see you today," Kara says, deciding to just put it out there.
"Me too. Why don't we go out and do something?"
"Are you sure you're up for that?"
"Yeah, if it's something low-key?"
"A movie?"
"Why not. Sure."
Someone in the background addresses Lena. Some mumbling follows. Kara can make out "news" and "you" and "public perception". The person doesn't sound happy.
"Kara, I've got to go here," Lena says. "Why don't you pick a movie and a place and let me know?"
"Sure."
Before she has a chance to say anything else, Lena has uttered a quick "bye" and hung up.
Kara arrives at the movie theater early. It's a small art house theater that has seen better days but that Kara likes for its unpretentious charm and its dedication to screening old classics. The choice is between an old musical she's seen many times before and a movie from the 1960s she doesn't know. Thinking that Lena is unlikely to be in the mood for a musical, Kara buys two tickets for the other film and walks back outside to wait there.
Kara thinks back on the news report the local station had put out. After Lena had hung up, Kara had turned on the tv and there it was. The report that Lex Luthor was dead. Killed by his own sister Lena Luthor whom he had kidnapped and potentially tortured. A brief mention of Supergirl also having been there. Kara knows the report will have made people at L Corp nervous. It would raise questions about Lena's state of mind, her ability to lead the company. Kara hates that, on top of everything else, Lena will have to deal with this now too.
As she waits outside, two dozen people spill out of the theater. She hears someone call out her name. In the crowd she spots Andrew, a coworker who maintains CatCo's website. She knows some colleagues find his directness and literalness difficult to deal with, but she's always had a soft spot for him. His girlfriend, whom Kara met at last year's company Christmas party but whose name now completely escapes her, walks beside him. They make their way over to Kara.
"Hi," Kara says warmly.
"Did you hear Lena Luthor killed her brother?", Andrew asks right off the bat.
Seeing her startled expression, Andrew's girlfriend gives Kara an apologetic look.
"I did," Kara says after a moment.
"I heard Lex kidnapped her and tortured her. It must've been so awful for her."
Andrew looks genuinely distraught. Kara knows Andrew had looked up to Lena when she ran CatCo. He'd always seemed slightly in awe of her. But seeing Andrew so upset also makes Kara realize that when bad things happen to you, more people care than you realize.
"It makes me so angry what he put her …," Andrew continues, but then he suddenly stops as his eyes fix on something behind Kara.
"Ms Luthor," he exclaims.
Kara turns around. There she is, looking radiant although a little tired. Lena gives Kara a warm smile. "Kara," she says.
Then she turns to Andrew and his girlfriend and says, "Andrew, Lisa, good to see you."
"Really good to see you too, Ms Luthor," Lisa says.
Andrew continues to stare at Lena, seemingly unable to speak.
Lena looks from Kara to Lisa to Andrew and when no one speaks, she turns back to Kara and says, "Shall we go in?"
Kara nods.
They bid Andrew and Lisa goodnight and as they walk away, Andrew calls after them: "Ms Luthor, I'm really glad you're okay."
Lena turns around and gives him a warm smile.
Inside, Kara buys them some drinks and popcorn and they make their way into the first of the two small auditoriums. They find two seats towards the back and sit down.
Almost at once the lights dim. Kara furtively glances over at Lena. She looks so beautiful with only the light from the screen illuminating her face.
As the movie gets underway, Kara's finds her mind incapable of focusing on the story playing out in front of her on the screen. Instead, all of her awareness is transfixed on the person right next to her. How is it, Kara thinks, that sitting here with Lena can feel so exciting and calming at the same time?
She sits back and digs into the popcorn. Before an hour has passed, she has finished all of the popcorn with only a little help from Lena. Kara puts the large container on the floor. Kara wonders how Lena's back is. She knows she'll have to be more mindful in the future when she touches Lena. Something like that just can't happen again.
Suddenly an angry scream forces her out of her own head. Kara looks around her trying to identify where the sound came from. Everyone around her is still staring ahead. Kara realizes the scream must have come from within the movie. She glances over at Lena. Are those tears in her eyes?
Kara forces herself to focus on the movie to figure out what's going on, what may have affected Lena. After several minutes, she's able to piece together that the protagonist uncovered some horrific family secret and that, in response, he turned his back on both his family and the other people in his life. Now, in the final scenes of the movie, his best friend has come to him in a final attempt to draw him back into the light.
Kara glances over at Lena again. She feels stupid. What was she thinking picking a film without at least reading the synopsis?
Onscreen, the friend tells the protagonist he can't go on like this. The protagonist looks his friend in the eye, pushes him towards the door, and in an ice cold voice says, "I'm done. I never want to see you again." He pushes his friend out of the apartment and slams the door shut.
Suddenly Kara feels Lena's hand on hers. Lena takes Kara's hand into her own and squeezes it gently. She continues to hold Kara's hand until the credits roll. Then, leaning over to Kara, she whispers into her ear, "Please come home with me."