fun things coming up this chapter - like, really fun. but also some angst, because i'm me.

now, read, ponder, and enjoy!

The Luthor manor had been as intimidating as the first time Kara had seen it at 21 years old. Sprawling estates, horses in the stables, and an alarming amount of house staff who were alarmingly polite, though the last butler hadn't really hidden his disdain when he realized that Lena had brought home someone whom he would consider a trollop.

The butler that had greeted her yesterday was much nicer. Nice smile. Nice attitude. Didn't mind that she had driven a car that remarkably cost less than the others in the manor's garage.

Last time she'd been here, she slept in the west wing. In Lena's childhood bedroom. They did sinful things in that bedroom. Actually, they did sinful things in many corners of the manor, even got caught by Lillian, Lionel, or Lex for no less than ten times. Look, Lena was sinfully hot and Kara would never miss any opportunity to get in on that, sue her.

This time around, the butler had kindly led her to the east wing. The guest wing, with the generic four-poster beds and desks and no personality whatsoever. The room she was offered was comfortable, not that she was complaining, but she was just – she supposed she wasn't used to it. Huh, maybe she was complaining.

Which was why, being the not-morning person that she was, it surprised even herself that she woke up early in the morning, before the clock had even struck eight. She didn't try to go back to sleep, only getting up, brushing her teeth, and making her way around the maze of hallways that took her three visits to memorize.

She paused in her steps when she saw who was in the kitchen.

"Morning, Kara," Lex greeted, idly sipping coffee, as if the presence of his former sister-in-law in the house he grew up in wasn't a strange sight at all. "Coffee?"

She blinked a few times before nodding gingerly and entering the kitchen, pouring a cup of coffee for herself. "Morning," she greeted meekly. Never once had she ever felt so much like a stranger.

For the next couple of minutes, the two of them only sat at the island, drinking coffee and scrolling their phones. Kara actively ignored any texts that came from her sister or Sam. It was simply too early in the morning for that barrage of anger and confusion, even though she'd been ignoring their texts the moment she took the car.

"I wanted to send the mafia after you," Lex breached the silence with startling announcement, eyes locked on his phone.

Meanwhile, the blonde choked on her coffee. Thankfully, she didn't do something more embarrassing like coughing manically or spilling coffee in his coffee. She stared wide-eyed at the man, simultaneously startled and afraid.

For a brief moment, she wondered if she should jump in the car and just run. Lena would probably understand.

"Are you surprised that I wanted to send them after you or that I know them?" Lex asked lazily.

Kara blinked, tilting her head a little. "Both?"

"Well, we're the Luthors, we have connections," Lex started, finally looking up to lock onto her with...well, she couldn't actually read him. He didn't seem angry, but his words were intimidating. "And you broke my sister's heart."

Ah, so that was it. "To be fair, she broke my heart too."

He shook his head, as if he refused to accept the reply. That was the thing with the Luthors: stubborn as heck. It was one of the things she loved so much about Lena, even though she didn't like it at times.

"I don't care about fair. You broke her heart, and as you know, she's the treasure of the family." For some reason, Kara could accept that. If their roles were switched, she would probably wanna send mafia out to hunt down anyone who'd dare to hurt Lena. "What are you doing here, Kara?" Lex sighed, like he was tired. "What are you doing anywhere near her, for that matter?"

"What are you –"

"I'm sure you heard my father yesterday." She nodded in confirmation. "As…delusional as he was, he was not lying."

"Look, I'm sorry –"

"This family spent a lot of energy taking care of Lena after the divorce. And we don't want to ever see her in the state again."

"All due respect, Lex, would you mind letting me finish my sentences?" Kara retorted, growing irritable from his seemingly constant interruptions.

His brows went higher at her retort, but he only smirked and motioned for her to continue, as if he was impressed.

"Things happened. I don't know what Lena told you, but she wasn't the only one who was hurt in that whole affair. There were two bullets and they hit both of us," the blonde explained, fingers tapping less rhythmically on the island top as she talked. "But I loved her and I – she will always have a place in my life. Your father had a heart attack and I came, because I care about Lena and your father was – he was nice to me. He was probably the nicest person to me among all of you."

He winced jokingly. "That's harsh, but it still doesn't explain what you're doing near her."

Kara couldn't think of anything else to say but, "She's Lena." It came out as a sigh of frustration. As a sign of having given up on fighting things that didn't make sense. A pointer to a truth that she should have never let go even after the divorce.

He hummed and eyed for a long while, brows raised the whole way. Then he finished his coffee and went to wash the cup in the sink, because Lillian didn't raise slackers despite how loaded the family was. It was one of the things she admired about her ex-mother-in-law, no matter how intimidated she was by the older woman.

"I know I've always liked you for a reason," he said, making his way out of the kitchen and pointing a finger at her. "But don't hurt her again. Or I'll actually send goons after you."

Duly noted. She nodded at his threat and watched as he exited the kitchen.

"Isn't this Sam's car?"

"Yes."

"Did you…steal her car?"

"That's a strong word."

Lena snatched her hand from the door handle and pushed her hands into her jacket pockets, narrowing her eyes at her ex-wife, who was resolutely not looking at her. Then again, just the narrowing of the eyes was sufficient to drive even the strongest of men to his knees, Kara would know, which was why she was determined not to look into those green eyes.

"Kara," Lena pronounced warningly, slow and low.

Just then, before Kara could reply, her phone buzzed in her back pocket, like it did in array over the night, probably carrying the same message since Kara had jumped in the car and driven off without so much as a warning to anyone.

Wincing, the blonde plucked the device out of the pocket and read the text. Sent by Sam. Of course. It was her 23rd message in as many hours. The woman needed to chill, honestly.

Sam (10:26 a.m.): If you scratch my car.

Kara didn't even bother to type out a reply before putting the phone back in her pocket.

"I was worried about you," she said. It was the only thing she could say.

Kara had not hesitated.

Sam told her the news, and Kara jumped in the car, disregarding the fact that it was Sam's car she had absconded with because she didn't drive, and she just drove. She drove the hours and hours, the winding and twisting roads, the unavoidable honks due to her bad driving, until she reached the manor that had never failed to intimidate her since her first visit.

For some inexplicable reason, the face recognition system at the front gate could still recognize her, but she didn't give it much thought. She didn't give anything much thought, except for Lena. Not her lack of pre-empting her colleagues or sister about her sudden departure. Not the dirty dishes in the sink.

Nothing but Lena.

"Very worried," she added, placing her hands on the top of the car she'd borrowed…without permission. "Her keys were right there," she defended weakly, adding on a pout, because according to everyone in her life, it always worked.

Lena raised her brow, proving that it wasn't working on her ex-wife. Made sense, given that they were together for a little less than five years before their break-up.

"Give me the keys," the doctor instructed, thrusting her hand over the top of the car as well.

"Oh, come on."

"The last time you did this, you scratched Alex's car."

"That possum came out of nowhere!"

Lena was not shaken, only wiggling her fingers insistently. Kara rolled her eyes and obeyed, handing over the keys begrudgingly and grumbling under her breath. They switched sides and got into the car with Kara in the passenger seat and Lena in the driver's seat.

It had been a year before she and Lena got married – they were still in their senior year of university, but it was Christmas, so Lena had gone back to the manor while Kara had returned to Midvale. And then one night, the raven-haired woman had called her, sobbing, and Kara didn't even hesitate to race over to her.

Midvale was considerably further from Metropolis than National City was, so Kara somehow managed to scratch Alex's bumper. Then again, considering her driving skills, it probably shouldn't be as surprising as it used to be back then.

The car had basically been running on fumes when she reached the Luthor manor. That was also perhaps the first time in the first two years of her relationship with Lena that Lionel had shown signs of welcoming her to the family, smiling at her and actually asking about her life. Lionel was the second person in the family to welcome her.

"That possum –"

"Until today, I still can't tell if you made up the possum story as a weak defense," Lena retorted, pulling out of the garage to make it to the driveway.

"Why would I make something like that up?" Kara whined. Seriously, she should have taken a picture of that possum and keep it so everyone would shut up about it already.

The gates swung open and Lena kept driving. The firefighter only sat in the passenger seat, keeping an eye on her ex-wife while also taking in the scenery surrounding them.

Empty roads bracketed by tall cypress trees, something out of a movie. All of these, belonging to one family. At no point in time had Kara never felt threatened by the absolute magnanimity of the Luthors, the power they exuded by just existing. At a snap of their fingers, Lionel could take over a small country, Lillian could poison a river, Lex could change the face of medicine for the worse, or Lena could choose to no longer help people.

She supposed the medical field in the US – or anywhere in the world, for that matter – should be grateful that they chose to help. And as far as she was concerned, Lena would rather die than hurt another soul.

Then Lena took a right, entering a branching road into the forest that would have been missed by the naked eye if they didn't pay attention. And suddenly, Sam's car was slowing down along a dirt path, the green grew more intense, and the sun no longer blinded their eyes as the blanket of leaves protected them.

Lena pulled the car to a stop when they reached a clearing, with nothing but a tree stump in the middle and a few logs surrounding it to allow for intruders to sit. This was the way nature worked – you didn't disturb it, and it wouldn't disturb it. Strangely enough, Lex had taught her that the first time they came here, which eventually became Lena and Kara's spot whenever they visited the family.

"Everything's still the same," Kara commented, a reminiscent smile tugging at her lips as her boots stepped on dry leaves and her ears filled with the sounds of birds.

"Is it?" Lena asked, shoving her hands in her coat pockets as she trailed after Kara. "I haven't been here since…" she drifted off, pursing her lips, totally aware of Kara watching her. "Since our divorce."

"Why not?"

Lena shrugged and only shoved her hands deeper into her pockets, if that was even possible. "I heard you and Lex just now." Kara froze, blinking rapidly at her ex-wife. "All I did was sleep and drink soup for, like, a week. Maybe there were two bottles of bourbon. Or ten. I lost count."

Inevitably, because somewhere deep inside her, Kara had never stopped caring about the raven-haired woman, so when she heard those words, her heart ached immensely. Almost as much as when Lena had asked for a divorce three years ago.

She inhaled shakily and maintained a distance away from Lena. Yesterday was something out of the ordinary, where she allowed herself the luxury of taking Lena in her arms and letting herself be the dam for Lena's wall of tears. Today, she was determined to keep herself in control, to just be here for the woman who had inexplicably slithered back to the surface of deeply buried secrets.

She didn't know how it happened, but in the short time since she saw Lena again, the woman had begun to haunt all corners of her mind, bright or dark, like an unrelenting ghost. Kara couldn't tell if she hated that ghost, but she could never resist that ghost.

Lena…called to her. Like a siren. Like an unlocked bank with vaults full of gold. Like a long-lost lover.

"I worked myself to the bone," Kara offered, shrugging. "I studied and I worked and – well, I passed out one week in."

Green eyes cast her a look, sorrowful and even a little bemused. Well, Kara wouldn't blame her, because there was just something about the way they abandoned themselves after the divorce, even though they had both been certain that it would only be good for them.

"We're a mess."

Lena agreed with a nod. "Yeah, we are."

"Your dad –"

"It's the medication." When Kara raised her brows, Lena rolled her eyes and settled herself on a log around the tree stump. "He wants me to be happy, and he seems convinced that you're the only person who can make me happy."

"And that's not true."

"I don't need a partner to be happy, Kara. I have Sam. Even Andrea occasionally. I'm plenty happy."

Kara lowered her chin and scoffed. "Right. Andrea"

"Oh, come on."

Heaving a humorless laugh, Kara shook her head and sat next to Lena on the log. "No, no, I'm sorry. It's – Andrea Rojas," she said with a smirk. "I can't help myself."

In words as kind as she could manage, Kara could only say that Andrea Rojas was a pain in her ass since the moment they met – and she wasn't usually one to use foul words. That was, in no way, Andrea's fault. Well, maybe in some ways, it was, because the woman was the smuggest human being Kara had ever met, and she always thought a little humility could go a long way.

Beautiful. Intelligent. Hot. If Lena wasn't around, Kara probably would have tried to hit that. Alas, Lena was there; Kara thought there was no way in any life she led would she ever not find Lena. And if there was Lena, there was no one else.

But Lena was there. And Andrea was there. And no matter how much she trusted ex-wife, Kara simply couldn't help the jealousy that would throw all her common senses out the window. As much as she had neglected Lena in the later stages of their relationship, Kara had never been uglier than when she was jealous with Andrea.

The green-eyed monster did not let her go. In fact, it gripped at her and took over her senses like the monster it was, and it became the subject of most of her arguments with Lena, as little as there were.

"Nothing happened before or while we were together," Lena carefully stated, and stood up to make her way over to a random cypress tree, as if trying to get away from the blonde.

Kara tilted her head and stood up as well, following the doctor to the tree. "So something happened after?" she asked, wanting to slap herself for even wanting to know.

"My brother once told me that the best way to get over someone is to get under someone."

"You brother has never had any good advice."

"Yes, I realized that the morning after."

"There was a morning after?"

"I don't do one-night stands, Kara."

Kara stopped where she was, finally recognizing the situation they were in. Due to her persistence and Lena's apparent desperation but failure to get away from her, they were here. Lena against the tree, and Kara…so close to her. Only a few breaths way.

The last time they were this close, on the brink of something that would either make or break them, was three years ago. Biggest fight they ever had; Kara couldn't even remember what it was about anymore, but they were yelling at the loudest they could manage. Lena had thrown a vase; Kara had wanted to flip the apartment upside down.

Eventually, the anger got the better of the two of them, so much so that Kara had surged forward and Lena had readily accepted her approach. The last time they had sex, she couldn't tell where one began and the other one ended. The last time they had sex, and the next day, Lena had told her she wanted a divorce, naked in bed.

The last time they were this close, it broke them.

Kara wasn't angry now – she had no right to be. She also had no right to be jealous, but here she was. Jealous as hell. Wanting to uproot a tree just from the undesirable imagery of Lena and Andrea Rojas in bed together. Naked. Writhing against one another like kingdom come.

"There were more than once?" she asked, softly, heard only between them, ignorant to the nature around them.

Lena sighed, and Kara fought from keeping her eyes close from the waft of mint and coffee that traveled to her nostrils. "I had to get over you." She lifted a hand and traced a finger over Kara's right cheek, eventually cupping her face. "I'm always trying to get over you."

Something – impulse control, whatever – snapped in Kara. She surged forward, like she did three years ago, and captured Lena's lips with hers. Her hands pushed against the trunk Lena was leaning against, essentially trapping the woman there.

Homecoming, that was what it felt like. Oxygen. Resurrection. It felt like Kara hadn't been breathing for the last three years, and despite the fact that they were pressed together, exchanging air, Kara had never felt more alive in the years they'd been apart.

Mint and coffee and something uniquely Lena. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed her ex-wife. The woman whom Kara had once sworn to be there for, until death did them apart.

And when Lena willingly wrapped her arms around Kara's neck, there was simply no other way but to keep kissing her, because this was a lifeline. A lifeboat in the middle of a shipwreck that was Kara's torn heart since she signed her name on the dotted line. In this kiss was an ever-bright flame that had only ever dimmed, never extinguished.

"Fuck," Lena murmured, letting out a frustrated noise when Kara's fingers brushed the side of her breast.

"I will if you'll let me."

Lena's breath hitched, and in that moment, she pulled back. And Kara was afraid. Of what? She wasn't certain. Maybe she was afraid that Lena would say no. Maybe she was more afraid that Lena would say yes. Because what would this mean then? What would it all mean?

How did she let Lena haunt her so?

She looked into the raven-haired woman's eyes, and for a moment, she couldn't read Lena at all. She was most of afraid of that, amongst all the possibilities that could occur in the next second. She didn't like not knowing Lena.

"Isn't this the tree where we –"

"Had our first public sex? Yeah," Kara confirmed, reassuring herself as her fingers padded over the engraving located near Lena's lower back. "That was fun."

Lena huffed a laugh, but the blonde could still tell that she was fighting herself. When her teeth pressed over her bottom lip, Kara clenched her hands into fists, restraining herself from invading Lena's space any further than she had.

"Make it fun, Kara."

All the fear went out the window with the explicit permission. She grinned and leaned forward to capture Lena's lips again, but she didn't stay there. Her lips and hands wandered, like her mind had wandered since the moment she saw Lena at the roadside, saving a man's life.

Let the birds see. Let the trees be witness. She was going to have Lena.

Getting rid of all the sensations seemed an impossible task. Even after adjusting their clothes and driving back to the manor in silence, Kara could not extinguish the burn of Lena's skin on her skin. Or the sound of her moans and pants in her ears. Or the furnace of their coupling when she finally pushed inside Lena.

Perhaps nothing short of setting her entire body on fire could do that. And Kara would not. Despite her sensibilities, Kara didn't want to wash it all away, even though there was regret in Lena's eyes and avoidance in her body language. Really, Kara probably should have seen that coming the moment their lips captured one another, but she didn't allow herself to dwell on it until they were both finished.

Once they'd returned to the manor, she didn't say or do anything but start packing up her stuff. She couldn't very well just keep on staying here – there was a job and an angry sister-in-law waiting for her, after all.

When all that was done and one of the valets had taken her bag to be deposited in the car, she made her way to the west wing and entered the master bedroom, finding Lionel in his bed alone, but awake nonetheless. Looking into his eyes, it seemed that he was actually awake, rather than the wooziness he'd been in yesterday.

"I thought I dreamed you up," he greeted, kind smile on his face.

She hummed and smiled back at him, taking a seat in the spare chair at his bedside. "You look better, Mr. Luthor." He raised his brows, an admonishing expression on his face. "Lionel," she stammered. He nodded in approval. "I wanted to…see you one more time before I go."

"That fast?"

"Sam's pretty angry at me for stealing her car."

"Ah, yes, Samantha. A good one, that one." She nodded in agreement, not knowing what else to say. "Thank you for coming, Kara." She lifted her eyes from her hands, searching his face and finding no hint of malice or hatred. Curious. "I know I was rather out of it yesterday, but I meant what I said."

"Which part?"

"You being my favorite daughter-in-law."

"I was your only daughter-in-law."

He hummed and relaxed into the mountain of pillows behind him. "I'd wager you'd still be my favorite even if Lex pulls his head out of his ass and finds a worthy girl," he replied easily.

She tilted her head, frowning. "Shouldn't you…hate me?" she asked staggeringly, failing to comprehend how this man – heck, this entire family – could still be so accommodating to her status as an interloper.

"You made her happy." He scoffed weakly and continued, "Heartbreaks are passages of life. Little dots. Lord knows how many times my wife has broken mine and I've broken hers. And yet, we're still here." He reached out and she readily slipped her hand into his wrinkled one. "You survived. She survived. It's all that matters."

Lena Luthor lingered all over her – her scent and her touches and her sounds. Kara was looking at the man who raised her and there were words that she shouldn't say, but still hanging at the edge of her tongue, fighting to come out. To defy her sensibilities and be out in the open.

She swallowed and clenched her jaw, forcing the words back in. Lionel shouldn't be the first person to hear this.

But then again, if not Lionel, then who? As far as she knew, Lionel had always tried his best to be on the sidelines. A spectator. He never interfered unless his children or wife asked for it. He was a bystander, and the perfect person for her to reveal this new realization the moment Lena told her to 'make it fun'.

She opened her mouth, then closed it again. In fact, she stammered for quite some time. Even the usually patient Lionel seemed prepared to smack it out of her.

"What if I told you I'm still in love with her?" she blurted out, eyes wide as soon as the last syllable escaped her lips.

Even he seemed a little surprised by her confession. He tightened his grip on her hand, blinking as he processed her not-question question. Because it wasn't so much as a question as it was a need to get it out in the open. To let at least one person know. And obviously, Lena wasn't going to be that person anytime soon.

"I want her back," she added.

No point lying about it any longer. At least, not to herself.

For the past three years, since she packed up her things and left Metropolis to National City, she'd convinced herself that Lena wasn't largely part of the reason she left. She even believed in that line of convincing.

But the truth was she'd been running away from Lena since their relationship officially ended. Pretending she hadn't been dreaming about Lena on a weekly basis. Pretending that she hadn't been turning her head every time she passed by a familiar head of raven locks, only to be disappointed. Pretending that Sam didn't have an array of updates about Lena if only Kara would open her mouth.

Pretending and pretending and pretending. Kara wasn't even sure how she managed to pretend for so long now that Lena's reappearance in her life had opened up a floodgate of feelings.

"Then go get her, Kara Danvers," Lex hissed, sounding loud and firm for the first time since she saw him again. She blinked at his assertion. "Get your girl. Get our girl."

the real work begins! don't worry - lena will come to some realizations soon. how soon? idk.

side note, i am participating in the reverse supercorp big bang thing - felt like it. so look out for two one-shots from me soon!