Back with Chapter 3!

I'm really nervous about posting this for some reason. Please comment and tell me what you think. I need the assurance.

Do ya'll want me to keep going? or? lol

Okay... well, like usual with this story, I didn't have a beta. So all errors are mine and mine alone. I will probably beat myself up over punctuation and misspelled words in a few hours when I re-read it.

I've love to chat on Twitter or Tumblr. My twitter is babyridge116 and Tumblr is lynedele77

The spray of the water felt beyond euphoric against my skin. I stood there basking in the steam the hot water provided, trying not to allow my innate shyness to overcome me as I stood, completely naked, in front of the woman who I had longed for for years.

Just as we were about to get in the shower, Lena had somewhat bashfully admitted that she enjoyed relatively hot showers – sometimes too hot for most humans – and furrowed her brow awaiting my response. 'Kryptonian skin' was my only reply. I had never been in a shower – hot or cold – that truly bothered me (unless I was in a solar flare). Though I did have more affinity towards the warmth of scalding hot water. The warmth made me feel safe and secure, like it was engulfing me in the world's warmest hug.

We stood in the small space face-to-face. Lena had positioned herself directly under the water spray; I was standing just outside of it, trying to keep my heart at a relatively normal pace. Had I been closest to the showerhead, Lena would not have gotten much water – I was a few inches taller than she. Before long, the hot steam enveloped us in its cocoon, relaxing muscles and soothing emotions… or well most of them. All the steam in the world would not be able to soothe the anticipation, the nervousness, and the absolute glee that I was experiencing.

I rested my hands on Lena's bare hips while she ran the water through her gel-and-hairspray-coated hair. I didn't know where to touch her. I didn't want to keep my arms at my side… she was magnetic… it was a gravitational pull. I had to touch her but I really had no idea what the hell I was doing. So I just… rested my fingertips along her hips, hoping that I wouldn't completely combust from internal panic. As she combed the downpouring water through her hair, I could see her breasts swaying in my periphery. How I longed to glance down at her, but I was still so nervous to take a full-on look at her. To be honest, I wasn't sure that I'd ever be ready to fully take her in. She was a goddess and I… I was just Kara. I was still in complete shock that she felt about me the same way I felt about her. It shouldn't have surprised me, though. We had had plenty of 'almosts'. There had always been that tension between us.

"Come here, gorgeous," Lena directed softly, snaking her right hand around my waist and bringing me close to her. She took a step back out of the spray, backing herself up to the shower wall, as she ushered me under the warm water.

Lena trailed her hands up my body so she could massage the pouring water into my hair. I closed my eyes and hummed. It felt heavenly, especially after having my hair pinned up all day. The warm water flooded my face, covering my eyes and my nose and my mouth. I leaned forward a bit and placed my hands on either side of Lena's head for balance.

She gasped - almost inaudibly, but I definitely heard it.

I wiped my face off with one hand and swept my wet hair backward so I could see clearly. Lena's bright eyes were clouded yet there was no sense of urgency within them. She leaned forward slowly and captured my lips tenderly, our breasts grazing each other lightly. With a final peck of her lips, I stepped back into the spray and a little further back until the water surrounded her once again. I grabbed her hand and guided her to turn around, reaching up above her and angling the showerhead downwards so the water wouldn't splash her in the eyes.

The shorter girl giggled against me, her laugh light and…happy. I smiled into her hair, reaching behind me to the corner rack of shower products and grabbing some of Lena's special shampoo.

She had spent so much time at my apartment in the last few months that half of her things were here. Lena spent more time in my apartment than she did her own. I'd often come home to find her lounging on the couch, making dinner, or even napping in my bed. Anymore, we were rarely apart. In retrospect, I really didn't know how nothing ever happened between us before. I wasn't sure how our 'almosts' remained just that…almost. It's like we had fallen into this domestic routine…Lena would come to my apartment after work or she'd come to the Tower, we'd have dinner and just talk so much that she would end up staying the night at my place. We'd snuggle and wake up to each other and throughout the day we'd send little texts here and there… if one of us had to go before the other woke up, we'd leave little notes for the other one to find... Having Lena was comforting, especially after my time in the Phantom Zone.

There were many nights that I'd wake up from a dead sleep, nightmares filling my head. Lena was always there to comfort me, console me, protect me. Maybe that's why she opted to sleep over. She had slept over almost every single not – if not every single night – since I had gotten back. Which was a bit ago. I'd wake up from a nightmare and there she was… already awake and kneeling beside me, tenderly touching my face or my shoulders or my arms with her gentle fingers. Once I realized she was beside me, I would fall into her and allow myself to feel her warmth and her comfort. I'm sure it was a lot for her, but she never seemed to mind. She just held me and sang to me or read to me until the sound of her voice lulled me to sleep once more.

I poured some of the shampoo into my left hand before putting the bottle down in its designated location. I had to remember to use just a tiny pea-sized amount of her particular shampoo product – which was much less than I would use of my own. Lena used this hoity-toity shampoo that cost a small fortune, but I would not have expected anything less.

I began working the thin liquid onto her scalp, watching intently as small suds appeared and wrapped around the almost black strands of her hair. Lena's hair was thickly crusted with hairspray and gel. But thankfully, the shampoo cleansed her hair thoroughly and with relative ease. The brunette let out a small moan as my fingertips massaged her scalp, gently working the (now) soapy liquid through the middle and ends of her hair. I massaged her hair thoroughly, washing it of the boatload of product plastered into it.

"Turn around," I whispered close to her ear.

The brunette visibly shivered as she turned within my arms; her wet skin glided easily against mine. The feeling of skin on skin was surreal and I shuddered against her. I put my hands on either side of her face, leaned down, and kissed her gently – just for a moment – before guiding her back under the spray of water. As I thoroughly rinsed her hair, I couldn't help but to watch her face. Lena was so relaxed and at complete ease as I ran my strong fingers through her locks, trying to ensure all of the suds were washed out. I reveled in that tender moment. It was rare that the brunette just allowed herself to be taken care of, lest she be too vulnerable. But to see that she trusted me wholly and completely by allowing me to tend to her… it filled me with such great pride and immense joy.

I stepped backward and guided her back out of the water before reaching for the conditioner.

"Not a whole lot, otherwise my hair will be greasy before morning," she noted with a warm smile, her eyes sparkling. I had never seen her this happy before.

"Here…" I offered, holding the conditioner bottle up close to her. "I'll let you put it in."

Lena smiled at me thankfully – she was very persnickety about her hair. Well, to be fair, Lena was fairly fussy about just about everything. However, I knew her hair was definitely in the top three… her hair, her coffee, and her brand of tea – which she consistently flew in from Ireland via Supergirl Express.

The shorter girl handed me back the bottle and massaged the conditioner through her hair, avoiding her roots. The way she methodically worked the cream into her locks was entrancing – I couldn't take my eyes off her. She opened her eyes and caught my stare; I immediately looked down, closing my eyes tightly, trying to avoid the spreading blush. Lena could always make me blush with the most innocent of looks or touches. But our present state was most certainly not innocent. It was intimate, suggestive, raw. It was the embodiment of trust – and while I had so many feelings, while my body hummed every single time I felt her naked skin brush against mine, standing there with the brunette, completely open, exposed, and naked, felt like the most natural state in the world.

When the brunette was finished, she lifted herself up onto the balls of her feet and tenderly pressed her lips against mine before wrapping her arms around my waist and guiding me sideways.

I let myself be maneuvered; our breasts and thighs pressed up against each other as the shorter girl shifted us so that we had changed positions. She immediately guided me under the water. The slight warmth felt like heaven as the water rained down over my hair and my face. I brought my hands to my face and slicked my hair back. Lena immediately took the opportunity to run her hands along the sides of my ribs and torso; liquid heat pooled between my thighs – a sensation I hadn't really felt in some time, and when I did, I definitely didn't feel it like this. No one had ever touched me the way that Lena did. And then…she tickled me.

I squawked. I didn't laugh, I didn't giggle, I didn't chuckle. I squawked -while simultaneously bringing my hands down to protect myself.

Lena roared in response, her hands resting gently against my naked, wet hips as she steadied herself to keep herself from falling over with laughter. I bent down, seeking out her lips. She leaned up and kissed me reverently as her hands traveled to my face and held my jaw. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her close. The water cascaded down over my back and shoulders – thankfully I shielded Lena from getting blasted by spray.

She broke the kiss with a hum. I immediately missed the contact and tried to follow her to continue the kiss.

She gave me a chaste peck. "Patience, darling. Let me wash your hair," she breathed against my lips.

I tried to slow my increased heart rate. Lena was right – patience. This was all so new and it had been an absolutely crazy day. But it didn't feel new. It felt natural. Like this is what it should have been all along – and I didn't want to waste a single second that I had with her.

"Turn," she commanded in the softest voice I'd ever heard.

I rotated my body against hers and was immediately met with feeling the tips of her nipples against my midback. I shuttered involuntarily. I had not expected that feeling.

Lena reached forward, pressing herself into me more, to grab my shampoo from the other corner of the shower. Her entire body was flush against mine. I could feel her breasts, her stomach, and soft curls pressed up against me and I could barely breathe. I felt like I was going to absolutely explode. No one had ever made my body respond this way. It was light every sense was heightened and keyed into every movement Lena made, every sound Lena made, every everything Lena made. I was so hyper-aware of her, and my skin felt like electricity was just raging through it.

"You okay, darling?" she asked, pumping some of the shampoo onto her hand before retracting herself and tangling her hands in my hair.

"Uh-huh," I lied. I wasn't okay. I was ready to combust. Could that happen? Could a Kryptonian be so completely overloaded sensory-wise that they just physically imploded?

She kissed my shoulder with a wide smile, her hands lathering the shampoo against my scalp and through my hair. Even through the heat of the shower, I could feel the tiny goosebumps along her skin – this interaction was affecting her too. Dually noted.

I hummed. "That feels good."

"Yea?"

"Mmhm," I replied with a slight nod of my head.

"Good," she affirmed, placing a chaste kiss on the back of my neck, forcing me to close my eyes sharply at the contact.

Lena used her short, blunt nails to lightly scratch into my scalp and it felt like absolute heaven. I would have been happy to stand there and let her run her fingers through my hair and against my scalp all day long. It was so intoxicating and relaxing…like all the stress of the day was being forced out of my head because I could only focus on how good Lena's fingertips felt in my hair. Unfortunately, it was over too soon.

The brunette touched my side and guided me to turn back towards her, encouraging me to lean back into the spray of the water to rinse my hair. Once the shampoo was rinsed out, Lena massaged the conditioner into my thick, blonde locks.

"Gotta leave it in a bit?" she asked, with a small smile.

I nodded. "Yea. It's so thick."

"May I wash you?"

My brain glitched. Of course, this was part of taking a shower. It wasn't just hair and water. There was soap…and bodies…and Lena… and of course she would have asked to wash me...right? Like I should have expected this. I felt the blush creep onto my cheeks, the heat of my nerves consuming me. It wasn't that I was nervous for Lena to touch me… It was that I was…well, I wasn't sure. Was I nervous because I thought I was supposed to be nervous? When I really thought about it, I felt safer with Lena than I ever had. I felt more comfortable with her than I ever had. Maybe just because it was new and I was already overwhelmed and on sensory overload? The question played over and over in my mind… yes. My first initial response was absolutely yes.

I nodded hesitantly, realizing I hadn't actually given Lena access to the thought pattern circulating in my mind.

"Are you sure, Kara? I can see your wheels turning up here," she asked softly, touching my temple gently.

I nodded my head in assurance. "I'm sure. I trust you."

"Okay," she confirmed, pressing a chaste kiss against my lips. "Eyes on me?"

I gulped and opened my eyes, locking them with hers. In Lena's eyes, I felt safe and secure – like nothing could ever harm me, even though I was practically bulletproof. But it went beyond physical safety. I felt emotionally and mentally safe with her. Lena had my heart and I think she had had it for a long time, I just didn't realize it. There was no one else I had felt more secure with… I mean, aside from Alex, but it was…it was different. It was like Alex protected me from the outside and Lena shielded me from the inside.

With our eyes locked, Lena reached around me and grabbed my loofa and squeezed some of my vanilla and brown sugar body wash onto it. She started at my neck with small circles and moved down towards one shoulder. She lifted my arm gently, washing all the skin in small, gentle movements, going all the way down to my wrists and back up. She mirrored her actions on the other side before washing down my ribs and across my stomach, making her way back up my other set of ribs. She had left my chest relatively untouched – she was waiting for my permission. I gave her a tiny nod and she began slowly running the sudsy loofa over my chest, down the valley of my breasts and across my small mounds. It became increasingly harder to intake breath steadily, but Lena never looked away from me… never indulged herself. She kept me steady and grounded…

I had never had someone wash me before… at least not since I was a small child and that definitely wasn't like this. Lena took such great care with me. She spun me around gently and washed my back and my hips, down to my ass. As she washed, she placed methodical kisses along the expanse of my skin – I had to brace myself against the shower wall to support myself. Every kiss weakened me…more than red sun…more than kryptonite. My body was responding in ways I didn't even know it could.

Lena bent down and washed my legs. She washed the back and the outside and the front before tentatively making her way up the inside of my left leg. I braced for what was to come, but nothing did. She carefully moved to the other leg and washed it just the same before standing up and turning me to face her once more.

"Let's rinse your hair out, darling," she suggested.

She guided me back into the spray so that the water drenched my hair, washing out the conditioner and effectively rinsing my body. The brunette had put the loofa back in its spot and began guiding the water along my skin tenderly, ensuring every spot was rinsed.

I had never felt such love before…so cared for before. It seemed as if Lena's sole motive was to ensure that my needs were taken care of. Her touch was so tender and precise – like she was caring for something of great value… something so precious that she was forced to use her most delicate of touches.

As all the soap rinsed off my body, Lena pressed herself against me and kissed my lips gently. I lifted my hand to her face and cupped her jaw lightly, perfectly content to just revel in the feeling of her lips slowly meeting and parting with mine. She left me absolutely breathless.

"You still need to get clean…" I breathed against her lips once we parted, my eyes heavy from the intensity.

"Darling, I can get it. You seem really tired…overloaded maybe? It's been an intense day…" she whispered into the space between us, softly caressing my left cheek.

I shook my head in response.

"I mean… I am…tired…overloaded…"

"Yea," she cooed softly. "I can tell, beautiful."

Was she trying to kill me?

"But… I… I want to…"

Lena smiled softly at me and nodded. "Okay. Whatever you want, darling."

I turned us around, so Lena was in the direct stream of the water. I was very thankful that my apartment had a decent size water heater. We were definitely taking longer than a normal shower.

I took a step toward her, backing her up to the cool tile. She shivered and a boldness came over me. I slid my hands along her back and pulled her into me – our lips colliding in a kiss more heated than our previous ones. A small moan escaped the brunette's lips and I trembled, the sensation of feeling and hearing the sound emanating from her completely overwhelming me.

Lena forced the kiss to slow down, her hands once balling up against my sides, splaying about the skin of my ribs. She reached behind her as I took a step back and handed me her emerald-colored loofa. I grabbed her body wash and poured some on before taking a deep breath and placing the soapy loofa against the skin of her chest. Lena kept her eyes on mine but covered my hand with hers. It was a steadying assurance as I washed the skin stretched across her collar bone and her shoulders.

For the first time, I let my eyes fall to her skin as I bathed her. My breath caught in my throat. I had seen Lena and various stages of dress, but I had never seen her completely naked. My motions with the loofa slowed as I brought up my other hand and traced the path between freckles on her neck and chest.

"Wow…" I murmured, completely mesmerized by her perfect skin.

I continued tracing the path of freckles to her shoulders and her arms and down her torso. I completely avoided her breasts – I was blushing just thinking about them.

I resumed washing her and she turned around so I could get her back – her butt bubbled out just a bit, pressing against me.

As I washed, I continued to trace her freckles, landing on two prominent ones on her right shoulder. Before I realized what I was doing, I leaned down and kissed them lightly.

Lena inhaled sharply before letting out a long, soft sigh that pulled me from my thoughts.

It finally clicked in my brain that this probably wasn't that easy for her. Lena was much more experienced than I was… and I was probably driving her crazy. She was so patient, and her actions never indicated that sex was even a thought in her head. Though, I was sure it probably was. Regardless, everything she did was solely to ensure that I was okay and comforted and protected and had my needs met. I snapped out of my daze and focused on the task at hand, blushing as I ran the loofa along her ass and down her legs.

I rinsed out the loofa and pulled her into me under the water stream. She leaned her head back, enjoying the now-cooler spray. She brushed her hair back with her palms – redirecting the water so it didn't flow into her eyes. I leaned down and captured her lips softly and briefly before pulling away. She followed, allowing the stream of water to hit her back instead of directly atop her head.

"I'll never get used to that," I breathed, opening my eyes to meet hers.

She smiled warmly at me. "You can have as many as you'd like," she stated matter-of-factly.

I leaned down again and pecked her lips. "As many?" I teased.

She nodded. "As many."

I planted a bunch of quick kisses on her lips before capturing them fully. Lena cupped my cheek, her hand splayed out across my jaw, pulling me gently into her.

When I released her lips, my eyes fluttered open to look at her, but she was still lost in the moment of the kiss. After a few moments, her eyes blinked open, a wide, giddy grin smeared across her face.

"I don't think I'm going to get used to them either…" she admitted, her cheeks blushing. "Let's get you warm and dry," she suggested.

"I am warm," I teased, reaching behind Lena and turning off the water.

"Fine," she smiled coyly. "Let's get me warm," she rephrased with a chuckle, grabbing the curtain and pushing it back.

Lena stepped out of the shower and grabbed her towel, wrapping it around her, before holding out mine for me as I stepped out. She wrapped it around me and as she was securing it around my chest, I playfully shook my hair out at her.

"Hey! Hey!" she squealed loudly, throwing her arms up toward her head protectively.

I laughed loudly, reaching blinding for her hips. I kissed her soundly once I had engulfed her into my arms.

"Payback's a bitch, darling," Lena warned teasingly after I broke the kiss.

"I'm counting on it," I retorted with a grin.

Lena shook her head lightly at me, her fingers trailing my face. "I love you, Kara."

She said it in almost a whisper and had it not been for my super-hearing, I may not have heard it at all.

My smile widened – if that was even possible. "I love you, too," I admitted through my grin.

I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tightly; Lena's arms secured themselves around my waist. She laid her head against my chest and I rested my cheek on top of her head. Her wet hair tickled my skin. I didn't care. I was going to hold onto her for as long as possible.

"We need to get your hair brushed before it tangles," Lena commented, her breath warm against the naked skin.

I nodded.

She turned her head slightly before placing a chaste kiss against the bottom of my collarbone.

I brushed her hair after she brushed mine and we finally made our way into my bedroom and got changed into some comfy pajama clothes. Lena had been right – it had been a long and tiresome day and I was beginning to feel it. That's why when she offered me to lay my head on her lap and watch TV, I happily took her up on it. She pulled the blanket down over me as I rested my head in her lap before turning on Game of Thrones. She had never seen it and a (playful) stipulation of her staying over was that she was going to watch it. She turned on Episode 2 of Season 3 and I settled into her. Lena leaned down and pressed a kiss to my temple before running her fingers through freshly washed hair.

Everything was changing. I was scared… more accurately, I was terrified. But I also felt the most empowered I had ever felt. Lena would catch me if I fell. She would keep me steady. She would hold me when I needed to be reassured. And now… now Lena would kiss me to chase out all the demons and all the fears. For the first time in what seemed like forever, I was happy. I wasn't alone and despite the unknown, I knew…deep down… that I would never be alone again.