Lena's apartment
Kara left the DEO with Lena, she would stay with Lena until she got her bearings. She was getting used to being in the wheelchair, and being pushed around wasn't exactly empowering to her but Lena was doing it with such gentleness that it didn't make her feel bad.
Lena opened the door and pushed Kara inside and Kara realized that Lena had changed a lot of things inside her apartment, it seemed a little bare, lacking furniture. "Wow, what happened here Lena? You got robbed?" Kara said with her mouth hanging opened.
"Oh, no silly, don't worry I just did some redecorating, that's all." Lena pushed Kara inside and closed the door behind her. "Ok, so I'll take you to your room to get you settled down and then we can have dinner, anything you'd like, let me guess pizza and potstikers?"
"Oh you know me so well, but of course it's your home so I am good with anything really, just not kale." Kara chuckled while she looked around still intrigued by the décor.
"Hey I would have you know Kale is good for you, but not today. Today you can pick anything. So I'll Help settle down and then order the food. Let's go."
When Kara entered the room she was going to stay she was surprised by all the things she found there. Especially her art supplies, Lena had brought all her clothes and some of the things Kara loved, just like her reading lamp and her quilt. "Oh my Rao, Lena! You didn't have to do all of this. Thank you, so much." Kara said with her mouth trembling, holding back tears.
"Oh honey, of course I had to, you need to feel at home here, comfortable. I want you to have a good and fast recovery and also I want you to feel like this is your place too." She put her hand on Kara's shoulder and gave it a little squeeze to reassure her as she reached down to give a light kiss on the crown of her head.
They remained silent for a moment until Lena made sure Kara had stop crying and carried her to the bed. This time she made sure to have a good grip on Kara so they wouldn't fall. She did it very smoothly this time, but Kara was still a little awkward with the situation.
"Oh my Rao. Lena will have to help me with changing too. How will that come around? I can barely stand her carrying me, maybe this was a bad idea. I should just tell her I want to go to Alex's. I don't know where my phone is, I should call Alex. How am I going to say this to her? Oh boy!
Kara was having a really hard time with being helped especially from the person she has a crush on, not just a crush but the one she is in love with.
Lena helped Kara adjust in the bed and went to the kitchen to order the food. Kara stayed in bed thinking about all that was about to happen in her life from then on. She was feeling so weak that her hands felt like jello, couldn't hold a lousy glass of water. She knew it was from the Kryptonite still inside her, but it didn't make it any easier.
Lena went about making everything ready for the night, making sure that Kara would have everything she needed, but she too was wondering what would be like to help Kara change, and her whole body stiffed with a felling of dread. She couldn't do that, Kara would be so self conscious and they weren't in a place in their relationship where they had already had any intimacy. She wouldn't mind doing it for Kara. She loves Kara with everything she has, she was more worried with how Kara would feel. Kara at the moment wasn't strong enough to do that alone, she really would need help. She hadn't thought this as thoroughly as she thought she had.
Lena could only see three options at this point, one was talk to Kara and maybe get her comfortable enough so Lena could help her, she didn't know if they could rush things like this. Two was to call Alex and ask her help, which in the long run would be difficult for everyday life. And third was hiring someone else to do this, someone to help Kara and make sure they wouldn't damage their relationship, but with this one too Kara would have to accept someone else's help. She would need to talk to Kara nonetheless.
Lena entered Kara's room and as soon as she walked in she noticed Kara's face, she was clearly in pain and looked conflicted too. So first Lena got the painkillers Kara was prescribed and a glass of water for her. While Lena did this Kara looked at her with sad puppy eyes and cleared her throat.
"So Lena, I was thinking,…" she squeezed her eyes shut and winced in pain. Lena ran to her side and held her hand.
"It's okay darling, you just need to breath. Here take these pills, they'll help with the pain." She proceeded to give Kara the pills and helped her drink the water. Kara was silent for a moment letting the pills be swallowed. Lena was rubbing patterns with her thumb on Kara's hand trying to sooth her pain. They remained silent for a few minutes, Lena was waiting for Kara to feel better so they could talk.
"Thank you, Lee." Kara was looking a little better now, so she gave Lena a smile, she was glad to have her there with her. So in that moment she knew that even with the awkwardness she wasn't going anywhere.
"Kara, you don't need to thank me darling, I am here to help you. And as long as we are talking about this there is something I want to discuss with you, so you can tell me honestly what you want, okay? I will understand whatever you choose, I just want to make you comfortable." She didn't stop rubbing Kara's hand. Kara looked a little afraid but Lena had to ask her these things now before they started anything.
"Sure Lee, what is it?" Kara's voice sounded weak and a little shaken.
"It's just, well, I don't know how to say this, but I didn't really think of everything we would be doing, some things just slipped my mind and I want you to be comfortable. I love you Kara but we still have a lot of things to talk through and I know that rushing into things is never good. What I am saying is if you want to go Alex's house I will understand, although I do want to help you with everything if that is something you want as well." Kara was about to say something when Lena held her hand up and said "Just let me finish honey." Kara nodded in agreement.
"So I have a few options, and you can choose which ever you want. You can stay here with me, and I will help you with everything with all the love that I have for you, you can go to Alex's house if you need to feel more comfortable with someone you have a more intimate relationship or you can stay here and I can hire someone to do the things you are not still comfortable with me doing. I will understand your choice Kara, because I know you're feeling vulnerable now and being comfortable with the person who's helping you is essential." Lena finished and just looked in Kara's soulful eyes. She could see that Kara was thinking things through.
"You're right Lena. I too didn't think things through either. I was actually thinking about this before you came back. I really love you Lena, it's just I am afraid to damage our relationship or anything more that we might want before it even starts. And yes I am feeling disconnected to my body, a little vulnerable a very afraid of the next months. I really need someone I love by my side, and that's you. I don't want to stay with Alex, not because I don't love her, because I do very much, but she has her job and it wouldn't be fair to her. And I know you do too, but well you're the boss so I guess you can do whatever you want." Lena gave a chuckle, so did Kara. "What I am saying is that I would love to be here with you but I think that in reality we need more intimacy to go through some of these things so maybe with a little more time. To be honest I won't be comfortable with anyone doing these things." Her voice cracked a little here, tears gathered on the edge of her eye. "But maybe for now is best that it is someone I don't know. At least we can try to repair what we have without any embarrassment. And you don't have to pay for it Lena, you're already doing so much for me I could never thank you enough."
"You don't have to thank me Kara, just get better. And don't worry about paying Kara, what good is to have a billionaire friend if she can't take care of you when you need it." Kara blushed and gave Lena a kiss on the cheek. "I think you chose well darling, I don't want to be away from you anymore. So tomorrow I will call someone to come help me, but today we are going to need to make do just us. Let's get you to the kitchen, the food should be here shortly. And then we can go to sleep, you don't need to change today, is that okay?" Lena tried to sound as reassuring as possible. She didn't want Kara to feel embarrassed.
"Yes sure, I am really hungry." Kara's voice conveyed how she felt at the moment, a little sad with the whole situation, but she would have to push through her shyness.
"Lena took Kara to the kitchen and as soon as they got there the food arrived. They had three pizza's, most of them Kara ate of course, and a lot of potstickers. Lena helped Kara eat, Kara was already getting used to this at least. They talked about what Kara had missed during the time she was in coma. Lena told her about her new projects at L-Corp. After they finished dinner they watched a little of Netflix and decided to go to bed. Kara was exhausted. She had moved more today than the last 4 months combined, so she needed the rest.
Before they went to bed Kara was looking a little nervous and Lena didn't understand why, was there something wrong, what if she needed something but didn't know how to ask.
"Is there something on your mind Kara? Do you need help with something?" Lena looked concerned and Kara exhaled a breath.
"It's just I really ,… I just need to go to the bathroom." Kara stuttered a little, looking at the ground. She couldn't look at Lena's face. She was embarrassed but she really needed to go, she couldn't hold anymore. And that would be an even worse situation if she allowed.
Lena kneeled to be at Kara's eye level and looked into her neon green eyes. "Oh darling, you don't need to be nervous, I told you I am here to help you. You can tell what you need when you need it, you don't need to feel bad about this. It's perfectly normal and don't be shy. Just let's go, it looks like you've been holding for quite some time." Lena took her to the bathroom.
"Thanks." She still couldn't meet Lena's eyes. This would be awkward, but they could pull through it.
When Kara saw the size of the bathroom, her mouth was left hanging. It was large enough to fit the whole bedroom of her apartment. And it had been fit to accommodate all of her recent needs. She was shocked, it had handle bars everywhere and a special chair. Lena had gone above and beyond to make her comfortable. She started to cry, was sobbing, Kara couldn't contain her tears. "Wow Lena, you did this just for me?" She said between sobs.
"Of course my darling. I told you, I want you to be comfortable here." She kneeled and rubbed a tear from Kara's cheek. Lena started to get a chair that was on the corner of the room while Kara stopped crying.
"So, I will help you to sit down in this chair, and it's going to be easy, don't worry. If you want I can turn my back but I need to help with those pants first okay? Can I do that?" Lena needed Kara's consent before she continued, and she didn't want Kara to feel more embarrassed than she already was.
"Yes, sure. Thank you. I mean, I …" Kara couldn't finish her sentence. Her hands were shaking. So Lena put her own hands on top of her's and started humming a song her mother used to sing to her. It calmed Kara down. After a few minutes Kara stopped crying and looked Lena in her eyes and said. "We can do it now." And Lena did. She helped her push her pants down and put her on the other chair. She pushed it over the toilet and left the restroom so Kara could have some privacy. They both stayed quiet during the whole exchange.
When Lena came back, Kara just nodded her head and Lena helped pull her pants back up and seat on the other chair. Kara washed her hands alone. And then they were ready for bed.
Lena put her on the bed and helped her get comfortable. She put a plastic cup on the night stand with a little water and a straw so that Kara would be able to drink if she got thirsty during the night.
"So honey if you need anything you can just press this button here and I will come, okay? Don't hesitate. I put some water in this cup for you. Is there anything else you need before I go?" Kara was smiling to her now, clearly feeling better.
"No, everything is perfect. Thank you, Lena. There just one thing I want, can you get a little closer?" Kara had mischief in her eyes that Lena found intriguing.
As Lena got closer Kara closed her eyes and pushed her lips closer to Lena's. They were so soft and warm and everything Kara needed in that moment. The sweet flavor of Lena's lips left Kara calmer than she'd been for days. It only lasted a few moments before she pulled away.
Lena was a bliss that was what clouds should taste like. She wanted more, so much more, but Kara wasn't ready for that now. It was enough to make her night.
They stayed gazing in each other's eyes for a couple of minutes before Kara exhaled what looked like the weight of the world, and with that Lena got up and left, she would have a hard time sleeping tonight.
