Lena sighs longly as she surveys the room with the least critical eye possible. It's uncanny, hosting a non lavish party in this place, but the evening is gearing to be enjoyable ; that is if she can stop thinking about how the hummus isn't spread evenly on all the toasts. She should have just stuck with pizza like Sam suggested about eleven times.

"I do not understand the purpose of this gathering," Brainy says loudly as he walks past her. "We should be preparing for impending doom."

"We're trying to cheer Kara up," Nia whispers with an over enthusiastic smile. There are heavy shadows under her eyes, and Lena suspects that, much like everyone in this room, she hasn't slept much in the past few days.

"I still have super hearing," Kara shouts with disinterest from across the room. She doesn't look up from her zakarian ale, turning the bottle between her fingers as the label peels off from the condensation. She doesn't look tired, but Lena knows she is. She spent the previous night sitting straight against the hard headboard of Lena's childhood bed, stirring at every sound coming in from the open window and surveying the room with mechanical precision every seven minute. Lena knows because she counted the interval over and over again before she finally managed to fall asleep.

Even with no trace of her lack of sleep anywhere on her face, Kara still looks like the picture of lassitude. She's leaning against the couch's armrest, shoulders hunched forward, and she makes no effort to hold her body up. She looks around the room carelessly, her lips devoid of any smile, and when a drop of beer trickles from her mouth, she doesn't move to wipe it off with her sleeve covered hand.

"Figured you'd change your mind," a familiar voice suddenly says next to her, startling her into a near heart attack, "so I brought pizza." Sure enough, Lena turns around to find Sam obscured by a tower of pizza boxes. "Ruby wants to know where's your gaming room. She resents me for not packing her Playstation."

"Third floor, east wing," Lena replies absently. "Next to the blue guest room."

"East wing ?" Sam repeats with a low impressed whistle. "You really undersold this place. The lead lined walls are a bit old fashioned though."

"Yeah," Lena snarls, "I'll just ring Lex about taking them down. I'm sure he managed to talk the warden into giving him a phone."

"You got me here," Sam says with a warm chuckle. She looks around for a second before simply putting her boxes on the ground. Once her arms are free, she puts one of them around Lena's shoulders and like magic, the world feels a bit lighter. "Nice end of the world party."

Lena sighs. "It was Eliza's idea. Apparently, Kara is a big fan of game night."

"Oh she is," Sam says with a fond smile. "Don't let her play any card games though, she cheats."

"Does she looks through the cards like you ?"

"Well yeah, she does. Or she did," Sam corrects with a frown. "I have no idea of the evolution of her game ethic."

"Have you talked to her yet ?" Lena asks with a tone as neutral as she can manage.

"No," Sam sighs. "No I haven't. What am I even supposed to say ? 'Sorry I had to beat you up ?' This fucking sucks."

"Yeah. Yeah it fucking sucks."

On the other side of the room, Kara lifts her head to look at them. Her eyes gloss on Lena to settle on Sam, her expression shifting to one of apology, and heartbreak.

All things considered, the rest of the evening goes surprisingly well. Food is consumed, games are played, and as the night goes on, Kara's smile becomes more and more genuine, though a bit hazy from her beers. She even laughs at some point, the melodic sound cutting through the alcoholic daze enveloping Lena's brain. When Kara laughs, it's easy for Lena to forget about everything else. She just lets this cherished sound carry her to safety as it coats the world with warmth. She leans back against her strong legs, Kara cards her hand through her hair ; across the room, Brainy loses at charades for the third time in a row and Nia and Alex dissolve into fits of laughter. Things are so, so complicated, but right now, Lena feels curiously fine.

Movement catches the corner of Lena's eyes and she tenses, her heartbeat spiking up as she considers her options. Two figures walk further into her sightline and with the aid of the bright moonlight she recognises them as DEO agents making their round. They move briskly, like graceful felines, and Lena releases the breath she was holding ; they're safe here. Two strong arms wrap around her from behind and she leans back into Kara, revelling in the smell of lavender that persists through the alien beer.

She goes to turn around, suddenly overwhelmed by the need to kiss her, to feel her hands on her skin, her muscles against her body ; but Kara stops her. "Shhhh," she whispers, "don't go away. I just want to be close to you. You fill the void."

Lena freezes, halting her previous plan for fear that Kara might run away like a scared animal. "I just want to kiss you," she says tentatively.

"I'm a bit drunk," Kara replies.

"I'm a bit drunk too," she fires back.

Kara suddenly drops her head to the crook of her neck. She stays like that for several moments, exhaling longly, before she swiftly turns her around to press her up against the window. The sudden motion makes Lena feel a bit dizzy, but she gives it no thoughts, because a second later, Kara's lips are on hers.

Kara's metal hand is a little rough on her hip, but the pressure still lights Lena on fire like never before. Eagerly, she slips her own hand under Kara's shirt, the feel of her abs flexing against it shooting through her like electricity. Kara presses against her like she's trying to absorb her and Lena would let her do so with no second thoughts. The idea of living inside of Kara turns her on in a strange yet welcomed way and she latches onto her impatiently, ready to lose herself in the process. Kara lips taste like hop, grease, and that mint chapstick that she doesn't really need, and all Lena can, and want to, do is kiss her and kiss her and kiss her until she forgets that the end of the world is coming.

And forget she does, because Kara lifts her off the ground as her tongue slips into her mouth and an almost sinful moan ripple through her body. She arches away from the wall and into Kara who supports all of her weight like she's nothing more than a feather. Kara's mouth slips from her lips and she nibbles her way down her jaw, her neck, to her collarbone where she stays buried for infinite seconds like time and space don't matter anymore. If they indeed don't, Lena doesn't even care. Truly, the entire universe could collapse around them and they wouldn't notice because to them nothing would be different ; they'd still be two souls and bodies tethered to one another, gravity lost entirely since the day they started revolving around each other.

Kara's hand ghosts over her breast and it's too much yet not enough at all. Lena wants to press into it, for this hand to grab her fully but Kara draws back, heaving and panting, her pupils blown black but free of their previous haze. "Is this okay ?" she asks hoarsely.

"It is," Lena mumbles, trying to bring Kara closer again, "please, it is."

Kara's hand slips under her sweater, slowly, like she's still checking that this is okay, her dark blue eyes full of questions and when Lena gazes into them right before she grabs her hand to drag it where she wants it to be, she's hit again by the upmost certainty that she is in love with her.

Lena doesn't sleep through the night, it's a luxury she hasn't had in a long time, but she only wakes up once, and it's to witness Kara acting as a living pillow. Lena's head rests on her bare chest, and Kara's arms are wrapped around her, her metal one having grown warm to the touch. She feels safe and comfortable in a way she isn't sure she's ever really experienced before ; sated, also, in a way that makes her blush all over. Kara shifts underneath her, draws her closer like she can tell she's awake, even if she's asleep herself. Lena takes notes of every single thing she experiences in this instant ; it seems important. She memorises the feeling of Kara's skin against her own, the texture of the cotton sheets pooled around their waists, the way the moonlight makes her girlfriend glow, the strangeness of the scent of lavender mixing in with sweat and what she remembers of her former bedroom. She catalogs everything, shelving it in her mind for when remembering all of this will be important ; and while doing this, she falls back asleep.

When she wakes up again, she's alone. A pillow has been tucked under her head and the sheets tightened around her to fight off the morning cold. She doesn't feel well rested, that is, again, a luxury she doesn't experience, but she doesn't feel like shit which is a vast improvement from the past days. She does regret Kara's absence, would have wanted to wake up next to her, would want for his to be a staple in their lives, something normal that they would do. She sighs, stretches, blushes again when she remember she's naked and curiously wants to thank Lillian for exiling her to the other side of the manor, otherwise, she doesn't think she could have faced anyone this morning.

She finds her suitcase propped open on the dressing's door, a third of it filled with clothes that aren't her own. She doesn't really know what to do with the knowledge that Kara didn't bother packing on her own and just stuffed her things with Lena's. She elects not to think about it, and selects one of Kara's unfairly soft t-shirt to wear as her own. The corridor is quiet, it's welcomed, but expected considering that her room is on the opposite of everything. She starts her trek down to the kitchen, but not without giving the stink eye to a portrait of some ancestor or another that she encounters on her way. She can't remember who it is, and wouldn't be surprised if this cursed painting changed every time she walks past it.

The kitchen is Lena's first guess, but she doesn't have to go that far to find Kara. As she reaches ground level, the distinctive smell of chlorine assaults her nostrils and she finds herself turning left and down another flight of stairs instead of right. The sliding doors of the indoor pool are open, but the lights are off, and the room is basked in the ethereal glow of the led strips under the water. Safe for her own breathing, the room is eerily quiet and it takes Lena a moment to realise that the pool isn't empty ; Kara is lying at the bottom, unmoving.

She doesn't think, it doesn't even occur to her to use this part of her brain, and in a second, she's jumped in the pool, head first and still clothed. She's a skilled swimmer, pestered Lionel for lessons the moment she arrived at Luthor's manor, but her t-shirt and sweatpants are not made for this and she finds herself leadened, her movements too slow and too clumsy. She pushes against the water, cutting her way through it nonetheless. There's no time, she has to get to Kara, she has to...

Kara opens her eyes, a flicker of surprise passing through them before she grabs Lena by the waist and shoots them both out of the water. "What are you doing ?" she asks urgently as Lena topples over her, drenched and spluttering.

"Are you bloody daft ?!" Lena snaps. She scrambles back up furiously, pushing on Kara's torso until she's mostly upright, her shaky legs bracketing her hips. "You were lying at the bottom of the pool !"

"It's quiet down there," Kara mumbles, averting her eyes sheepishly. "And I don't need to breathe as much as you do."

"Oh," Lena whispers, "I forgot about that." She rubs her eyes forcefully, wincing at the sting of the chlorine. "Just don't do stupid shit like that," she adds, shuffling until she can lie down on Kara. The foreign sensation of their wet clothes creates a disturbing barrier between them, but Lena pushes it away, choosing instead to let her heart calm down and synch up with the one below hers.

"Okay," Kara answers simply, "okay." With great care, she wraps her arms around Lena, bringing warmth to her cold body. She too, chooses to stay there for a while.

"This is so weird," Sam says, nodding towards Kara, Alex, Brainy and Director J'onzz.

"I'm glad you agree," Lena replies with a small laugh, glancing at the strange group across from them. In various swimwear, the four DEO members are preparing for an alien invasion ; something Lena never thought she'd ever witness. Both wearing board shorts and sport bras, Kara and Alex are leaning against the side of the pool. Kara is absentmindedly drawing patterns in the water with her metal hand, the shiny limb projecting fragments of lights everywhere. It's mesmerising, and does wonder to distract Lena from the disturbing sight of Director J'onzz in a tiny Speedo, a garment he's only wearing for their sake ; Martians, apparently, bath in the nude. He seems to be briefing them on something, aided by Brainy and his customary tablet. Shed of his usual DEO gear, the blue alien is displaying surprising muscles, something that Nia is apparently gossiping about with Kelly. "Never thought the fate of the world would be discussed in my swimming pool," she mumbles.

Sam chuckles. "Lex'd be so mad about this."

"He would." Lena sighs, trailing her eyes on the room. She follows Ruby for a moment, getting lost in the way the young girl hovers lazily above the water, then lets her eyes snap back to Kara. "But at this point," she adds, "I'm not sure there's a lot of things that wouldn't make him mad."

"True."

Sam doesn't say much more and when Lena turns to look at her, she's staring at Alex, a small pained smile etched on her face.

"How are you ?" she asks, bumping her shoulder against hers to get her attention.

"Oh," Sam says absently, "I'm good."

"Right, and I'm the Queen of England."

Sam laughs sharply. "Well I don't know. Are you ?"

"Sam..."

"I'm always going to be in love with her," Sam sighs. "I think. But I've made my peace with it. I'm alright. Her and Kelly are very happy."

"They are."

As if on cue, Alex lifts her head from what Brainy is showing her to look at her fiancée. She smiles, her whole face lighting up with love.

"Are you ?" Sam asks, distracting Lena from the scene in front of her.

"Am I what ?"

"Happy," Sam replies softly. "Are you and Kara happy ?"

"We are," Lena whispers after a short second. "It's complicated, but I think we are."

"Have you told her yet ? That you love her ?"

"Are you daft ? Of course I haven't. We're facing a world ending threat, we don't have time for that."

"Exactly," Sam counteracts softly. "If not now, then when ?"

Lena sighs. She knows that, in some way, Sam is right ; but she isn't ready for that, she needs more time to cherish this nascent love and nurture it until she's ready to share it. Gently, Sam grabs her hands underwater and stops her from twisting her fingers nervously.

"Hell no ! We are not doing that Kara !"

Lena's heart skyrockets at the commotion and she raises her head so fast that she gives herself whiplash. On the other side of the pool, Alex lifts herself out of the water in one fluid movement and starts pacing dangerously close to the edge.

"It's the surest and quickest way to disable Brainiac," Kara says calmly, following her out of the water.

"It would kill you !" Alex booms. "Kill you !" She whirls around, hitting Kara square in the chest with an open palm. Kara goes with it, takes a step back, slips and lands back in the water. She resurfaces unfazed except for her short hair sticking to her face and lifts herself out of the pool with no effort. "An EMP would kill you Kara..." Alex whispers. She folds herself in her sister's arms, nothing but silence and the ripple of water following her words.

"Not if it's a rectangular pulse," Lena mumbles, her brain working double time to catch up with everything and produce a solution. "Not if it's a rectangular pulse," she says louder to get everyone's attention. Kelly stops swimming to Alex and Nia freezes with her hand midway to Brainy's shoulder. "Powerful but short controlled blast with limited damage. And we get Kara out of the way first. And Brainy. I can build it."

"Are you sure of that ?" Alex asks.

Lena holds back a scoff. Now isn't the time to be petulant. "This is well within my capacities."

"That's not what I asked."

She lets Alex's words hang for a moment ; she doesn't want to have to lie. "This is our best bet," she says eventually.

Night is falling on Luthor's manor and it should be a peaceful moment, yet, Lena feels restless. Eliza found Lionel's old phonograph and the soft jazz playing in the living room drifts through the open doors as she pensively swirls her whiskey around. She keeps her eyes trailed on the stars ; she knows she can't see as far as Kara or Sam, but she still hopes that she won't be caught off guard. She's not ready yet though, so if Brainiac were to arrive now, she'd be caught off guard anyway. She tries to tell herself that it wouldn't be her fault but then again she isn't working right now, isn't slaving over her lab table to save the world, so it would be her fault. She takes a sip, the liquid warming her from the throat down ; somewhere inside Sam swears and Ruby laughs raucously. Right now they're happy, maybe that's what matters.

"Something's on your mind ?" a warm voice asks behind her. Kara's arms wrap around her and Lena relaxes in the embrace.

"Death," she answers with a shrug.

Kara hums in response, tightening her embrace and kissing the side of her head.

Lena sighs, all air rushing out of her lungs ; she lets it suspended there before she inhales again. "I should be working right now."

"You don't have to," Kara says, rubbing her hand down her arm. "The fate of the world doesn't solely rest on your shoulders. Brainy got our satellites back online, we have time before Brainiac arrives. You can rest."

"You're so calm," Lena remarks, "it's really weird."

"I'm trying to make my peace with things," Kara whispers. Lena feels her shift against her, her chin rubbing against her skull as she lifts her head to look at the stars.

"Do you think we're going to die ?" Lena asks, her question coming out fast before she has time to think about it too much.

"I'll do my best so that none of us do," Kara says almost dismissively before pressing a long kiss to the top of her head.

"But ?"

Kara sighs, and Lena knows she asked the right question no matter how short it is ; Kara won't lie to her. "If it comes to this," she says, "you know it'll be me over everyone else."

"There's nothing I can do to make you change your mind, right ?" Lena asks, the selfish need to hold Kara back twisting in her guts.

Kara shakes her head and Lena's heart breaks a little. "No," Kara says, "I'm sorry, but no."

"Then I'll do my best so that it doesn't come to this."