Hi guys, so so sorry for the wait. My computer died and I had to buy a new one, so everything got held up. Anyway, on we go.
The party had gone on for a few more hours and by then end of its Kara had managed to drink more than her fair share of alien alcohol and Alex maintained that nothing was funnier than her sister drunk. Kara said she would help her family clean up and Lena knew she couldn't do much to stop Kara. While Lena and Eliza cleaned the kitchen, Alex and Kelly made sure that everything outside was clean and garbage thrown away. Kara's job was to load the gifts into her and Lena's car. In her heart Lena knew her car wasn't going to be packed and ready to go, but she let Kara try. Because of this she was not surprised when Kara announced that she was just going to sit and rest her back for a second, only to have her passed out cold minutes later. Lena shook her head and smiled as she put a pillow under Kara's head so she could sleep on the couch. Lena returned to Eliza so they could finish up in the kitchen and Alex and Kelly soon joined them.
"Ok the garbage bins are on the curb and everything out in the yard is either back in the storage shed or is back in the spot it usually is. You guys need anything else in here?"
"We are almost putting the few dishes we did use away."
"And Kara is where?"
Lena pointed to the living room, "my blushing bride is passed out on the couch so I am guessing we will be crashing here for the night." Alex looked on the couch and Kara was face first and snoring into the couch. Alex shook her head and laughed.
"I can try to put her in your car if you want to go home Lena." Lena shook her head, "its ok. You'd hurt yourself trying, drunk Kara is pure dead weight, plus its late so just safer to stay here. You two can go on home though." Alex nodded and gathered her things as Kelly said goodnight to Eliza. Alex did the same, offered Lena a hug and pressed a quick kiss to Kara's head after putting her jacket on. Kara came to for a quick moment and smiled at Alex.
"Lexie! I drank so much." Alex laughed and Lena stifled a laugh in the kitchen.
"I know you had too much to drink, wanna know how? You only ever call me Lexie when you are smashed." Kara laughed at herself. "Lexie, lexie…I am so drunk, but don't tell Lena. She might get mad, but Lexie…Lexie, my wife is so hot when she is mad at me." Alex looked over her shoulder at Lena in the kitchen who was shaking her head.
"You don't say."
"Seriously Lexie, we have the best make up sex after Lena is mad at me. God she is so hot." Alex shook her head and pretended to gag, looking at Lena who was now beet red standing next to Eliza who was shaking her head at both Alex and Kara. Alex took the hint and pointed toward the door, "well I will let you two deal with drunk pants over here. Call me if you need anything."
Lena covered Kara in a light blanket and put water near her for when she woke up feeling like death. As she did this Eliza pointed to the porch, "want to join me out here before we turn in?"
Lena dimmed the lights to let Kara sleep and then followed Eliza outside. Her soon to be mother in law poured them both and small drink before they took a seat on the deck chairs.
"Sorry for what Kara said in there. She will be absolutely mortified when she hears that she was so open about our relationship, let alone our sex life."
Eliza smiled, "one day, if you two have kids, you'll learn that after a certain age, you stop viewing your child as a child and understand that falling in love, sex, drinking or whatever else is just part of life. And as long as they are being smart about their choices, jumping in helps no one."
Lena smiled into her drink and looked out at the dark trees, "Kara as a teenager must have been a sight in terms of first dates and love."
"It was like night and day with her and Alex, of course it always was. Kara showed up here as a teenager physically, but her brain was very much an adult as far as we could tell. So, while Alex was making eyes at the boys soccer team and her best friend, which in retrospect should have tipped me off, Kara was happy with her books…and of course Alex. Course then she got older and realized she had sort of missed part of finding herself on this earth. She hadn't been with anyone sexually because she was afraid she break them somehow and I think she feared she'd always be alone because of that. Of course, then you showed up in National City and suddenly my very adult daughter was acting not unlike a hormonal teenager. It was something to see." Lena blushed and smiled wide at hearing how love-struck Kara had been upon her arrival.
"She certainly made an impression during our first meeting."
"So it would seem. That is if this wedding is anything to go by." Lena smiled and laughed, forgetting things that tend to weight her down for a moment. Of course, for Lena Luthor, those things found her second later and Eliza noticed when her smile fell.
"Something tells me that your mind just wondered into a rather painful memory. Want to share with the class?"
Lena leaned her head against the chair and shut her eyes, "I never had this growing up, ever. I never had a mom who would sit and talk with me about nonsense or serious matters. I didn't have someone who cared if I was in love or getting laid or even getting enough sleep. Kara and I have talked at length about our upbringings and my heart always breaks for her because she lost it all, truly and completely. And at the same time: I would've given anything I ever thought meant anything to me to have a fraction of the relationship the two of you have."
"You deserved better than what you got Lena. I hope you know that." Lena shrugged her shoulders, "I was raised with a fortune attached to my name, the best schools, instructors, health care, you name it…I had it."
"You had things Lena and they were nice and expensive. But did you ever have someone just love you because they felt that surge of love in their heart for you?"
"I thought I did. I like to think that there was a time when Lex was not the man he became and that young boy loved me. Otherwise, no. No one ever loved me like that until I met Kara."
"On the one hand that's pretty sad Lena. Then again, Kara Danvers as a first love is pretty special so lucky you." Lena smiled and nodded. "First and last love, thank you very much. And yeah, lucky me indeed." They sat in silence for a bit until Lena spoke up.
"We have talked about it you know?"
"About what Lena?"
"Kids, having our own I mean. Adoption is on the table too, obviously. My assistant said something about me not being able to say no to blue eyes and her hoping my kids don't have Kara's eyes or I'm screwed. I got this feeling in my stomach suddenly of wanting kids that look like Kara and nothing ever scared me more. I mean who wants a Luthor as a mom?"
"I bet your kids will be rather delighted to have you as a mom. And my grandchildren will be very lucky to have you and Kara in their lives. Having bad parents does not make you a bad parent Lena, not unless you let it."
"I just don't want to repeat the mistakes my family made with me. I want my kids to have this." Lena pointed around her and at Eliza and herself. "I want them to come home every day and know that they can tell me anything and I'll be there. That I will always fight for them. That there is no greater love than what I will feel towards them, even if they aren't born from my body. I want them to have absolutely everything and know that I will move heaven and earth to give it to them. I just want them to never ever feel the way I felt growing up."
Lena brushed tears away and looked off, trying to avoid Eliza. "Sorry. Kara always said that whiskey after 10pm makes me weepy."
"You want your kids to feel loved Lena. No need to apologize for that. It is what parents do."
"Yeah but, I mean shit they aren't even born yet. There is no reason for me to be this defense yet."
"Sure there is. Lena you and Kara lost so much as children, of course you want better for your kids. Kara never thought about having kids until you and you never thought about them until her, that means something Lena. And for what's its worth, as far as I am concerned, I can always have more daughters in my life. I am so glad that Kara and Alex both found women who love them so very much, but Alex is Alex. She could go anywhere and blaze a trail for herself and she has her daddy's stubborn intelligence. But Kara, despite her powers and gifts, she loves traditions and things that are familiar because her normal life was gone in seconds. So, everything in life feels fleeting to her and nothing we ever did made her feel like she had her feet under her and was safe. You however, you did what even I couldn't do, so don't think you didn't give Kara just as much as this family has."
"I didn't do anything that special Eliza. Kara is, many things, but above all else she is very easy to love. Too bad the one thing she wants more than anything else is the one thing I can't give her."
"And what's that?"
"I can't give her her home back. I can buy companies for her, buy us a house, make sure she has all the calories a crime fighting superhero could need, but at the end of the day, even with my fast wealth, I cannot replace the home she lost."
"I see. And you think that because you can't that makes you a failure as a wife?" Lena shrugged and Eliza tilted her head.
"Lena, has Kara ever told you about Krypton?"
Lena nodded, "not much in the beginning, but after a while she talked about it more. Things she remembers, people she knew there, the kind of life she would have been expected to have had they all survived. She even teaches me some of their language, although she says some words can't be said by humans because of vocal cord differences."
"Right. Do you know who else she talks about her home to?" Lena shook her head. "Nobody Lena. My husband knew about it from Clark, Kara never told him about it. Alex knows more than he ever did only because of working with Kara and me, she just doesn't talk to me about it because honestly I think it hurts her to. But you…you know more than all of us. Kara gave you the most full and complete picture of who she was as a girl, her dreams, her family and the things that made her flash that goofy grin. No one else alive has that knowledge Lena, but you do. Kara doesn't want or expect you to replace what she lost. Her home is with you, wherever you are, whatever that looks like: home for her means having Lena Luthor by her side."
Lena smiled and nodded, never really having thought about how much Kara had let her into her world. And in the moment Lena realized that maybe that was the best things she could give Kara: a place to share her memories and put the details of her once proud planet so that it would live on in someone other than Kara and in a smaller sense Clark.
"I should go make sure she is all set on the couch and then head to bed. Thank you, for this. Like I said, it's not something I had growing up so having it now feels nice: having someone's mom care about me."
"Well, someone's mom definitely does care and my door is always open to you." Eliza offered Lena a gentle hug as they returned to the house. Lena confirmed that Kara was very drunk but otherwise fine, before going upstairs and settling into the bed Eliza had made up for her. At no point in Lena's whole life, had she ever thought that this would be something she would do: family gatherings for her were more like war games. But now, the prospect of a wedding, child and a family that gave a damn was one that Lena was very fond of and was more than ready to embrace it.
