Kara has always been a very touchy-feely person. At least Lena has always thought so. She can barely remember a time when they haven't touched in some way, shape or form within a social interaction, whether it be a hand on the small of her back or her arm, the back of their hands brushing as they walk or a hug hello and goodbye.
Kara has always been physically present, but nothing could prepare her for the physicality of girlfriend Kara.
It was like a switch had been flipped the second that Lena finally had the balls to ask Kara out. When she picked Kara up for their first date, she knocked on the familiar door hands wringing before her with anxiety just for the door to swing open and the most beautiful golden retriever of a person practically leap into her arms, wrestling her into the biggest, most soul warming hug she'd ever had before firmly pecking her on the cheek as she pulled away and announced that she was ready to go. Her hand was grasped, and their fingers entwined before she could so much as utter a word or unfreeze her brain.
From then on, a hug turned into a kiss. The brush of the backs of their hands turned into handholding. A brief resting of a hand on a knee turned into an evening with an arm slung around a shoulder, gripping loosely. The butterflies in Lena's stomach when the other was around turned into her very being yearning to be reunited with her its partner, her soul an ever-blazing fire desperate to risk it all for a single sip of a vast, unforgiving ocean, never to rest until they come together in every way that counts.
"I can't decide if you two are cute or gross."
Lena turns to glare at Alex but is beaten to the punch when Kelly pushes her, making her sway slightly. "Behave, they're cute and you know it." Alex then looks at Kelly with a grin and sticks out her tongue.
The attention makes Lena feel on edge, but she is much too comfortable to consider moving. Kara's head is on Lena's shoulder as they both lie across the couch, Kara practically on top of Lena as she does her best koala impression. Lena's arms are slung around Kara protectively as she breathes steadily, having fallen asleep halfway through the movie they were all watching.
"She's the cute one, I'm scary." Lena raises an eyebrow threateningly as she smirks.
"Oh please, we've seen you and Kara in your matching ketchup and mustard PJs so you're in no way scary. Plus, you have a pout that rivals Kara's." Kelly, the traitor, switches sides.
Lena raises a hand from Kara to flip them off, but the loss of warmth stirs the blonde and she begins to mumble. "What are you all talking about?"
Lena smiles gently down at Kara after listening to her adorable sleepy voice. The hand that was going to be used to flip the other women off now repurposed to comb through blonde tresses, running her nails across her scalp comfortingly. "Just about how cute you are."
"Understandable." Kara begins to sit up slightly, pulling Lena up with her so they can sit beside one another with Lena's arm still around Kara's shoulder and Kara's hand gripping Lena's leg. "Now, is there any of that popcorn left or did you all scoff it all?"
"Us? You're the one who ate it all before falling into a food coma." Alex stares, outraged.
"I don't believe you have any proof."
"How about witnesses?"
Kara turns to Kelly and Lena as she pouts.
"I didn't see anything."
"I don't recall."
If there is one person you don't want to piss off, it's Cat Grant. So, when she directly called Lena at work, demanding an interview about her relationship with her best reporter, who was she to decline?
As expected, once she had accepted, she and Kara were in Cat's office before the end of the week. Lena could sense Kara's nerves as they are sat on the couch opposite Cat. It is understandable, there is nobody else that Kara looks up to quite like Ms Grant after all those years of mentoring and advice, it's only natural that she would be looking for her approval in her relationship too. The thought scares her slightly, not being good enough for Kara because part of her tells her that she isn't but she knows for damn sure that she will spend the rest of her life trying to be if that's what it takes to keep her by her side for as long as she lives and breathes.
Kara can't seem to keep still, she doesn't know what to do with her hands and she knows that Cat will be disappointed that she isn't keeping her emotions in check, it's practically rule 101 in her book. She looks over to her girlfriend for comfort and catches her eye, they smile softly at each other, and Lena pulls her hand onto her lap, enclosing it between her own pair. She runs her thumb over the back of it soothingly.
When she looked up, she saw Cat looking between them and their hands. "Are you two going to be canoodling on my furniture for this whole thing, I need to know if I should put in a maintenance request to have it deep cleaned afterwards."
Kara's mouth opens and closes a few times as she tries to formulate her response so Lena decides to take over, she would face up to anyone for Kara, even the woman she admires the most. "If a little handholding makes you squeamish then I dread to think what would happen if I were to disclose what we do in the bedroom. Now would you like to ask you're so called 'hard-hitting' questions or just continue observing what a healthy relationship looks like, for future reference. "
Cat's impassive face barely changes save for the tiniest twitch of the corner of her mouth. "Oh, I would love to hear about what a Luthor and her gal pal do in the bedroom, but I do worry that Kara's face will be stuck with a permanent blush should we discuss those…activities." The twitch finally gives way to a smirk.
"Are you two finished?" As Cat had said, Kara's face had turned a lovely shade of red that Lena couldn't help but find endearing.
"Of course, darling." Lena bumps her shoulder to Kara's, lingering in the contact for a second to peck her on her cheek.
Cat then gives them a genuine smile, or at least as genuine as it gets from The Queen of All Media. "You really do love her, don't you Luthor?"
If anyone could be the human embodiment of the heart eyes emoji, it would be Lena looking at Kara in that exact moment. "With all my heart."
"Hmm, I can see that. I'm getting cavities just looking at the pair of you, I've never seen so much PDA in my life and I once made out with Harrison Ford in the middle of a club."
As always, Cat's outlandish comments take them off guard.
"Thank you?"
"You're welcome. The interview is finished, it's too dull to publish and has nowhere near enough drama for my liking. Look after my reporter or I'll hire someone to kill you." Cat fixes a menacing stare at Lena. "Oh, and Kara, please stick with this one, the last month or so you have been dressing much better, obviously to impress this one, and my eyes appreciate it."
She stands and turns with a flourish, "Now, get out of my office, I'm a very busy woman."
"Lena, darling, you haven't got a clue how much I've missed you!"
Before she knows it, Lena has been scooped into a pair of familiar arms from her past. "Hello Jacky, how have you been?"
"I'm so good, even better for seeing you." Jack sways them slightly before releasing her. "And I'm desperate to hear all about your new special someone, so come on and spill the beans." Before she knows it, she has been led through the restaurant and they have been seated.
Jack watches as Lena fiddles with her wine glass and avoids eye contact. "Any reason in particular, why you are avoiding the conversation."
Lena breaks almost immediately, having put on an act for her old friend. A smirk appears and she raises her eyebrow devilishly. "I just wouldn't want my poor little Jack getting all jealous of my perfect relationship, now, would I?"
"You can be a real ass, you know that?"
"Oh, I'm fully aware, and my girlfriend loves it, so I guess it's a win-win. I annoy you and entertain both me and my partner, it's great."
Jack admires Lena. As much as he has missed her and as much as he loved her, their romantic relationship was always doomed to fail. He could never balance her out the way she needed, even in personality. It was easy to blame his gender and her sexuality on their breakup when she admitted to him that she thought that she is a lesbian, but he knew and still knows that she was destined for someone better than himself. And now he truly believes that she found what she is looking for, after all she did get a big dopey grin on her face when mentioning her girlfriend, so he will settle for the demotion to friend, Lena is not someone you let go, she loves too fiercely and once it is taken away, you're left with a big empty hole that nothing, but her warmth can fill.
"And when will this mystery girlfriend be joining us exactly?"
"Any minute now, she's just running home to change since she didn't want to come right here after work, for some reason she is a little nervous about meeting my old friend, little does she know that all she'd have to do is ask and I'd ghost you quicker than you could say 'flying microscope'." Lena laughs.
"Why are you being such an ass to me? What have I done, other than be a good friend and come all the way from Metropolis to see you?"
"Umm…I don't know…maybe forget to tell me about your new girlfriend Beth. Oh wait, sorry not new after all you did just post about your one-year anniversary online, right?"
"Shit. You saw that?"
"More like my girlfriend is a reporter and she was researching you because she wanted you guys to get along and unknowingly spilled the beans to me. I'm pissed that you didn't tell me, but I might forgive you if you get me a bottle of top shelf scotch and order extra dessert."
"If I agree, can we skip to swooning over our prospective partners and not talk about it?"
"Deal, I have more important issues than your cowardice and the fact that this is the first girl you've dated and been in love with since me and you didn't know how to tell me without it being awkward."
"All this time and you can still read me like an open book." Jack sighs and scratches at the back of his head sheepishly. "I guess I've always hated conflict and even though I knew deep down that you would handle it as diplomatically as ever, it was still a little bit daunting for me."
"I get that, consider it water under the- Kara!"
"Water under the Kara?"
"Hey babe, so sorry to have you guys waiting." Kara takes a seat next to Lena, kissing her chastely before obviously taking a second to admire her chest, which was very nicely on display thanks to her low-cut dress.
"No worries darling, Jack and I were just catching up." Lena places her hand on Kara's thigh as she tucks her chair in. "You look lovely."
Kara was wearing a blue dress that is delightfully tight, showing off her abs through the material. "Thanks baby, you look beautiful." Kara finally remembers that there is someone else at the table and takes in the man that is Lena's ex-boyfriend.
"Hi, I'm Kara and you must be the famous Jack that I've heard all about. I love the all black suit by the way." She stretches a hand across the table, surprised when she receives a strange hi-five instead of a handshake like she had been intending.
"Thanks, it's good to finally put a face to the name, Lena has really been keeping you hidden away."
"Oh, hardly Jacky, Kara is just much too pure to put up with your bullshit, she actually has manners." Kara blushes as she leans in closer to Lena.
"Well based on where your hand is Lena, my love, pure isn't the word I would use in this particular instance."
"If you would declassify this as pure then you don't want to know what we do behind closed doors."
"LENA!" Kara gasps outraged.
"I'm suddenly getting the feeling that if you continue down this path, you will never be participating in such activities ever again."
Lena opens her mouth but quickly changes her mind as she takes in the glare she is receiving from her girlfriend. Her mouth curves into an apologetic smile and she moves her hand from her girlfriend's thigh and takes her hand instead, guiding it to her mouth and placing a kiss to the back before plopping them down onto the table between them.
"Sorry darling, I'll be good, I promise."
"You better be, I'm not here for you to use as a tool to win petty arguments." She gives her a stern glare before her smile turns sickly sweet. "Now let's order, I'm starving."
Jack is pretty sure he has whiplash from the twists of the conversation but smirks nonetheless, after all he is pretty sure he won the petty little verbal tennis match they were having.
"Oh, and I don't care that we have only known each other for less than a half hour, I will wipe the floor with you if you don't wipe that smug look off of your face."
Jack, for what could be the first time in his life, finds his voice lacking at being threatened by the human embodiment of a golden retriever. He nods shakily as Lena supresses a smile.
"That's my girl."
It was as they sat across from one another at a peaceful candlelit dinner, celebrating their 6-month anniversary, hands clasped across the table, heads leaning toward one another, and ankles pressed against the others that Lena finally admits that maybe it isn't just Kara that needs the physical affection. In fact, at this point Lena is pretty sure that her body would give out without a single day of Kara's touch, like it fuels her body.
And years from that dinner, with their children snuggled with them on the couch, one curious child asks why they cuddle each other so much. With a smile they gently explain, "our bodies just can't contain all of our love, so we have to let it out."