"Ok, what's wrong?"
Lena faces Kara on the couch, wondering what's gotten the other woman so our of sorts that she's sitting with her knees up to her chest and wrapped up in her favourite fluffy blanket.
It's not a huge surprise when Kara shrugs her shoulders, brushing the questions off. "I mean it Kara, I can tell that something is wrong."
With a sigh, Kara pushes her legs off the couch so she can scoot towards Lena. "It's nothing bad, I promise, I've just been thinking."
"About what exactly? It's not often crinkle makes an appearance these days." Lena takes Kara's hand in both of her own, bringing it up to her lips to plant a kiss on the back of it before kissing the wedding band on her finger and the bracelet on her wrist.
Kara appears to debate with herself for a few seconds, unsure of herself. "I don't want you to freak out."
"That's a terrible way to start off." Lena deadpans.
Kara has the decency to at least look a little guilty for that but still continues on, trying to find the right words. "I was listening to Taylor Swift songs earlier and one of the songs got me thinking quite a bit."
Lena doesn't look like she really understands but she's still going to support Kara, through whatever the hell this is. "Which song?"
"I Don't Wanna Live Forever."
Lena's heart sinks. She knows why that song would affect Kara so much. One thing that has always been a major factor in their life choices has been Kara's prolonged life expectancy. While under a yellow sun, she'll age much slower than a hum and could possibly live over a hundred years longer than a human because of the yellow sun radiation.
"Kara – "
"The lyrics had me thinking – well thinking more than I already was, and they were saying exactly what I needed to hear. 'I don't wanna live forever, 'cause I know I'll be living in vain'. I would be, I don't want to outlive you or Alex or our friends, and I definitely don't want to outlive our daughter."
Lena takes a second, trying to find the right words. She can't possibly imagine what Kara's going through, she knows that the chances are in her favour, she won't outlive Lori, their one year old daughter, and she can't imagine what pain it would cause to not have that.
"I guess it's always been on the back of my mind, what I should do. I want to grow old with you and live our lives out together, I don't want to live for hundreds of years, miserable because everyone I love is dead, I don't think I could take that." Kara continues, her voices straining as she tries not to cry.
Lena pulls her into her, tucking Kara's head beneath her chin. "I'm so sorry, darling. I wish I could make this better for you."
Kara leans back wiping away the stray tears that had fallen down her cheeks and dripped onto Lena's collarbone. "I think there is something you can do but I don't know if you'll like it."
Lena scrunches her eyebrows together, confused. "How's that then?"
Rather than explaining, Kara stands so she can pace in from to f the couch, spurting out a long ramble. "Well, I've already been pulling back from my Supergirl duties since Lori was born and it could be a slow progression, it doesn't have to be right now. The city is safer than it ever has been with the team constantly expanding. It's the right time to start."
"Kara, Kara. Slow down. I don't know what you're talking about." Lena stands, stopping Kara's pacing with her hands on her shoulders, the close proximity forcing Kara to look into her wife's eyes.
"Would it make me a terrible person if I gave up being Supergirl?"
Now Lena is even more worried. "Baby, you love being Supergirl."
"Not as much as I love my family."
Lena lets out a deep breath as she thinks, "that wouldn't change the fact that you age slower than the rest of us."
"That's what I'd need your help with. There's a kind of kryptonite, gold kryptonite, that can block me from processing yellow sun radiation the way I do, it would essentially make me human, and I would age normally."
Lena sinks back on the couch, her hand coming up so she can nervously bite her cuticles, a sure sign that she's stressed.
"We don't have to make a decision now, we have time, a few years in fact if we need to but this is something that I think I need to do, for our family and for myself." Kara perches on the edge of the couch next to Lena, a little afraid of her reaction since she hadn't said anything yet."
They sit in silence for a bit longer, Lena not uttering a word and Kara not knowing what to say or do.
Finally, after a very long few minutes, Lena's brain catches up with her. "You'd be vulnerable."
"Just as vulnerable as any other person on this planet and I'd get to live a normal life with my family. We don't have to make a decision now, but I think it's a topic that needs to be on the table." Kara keeps her voice quiet, a little nervous and her insecurities are driving her mad now, maybe Lena doesn't want to be with someone that isn't Supergirl.
Lena nods, "I suppose that it is a very important topic of discussion, and we shouldn't jump into anything. Let me do some research into this kryptonite and we can discuss everything. You know I'm always on your side and will always support you. I love you and our family. Besides, it does sound really quite nice to be able to grow old with you."
Kara releases the breath she didn't even know she was holding. "Are you sure that you're alright with this?"
"I'd do anything for you, and you deserve to live the life you want, you've earned it."
That makes Kara cry once again, pulling Lena close for a wet kiss and then at tight hug. She breathes in the scent of Lena's expensive shampoo as she tucks her face into her wife's hair and just lets herself enjoy the moment and imagine what it's going to be like to age along with Lena, to sit on the back deck of their house all old and grey together. That's what Kara wants her life to be like.