Kara's bedroom on the upper floor of her parent's home on Argo is nearly as large as the entirety of her old loft in National City. An open entryway and a small set of stairs lead into the large, brightly lit, open circular space. Up against a roughly two foot high dark stone molding that lines the bottom of the slotted, paneled right side wall sits a large wood framed bed with cream colored bedding and a long, rounded body length pillow. In the center of the room, several feet from the edge of the bed is a stone end table with a crystal lamp nestled next to a long brown and tan sofa, behind which stands a large rough granite pillar obstructing the view of the room's left side wall. Opposite the entryway and stairs is an enormous room length, ceiling high curved window wall, with a cushioned bench below streching end-to-end, from which can be viewed a shimmering pond, the artisan's market, and a portion of the wooded area adjacent to the house that boarders the vast central metropolis off in the distance.
On the bench, staring out the window at what remains of the world that was once her home, Kara sits… curled up with her knees to her chest, arms wrapped tightly around her legs, chin resting on one of her knees… alone with her thoughts, Attempting to relax and allow herself to fully recuperate from the stressful events of the day, her Supergirl attire has given way to a white, flowing house dress with a House of El crest, a white leather belt, shear long sleeves, and a shear shoulder-to-shoulder collarbone piece joined to the main dress by a fabric collar and two fabric straps across each shoulder.
Though she has been back to Argo a handful of times since she and Mon-El stumbled upon its existence while searching for Harun-El during the battle with Reign, she has rarely allowed herself to really stop and soak in the splender of revisiting the tranquil city of her Kryptonian youth. As the cycle of daylight that shone over the city when they departed that morning begins to succumb to the onset of darkness she is reminded that few views she's ever seen on any world can compare to the beauty of dusk settling over the towering skyscrapers that pepper the horizon of Argo City. Looking out upon the peaceful serenity of night falling upon the place of her birth, she desperately tries to draw upon its relative calm to decompress and allow her body and mind to properly recover from her earlier trauma, but a nagging realization tugs at her from deep within reminding her of her ever present personal conundrum…
She's never been good at resting when trouble is brewing.
There are a few absolute truths that Kara Danvers Zor-El knows fully about herself… but this is one of them. As a youngster on Krytpon, growing up with strong female role models like her Mother and Aunt Astra… she developed a deep burning desire to seek out truth, fight for justice, and protect her world no matter the personal sacrifice. From her very earliest days on Earth… her new abilities untested… she could never sit idly by when, regardless of her own well-being, anyone around her was in peril. As she grew older, a bit wiser about her adoptive world, and ventured out on her own she learned to be more subtle and stealthy, but never failed to risk shielding her truth from the world when the innocent around her could not protect themselves from the ravages of those that would put them in jeopardy. And when she finally revealed her truth… when Supergirl announced her presence to the world… she dove headlong into the overwhelming desire that had always existed within in her to push herself to the very limits of her own endurance… to put herself in harms way before risking anyone else… to defend and shield the world and the people she had grown to love from the worst dangers imaginable whether she was at the peak of her strength or depleted by the strain of unimaginable exertion.
Now, despite the itch of that nagging truth attempting to claw away at her ability to focus on recovering, another more powerfully emotional truth has started to fill her heart and overtake her once indomitable urge to push herself beyond rational logic. There exists within her now a deep seated desire to focus more on her own wellbeing and personal passions than she's ever allowed herself to before because, at long last, she has a family of her own to come home to. Thinking back to all the struggles she's faced since donning the cape… Astra, Non, Myriad, Rhea, Cadmus, Medusa, Reign, Agent Liberty, Red Daughter, Lex, and Nyxly… in all those situations she never once flinched at making the choice to sacrifice herself in order to swing the tide of conflict because in the end she either had a lonely life of solitude to return to or was forced to choose between her own happiness and duty to the world… and that duty had always outweighed the anguish of personal disappointment. Her truth now, though… another of those absolute truths which defines her very existence… is that she finally understands how Clark felt that night on the balacony at the DEO in the wake of the Daxamite invasion… if she had to choose between the world and Lena… she would choose Lena every time.
Her mind wanders to thoughts of Alex and what her sister said to her in the loft that day so many months ago after the confrontation with Brainiac at Al's. "Your soulmate, the person you're truly meant to build a future with is the one you throw caution to the wind for. They're the one you'd choose to protect, but never let go of. You would sacrifice everyone and everything else in the world to be with them." As those words reverberate within her, she closes her eyes, focusing on seeing the face of her angel in her mind, and hearing the words that they have chosen to signify the unbreakable union of their hearts… nahn rrip khuhtov zehdh. Visualizing the beauty of Lena's smile, the light in her eyes, the radiant glow of her captivating soul… the sense of calm and peace that Kara had been struggling to find begins to cascade over her as she focuses on the unbridaled love she feels for her remarkable bride-to-be, letting it wash over every fiber of her being. As the stress and turmoil of the mission and Nia's dream fade from her mind, a sense of relaxation takes hold, and the nexus of her thoughts shift to the idea that as important as her commitments to CatCo, the DEO, Earth, Argo, and Kandor may be she may no longer have the resolve or patience to let more time slip by before making her future with Lena a greater priorty than all of it.
As the enormity of this fundamental shift in perspective begins to take hold of Kara's heart she feels the comforting touch of soft fingers stroking her hair and the warmth of gentle lips pressed against her cheek. She opens her eyes, turns her head, and looks to see Lena, with an affectionate smile on her face, kneeling beside her, those mesmerizing green eyes staring longingly back into her own.
"Ehrosh :bem, :zrhueiao," Lena passionately whispers. "You look so peaceful and angelic sitting here in the glow of the sunset. Reminds me of the first time I saw you standing on the balcony outside our bedroom wrapped in nothing but a bedsheet watching the sunrise over National City." She leans in and gives Kara a soft, slow kiss on the lips before asking, "How are you feeling?"
Lena stands back up as Kara releases her legs, swings them off the bench, and stands up facing her fiancée. Kara flashes her a beaming smile, lifts her right hand up to gently caress Lena's lightly blushed, pastel left cheek, puts her left arm around her waist, and slowly draws them together. Kara's whole body begins to tingle as she feels Lena reach around her to slide her right hand up the small of her back and senses her left hand stroking the nap of her neck. As Kara inhales deeply, the aroma of Lena's lilac scented body wash fills her nostrils escalating her sense of arousal. Gradually closing the distance between them they each sensually wet their lips, gently tilt their heads, and press together into a passionate kiss. The electricity in Kara's heart is palabale as she silently thanks Rao for Argo's red sun atmosphere, sliding her right hand from Lena's cheek around to her hair tangling her fingers in the raven curls, tightening her grip on her waist, and pressing herself so intensly into her partner's body that she feels like she might leave a physical impression of herself on the very fabric of Lena's soul. Lena moans lustfully at the increased strength of Kara's grip, slides her left hand up to pull at Kara's blonde locks, and as she presses her tongue to Kara's lips they part… welcoming her into to the warmth of her mouth. Finally, as they relax their grips and slowly start to pull away from one another Lena takes a deep breath, rests her head on Kara's shoulder, and with a flushed grin, breathlessly mutters, "Feeling better I take it."
Kara gently strokes her hair, smiling placidly, and replies, "In more ways than you could possibly imagine."
Lena lifts her head from Kara's shoulder, admires the peaceful beauty of her smile, the soft, relaxed twinkle in her eyes, and notices the discernable lack of tension in her posture. Smiling radiantly, she gently cups Kara's cheeks, and observes, "In all the years we've known each other I don't know that I've ever seen you this tranquil after the kind of day we've had. Care to enlighten me?"
Kara takes one of Lena's hands from her cheeks and presses a soft kiss into the palm. Reaching up again she takes hold of the other hand, intertwines their fingers, and leads them both over to the sofa. They sit down, facing each other, knees touching. Kara takes both of Lena's hands in hers, looks deeply into her eyes, and explains. "Well, when we first got back, and after hearing about Nia's dream, I won't lie, I was struggling to contain my anxiety… to fight my natural inclination to press on without allowing myself time to process and heal."
Lena flashes her a beguiling grin and adds, "I could see that look in your eyes when I brought you up here, but now…".
Kara continues, "So I sat down at the window and stared out at dusk settling over the city. As a child I loved sitting by that window, watching calm settle over the marketplace and the city as the glow of Rao's light dimmed at the end of each day. My Mom or Aunt Astra would come up, watch with me for a while, then sit down behind me, and gently run a brush through my hair before helping me get settled down for the night. When I first arrived on Earth, I had terrible nightmares and panic attacks… reliving the terror of seeing my world explode… being trapped in my pod in the endless void of The Phantom Zone… few things could quiet my screams… one of them was the memory of sitting at that window. I had hoped that memory would have the same effect today."
Lena squeezes Kara's hands, gently rubbing her thumbs along her palms. "And did it… did the memory help?"
"A little," Kara replies with a slight smile, "but not to the extent I had desired it to. I started to worry that I wouldn't be able to shake that urge, but then my thoughts started to wander back to all the times since I first became Supergirl when I was faced with impossible decisions, overwhelmed by insurmountable odds, pushed myself beyond my physical and mental breaking points… and I found myself recalling the night I was standing on the balcony of the old DEO building with Clark just after we had repelled the Daxamite invasion with the lead dispersal device and I had to send Mon-El away."
A pool of tears start to collect in the corner of Lena's eyes at the mention of the Daxamites. Even before Lex used his dying breath to try and tear them apart, the guilt and devastation Kara and Lena experienced in the aftermath of turning back the invasion was the first time Lena thought she might have truly lost the most fulfilling and remarkable relationship she has ever had. The painful memory of Rhea's betrayal causes her stomach to lurch and the recollection of the hearbreak that losing Mon-El had caused the beautiful woman she herself so completely loves makes her heart ache. She lets go of one of Kara's hands to wipe away her tears and wonders aloud, "What was so significant to you about that particular moment?"
Kara smiles compassionately and reaches up to wipe a tear from her fiancée's cheek. "Clark told me in that moment he believed I was stronger than he is because if faced with the same decision I was, if he had to make a choice between sacrificing his future with Lois or saving the world… he didn't believe he could make the choice I made. Sitting alone at that window looking out over Argo today, as the memory of what he said to me that night replayed over-and-over in my head, I realized that if I was faced with it again… and you were the one I had to sacrifice to save the world… I know I wouldn't be able do it either."
A somewhat stunned, but tender look of understanding and appreciation fills Lena's face. She lifts the hand she's still holding up to her mouth, kisses it lovingly, reaches up to stroke Kara's cheek with her other hand, and mumbles, "Oh… Kara… I… I."
They each shift and slide closer, wrap their arms tightly around one another, and rock gently back-and-forth in a warm embrace. "That realization," Kara murmurs, "recognizing that I now understood and appreciated how strongly Clark felt… knowing I had found my own 'LL'….".
At the mention of being Kara's "LL", Lena giggles sweetly, buries her face in the crook of her neck, and tightens her embrace. After a moment she turns her head and softly mumbles, "Must be a Supers thing. We 'LL's love a strong hero in a tight fitting super suit."
Kara giggles sweetly. "I closed my eyes, pictured your warm, smiling face in my mind, heard your soothing voice tell me that I'm your home, and a sense of peace, a focused calm washed over me. Even without being able to hear the beating of your heart, just knowing that you are here… caring for me, protecting me, loving me… that's the only thing I need in this life to make me whole and that makes me want to do whatever it takes to be with you always."
Shaking slightly from the overwhelming rush of emotions coursing through her, Lena takes a deep, labored breath trying to regain a measure of her composure. She closes her eyes for a moment in an attempt to focus on calming herself, slowly begins to release her embrace, and sits back so she can look Kara in the eyes. ":Zhao i, there is something I want to say… but my mind is racing and I fear I may stumble over my thoughts and words a bit, so please bear with me."
Kara smiles encouragingly, places her hand on Lena's thigh, squeezes gently, and responds, "Take your time, :zrhueiao. My undivided attention is yours. I'm not going anywhere."
Lena nods slowly, grins warmly, and continues, "I never imagined I would ever feel a love this deeply for anyone. For so many years I was certain that the emotional struggle of growing up a Luthor had rendered me incapable of developing and reciprocating these feelings. When that shock wave slammed into you today… and the suit went offline… and the readings on your vitals flatlined… a sense of panic and dread gripped me like I haven't felt since Alex and I watched your legacy crystal at the Tower. A haunting fear of losing you again started to build in my heart, but in that moment a rush of adrenaline flooded my mind and body… I instinctively rushed to the airlock, activated the battle armor, and launched myself out into space without a moments hesitation." She pauses briefly as new pools of tears start to form in the corners of her eyes. She draws in another deep breath. "As I traversed the cold, emptiness of space to reach you my mind was flooded with images of all the experiences I desparately want to have with you… the family I want to build with you… the lifetime of love I want to share with you."
Tears begin to roll down Kara's cheeks as she leans in to lay her head on Lena's shoulder, and mutters, "Oh, :zhao i…".
Lena reaches up to wipe her tears with the back of her hand and tilts her head to rest on top of Kara's. "When I got you back to the ship and we got you situated under the sun lamp in the medbay I sat down in that chair, took your hand, and swore to myself that when you woke up I would tell you… I don't want to wait… I can't wait."
Wiping away her tears with her open hand, Kara sniffles, takes a breath, and asks, "For what?"
Lena lifts Kara's head from her shoulder, shifts her body to look at her, takes both her hands, and squeezes them tightly. "For any of it. I know our lives are crazy… between CatCo, the Foundation, the DEO, and all the insanity that we just naturally seem to attract… but I don't care about any of that… I refuse to let any of that dictate the course of the life that we are building together. I want to marry you… I want to do it right here, right now… I want us to start our family before anything in this life has a chance to try and rip that dream away from us." Lena's eyes light up as she watches a brilliant, dazzling smile fill Kara's face like a sudden beam of sunlight.
"You cannot imagine how overjoyed I am to hear you say that", Kara enthusiastically remarks as she closes her eyes, cups both of Lena's cheeks gently with her hands, and softly presses their foreheads together. "When you found me in here at the window with my legs curled up, my chin on my knee, and my eyes closed… I was imaging and thinking about all the same things. You and I… for the past six and half years… through the good days and dark ones… we've been building this future together… experience-by-experience, choice-by-choice, challenge-by-challenge… through pain and adversity… through joy, comfort, and devotion. We have grown and evolved from two lost souls that were thrown together by pure happenstance… searching for their paths in this world… into a dyad… two sides of the same coin… joined by our hearts… destined to build a beautiful, fulfilling life together."
Lifting her head from Kara's, Lena places her fingers under Kara's chin, tilts her head, leans in, and gently presses their lips together briefly. Pulling back she looks into Kara's ocean blue eyes and asks, "So what now? We have a lot to plan and discuss if we truly want to get married soon."
Kara gives her a quirky, coy smile as she turns to the end table behind her and picks up a two moderately sized square boxes. Turning back toward Lena she sets the boxes in space between. "Well, we both know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that there two people with the last name Danvers that will murder us if we try to get married without them."
Lena looks down curiously at the boxes, then back up at her fiancée. She flashes her a knowing smirk, nods, and notes, "Agreed."
"I know we haven't talked about this before," Kara utters as she sets her hand on the boxes, "but since the moment you proposed to me I have envisioned us honoring both Earth's marriage customs and Krypton's."
"I would not feel right doing it any other way," Lena sweetly confirms. "I don't know about you, but I'm not interested in anything grandiose or overtly fancy. That's not really our style."
Kara smiles and shakes her head in agreement. "No, it's not. For our Earth ceremony I've been envisioning something along the lines of my sister's wedding… a beautiful outdoor venue, a small group of family and friends." She pauses for a moment as she thinks back several years to a church on Earth-1. "We have to make sure that Barry and Iris can be there!"
"Why?" Lena inquires with a charmingly inquisitive smile.
"I sang them down the aisle at their first attempt… before Earth-X Nazi versions of Oliver and me attacked the church. Barry owes me." She grins cutely at the confused look on Lena's face as she grapples with the idea of a "Nazi" Kara. "Barry has a beautiful voice and I know the perfect song."
Lena smiles and shakes her head gently to try and break her concentration. "Okay, I want to hear more about that wedding at some point, but I do like the sound of Danvers-Olsenesque setting for our big day. That seems like a good start for planning our wedding back home… so how about our Kryptonian one? I assume it would take place here, on Argo."
Kara picks up one of the boxes from the sofa, sets it in her lap, smiles radiantly at Lena, and replies, "Yes, our Krytponian unity ceremony will take place here." She taps her fingers on the box in her lap and continues. "It's a very intimate ritual… the couple to be united stand before their family, on the Jewel of Truth and Honor, exchanging Rao's blessings, and…". She reaches down, flips open the lid on the box, and turns it around for Lena to see. Inside is a beautiful emerald green bracelet adorned with a shimmering gold House of El crest. "The couple exchanges these uniquely designed and colored bracelets, a design and color that no other couple can duplicate, as a symbol of their undying commitment to unifying themselves in this life and in Rao's light."
Lena picks up the bracelet from the box and as a tear rolls down her cheek, she presses it to her heart. "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever… it's perfect. When…?"
Anticipating her question, Kara replies, "I contacted Mom just after Nia's and Brainy's wedding. She helped me with the design. The colors were the easy part." Kara places her hand over Lena's hand holding the bracelet to her heart and looks longingly into her hypotonic green eyes. "The bracelets can only be unclasped to be placed on the wrists of the couple being united. Once they are fitted to each of them they can never be removed. The concept of divorce did not exist on Krypton." She reaches up to gently stroke Lena's soft raven hair, winks at her, flashes a quriky grin, and says, "So you better be 100% certain when you put on that bracelet that you want to be mine forever."
Placing her free hand over the two holding the bracelet over her heart, she squeezes Kara's hand firmly, and smiles so brightly it could light the cosmos. Staring so intently into her fiancée's brilliant blue orbs that she could be looking into the very depths of her soul she passionately declares, "Always and forever!"