By the time Lena made her way back to her partner, the star was smiling broadly, not having seen Kara notice the exchange.
Feeling uneasy at the sight of the smile that hadn't been there before Lena had walked off, Kara handed the Oscar-winner the soda and locked eyes with her briefly before dropping her gaze. Despite a deep desire to drop the issue and forget what she'd seen, the sorrow and concern on her face was evident, and that Lena did notice.
"What's wrong?" the brunette asked softly, offering Kara an encouraging smile that the girl didn't look up to see. When Kara refused to answer or look at her, Lena gently lifted the blonde's chin and looked in her eyes, pressing, "Kar. What's wrong?"
"What did she just give you?" Kara snapped, eyes welling with tears she was ruthlessly battling back.
"What?" Lena asked dumbly, looking at Kara with a blank expression.
"What did that girl just give you?"
"Kara," Lena said firmly, brow suddenly borrowing.
"Lena," Kara shot back, a tear finally dripping down her cheek. "Tell me the truth!"
"You need to drop this," the star warned, looking deathly serious.
"I'm not dropping it," the blonde choked out. "You can't do this to me. Not again."
"Kara. I mean it. Stop."
"What did she give you, Lena?!" the younger girl barked, fully crying then.
When she saw Lena's own eyes filling with guilty tears, it confirmed everything that Kara had been so painfully afraid of.
"I can't believe you're doing this," Kara sobbed, her voice dropping with the exhaustion of her sorrow.
"I'm not, Kara!" Lena said, her own tears dripping down her cheek and falling from her perfected formed jawline.
"Don't lie to me," Kara shot back, suddenly angry at Lena's denial of what her tears had so clearly confirmed.
"Kara. Kara, please," Lena gasped, too shocked to come up with an explanation.
"Don't!"
In unison with the speed at which Lena fell to her knees, Kara's stomach dropped.
"I'm not lying," the older girl pleaded. When Kara just cried harder, causing heads around them to turn in their direction, Lena drew a violently shaking breath, feeling faint, and finally conceded, "I'll show you."
But when Lena grabbed Kara's hand with one of her own and reached into her pocket with the other, Kara pulled herself away and said sharply, "Let go!"
But knowing that this moment would define the rest of their relationship - undoubtedly for all eternity - Lena grabbed Kara's wrist again, jerked her forward, then shifted her position.
Now only kneeling on one knee, rather than in the pleading position of both, Lena looked up at Kara with tears still bubbling over in her eyes and whipped open the small box in her hand, holding it out to the blonde.
Seeing Kara jerk her head away without looking, the brunette ordered firmly, "Kara, look at me."
Heart breaking, knowing she was unable to withstand the truth of Lena's ongoing addiction, Kara finally opened her eyes and looked down at Lena, who was down on one knee, still holding out the open box.
"Oh, my God," Kara breathed, staring in disbelief.
The simple but elegant white gold band of the ring shined in the light of the parlor, and the gems on display glistened and flashed at Kara like the lights of a police cruiser.
"Kara Danvers…" Lena started, voice quaking as every person in the room stared at them - including the two individuals who had thankfully just walked in: Eliza and Alex Danvers. Flashing a quick glance over at Kara's mother and feeling an intense wave of relief and even a small burst of confidence, the star finished, "Tonight has been the peak of my entire career, and there are absolutely no words to describe my excitement and gratitude for everyone here in this room supporting me… but especially you - my partner, my rock, my sunshine, my lover, my everything. So, please… Please, Kara… Will you do me the honor of becoming Mrs. Luthor?"
The emotional roller coaster that had taken Kara was the most intense ride of her life came to a screeching halt, and everything went black as she collapsed into the darkness of unconsciousness.
~!~!~
When Kara finally came to, she was in Lena's bed, and everything was quiet. The hustle and bustle of the party was over, and now, she was surrounded by the most important people in her life: her mother, her sister, and her partner. Even Lena's mother was close by, ready to provide any necessary help as Kara woke up.
"Oh, God," the blonde suddenly groaned as she tried to sit up, holding the back of her head. "Fuck, it hurts. What happened?"
Breathing a sigh of a relief as she watched her partner wake from unconsciousness, Lena told the girl, "I asked you to marry me, and you passed out." When Kara stared, once again stuck in disbelief, the brunette added, "Without answering me…."
Sitting up - very slowly - Kara's gaze locked with Lena's as her mouth fell open.
"What was real?" she gaped, attempting to blink away her confusion. "I thought I was dreaming."
"Did you, um… Did you dream you said yes or no?" Lena asked shyly, causing everyone in the room to hold their breath.
Eliza was confident that her daughter would say yes and had told Lena as much when the girl had asked her permission to marry her daughter. Alex, on the other hand, was doubtful, considering the broken trust between them. Lillian was simply open minded and hopeful. But as they all watched with bated breath, the room left only Kara and Lena, alone with each other in that moment, forgetting about their family.
"Kara?" Lena pressed, shyly brushing her fingers over the girl's hand as she held out the ring with her other.
Abruptly, Kara started to sob loudly as she covered her face with her hands.
"I am such an asshole," she moaned, body shaking. "I should have trusted you. I am so, so sorry. Oh, God…"
"No, it's okay!" Lena cried. "I totally understand why you were thinking that way. It's really okay. I deserve that."
"No, you don't," Kara sniffled. "You've worked hard to regain my trust, and I owe you that."
"Kara…" Taking in a deep breath, Lena whimpered, "Can we talk about trust later?"
Suddenly, Kara realized that she still hadn't answered. Maybe that was her way of swallowing her nerves, just pretending it wasn't happening. But she knew her answer.
"Sorry!" she cried. "Yes! Yes, I will marry you!"
"Whoo!" Alex cheered first, pumping her fist into the air with a grin.
The girls' mothers clapped and smiled as the two embraced. After a long hug, Kara finally pulled away, grabbed Lena's face, and kissed her - hard. When the kiss didn't stop after several seconds, Lena's mother coughed.
"Well, ladies… Congratulations. Please, let me know if you need anything, Kara."
With that, Lillian left the room, cheeks tinted a slight shade of pink as she hurried away from the passionate kiss. Eliza just laughed as her other daughter made an exaggerated gagging noise.
"Congrats, girls. We're here if you need anything, Kara, we'll be back to check on you in the morning. Make sure you ice her head, Lena."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Mom," Eliza said with a wink, before grabbing Alex's arm and tugging her out of the room and shutting the door behind them.
As soon as the door was shut, Lena collapsed in Kara's arms and took her own turn to sob uncontrollably.
Eventually, after rubbing the girl's back for several minutes, Kara had to ask, "Honey? Are you okay? What's going on?"
"I love you so much," Lena sniffled. "I was so scared you'd say no."
"Why would I say no, you goober?"
"Because I'm a fucking junkie. I'm—"
"Hey!" Kara snapped. "Don't you dare ever say that again. You are a human being with an addiction, Lena Luthor. Not a 'junkie.' You are a talented young artist with a big, beautiful heart and lovely smile. You're my everything. So, of course I'm going to marry you."
"You also said it was too soon, and—"
"I'm ready," Kara cut her off. "I'd marry you right here and now if I could."
"What? Really?" Lena gaped, staring. When Kara nodded, the older girl added, "Good. Me too."
"Run away with me," Kara whispered, sliding her hands down her partner's sides and pressing their foreheads together. "Take me somewhere we can forget about everyone."
"But what about—"
"You can bring your Oscar. Just get me out of here," Kara laughed.
Rolling her eyes but grinning broadly, Lena kissed the blonde's lips.
"Love you, idiot."
"Love you, too. And I'm sorry I doubted you. Really sorry."
Still smiling, the brunette kissed Kara's cheek and promised, "No hard feelings. It was honestly understandable. And it's not like you were expecting it. I just wish I'd given you at least a hint so you wouldn't have passed out and hurt yourself! I'm just glad you're okay and that there was no concussion."
"Did a doctor look at me or something?"
"Of course. My private doctor came right over."
"Of course the doctors serving celebrities do house calls," Kara laughed. "Of course. Well, thank you for taking good care of me."
"I'll never do anything less, my dear."
As Kara melted into her lover's arms, as content as she'd ever been, she told Lena, "I love you, my gorgeous fiancé. Thank you for never giving up on me."
"Me? Give up on you? God, it should be the other way around! And I should be thanking you for sticking by me!"
"Hardly," Kara sighed. "I was a real ass tonight, and I probably embarrassed you. I really am sorry."
"You didn't embarrass me. I just got scared when you hit your head is all."
"Thank you for inviting Mom and Alex," Kara told the star. "It meant a lot to me that they were there. You had it all planned out, didn't you?"
"Mhmm. Had to have my friend bring the ring, 'cause I knew with my luck you'd find it accidentally if I kept it on me. I wanted to do it in front of everyone, making a little thanks-for-coming speech, but it all worked out, I guess. As long as you said yes and aren't hurt, I'm happy."
"I can't believe we're engaged!" Kara cried, the realization crashing over her.
"Me either," Lena laughed, snuggling up to the blonde in her bed. "Let's get some sleep. It's really late."
With a nod, Kara yawned, right on cue, and pulled Lena against her.
"Thank you for maintaining your sobriety," Kara whispered. "I know it's a silly thing to say, but I mean it. I appreciate all your hard work on yourself. For you and for us."
"Mmm," Lena hummed with a yawn, kissing Kara's forehead. "Goodnight, munchkin."
"Goodnight, my love."