Kara wakes up to absolute chaos. Well, not end of the world chaos, but a fire alarm blaring, the overwhelming smell of smoke and colourful multilingual swears sounding from both the kitchen and the warm body that gravitated on top of her during the night. She doesn't get nearly enough time to appreciate the way Lena's body fits with hers before her human blanket has sprung out of bed to rush out of the room.

Soon, the noise abates, replaced by the sounds of an awakening city drifting in from a newly opened window. Kara tries her best, but she can't suppress the groan that escapes her and shatters the last remnants of sleep. She was so warm and comfortable ; who in the name of Rao decided to set fire to this place ?

Minutes pass as Kara stays laying in bed, staring at the ceiling and trying to imprint in her memory everything she's feeling in this moment and all the new micro-sensations she can now associate with Lena ; her soft sleepy face in the dark, her pliable body against her own, her warm breath in the crook of her neck. If it didn't feel so real, if Lena's warmth wasn't still seeping into her, and she couldn't still smell her perfume, she'd think it's a dream. The words don't come easy to her, neither does the initial thought, and her prayer is clumsy and out of synch, but before getting up, she chooses to thank Rao for this small moment of peace and for the second chance she's getting with Lena.

Finally, Kara pads out of the bedroom and the sight that welcomes her is one she realises she's been waiting for her whole life. Taylor is bent in two, one hand gripping at the kitchen counter as they laugh within an inch of their life while Ghim stands, sheepish, in the middle of a cooking disaster, a melted down spatula in her hand and batter on her face. Lena is standing on her toes on the counter, shirt riding up as she fiddles with the fire alarm on the ceiling, a screwdriver held limply in her mouth. Her hair has been tied up in a hasty bun that's already coming undone and the checkered pyjama bottoms she's wearing are a bit too large for her, falling loosely on her hips and rolled up thrice at her ankles. Kara didn't think it was possible and yet, she's more in love with her now than she was when she woke up ten minutes ago.

"I attempted to make cake in a pan," Ghim says, scratching her head with the ruined kitchen utensil.

"Pancakes," Taylor corrects in a wheeze, straightening up as best as they can.

"Right. I tried to make pancakes. For you."

"Um," Kara says, forcing her eyes to look at anything but the slither of white skin beneath Lena's shirt. "Thank you."

Ghim smiles tentatively and with a good night of sleep, Kara finds that she isn't as annoyed by her presence as she was the day before.

Lena is having the nicest Sunday of her life. She doesn't remember feeling this loved and relaxed since she was four years old, and really at this point, it's more of a concept than a real memory. She feels like if she were to close her eyes, she'd open them to a completely different place ; exposed brick walls, steam rising of a chipped mug, and distantly, the smell of freshly baked bread. She's not in Ireland though, but on the couch of her new apartment, her head pillowed on Kara's lap with strong fingers carding softly through her hair. It's the eleventh time she's read the same sentence and she's no doubt about to fall asleep.

This is so different from her usual Sundays ; from her usual life even. This single point in time is on the exact opposite of everything she knows and is used to. She should be in her home lab right now, combating anxiety and crippling loneliness with an experiment or another. If she's lucky, she might be able to facetime Sam and Ruby over a cup of tea and her latest attempt at baking and feel warm and content for a while before inevitably hanging up and hiding stray tears under the shower stream.

Instead, she's surrounded by three people who care about her unconditionally and who she's growing to care about with no condition. She's happy, and as strange as the feeling might be, it's also welcome. Kara and hers relationship has been so complicated to navigate lately ; ever shifting as they were trying to find their footing again. She's not sure she's ready to take the leap yet but it's so reassuring, knowing that Kara is there on the other side ready to catch her when she will. And she will soon. She just needs one more second to make sure the foundations are steady, one more minute to be sure it wouldn't ruin everything, one more instant to definitely accept what has been seared on every inch of her soul long ago, she loves Kara, and it was always inevitable.

Lena blinks, somewhat conscious that she must have drifted asleep for a minute or so. Kara's fingers are not in her hair anymore but prying her book out of her hands and marking her place in it. "I'm not sleepy," she mumbles as tender hands lay a blanket over her. It's a lost battle though, and she yawns, burying herself further onto Kara's lap. She slept well the prior night but it's going to take more than that to catch up on years of restless sleep.

"Your heartbeat begs to differ," Ghim says from the other side of the room and Lena springs up so fast that she almost fractures her skull open on Kara's chin.

"You're listening to my heart ?" she squeaks, trying to glare in what she hopes is a dignified way.

"I do," Ghim says conversationally, bobbing her head to a soundless rhythm. "It has a very recognisable pattern. Kara does it too."

"You do ?" Lena asks, whipping her head around so fast to look at her that it's a miracle it doesn't unscrew and jerk away.

"Did I, um," Kara mumbles, averting her eyes and scratching the back of her neck sheepishly. "Did I never tell you about it ? My bad."

"I..."

"I don't do it on purpose," Kara stammers. "At least not at first. It just happened. Like Ghim said, 'recognisable pattern'. But, um, it helps me fall asleep. And sometimes I just check on you, make sure you're okay."

"You can just," Lena starts, trying to get her bearing and regain some semblance of control over this situation. "You can just pick up my heart amongst everyone else's ? Just like that ?" She's trying not to be too impressed, or flattered, but deep down, she knows she's failing miserably, and the hot blush that burns her cheeks is making all of them aware of that.

"It's really loud," Taylor chimes in between two bites of a chocolate bar the size of their forearm. If she squints, Lena can make out the golden lettering of an expensive Swiss brand on the packaging. "I can pick it out too. It made for a very traumatising childhood."

Ghim closes her book slowly, a deep crinkle furrowing her brow. "I am not sure I understand how Lena's heart could be traumatising. It is the most beautiful sound," she says like she's talking about the weather. "Can you elaborate ?"

"No they can't," Kara cuts before any other comment can be made, her cheeks flushing bright red and mirroring the blush that is starting to spread further on Lena's body.

"I'm going to the bathroom," Lena announces much too loudly before speed walking out of the room. These three Kryptonians are going to make her life a living hell.

It takes thirty minutes for Lena to come back from her trip to the bathroom ; and if Kara wasn't indeed listening to her heart, she'd be worried. But her heartbeat is steady, she doesn't seem to be in distress, and actually, Kara is sure she saw her leaving with her book. Why she's hiding in the bathroom to read is anyone's guesses but Kara isn't about to encroach on her privacy. Maybe Lena is simply part of this fringe of the population who reads on the toilet, something that Jeremiah also used to do and that used to puzzle her immensely.

But then again, the concept of toilets and bathrooms also befuddled her when she first landed there. Hygiene on Krypton was much easier with sonic showers and toilets that didn't need to use litre upon litre of water to function. It took her so long to get used to the noise that she didn't shower for a full month. Ironically, watery showers are now one of her favourite things.

When Lena exits the bathroom, she does have her book in hand, but she also looks stressed, borderline panicky as she speeds walk into the living room. Kara is up on her feet and at her side, card game abandoned on the coffee table, before Lena even has the time to explain what's going on. "Are you okay ? What can I do to help ?" she asks so quickly it's a wonder her words are understandable.

"I forgot I invited everyone over for tea," Lena shrills, her free hand coming to wipe her hair out of her eyes and ending up caught in a tangle.

Kara trails after her on her way to the kitchen, her superpowered legs struggling to keep up with her wild pace. She manages to coordinate enough to untangle Lena's hand from her hair and retrieve the book she sets down a good foot away from the countertop but she doesn't pay attention to the chair on her path and almost trips both of them on it. "What time are they coming ?" she asks, hovering a few inches from the ground to keep Lena steady.

Lena manages to bypass her in a small tornado. "3pm," she replies, getting cups and bowls out of the shelves.

Kara swallows a laugh. "We have time then," she says hesitating for a second before grabbing Lena's wrists to stop her whirlwind course. Behind her, Taylor darts up from the couch to catch a pack of flour set just an inch too close to the edge.

"Do you have any idea of how long it takes to make scones ?" Lena asks like she's forgotten the nuclear codes.

"Hum, no ?" Kara admits.

"Is that a common thing to know ?" Ghim chimes in from her spot across the room. Kara can do nothing more than shrug.

"It takes less than twenty minutes," Taylor says flatly.

"Thats," Lena starts, her voice on the verge of snapping, "accurate. I overreacted didn't I ?"

"Just a little," Taylor laughs.

"But it's okay." Kara relaxes her grip on her wrists but doesn't entirely let go, choosing instead to let one of her hands slides down the length of hers to thread their fingers together. "Show me how to make scones."

Brilliantly refusing to beat herself up for her small nervous breakdown, Lena returns to her previous state of mind, relaxed, almost untethered ; and her Sunday returns to being perfect. She breezes through scones making on autopilot and Kara produces a surprisingly good heat vision cooked chocolate cake of which only a quarter ends on the floor, courtesy of Ghim trying to help. All the while, Taylor cackles in the background, taking pictures on what Lena is almost sure is her own phone. A part of her wonders if the photographs will still be there once Taylor has gone back to the future but she squashes it fervently ; now isn't the time to think about that.

The Super Friends, as Kara ridiculously calls them, show up fifteen minutes late, and Lena suspects that someone warned them to delay their arrival enough to give her time to get ready. Alex, Kelly, Nia, Brainy and J'onn pile up in her apartment ; and that's when her day truly and well descends into chaos. Of the reputation ending kind. Because Lena knows she looks uncharacteristically happy and the sweater she's wearing is very obviously not hers and Ghim has been repeatedly telling to anyone who might listen, while stuffing her face with little delicacies Kelly brought from a hole in the wall bakery, that her heart sounds different when she's around Kara. As for Alex, she keeps on staring at her with an -I'm amassing a mountain sized amount of blackmail against you- smirk ; there isn't an ounce of dignity left in Lena.

She watches as her world comes undone around her and is rebuilt bit by bit, better, by Alex's sisterly demeanour, Kelly's warmth, Nia's enthusiasm, Brainy's unchained interest in her work, Ghim's fresh gaze on life, Taylor's unbridled laugh, and the unrestrained love in Kara's eyes. It's overwhelming and scary and Lena doesn't know how to even begin to handle all of this, but the new life that arranges itself for her is worth all the teasing, all the jokes, and even all the pain.

That is until Alex decides to give herself a tour of the apartment and asks the question that will be Lena's undoing.

"So Kara, where did you sleep exactly ? Because I know it wasn't on this luxurious incredibly uncomfortable couch. No offence Lena."

"She slept with Lena of course," Ghim replies conversationally before any of them can come up with a reasonable answer.

The wording is unfortunate at best but it at least offers a small reprieve to Lena when the room explodes in a ruckus of coughs and Taylor has to perform the Heimlich manoeuvre to dislodge a crumb from Kara's windpipe.

"I slept in Lena's room," Kara eventually manages to croak. "For security purposes."

"Right," Alex says, dragging this single word excruciatingly with a -done with your shit- look so perfect it might even concurrence Lena's trademark glare. "You slept in her room for security purposes."

"Sounds reasonable to me," Nia says, attempting to come to the rescue though she's also hiding a laugh behind Lena's biggest coffee mug.

"Does it ?" Brainy whispers to her at the same time Ghim decides to add her two cents again.

"It is," she agrees, "but I do not think that was the reason."

"Filter. Your. Thoughts," Taylor groans.

"Filter ? I do not own one of those."

"Yeah," Kara grumbles, "we've noticed."

"She's not wrong though," Alex says with the widest grins.

Lena feels her body growing insufferably hot and wonders what it would take for her to manage to sink into her seat. Beside her, Kara isn't faring much better, but it's only a small comfort for the death of her grandeur.

By the time the Super Friends leave, Lena is beyond mortified. Sure, she's had an overall wonderful day, but her reputation is dead and buried six feet under and she'll never be able to intimidate any of them ever again when they've seen her like that, soft and cuddled to Kara in an oversized sweater. She's not really mad of course, or even displeased. In fact, she's never been that content and though she feels like she's driving blindfolded and at full speed on Mario Kart's rainbow road, deep down she knows it's not that bad ; she's never had that many people ready to catch her if she falls.

Dinner is quickly done with. Ghim and Taylor have a competition to elect the fastest pasta eater that results in tomato sauce somehow reaching her pristine ceiling. Even Lena's toughest glare can't prevent Kara from joining in the silliness but she at least has the decency of looking sheepish when she catches her with two overflowing forks halfway to her mouth.

Soon, the day has flown by and it's time for bed again ; and that, even more than anything else, is the nail in Lena's previous life's coffin. When she lays down next to Kara for the second time in as many nights, there's no turning back. And well frankly, she's bypassed any possibility of turning back when it comes to Kara a long long time ago, this has been the case probably since the very day they met ; but it's more apparent now, as they lie in bed together, a respectable two feet between their yearning bodies, eyes searing into each others', hands aching, yet hesitant, to reach out. It was one thing to invite Kara in her room late last night ; it's another thing entirely to go to bed at the same time.

Lena wants to reach out, wants to touch, but she doesn't know if she's allowed too and if she is, she isn't sure if she can, if her murky brain will allow her arm to perform the necessary movement. Now that it's just the two of them in the dark, things seem much more complicated than in the daylight. Kara is hesitant too, her hands constantly switching between hovering halfway between them and anchoring themselves to the sheets, gripping so hard Lena would swear she can hear them ripping thread by thread. She wonders how much gut it would take her to just cross the distance and kiss her. How is it that she can annihilate a boardroom full of entitled white men but can't bridge a two feet gap to kiss her best-friend ?

Lena sighs, much louder than she intended too, and it's enough to entice Kara to move. Faster than her eyes can follow, she finds herself wrapped in two strong arms, her head pillowed on Kara's shoulder, right where it ought to be. "Sorry," Kara mumbles in her ear. "I just. I just had to."

"Don't be sorry," Lena whispers, "I was waiting for you to make a move."

"Why is this so hard ?" Kara whines, rubbing her hands up and down Lena's back.

"I don't know," Lena muses, her voice low, like she can barely handle to hear her own words. "But you're doing better than me."

"It's all false confidence and bravado," Kara chuckles, almost sadly.

"Fake it 'til you make it."

"But I don't want to fake anything with you," Kara whispers.

Her words settle low in Lena's belly, they simmer in her, not quite burning but she knows they could set her on fire at any moment. "You deserve all the genuineness in the world ; more than I can give you really. I want to be truthful with you. Myself. I'm just..."

"Scared ?" Lena completes for her. "It's okay, I am too. You, me, this, it scares me so much." She doesn't know where she finds the courage to keep going but somehow, she does. "But I want to try. God, do I want to try. Please, promise you'll try with me."

"I will," Kara says, laying the ghost of a kiss on her hairline. "I promise."

Lena falls asleep with Kara's words floating in her brain like a lullaby. She's safe, Kara's got her, Kara's not letting go ; and she won't let go either.

She wakes up in the dead of night, acutely aware of Kara's eyes boring into hers. It takes a full minute for her own to get accustomed to the lack of light and she finds Kara's face inches from hers, her breath warm on her lips. Kara's eyes are wide open, and Lena can feel a hot warmth seeping from her cheeks.

"Can," Kara whispers, the words almost said against her lips. "Can I...?"

"God. Please. Do it."

And Kara kisses her.

She kisses her and it's like the world stops and restarts in the same instant, like the universe ends and is reborn, like Lena herself is atomised and rebuilt around a brand new heart, hers and Kara's combined.

It's surreal ; almost like it's not happening yet it's the only thing Lena can feel. She feels like a teenager again, fumbling in the darkness of her dorm room with Andrea except it's different and better because it's Kara, and in this instant, Kara is the only one she's ever wanted. Her lips are soft and tentative, the pressure barely there at times, and they taste like cheap mint chapstick that would be unbearable on anyone but is achingly delicious on her. Kara fumbles with her face in the dark, one of her hands coming to rest on her jaw as she sucks on her lower lip and Lena wants to melt into her, to be absorbed and forever exist in a state where her body is Kara's.

Time stops, she's sure of it. There's no way it doesn't because how is it possible for her to lose herself and to be found again in only a matter of seconds ? How can time still be running when every step she's been taking has clearly led her to the end of everything, to Kara drawing her closer and parting her lips to slip a delicate tongue in her mouth ? This is how time and space end, and Lena is more than okay with it.

Distantly, she's aware of her lungs constricting painfully as a result of the simple act of breathing taking the back-burner in her mind. Kara, always more in tune with things than her, draws back before she can and Lena feels the loss immediately. Sure, she can breathe freely now, and her lungs sip in grateful gulps of air but with it comes a rush of unwanted thoughts and a deep rooted fear that grows crushing again and has her launching herself at Kara.

She knows she's being a little bit too forceful but Kara doesn't seem to mind. She welcomes her in her mouth, lets her nip at her lips, and with ever strong hands, steadies her at the waist when she all but climbs on top of her, thighs bracketing her hips almost too boldly. For the first time in a long time though Lena doesn't feel out of place, but exactly where she should be, doing exactly what she was designed for. After years of searching, she's finally found her purpose, and her purpose is to kiss Kara Danvers.

One of them moans, her brain doesn't really care to determine who, and Kara's hips buck forcefully under her, almost dislodging her from her position. A too short second later, the warm hands that were tethering her to life and had begun to slip under her t-shirt, leave her waist and she's left reeling, confused when she hears the sound of ripping and Kara recoils as much as their current situation allows her to. "Timeout," she huffs. "I need a timeout."

The part of Lena's brain that isn't completely dazed with desire mercifully takes the lead and she manages to sit back on her heels, lifting off Kara enough for her to sit up further away. "Sorry," Lena apologises though she's unsure of why she's apologising.

"Don't be," Kara whispers, a trembling hand coming to wipe a strand of hair from Lena's face. Her biceps shake and she seems to be working hard to steel herself so she can set her hands on Lena's hips again, bringing her to sit on her lap. "That was..."

"Hot ?" Lena supplies dumbly and unhelpfully.

"I was going to say perfect," Kara says, smirking in the moonlight, "but that works too. That was perfect. You're perfect. I just got overwhelmed and I don't want to hurt you. I'm not really used to..."

"Making out with girls ?" Lena cuts for no reason, half ready to launch herself out the window if she can't get her stupid brain to shut the fuck up.

"What ? No !" Kara laughs, her body shaking under Lena in a very distracted way. "Well not since college really and I always had to be extra careful but that's not my point. You're just. You're you you know. And you mean a lot to me and I was definitely not prepared for everything you make me feel."

"Oh," Lena breathes, all ability to form coherent sentences flying out through the very window she was considering launching herself from a moment ago. This, even more than the kiss that got a little out of hand, makes her flush all over, and she feels like she could furnish heating to a decent sized city if she could only find a way to harness her blush.

Kara opens and closes her mouth like a fish out of water and with the way she's looking at her Lena would think she somehow managed to produce an entire love declaration instead of a pesky syllable. "I'm sorry," Kara says, "there are so many things I want to say right now but you make me bad at words and I don't know what to do not to ruin it."

"Kiss me again ?" Lena offers, trying her best not to sound completely desperate. "If you feel up to it of course. No pressure. I just think it could help with the lack of words."

Kara doesn't bother with replying. Instead, she lifts her whole upper body with the sheer strength of her abs, hands not bulging from their place on Lena's waist, her hot breath ghosting over her for half a second before she kisses her again. Little sleep will happen and she has a board meeting in the morning but the thought doesn't even cross her mind.