It feels a little bit like the end of the world. It's not of course ; but the fact that Lena knows it's not the end, that they will meet again, she just won't know it's the second time, does not really help. Taylor is leaving tonight, and everything from now on is nothing but a big blob of uncertainty.
She stares at her reflection in the mirror, mildly concerned about how the hell she managed to forget about her own charity gala. She was ready to cancel the whole thing, or to have Sam flown in from Metropolis last minute to cover for her, but Taylor said it would be fun and so she now stands in her bedroom, barefoot, in a tailored navy suit wondering how many buttons she can leave untouched on her crisp white shirt before it's considered crass. She unbuttons one more just to be sure ; she doesn't care if she ends up on the cover of every tabloid as long as Kara is looking at her. Which is also why she slips on a feet-wrecking pair of high heels ; the closer her tits are to Kara's face, the funnier it will be to see her trying to ignore them.
Courtesy of years of experiences, she's the first one to be ready and she can hear everyone still fretting over their clothes in their respective rooms while she stares at her hands and focuses on her breathing. A thick leather bound photo album rests on the bed beside her. Alex dropped it off earlier, along with clothes for Kara, and retrieving it apparently involved blackmail and breaking into a maximum security facility ; she hasn't had the courage to open it yet. She doesn't really know why. Maybe she's scared. She'll ask Kara later to look at it with her when it's just the two of them again.
Maybe going to the gala really is a good idea, a nice way to bid goodbye to her child and to take her mind off things before she returns to her regular life and its array of new and interesting problems. They worked hard, they all deserve a grandiose evening. Plus, Jess already ordered the potstickers and if not the Danvers, who is going to eat that at a gala ?
A knock sounds on her bedroom door, closely followed by childish giggles. "Lena ?" Kara calls out hesitantly, "can I come in ? Are you decent ?"
"You've seen me naked darling," Lena replies with a sigh.
The door opens a fraction, letting in a "ew gross," quickly followed by a sentence Lena hopes to never forget.
"Taylor how do you think babies are made ?"
"I'm a pod baby Max. And in any case I don't want to think about my mothers having sex."
Kara slips in the crack, closes the door behind her and leans against it. "Sorry about them," she huffs ; but Lena does not hear her.
Her genius brain melts on the spot to reform somewhere in the lower parts of her body in a shapeless mass of desire.
Kara is wearing a suit.
A three piece ruby red suit with a buttoned white shirt and slick black dress shoes that is no doubt illegal on every single planet Kara has ever visited.
She's talking again, waving her hands around, but Lena's brain has embarked on an elaborate fantasy involving the tie Kara is holding in her right hand and she can't bring herself to listen to any of the words that are leaving her mouth.
"Lena ? Lena are you okay ?"
Lena blinks herself out of her daze, shaking her head vigorously not unlike a wet dog trying to dry itself. "I'm perfectly fine darling," she lies, springing up to go remove an inexistent piece of lint from Kara's jacket lapel. She takes her time, standing much closer than is necessary and letting her hand go rest on Kara's shoulder, just at the edge of her neck.
"Tie or bowtie ?" Kare croaks, her face quickly turning a deeper shade than her suit.
For a long second, Lena considers her options, "neither" and "take off your clothes" being the top contenders. "Bowtie," she says eventually, the word coming out in a low breath.
Slowly, she removes the garment from Kara's grasp, the silk navy fabric slipping from her fingers soundlessly. She takes her time tying it around her neck, half because she refuses to take a step back and lacks visibility and half because she likes the feel of Kara's body so close to hers and is already drunk on the hint of cologne she deemed necessary to wear.
"We could also skip the party," she whispers, lips ghosting over the shell of Kara's ear.
Kara clears her throat loudly. "We, um," she gulps, "we're not doing it for us."
She doesn't move though, in fact, her strong hands come bracketing Lena's hips.
"You're right," Lena murmurs, her voice lower than she recalls it ever being. "We should go."
"We should go," Kara agrees. And she leans in to kiss her.
Lena meets her with a hunger she doesn't think she's ever felt before ; every kiss with Kara feels like a new first. She backs her up against the wall, lighting up when Kara makes herself pliable and goes with it when she could very much stand still as stone. She's hot and alive against her, hands grabbing at skin and clothes, lips leaving blazing trails in their wake as they move from mouth to jaw and back to mouth.
Kara pushes against the wall and, using the momentum, slides her hands lower down Lena's body. She feels herself being lifted off the ground, her stomach swooping in anticipation ; someone bangs loudly on the door.
"We're going to be late," Alex barks from the other side. "If you're not ready and out in two minutes I'm coming in and I'll be expecting compensation for what I'll be forced to see."
Lena sighs in disappointment, her breath ghosting on Kara's neck where her lips had just started a joyful descent. Her feet touch ground again and she staggers a little, hanging on to Kara tight, breathing ragged and heart ready to escape.
"One minute and thirty seconds," Alex groans from the other side of the door.
They spring into action in a frenzy, Kara fixing her hair in a flash and Lena stumbling to her mirror so she can fix her make up. She looks like a mess, and she knows no amount of concealer will hide the hickey blossoming just underneath her ear. With no remorse at all, she undoes her complicated bun and lets her hair fall in a curtain over this glorious trace of depravity.
"Are you ready ?" she asks, lifting her head to find Kara standing beside her in the mirror, hand hovering over her shoulder.
"Absolutely not," Kara replies throatily, "let's go."
They exit their haven to find the whole gang gathered in the living room. Alex is leaning against the wall, murderous expression matching her equally severe slate grey suit, her gaze softening every so often when she glances to Kelly at her arm in a periwinkle strapless dress. Brainy is standing at attention behind them in a sharp black tuxedo, his bowtie matching Nia's off-the-shoulder sky blue dress. Taylor is innocently sitting on the couch in a stone grey suit that screams of wealth and "Mum I stole your credit card again," Max resting next to them in a seafoam ensemble with, Lena notices, nothing underneath. As for Ghim, she stands ramrod straight by the door in a military style crimson jacket and crisp white trousers looking every bit the hero she is.
Lena likes to make an entrance, and therefore her own party is already in full swing by the time she walks in at Kara's arm, the couple trailed by their army of ducklings in formal wear. As far as parties go, this isn't the worst one Kara's ever been to. It's a little loud, as all parties are for her, and a little crowded, but waiters are walking around with her favourite food and she's with Lena ; you couldn't pay her to be anywhere else.
They scatter around pretty quickly, Taylor and Max to go scavenge as much finger food as they can fit in their mouthes, Alex and Kelly to go sway a little stiffly, Alex's never learn how to dance properly, Brainy and Nia to go waltz extravagantly in a blur of black and blue. Only Ghim stays with them, following them around like an awkward bodyguard while Lena mingles until she grabs her and gets her on her another arm, landing the CEO in what Kara can only think of describing as a "Kryptonian sandwich."
She lets her mind run free, content to just exist for now at Lena's side. She watches as Brainy attempts to teach Alex how to waltz, Kelly and Nia's shared laughter echoing under the cathedral ceiling, and gratefully accepts each of Taylor's food offering as they run back and forth between waiters, intent on trying absolutely everything. When she starts imagining something a little different, when Taylor's features change before her very eyes to show her someone younger, with a rounder face and a childlike laugh, she blinks, and refocuses on Lena only to hear her make the most outlandish claim that has ever left her mouth.
"The moon landing Mister Barley, the moon landing ? How ludicrous ! Everyone knows the moon is a hoax !" She then whirls around, leaving behind a flabbergasted old man with an impressive moustache and says, to Kara this time, "dance with me darling."
"Did I hear that properly ?" Kara asks as they take position, her hand on Lena's waist, the other outstretched to hold a lithe palm. It's been a while since she's done anything closely resembling formal dancing and even then, it was not a dance found on this planet, but she's confident she can make her way through a few fumbling steps. "The moon is a hoax ?"
Lena laughs, throwing her head back to let out a sound she rarely allows in public. "I've always dreamed of saying that," she says. "In my defence, he said the moon landing wasn't real."
Kara chuckles, bends down to press a kiss on her jaw. "That's definitely going to be front page news. 'Youngest Luthor Latest Outlandish Claim ! The Moon Is A Hoax !'"
"Will I see your name on the byline Miss Danvers ?"
"Of course you will. I get all the hottest exclusives on the Luthors," she says punctuating her sentence with a roguish wink. She squeezes Lena's waist briefly. "Do you have a quote ?"
"I do Miss Danvers, I do," Lena replies, affecting the most terrible of aristocratic accents. "I believe the moon is home to our reptilian overlords. Actually, I'm part of their government and would like to say, on the record, that I am in fact several lizards in a human skin suit."
"Well that would explain a lot," Taylor says from behind her. "Don't let anyone hear you say that though. That would necessitate enough damage control to get even Jess to quit. Mind if I cut in ?"
"Not at all." Lena takes a step back and Kara forces herself not to follow her with a step forward. "I'll go mingle some more," she says, "and then maybe we can all go home."
With a kiss on the cheek, she's gone, and Kara finds herself shuffling awkwardly with her child instead. "Tell me, will I ever learn how to dance ?"
"There's a video from the wedding where you trip over your own feet," Taylor replies with a shrug. "It's my favourite movie."
"That does sound like me," Kara sighs.
"If it helps I think Mum finds it very endearing."
Kara looks over their shoulder at Lena. She's dancing with Ghim, or more precisely, they're mirroring each other's silly gestures while Brainy and Max stand on the side, enraptured by what they certainly think to be an ancient Earth custom. Now that Kara thinks about it, it looks a bit like they're line dancing which indeed is an ancient Earth custom. That's definitely going to make the tabloids' front page.
"She's very happy," Taylor says, following Kara's gaze before returning to their own stiff dancing. "She travels a lot, helps where she can. She found her kid, Mikhail. In a couple of months you're going to adopt her into the House of El. I've seen some pictures, beautiful ceremony. You're never going to be alone ever again."
Kara refrains from pointing out how this can't possibly be true. Instead, she says, "Krypton lives on."
"Krypton lives on," Lor-El echoes.
Less than a second after, their watch starts beeping loudly and they take a step back with the tiniest of smiles.
"Is it time already ?" Kara asks just to fill the sudden silence.
"It is."
They all pile up into the car again, which is definitely not normal sized as Ghim points out distractedly, and much to soon, they are back at Lena's apartment, standing in grave silence around the mind wiper while Taylor explains, almost clinically, what is going to happen. Kara feels a little sick to the stomach and Alex must notice, because she comes wrap her hand around hers and squeezes lightly. Lena is on her other side, leaning, or rather, sagging, against her.
"This will not only wipe my memory from your mind," Taylor says, taking a step back from the device, "but from everything else as well. Any sighting of me on the news will no longer exist, things that I might have had a significant impact on will be rewritten around my absence. It doesn't hurt, but you might feel confused for a while as your brains rework themselves around the missing memories."
"There should be no lasting damage," Max chimes in, her addition quite ominous.
"It was a pleasure to meet all of you," Taylor continues, somewhat robotic in their mannerism. "I mean," they stammer, "I'll see you soon, but it was nice."
"Give me a hug ?"
Not needing to be told twice, Taylor all but leaps into Kara's arms and she buries her nose in her child's hair, inspiring to fill her lungs with a scent she's about to forget.
"Erhosh :bem aonah."
"Erhosh :bem Yeyu."
She does not cry, but in the mass of limbs that pile up on them in a giant hug someone definitely does ; she thinks it might be Alex.
"Okay," Taylor says, trying to extricate themself from the sentient smother. "Okay. I really need to go." They shuffle out of arm's reach and, definitely grateful for the obvious support Max offers with her tall frame, say, "nobody dies until I get to see them again alright ?"
With a light tap on their watch, a portal crackles to life behind them and before them, the mind wiping device starts rotating. Kara can hear her own voice coming from the other side, it sounds gravely, older somehow.
"Okay," Taylor says again, "I'm going now."
And with a comical two fingers salute, they're gone.
As soon as they're out of sight, a loud whistle fills the room, but Kara doesn't plug her ears because, as she distantly remembers someone saying, it doesn't hurt. Something rushes out of her and she feels no urge to retain it. A whiff of a perfume she doesn't remember ever smelling wafts under her nose and then, nothing.
Kara steps out onto the balcony of her apartment. It's chilly outside, not for her of course, but for Lena, and she carries out their thickest knitted throw to wrap around her shoulders. Her girlfriend buries in it instantly, releasing a long held sigh at the warmth.
"Just took it out of the drying machine," she says, laying a kiss on her temple, "but you should definitely stop hanging outside barefoot."
"You were gone a while," Lena says, relaxing into her embrace.
"I went to tuck Ghim into bed. The party was a bit much for her I think."
"I heard you rummaging around in your office," Lena says. There's nothing accusatory in her tone, it's a simple statement like she does so well.
"Just looking for my old noise cancelling headphones," Kara hums, "she has a bit of a headache. It took a while, I still have so much stuff to unpack."
"You didn't even take one minute for yourself," Lena whispers, lifting the arm that is wrapped around her waist to lay a soft kiss on its hand.
It's true. While Lena has changed into her comfiest and warmest pyjamas, Kara is still in her suit, bowtie hanging loose around her neck.
"You need to take care of yourself too," Lena adds in a murmur.
"I'm taking care of myself right now, getting my daily dose of Lena Luthor."
She kisses the side of her neck and Lena honest to Rao giggles, a warm blush rising on her cheeks.
"Did everyone make it home okay ?" Lena asks after a minute. "Alex was quite drunk."
Kara cocks her head to the side, immediately stops listening at what she hears and mumbles a strangled, "yeah." She coughs, shakes her head violently from side to side. "Everyone is safe and sound in their respective homes."
Briefly, she feels like she's forgetting about someone and she attempts to listen in again. But no, it was only the seven of them at the gala.
They fall into a comfortable silence, of the type they often share. Kara feels content here with Lena, her supple body huddled against her. In twenty minutes or so, when she will have gotten her fresh air quota of the day, they will retreat to their bedroom, and stay up until the small hours of the morning.
J'onn is covering for her tonight. She knows she more or less pressured him into doing so but she's been punched and thrown around enough lately to deserve a night off. She still shudders at the thought of unwillingly closing her hands around Lena's neck. They shipped all iterations of the Fatal Five back where they came from but still, she holds onto her tighter, afraid that someone will once more target her to get to her. She'd hang up the cape here and now if she thought for a second it could protect Lena, and she doesn't think she would ever look back.
"I can hear your brain from here," Lena says in a soft invitation. "What are you thinking about ?"
"You."
"Me ?"
"I'm always thinking about you," Kara says honestly, and then, because her subconscious has bypassed all her filters, "marry me."
Lena rips herself away from her embrace and turns around in a whirlwind of dark hair and red blanket. "What ?"
"Marry me," Kara repeats, this time of her own accord.
"Kara," Lena whispers in mild panic, "Kara you can't ask me to marry you. I'm in my pyjamas."
"I'll ask you again tomorrow then," Kara says, feeling strangely calm.
Gently, she turns her around until Lena is in her arms again, back pressed to her front. She sees something glimmering in the night sky and with a tender hand, guides her head up just in time for Lena to see the shooting star. A little east to where the celestial orb traced its downward course is Krypton, and Kara points it out in a low voice.
"Rao is shining bright tonight," she says simply, and adds nothing more because there is no true need to fill the silence.
"Yes," Lena says eventually, her inflection too strange to have anything to do with a star in the night sky.
"Yes what ?" Kara asks, holding back a small laugh.
"Yes I'll marry you. Of course I'll marry you !"
Once again, Lena turns around in her arms and before she kisses her, Kara only has the time to whisper, "I'm glad."
They stay like that, kissing under the stars, for a gentle eternity and as she revels in the press of her lips against hers, Kara marvels at the way the universe aligned to land her here, with Lena Luthor, soon of the House of El.
