Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended.
After the Crisis
Kara landed softly on the balcony of Lena's penthouse. It was already very late but the Super needed to see her best friend. And there she was. Lena was reclining on her sofa, reading a book. The Luthor was so absorbed in her literature that she didn't notice Kara watching her.
After a few minutes of gazing at her friend, Kara knocked softly on the glass doors. Lena jerked up and jumped to her feet, looking quite alarmed – not surprising given recent events. But then her eyes met Kara's and all tension left her body as she moved over gracefully to open the balcony door and let her Super friend in with a smile on her face. Once the door had slid open, the two women remained standing, just looking into each other's eyes for a long moment. Then, without a word, Lena stepped back and Kara crossed the threshold into the living room, sliding the door shut to keep out the nightly chill. And still they just looked at each other without speaking.
After what seemed like an eternity to both of them, they finally walked forward and embraced. Both women sighed contentedly as they breathed in each other's scent, holding on to each other tightly. As they stood there Lena became aware that Kara was stroking her back gently as if to let the Luthor know she would not be leaving her, that she was safe and cared about and loved.
"I missed you so much", Lena whispered, her voice thick with emotion and her eyes brimming with tears of joy at Kara's safe return from her last mission to save the multiverse.
"I missed you too, Lena", Kara whispered back, "so very much".
A few seconds passed and Lena felt Kara holding on to her a bit more tightly as she said in a constricted voice, "And I'm so sorry that I couldn't come back to you sooner."
Now it was Lena's turn to rub Kara'a back.
"But you are here now, Kara, and you are safe. That's all that matters", she reassured her friend before pulling away gently and looking Kara up and down. Smiling she took her hand and guided her to the comfortable sofa and Kara followed, feeling content to be here with Lena.
"Kara, are you ok?" Lena's voice sounded worried as she pulled gently at Kara's arm from her position on the sofa because Kara was still standing, gazing into space.
"Ah, yes", Kara answered, looking at Lena and sitting down next to her so that their clasped hands rested in her own lap.
There was another silence and when Lena looked at Kara she noticed that her friend had drifted off again and a look of pain was clearly visible on her face in the low lighting of the room. Lena knew that Kara was going through some kind of painful, internal struggle and when she felt Kara's free hand clasp her hand that Kara was already holding, she instinctively also covered Kara's hands with her free one. When the Kryptonian didn't seem to be aware of her own actions, Lena then started to rub Kara's hands gently.
"Hey, Kara", Lena said.
No reaction.
"Kara, honey, hey. Look at me, please", she said, slightly shaking Kara's hands.
Blinking and shaking her head, Kara turned and locked eyes with Lena. And then Lena's heart broke at the sight. Her best friend's face was wet with silent tears and her normally sparkling, bright blue eyes were full of pain.
"Kara, what's wrong?" Lena asked softly.
And when her friend didn't reply, she freed one of her hands and touched Kara's cheek, wiping away the tears.
"Sweety, please, talk to me. I can see you're in pain."
Still, Kara just looked into Lena's eyes, seemingly unable to put whatever was tormenting her into words. Lena was becoming seriously concerned now but she had to remain calm and strong for Kara. Still caressing her cheek, Lena squeezed her friend's hand again and said a bit more forcefully, "Kara, please, you're scaring me. Tell me what's wrong."
This caused Kara to emerge from her thoughts. She blinked and raised her own hand to take Lena's from her cheek.
"Oh, god, Lena", she started, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."
Now it was Kara who caressed Lena's hands.
"It's just …", she hesitated again, her heart beating fast.
"What, Kara?" Lena whispered.
Kara took a deep breath and then finally said what she'd wanted to say ever since she'd returned from her mission, ever since the crisis had been over and the multiverse had been saved.
"Lena, during the crisis, well, before we beat the Anti-Monitor and saved the multiverse…", she stalled again.
"Yes, Kara, what happened?" Lena asked softly, seeing that her friend's eyes had filled with tears again.
Kara briefly closed her eyes and held on tighter to Lena's hands.
"The earth was destroyed, obliterated and … and … and everyone died, vanished from existence. You…", Kara's voice broke and she let out a sob, "You died, I watched you die and … and couldn't do anything."
Kara was now crying hard and Lena couldn't stop the tears from falling either. She didn't know what to say, how to console her best friend, how to take away the pain. So she did the only thing she could. She let her instinct take over and hugged Kara, putting all the inexpressible emotions into the embrace. Immediately, Kara wrapped her arms tightly around Lena and rested her head on Lena's chest. Slowly, Lena guided Kara into a more comfortable position until the pair was nestled in the corner of the sofa.
"Oh, Kara", Lena sobbed, stroking her friend's hair, "I had no idea. I'm so sorry you had to go through all that and that you had to do it alone."
Kara clung to Lena more tightly, "It was so horrible", she sobbed, "I thought I'd lost you forever. It was unbearable, like watching Krypton explode all over again."
Lena's heart broke anew as she felt Kara shaking with grief and terror. Still, the Luthor couldn't ignore the flutter in her chest. Kara had just said that losing her had been unbearable.
"Ssshhh, Kara", Lena coed, "everything is ok now. We're all here and safe. Because you, Supergirl, made sure of that."
It was like Lena's words were magical because Kara managed to control her crying again and pulled away to look at Lena. The Kryptonian's slight smile was a bit forced but it was also the most welcome sign of recovery to Lena.
"Yes, you're right", Kara whispered, "Everyone is safe now."
Kara raised her hand to Lena's cheek again and added, smiling slightly again, "And my family is safe too."
As Kara looked at Lena she saw her friend's expression change. It went from touched to a kind of disbelief mixed with sadness and then Lena squeezed her eyes shut as if she was steeling herself for something. Tears were running freely down her cheeks and onto Kara's hand that was still resting on Lena's cheek.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Kara asked worriedly.
Lena opened her eyes and it seemed to Kara that a furious battle was raging inside her. She wanted to be there for Lena but chose to wait until she was ready to answer.
"When you just said", Lena started in a quiet voice. "When you just said 'family', did …, she faltered, taking a deep breath. "Did you … did you mean me too?"
Lena spoke these last words so quietly and timidly that Kara doubted she would have heard them without her powers. Suddenly, Kara understood Lena's tears. The Luthor was torn between her painful past experiences of being abandoned and the deep trust she had in Kara's love for her and their friendship.
"Oh, Lena", Kara reassured her and embraced her friend while whispering, "of course that included you. You are part of my family. Always."