Chapter 9 - Sharing A Home (Part 1)
National City - October 2016
When Kara had been hoping for a distraction that could take her mind off Lena for a little bit, saving a rocket ship with her cousin wasn't exactly what she had in mind.
Anyway, despite the fact that arriving in front of the venture and wondering how she was going to pull this off on her own had been kind of terrifying, Kara had been quickly relieved when she saw Superman coming towards her. Which gave her not only the opportunity to team up with her cousin like she had dreamed of doing since she had become Supergirl, but also spending some time with him. Something she had wished for ever since she had landed on Earth.
While she was with Clark, Kara succeeded in her resolution to not think too much about the woman who had broken her heart years ago, and had apparently decided to settle in the same city.
Her distraction was cut off short though when Alex stepped towards them at the DEO, and announced that Lena had a seat aboard the venture and had canceled at the last minute, avoiding her sister's gaze as she told that.
"Someone should go talk to her." Alex said, still avoiding Kara's eyes that had already started glistening when she heard Lena's name.
"Maybe a mild-mannered reporter should investigate while he's here." Clark said, his voice cutting through the thick atmosphere that had surrounded them since Alex had mentioned Lena.
Alex looked up at him and smiled grateful.
Clark's eyes bounced from a Danvers' sister to another in confusion until he shrugged slightly and asked Kara, "Wanna tag along?"
Kara shook slightly her head, forcing herself to snap out of her thoughts involving Lena Luthor. She spun her head and tried to sound nonchalant as she spoke, "No, you go do that. I have some other work to do." She looked down.
A surprised expression made its way on Clark's face. "Okay. I get you updated when I find something." he said before flying through the window.
Still looking down blankly at the floor, Kara swallowed thickly, and spun around. "I gotta go." she said, about to leap in the air.
"Kara." She heard Alex's voice, halting her in her track.
Kara choked back the tears that threatened to spill out and turned around to face her sister. "If someone ever tells me that Lena might be like the rest of the Luthors, I swear I don't think I could muster a lot of calm." she said in a rather sharp tone before Alex even got the time to open her mouth.
"Actually I was going to ask you how you're doing with... all that." She gestured vaguely.
"I'll be fine." Kara said, not convinced with her own words, and knowing from the concerned look on her sister's face that Alex didn't believe her at all.
"Kara," Alex tried again to get her sister to talk about her feelings.
"I can't talk about this right now." Kara said, interrupting her sister before she got the time to go further. "I gotta work. Keep me updated, please."
"Of course," Alex nodded.
"Thank you." Kara said, disappearing through the window.
Alex stared at the window Kara had just flown through as if that could ease the worry she felt. She sighed, and decided to get back to work, hoping to find something that could soothe her sister's mind and heart.
Turns out that I gotta work in Kara's language at this very moment meant I have to eat my sadness away with pizza and potstickers while trying desperately not to listen Lena's heartbeat from across the city.
And failing miserably. No matter how much Kara could eat, no amount of food could fill out the emptiness inside of her that made her feel as though it was eating her up. Knowing Lena was closer to her than she had been for the past years made her unable to keep herself from listening to her heartbeat.
Kara sighed and wiped her fingers and her mouth with a napkin before throwing it on the coffee table and lying on the couch, staring at the ceiling and picking up the familiar sound of Lena's heartbeat.
The sound of Lena's heartbeat caused the emptiness inside of her to be replaced with a feeling of warmth that washed over her and made her feel that she wasn't alone anymore. It also provoked a weird hope that she didn't quite understand to settle within her.
Kara's phone rang on the coffee table, withdrawing her from her favorite sound. She sat up and grabbed it, seeing that it was Alex calling her, she quickly picked up.
Her sister seemed frantic over the phone, and she stumbled over her words as if she wasn't sure of the way to tell Kara what she had to.
She heard her sister sigh until she went silent.
"Alex?" Kara said worried.
"Kara. There's no easy way to tell you that... but..." She paused as if she couldn't finish her sentence.
"What happened?" Kara encouraged her sister to talk.
She heard Alex sigh once again over the phone.
"Someone's trying to kill Lena."
Alex's words stabbed Kara's heart. She felt so much pain that it made her wonder if she had been exposed to Kryptonite.
"Kara?" She heard Alex call her in her most worried tone.
Kara swallowed thickly.
"I gotta go." she said, and jumped off the couch, letting her phone slip out of her hand without even bothering to hang up first.
"Kara?!" She heard Alex call her loudly, but she didn't pay any attention. Her brain was on autopilot. Lena and the sound of her heartbeat were the only things Kara could focus on at this very moment.
Faster than ever, she was in her Supergirl's suit and flew through the window of her loft, following Lena's heartbeat that would soon reunite them together.
"Dammit, Kara!" Alex sighed at the DEO. She hung up her phone and sighed once more, louder this time.
Clark stepped closer to her. "What's the matter?"
"Try to find Kara. She went after Lena Luthor."
Clark frowned at this declaration.
Alex sighed. "Please, don't ask any questions."
"Okay." Clark agreed before doing what Alex asked him.
In another side of the city, Lena was about to get inside a helicopter, feeling even more stressed out than usual.
"It should be a smooth fly, Miss Luthor." The pilot said once they were settled.
"I hate flying," except with Kara. She shook her head, suddenly not sure that moving to National had been a good idea. "I know statistically it's the safest way to travel, but still..." she said, trying to keep herself from thinking about Kara.
She narrowed her eyes when she saw something weird appear in front of her. "What the hell?"
Lena didn't have the time to linger on that question though. Her train of thoughts was abruptly cut off when she saw someone appear in a flash, protecting her from whatever was trying to hurt her.
"Kara," she whispered. Her entire body started shaking. Her heart and her breathing quickened. She swallowed thickly.
Not believing what she was seeing, her eyes widened in shock.
Supergirl was floating in front of the helicopter, dodging attacks that were thrown at her. Although Lena could easily guess that she was the target here. But Kara was there. Supergirl was there. To protect her. Instead of feeling relieved at that fact, Lena found herself being even more terrified than if she had been left alone in the open without anyone to protect her.
Lena's heart pounded harder when she saw Kara fall to the ground. Before her worries got the time to make her scream in fear, Kara rose up in the air and floated in front of the helicopter in a way that showed off her strength.
Too quickly for Lena to realize what was happening, Kara eliminated the threat, and Lena's heart calmed down.
Kara is safe, Lena internally sighed relieved. Her heart sped up again when she noticed that Supergirl was flying towards her.
They stared at each other for a long moment, both frozen in their spot and unable to say anything.
Having her gaze locked with Kara's for the first time in years sent shivers run up and down Lena's spine. She could feel her heart racing, and was perfectly aware that Kara was able to hear it. Somehow, she wished she could have heard Kara's heartbeat too. Although she could see in Kara's eyes, that Kara was just as affected as she was by their reunion.
Kara was still looking at her with the same love in her eyes. It made Lena's heart flutter, until she saw something else in Kara's eyes. Hurt. It caused an ache to Lena's chest, especially when she thought about the fact that she was probably the reason behind that look full of pain. It made her hate herself as the deepest feeling of guilt washed over her. She knew she had taken the right decision years ago. But that didn't stop her from being submerged by her regrets. That couldn't erase the fact that she hurt the one she loved the most.
"You all right?" Kara's voice withdrew her from her thoughts that were about to make tears well up in her eyes.
Kara's voice had come out raspier than usual, as if she was fighting back her own tears. And when she noticed how much Kara's eyes were glossy, Lena realized that it was probably the case. She swallowed thickly.
Lena's chin quivered. "I, uh, I'm... What happened?" she asked shakily.
"Someone's trying to kill you." Kara said, her voice even raspier than when she spoke earlier. She looked even more terrified than Lena at the fact that someone was after her.
They stared at each other again until their intense eye-contact got interrupted by Superman flying to them.
"Is everything okay here?" he asked, but didn't receive any answers.
Kara looked away from Lena and glanced at her cousin before flying away.
Lena swallowed thickly, and choked back her tears.
"You okay?" Clark asked her.
Lena looked up at him. She nodded her head to silently tell him yes, although she definitely wasn't okay after this encounter. She wasn't scared about the fact that someone was after her. But she was heartbroken at the pain she saw into Kara's eyes.
A pain, Lena knew she was totally responsible for.
Twenty-four hours had passed since Lena had last seen Kara, and their rushed encounter after Supergirl had saved her was the only thing she was able to think about since then.
The look full of pain and love she had seen into Kara's eyes hadn't left her mind, and her heart was still aching from it.
Lena knew she should focus on the task she was about to do right now though. She didn't come to National City only with the hope of repairing her relationship with Kara. She wanted to rebrand her company, make it a force for good, and redeeming the Luthor name.
Lena was outside, gazing at the rather small crowd of people that came to see her. She wasn't really surprised by the lack of people present.
That means less people will get hurt if something goes wrong, Lena thought to comfort herself.
"Lena," she heard a familiar voice that sent shiver run down her spine coming from behind her. She froze for a long second before turning around and facing Kara.
Her heart skipped a few beats when the Kara she remembered stood in front of her, dressed with casual clothes and with her glasses that hid and protected her identity perfectly put in place.
Lena opened her mouth, about to speak, until the words got caught in her throat, and her breath hitched.
"You okay?" Kara asked gently, fidgeting with the side of her glasses before pushing them up her nose.
Unable to emit a sound, Lena nodded her head up and down to tell Kara she was all right even though she wasn't entirely sure it was the truth. She didn't feel bad though, that was something she was certain.
"I see you chose to go through with the ceremony." Kara said, breaking the thick silence between them.
Kara adjusted her glasses again, and Lena could easily guess that she was nervous.
"I have to," Lena finally found her voice, even though her reply was rather quiet.
Kara's brow furrowed just exactly the way Lena remembered it. "Why? Don't you think you're taking too many risks? You got two attempts on your life in forty-eight hours." she said, the fear she felt for Lena's life very audible in her tone.
"I won't have a life if I don't do it, Kara." Lena replied, her voice a bit more assured. "I have to change the direction of this company. I want to make it a force for good. Otherwise, it will only be remembered for Lex's madness. I want to make the world a better place, just like you do. You're always taking risks to do that too. Don't you believe I can feel the same way?"
Kara stayed silent until she gave her a sad smile. "I have no doubt that you do feel the same way, Lena. I had just wished you'd been willing to fight for love the same way you're willing to do it for the rest of the world."
These words cut sharply through Lena's heart despite the soft tone Kara used. It made tears well up in her eyes. She swallowed thickly, and held back her tears. Which took her all the strength she could muster.
"I'm sorry," she felt the need to say, but her voice was so quiet that without super-hearing Kara probably wouldn't have heard her.
Kara gave her another sad smile. "Me too." She cleared her throat. "I'll stay here in case something goes wrong."
"If something goes wrong, protect people first, not me." Lena said.
Kara furrowed her brow, and that made Lena understand that Kara disapproved this request.
"I mean, I can take care of myself if something goes wrong. But I won't be able to forgive myself if someone gets hurt."
Kara nodded her head, silently agreeing to Lena's request.
Knowing it was time, Lena walked onto the stage. She barely got the time to say a few words before chaos started tearing the place apart and terrorizing people. Lena would have liked to say she was surprised by the turn of events, but that would have been a lie. At least, she found some comfort in knowing that she wasn't alone in this.
Awestruck, she saw Supergirl rise up in the air, saving the building that was about to crumble. She couldn't stop fear to settle within her. That was something she was used to feeling ever since Kara had become Supergirl, and even before that. The fear that something might happen to Kara. Even though they weren't on the best of terms right now, Lena couldn't imagine living in a world in which Kara didn't exist. Knowing that the one she loved the most was there somewhere in the world was the thing that had always helped her to keep going, even on the hardest days. Kara was her anchor.
The chaos calmed down quicker than Lena would have thought. She played her part in trying to keep people safe.
While Supergirl was still fixing the building, Lena's path unexpectedly crossed with Alex. It made her anxious somehow, even though she wasn't sure why, there was no time to stay anxious about seeing Kara's sister though. Alex saved her life, and was now in danger because of the guy that was after her. Someone that her brother had hired to try to kill her. That thought made her blood boil, but there was no time to linger on her feelings right now.
Without hesitation, she stopped Corben and saved Alex's life at the same time.
Supergirl landed in front of them.
Lena's eyes met Kara's, and instead of the pain she had seen into those deep blue eyes previously, Lena perceived a flicker of hope that lit up her heart.
At the DEO, in the conference room, Kara was standing stiff as she read the article Clark wrote about Lena. She didn't why she felt so tense. Clark had only written good things about Lena. The kind of things that would help Lena to change the direction of her company and make L-Corp a force for good like she wanted. Somehow, it relieved Kara to know that her cousin was also able to see that Lena was a good person.
But the weight of their shared past still pressed painfully on Kara's heart. She also couldn't help the hope that they could find their way back to each other to stay within her. Especially after they talked two times since Lena had settled at National City. Especially after having seen the way Lena looked at her. It had taken Kara all the strength in the world not to rush to Lena and wrapping her in an embrace. But Kara was pretty sure that sharing a physical contact with Lena could make her break in tears, and that was the last thing she wanted.
Kara knew that Lena still loved her, the letter she had slipped her years ago was enough to never make her doubt that fact. That had always been the hardest part of their break up for Kara, knowing that Lena loved her just as much but still chose to consciously give up on them without even a fight. The memory of the day she lost Lena never failed to bring tears into her eyes. She blinked, trying to chase to tears away.
Kara looked up when her sister walked into the room and stepped closer to her.
"You okay?" Alex asked.
Kara swallowed thickly, she started fidgeting with the edge of her cape. "I don't know," she replied shakily.
Silently, Alex put an arm around Kara and gave her a side hug.
Kara pressed herself deeper into her sister's embrace, she looked down at the article as if it could tell her what was going to happen next.
"I love her. I am still in love with her." Kara said, not able to keep that fact locked in her heart any longer.
Alex rubbed her hand over Kara's shoulder. "I know."
A sob escaped Kara, and the tears finally spilled out "Why does it hurt so much?" she asked, not looking at her sister.
Alex didn't answer, but she pulled Kara closer to her and wrapped both of her arms around her. She gave a soft kiss to her sister's temple, and held her tight.
Kara brought a hand to Alex's arm as her other hand gripped the article, tears making their way out freely, hurt and hope mingling together and confusing her heart.