pLena's heart was pounding, and her lungs were fighting against her as she waited for a response from Kara./p

pKara looked over her shoulder at Kell-Ur for a second before she turned around and finally focused on Lena. She rose her hand up to Lena's faced and caressed her cheek with her pointer and middle finger. "I have to talk to Kell-Ur, will you wait for me at your place?"/p

pLena had no idea what was going to happen; her heart was staying together by a thread, and all she knew that she'd wait for Kara for eternity. She nodded jerkily. "Y-yes. T-take your time; I'll be waiting."/p

pAs she turned to walk away, Kara called after her. "Oh, and Lena?" Lena turned around, to face Kara once more. "Thank you… For telling me."/p

pLena offered her a shaky smile and nodded before she walked down the stairs./p

p align="center"

strongXXX/strong

/p

pThirty minutes later, Lena was sitting on her couch, fidgeting with her hands and worrying about what she'd done./p

pHad telling Kara been the wrong move? Her reaction had been entirely unreadable, something Lena had found wholly unexpected. She had been ready for Kara to be repulsed, confused, or.. perhaps even delighted, but she had never expected an undecipherable response, and that put her on edge instantly./p

pWas Kara angry? Excited? Did she perhaps even find it funny?/p

pShe'd thanked her, so that couldn't be a good sign, right? And what could she possibly want to talk to Kell-Ur about?/p

pWere they laughing at her expense?/p

pLena couldn't tell, and that unnerved her far worse than she'd anticipated; but Kara asked her to wait for her, and Lena would wait until the world exploded if she had to, because one thing she was incapable of doing was denying Kara a single damn thing. So, if Kara wanted her to wait, she'd wait… even if it was slowly killing her to do so./p

pSo, she sat. She sat, and forced her breathing to stay steady while her heart beat rampantly in her chest. She'd divulged her heart to Kara, she admitted everything, put her heart on the line and cards on the table, and at that very moment, she felt like she had just ruined everything./p

pShe heard the balcony doors open behind her, and she inhaled deeply, preparing herself for the heartache that she was inevitably going to feel when Kara rejected her./p

p"There's a saying that goes something like. 'When two hearts are meant for each other, no distance is too far, no time is too long, and no other love can break them apart.'" Kara started. "I always loved that saying, although I thought it was entirely cliché, but you proved to me that it wasn't… You see, our hearts are meant for each other, and you traveled four lightyears to get to me, after eight months of being apart, and still had the courage to tell me you loved me even though I was bonded to someone else."/p

pShe walked around the room and stood in front of Lena, whose heart was about to implode… What was Kara playing at?/p

p"It wasn't instantaneous like it was for you," Kara said somberly as she shook her head. "It happened in an slowly, and then it hit me like a truck." She knelt down in front of Lena, who was finding it hard to breathe because of all the hope that was threatening to suffocate her. "We were laughing at a movie, cuddled on your couch, being best friends, and the next thing I knew I looked at you and my breath went away. I realized just how beautiful you were. I realized that I was undeniably in love with you, and the necessity to protect you overwhelmed me, because the thought of losing you made me sick. You've consumed parts of me that I never even knew were empty, Lena… but once you filled them, I felt the loss as soon as you stated that we weren't friends. Those eight months on Argo without you were bittersweet, because I was home, but my home wasn't there with me."/p

pLena had tears in her eyes, staring at Kara, pleading with her to not say any more, because she knew that they couldn't be together. "Kara… please."/p

pKara shook her head. "No, Lena. I'm done pretending that I don't go insane without you. You give me butterflies; you make my heart skip beats, you take my breath away whenever you smile. Hell, when you told me that you loved me back on Argo, it killed me, because I thought for sure you were just saying it because you were high on the healing solution, I didn't want to turn you down, hell no. You just traveled three months alone across the entire galaxy to give me both of my homes… All I wanted to do was kiss you until you forgot who you were… I never thought that you'd ever feel the same, Lena. You're amazing. But I'm here now, and I'm telling you that I'm in love with you too, you complete me too, and I want to be with you too."/p

pLena swallowed back her tears of joy, unable to comprehend how all of her dreams had come true in such a short amount of time… but then she remembered two significant problems about their situation. "What about Kell-Ur?" She asked./p

pKara shook her head. "I had you wait here so I could explain to him why he and I couldn't bond. He was sad, but he wished us well. He's back on Argo now, and he's going to bond with Tor-An who he got an 83% match with."/p

pLena was thrilled that Kara felt the same way, she wanted so badly to lean in and kiss Kara, but she was still terrified, and needed to be sure that this wasn't going to be stripped away from her... That Kara wasn't going to be furious with her and want nothing to do with her once she found out what Lena had done on Argo. "I need to tell you something... Something that I'm not sure how you will react to."/p

pKara looked at her, concern written all over her face. "What is it?" She asked./p

p"I…" Lena closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to center herself. "When you fought that Martian, I took a sample of your blood." She opened her eyes and stared met Kara's cerulean orbs. "When you took Kell-Ur's call at the Matricomp, I put our blood in and tested it… but when I got the results, we only got a 67%."/p

pKara sat there, resting on one knee and one foot, and then broke out into a loud guffaw. "Y-… Only Kryptonians can work that machine." She laughed. "I thought... I thought I told you that."/p

pLena frowned, not liking the fact that Kara didn't seem to have faith in her skills... "Well, I certainly managed to get a result." She declared petulantly as she pulled out the paper she received from the Matricomp and showed it to Kara, pointing at the number at the bottom. "See? 67%"/p

pKara tightened her lips, visibly tying to avoid laughing, but she failed miserably and laughed aloud. "Lena… that's the battery percentage." She pointed to the top of the page, "I know you don't speak Kryptonese, so see here?" She asked amusedly. "It says, 'Unknown error, please try another user.' … Only Kryptonians can get the Matricomp to work."/p

pThe rope around Lena's heart untied itself, and she flung herself into Kara's arms of steel. She felt utterly idiotic for not listening to everything Kara had said while she was explaining the way the Matricomp worked, but she was utterly relieved that she and Kara still had a chance. "Oh emthank god/em." She whispered breathlessly. "I thought we'd never be together."/p

pKara enveloped her. "Even if we got a 2% I'd be with you, Lena… No one says you stronghave/strong to get bonded... we could just move in together if nothing else."/p

pLena pulled back and met Kara's eyes. "You mean I was worried about a number that meant nothing to you?"/p

pKara shook her head. "That number means a lot to me, but emyou/em mean strongemeverything/em/strong."/p

p"I love you." Lena avowed, her heart melting from Kara's declaration. "And I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you."/p

pKara cupped Lena's face with both of her hands, and leaned in, kissing her with a passion that Lena had never experienced in her life./p

pThe room fell away, and Lena had never gotten so lost in a kiss before. It was as though the space between them exploded. Her heart skipped beats, and her hands couldn't bring Kara close enough to her. She tasted Kara and realized that she'd been starving her whole life until that point./p

pShe'd loved before, of course, she had, there was Jack, but it didn't set her on fire. It didn't give her butterflies in her entire torso. It didn't set off fireworks through her veins… It didn't take her breath away… Not like kissing Kara did./p

pKara's lips were soft, and her skin even smoother as it brushed against Lena's. And All Lena knew in that moment, was that even if she didn't know until that point, she'd been waiting for Kara her entire life./p

pWhen they pulled back, Kara rested her forehead against Lena's. "I'm going to marry you someday." Kara whispered. "I don't care if you're not my perfect match on Argo, Lena. I'm going to marry you on Earth regardless, and we're going to live happily ever after whether they like it or not."/p

pLena smiled, she loved that Kara felt so passionate about being with her, but she needed that number to be higher than 80%... She couldn't go through with it if it weren't, because regardless of how Kara felt now, she knew that if not then, then eventually, Kara would resent her if they got married on Earth and Argo shunned her… Or if they could never get married because it was against the law; and that was something Lena couldn't live with. No matter how much she craved to be with Kara, she couldn't cause her to lose her world for a second time… She just couldn't./p

pFor then, however, she just relished being loved by Kara. Taking in all that she was. Reveling in her smell. In her touch. In her love… because as much as she wanted this forever, she wasn't sure how much longer she could have it./p

p"I think we should still test ourselves at the Matricomp," Lena suggested./p

pKara nodded. "Of course." She affirmed. "If there's a chance that I can marry you on both planets, I'm sure as hell taking it."/p

pLena laughed, blissfully happy that Kara loved her so much, thrilled to finally have Kara like this, but terrified for what was about to come next./p