They pull apart, eventually, and if the hug lasted long enough to be considered awkward, neither Kara nor Lena acknowledges it.
"Are we done playing twenty questions," Lena asks with an uncertain smile.
"For now," Kara concedes.
A look at the DVD player lets her know that it's now way past midnight.
"Are you hungry?"
"I could eat," Lena admits.
"Great. I haven't really had dinner yet."
Her plate is still waiting for her on the table, unfinished. Kara pulls out another plate and gestures in direction of the fridge.
"Help yourself to whatever you want that's in there."
"Oh, thank you!"
Kara waits until Lena is sat with her at the table before she takes a bite of her lasagna.
"Ew," she says as she swallows, "it's cold."
"How long has this been out?"
"Since before you showed up," Kara confesses sheepishly. "I probably should've known it'd be cold by now."
"Well, don't you have a microwave," Lena questions, failing to suppress a slightly mocking smile.
"No need."
Technically, Lena's witnessed Supergirl's powers before so she's not really doing anything new. Except that this time, when she uses her heat vision, she's dressed as Kara—a ready-for-bed Kara. Lena watches, enraptured, her fingers drumming on the table, next to her plate. Kara blushes when she looks up and realizes she's being watched.
"I'm never going to get used to this," Lena jokes as she picks up her fork and steals a bit of lasagna from Kara's plate.
For the first time in forever, Kara doesn't mind sharing her food.
They eat in silence; Kara trying hard not to stare at Lena and Lena pretending she doesn't notice, although there's a lingering smile she can't suppress on her face.
"Why didn't you come to me sooner," Kara asks once they're done and she's putting the plates in her dishwasher.
"I only just figured out where Lex is staying."
"So? You knew I was Supergirl, you could have still reached out and I would've protected you if need be."
Kara struggles with the resentment that suddenly washes over her. She understands what Lena is saying and yet she can't seem to accept it. Lena isn't impressed. She raises an eyebrow and leans against the table.
"I couldn't take the risk of anyone finding out I wasn't dead. It has nothing to do with you, Kara."
Lena will not back down on this; Kara knows. She nods and drops the topic.
"I will have to tell the DEO about you," she says cautiously.
"Is it absolutely necessary?"
"If we're going after Lex we'll need a team with us."
It's not what Kara had imagined, and she hasn't had time to process her feelings regarding Lex but she knows that this is the sensible choice. That too many things can go wrong if she just goes with Lena. As they make their way back to the couch, Kara forces herself to face her darker thoughts.
Does she resent Lena for not telling her about her telepathic ability sooner? Maybe a little. Does she still want to kill Lex Luthor? Yes. She's dreamed about it several times since the explosion. She's dreamed about all the different ways she could end his life. It should scare her, but it doesn't. That is what scares her.
"Kara? Are you still with me?"
Lena's voice snaps her out of her thoughts and she realizes that they're now sitting down. There's concern in Lena's eyes and Kara waves it off.
"Yeah, sorry. What were you saying?"
"Just that I should get going soon. The ring will run out of battery even if I don't actively use it."
"Oh. I—Are you sure? I'd rather not lose sight of you. I mean I'd sleep better if I knew you were safe."
The excuse sounds lame, even to her own ears, and Lena sees right through it.
"Relax, Kara. Nothing's going to happen to me."
"You don't know that," Kara retorts defensively.
"What do you suggest I do? Go to work with you at CatCo during the day?"
"I took some time off."
"Oh. Well, I still need to recharge the ring," Lena points out.
"I can get that solar lamp for you. Lena…"
She has to be truthful right now, or Lena will end up walking out of that door and Kara simply can't let that happen. Not so soon after getting her back.
"Lena," she starts again, her voice more confident, "I wish you stay here with me, at least until we figure out a plan of action. I'd feel much better if I could actually see you all the time."
At Lena's raised eyebrow, Kara realizes the double-meaning of her words and she blushes.
"I—I mean," she stutters, "I mean not all the time all the time, not in a pervy way, no, I just… You know what I mean."
If Lena's amused expression is anything to go by, she's enjoying this way too much. Kara slaps her arm playfully and Lena chuckles.
"Fine, Kara, fine. It if helps you sleep tonight, I'll stay. But I do need that solar lamp. There's one in my penthouse, in the bottom drawer of the bedside table; I trust you know the way?"
"Affirmative," Kara nods. "You wait for me here and I'll be right back. Oh, while I think about it, I might've broken the handle of the sliding door."
"Well, lucky for you I won't be living there for a while so it won't be a problem."
"I'll make it up to you, I promise," Kara says over her shoulder as she walks to her bedroom to get changed.
A moment later, she waves at Lena and swears she won't be long before she takes off into the night.
It takes Kara all of two minutes to find what she's looking for. The solar lamp is rather small but Kara supposes it gets the job done. She revisits Lena's penthouse and gathers some things she knows the woman will need, such as a toothbrush and clean clothes and underwear.
Kara blushes hard while she goes through the drawer full of lingerie and she tries her best not to focus too much on what she's doing. She settles for a couple of ensembles and slams the drawer shut a bit harder than intended. She shoves everything into the paper bag she was smart enough to bring with her and flies away.
On her flight back to her place, Kara's thoughts drift into uncharted territory as her mind conjures up an image of Lena in that lacy black bra hidden in the bag and the Kryptonian almost drops everything she's holding. This hasn't happened before. Well, at least, not while she's awake if Kara's honest with herself.
She's had dreams about Lena, dreams she's forced herself to never think about or analyze. Dreams that make her heart beat faster. Dreams completely, absolutely inappropriate, considering Lena is a friend. But Kara forgives herself by repeating over and over in her head that she has no control over her subconscious.
The underwear though, Kara suspects, will haunt her for the foreseeable future.
Lena is sprawled on the couch when Kara comes back and it really doesn't help that her shirt is slightly riding up, which means Kara can see soft, creamy skin and that is the last thing she needs right now. Thankfully, Lena sits up when she hears the window close behind Supergirl.
"That was fast," she remarks.
"Yeah, perks of being able to fly, I guess," Kara laughs nervously.
She hands Lena the paper bag and makes sure she's not looking her in the eye when she does so.
"Here. I picked up some stuff you'll need. I hope you don't mind."
"Not at all," Lena replies as she takes hold of the bag and peeks inside, "I—oh. I see you found the underwear drawer. I hope that wasn't too uncomfortable."
Kara's cheeks are burning and she looks at her feet while she shakes her head.
"Or traumatizing," Lena adds, clearly teasing her now.
"What you have in there is probably more expensive than everything in this apartment combined. If anything I'd say it was a bit intimidating," Kara manages to say without stuttering.
"Well, thank you, Kara. It was a very thoughtful move. Can I use the bathroom?"
"Oh, of course, it's right over there," Kara exclaims a bit too loudly as she points toward the closed door behind her.
As she gets up gracefully, Lena shoots Kara a thankful smile and steps around her to go to the bathroom. Kara doesn't move, doesn't dare breathe until she hears the click that means the door is safely locked behind Lena.
When Lena comes out of the bathroom fifteen minutes later, she stops in her tracks and shakes her head.
"No. No way."
"What," Kara asks, alarmed.
"I am not kicking you out of bed, Kara. I'll take the couch."
Kara sits up and pushes the blanket back a little. She's used her super speed to change the sheets of her bed, get back in her pajamas and to settle on the couch before Lena could say anything, but apparently her friend is going to argue over this anyway.
"Psh, no way! You're a guest, you get the bed."
"I didn't want to impose, Kara, I'm certainly not letting you sleep on your own couch."
"I won't move off this couch."
"Kara, you're making me feel terrible."
Lena even dares to pout. Kara's eyes widen and she scrambles to her feet, pillow and blanket forgotten behind as she walks over to where Lena is standing. Lena, wearing a shirt too large for her and a pair of shorts too short for Kara's wandering mind.
"No, don't feel terrible! I—I just… It's just that you're the guest, you're not supposed to sleep on the couch."
"Then let me sleep with you, Kara, if it's so important to you," Lena suggests.
"Sleep with me," Kara practically squeals.
Both hands shoot up to her face to adjust her glasses. Lena smirks.
"I meant let's share the bed, Kara. Mind out of the gutter."
"Yes. Right. I know that. I got that."
She's still rambling when Lena walks away from her and into the bedroom. Kara is left to stare after her and if her eyes drop a little too low for a couple of seconds, she will deny it until the day she dies.
"Kara? Are you coming?"
"Oh Rao," she whispers.
Then, louder:
"Yep! Yes! On my way!"
So maybe Lena tells her to stop thinking so much once or twice or thrice before she drifts off to sleep. Maybe Kara tries to follow her advice but fails miserably. She's not used to sleeping with someone in her bed. It doesn't matter that it's Lena, Kara thinks. It could be Winn or Alex and she'd still feel nervous.
That's a lie, her mind tells her.
What's not a lie is Kara's joy at having Lena back, safe and sound. Alive. It's Kara's trepidation at the thought of what awaits them now. It's her worry over the possibility of losing Lena again and the fierce need she feels to protect her from all the danger out there, namely her brother Lex.
Kara's mind keeps going through different scenarios—all of them pointless, she knows, because Lena hasn't given her any detail on Lex's location—and it's a long time before she manages to branch off and focus on more positive things, like the fast approaching summer holidays. Kara and her friends had talked about taking some time off to go on a vacation. It had been idle talk; all of them all too aware of the burden that came with keeping the city safe, but it had felt nice nonetheless. Kara thinks about that now, about where she'd like to go and how she'd like to relax.
It's with images of beaches and sea, of cliffs and sunsets that Kara falls asleep, her back on Lena who looks peaceful on the other side of the bed.