Kara shoots up from the bed, muttering a string of expletives and she yanks the bedroom door open, only to stop in the doorway. Before her stands Lena, a cup of coffee in one hand and what looks like Kara's cellphone in the other.
"Hey," Lena greets her with a smile. "Coffee?"
"Uh, yeah, sure. Thank you," she replies as she takes the mug from her hand. "I thought—"
"You thought I'd left?"
"Yeah."
"No, I just woke up and heard your phone vibrating so I checked the caller ID and saw it was your sister. I hope you don't mind. I took the call in the living-room and then made some coffee."
"Oh. Not at all. What did Alex want?"
"To know where we were and if we were okay," Lena says as she turns and walks over to the couch where she sits down.
Kara follows her while sipping her coffee. It is stronger than the one she usually makes but she finds that she likes it that way, too.
"I told her we'd be at the DEO later today," Lena continues. "She also said Mon-El will be okay but he's still very weak for now."
"Good. That's good news. What about her; did she say anything?"
"No. I think Detective Sawyer was with her though. Must've spent the night there."
"Oh. Okay."
Kara places the mug on the coffee table and shifts so that she can face Lena, who avoids her gaze.
"How are you feeling," Kara asks with her softest voice.
"I—I don't know. I'm sad but I'm also… relieved. Like a weight's been lifted off my back."
Lena's fingers play with her invisibility ring, and Kara's eyes drift to it.
"Does it still work?"
"It's run out of battery."
"I still have your solar lamp here, if you want. I know it's going to be overwhelming to be out there later, when…"
"When the public hears about Lex, and about me."
"Yes. If you need to disappear for a while…"
"Thank you, Kara. For everything that you've done for me."
"Hey, don't mention it. That's what friends do, right?"
Lena looks at her then, with an indecipherable expression that makes Kara squirm a little.
"Yes," Lena agrees, "I suppose that is what friends do."
The sun is high in the sky when Lena finally tells Kara that she's ready to face the onslaught of questions that awaits her. Kara asks her several times if she's sure and Lena reassures her that it's fine and that she can handle it. She looks determined and strong, and Kara feels proud of her but also a bit worried. She knows Lena's walls are made of steel and right now, they're all the way up and Kara's afraid she might not be able to talk to the real Lena for a while; afraid she might be confronted to the Luthor in her and not the woman she's grown to love.
But Lena surprises her once more. She sits closer, stands closer, leans in when Kara speaks, lets her fingertips brush against Kara's arm, Kara's hand. She offers soft smiles that make Kara's heart beat faster and, when they're ready to leave the apartment, she hugs Kara tightly around the neck, her chin resting on Kara's shoulder.
Supergirl, now in costume, wraps her arms around Lena and holds her for a minute before she takes off.
It's Lucy who interrogates Lena about what went down in the bunker and about the day of the explosion. Kara paces nervously at Alex's bedside while Lena is in the interrogation room, and Alex rolls her eyes and has to tell her sister several times to stop it before Kara stands still.
"She'll be fine, Kara. Lena didn't do anything wrong."
"They'll want to know why she hesitated before shooting him."
"It's Lucy, okay? She's on our side."
"Exactly. And she doesn't know Lena, so to her, Lena is just another Luthor."
"Come on. That's not true."
Kara doesn't reply. She knows that's not true; that Lucy will listen to her if need be, but worry gnaws at her nonetheless. She could try to listen in, to hear what's going on in there but maybe Lena is saying things she wouldn't want Kara to know and she just can't intrude like that. So she is left anxiously waiting for the interrogation to be over.
When Lena follows Lucy out of the interrogation room half an hour later, Kara springs to her feet, having sat down earlier, and rushes out to meet them. She tries her best to not look like a maniac when she reaches them and offers a polite smile at Lucy.
"How did it go," she asks them both.
"I've got everything I need for the deposition," Lucy replies. "Miss Luthor here even agreed to submit herself to the lie detector, and she passed. I'll give a copy of this file to the FBI. They might ask you more questions, both of you, but in the meantime you're absolutely free to go."
"I'd kill for a coffee," Lena admits.
Then, realizing her poor choice of words as Lucy and Kara turn to look at her, she smiles sheepishly and shrugs.
"I don't mean that literally, obviously."
"Right. Well, I'll leave you two to it; I've got plenty on my plate," Lucy says.
"Thanks, Lucy. I'm glad you're here."
"I'll see you around, Kara."
Once Lucy has walked away, Kara shifts her attention back to Lena who is staring at her expectantly.
"So, about that coffee?"
They end up flying back to Kara's apartment because Lena can't be seen in public yet.
"I want to work on a statement," Lena announces after she's done rinsing her mug and places it on the dish rack.
"A statement?"
"I will be giving a press conference as soon as the FBI clears me and we can come up with a cover story about how I was in witness protection, or something. Lucy Lane suggested it. It's a good idea."
"It… yeah, it is."
"It would need to happen in a couple of days, after they announce… Lex's death."
Lena swallows hard and she looks away from Kara. When she speaks again, her voice doesn't betray her emotion.
"Will you help me? With the statement, I mean."
"Of course. We can do that now, if you want?"
"Yes, okay. We might as well start now."
Kara wonders several times why Lena even bothered to ask for her help, because it seems that the CEO finds the words easily and she doesn't look up from her piece of paper until she's satisfied with her first draft. She slides it toward Kara so that the blonde can read it and chews nervously on her bottom lip while she waits. Finally, Kara looks up after five minutes and she blinks twice to clear her vision.
"So?"
"Lena… it's pretty much the perfect statement. I, uh, I don't know what to say."
"You're crying," Lena observes as her thumb catches a tear rolling down Kara's cheek.
"It's just… what you wrote. About Lex. About your employees. It's beautiful."
Lena's head ducks and she shrugs.
"They're just words. They won't bring them back."
"Words can be powerful. I think there are a few things to rephrase or modify but overall, this is really good, Lena."
"I want it to be perfect. I need it to be perfect."
"It will be," Kara assures as her hand rests on top of Lena's on the kitchen table. "Let's work on that second draft together, okay?"
Lena nods and changes seats, opting to sit right next to Kara so that they can go on. Their knees brush against each other's under the table and Kara takes a deep breath to help her focus on the task at hand.
She could swear Lena knows exactly what she's doing to Kara's… feelings. Because Lena alternates between writing, staring at Kara while Kara writes, and touching Kara's thigh. And Kara can feel Lena's eyes studying her, and she can definitely feel the hand on her thigh that somehow seems to slide higher inch by inch but actually doesn't. It's driving her crazy.
After a long hour of working on the second draft, Kara drops the pen on the table and leans back in her chair. Lena withdraws the hand that was on her thigh and Kara immediately misses the warmth of it.
"There. Done. I think it's good."
"Good?"
"I think it's perfect," Kara amends.
Lena's smile is blinding and Kara finds herself smiling back just as wide.
"Uh, how about a snack? Are you hungry? We skipped lunch," Kara offers.
"Sounds good."
Kara almost runs to the fridge. The events of today have made her forget about food but her stomach is reminding her rather loudly now. She inspects what's inside the fridge and sighs.
"Hey Lena, what do you feel like eating? Fruits or fruits?"
"Fruits will do just fine," Lena says.
Kara startles at the sound of her voice, much closer than she expected. She slams the fridge shut and turns to face Lena who stands a mere foot from her. The innocent smile on her face is belied by the mischievous glint in her eyes and Kara gulps.
"Well?"
"Well what?"
"The fruits, Kara."
"Right. Yes. They're in the fridge."
"I know that. Aren't you taking them out so we can eat them?"
"I—I am? I mean, I am. Yes."
A hand reaches up to adjust her glasses before she remembers that she hasn't put them on today and she awkwardly drops her hand back to her side. Lena has gotten the reaction she wanted, apparently, because she turns back and goes back to sit at her place, smirk still plastered on her face. Kara hates it.
Kara loves it.
When the time comes to say goodnight, neither Kara nor Lena acknowledge the fact that they curl up together in Kara's bed, under the covers. It's the third night in a row, and Kara wonders if it's going to become a thing or not. It could, she thinks. But Lena doesn't say a word about it, doesn't crack a joke or tease Kara, so the Kryptonian remains quiet.
Lena's head rests on her shoulder once more and they talk for a while about the movie they've just watched together. Kara hates how easy it would be to get used to this. Of their own accord, her arms close around Lena and hold her tightly against Kara's own body. Lena simply sighs.
"How are you," Kara asks in the darkness of the room.
Lena stiffens immediately and Kara, instinctively, lazily rubs circles on her back.
"I'm fine," Lena replies.
"It's just me, you know? You don't have to pretend around me. I understand what it's like to lose someone you love."
Her words are met with silence as Lena ponders on them. Kara almost thinks she's fallen asleep as the quietness stretches. But Lena moves against her, plays with a lock of Kara's hair and still says nothing.
"I felt like I was drowning, when I first arrived on Earth. I couldn't breathe without it being painful. Part of it was that my lungs needed to get used to the air here, but I know that it was the pain of losing my parents. My whole world. I was all alone in a foreign world, and I just… I felt like I had died with them back on Krypton."
It takes another minute for Lena to lower her walls and start talking. When she does, it's with her nose tickling Kara's neck and her breath hot on Kara's skin.
"I want to live, Kara. But I'm not sure how I'm supposed to do that knowing that I have blood on my hands. The blood of the one person who's ever made me feel like I had a family. He was… Lex was my person, you know? And the blood of the people he killed in that explosion, trying to get to me. They're dead because they were my employees. Jess—I—I don't know how to put this behind me, Kara. I just don't know…"
"You can't take on that burden, Lena. Your employees' deaths are not on you. They're not. And Lex… didn't give you a choice. He was too far gone, Lena. He was out of your reach. You… I believe that by killing him, you showed him mercy. I believe death was the only way he could ever find peace again."
There's a very slim chance that her words will help but Kara doesn't have a clue what she could do to ease Lena's pain. She understands it all too well. But Lena's left hand finds her cheek and strokes it softly.
"Thank you, Kara."
"I meant that, Lena. None of this is your fault. One day you'll find that you can breathe again and your lungs don't burn anymore. The pain will ease with time. I promise."
Lena doesn't say anything more and Kara kisses her forehead tenderly.
"Try to get some sleep."
"You, too," Lena whispers.
Fifteen minutes later, Kara is about to let Morpheus claim her for a few hours when she feels a pair of lips gently press against her neck. When her fingertips venture slightly under Lena's shirt to ghost over her skin, Lena doesn't pull away and Kara pretends she's already asleep.