Kara stood outside of her and Lena's apartment waiting for the moment when her heart would stop trying to beat out of her chest. Her nerves were like a chain reaction inside her making her more nervous as each second passed. She knew Lena was worried, she heard the rapid beat of the heart she could never not listen to. She knew her girlfriend would be relieved to see her safe and home. So why couldn't she get herself to walk through that door?
Alex stood beside her, she didn't say anything just waited for her sister to make the first move. It's one of the things Kara loved so much about her sister, she never pushed her to do something she didn't want to do. Alex let her come to her own conclusions, and supported them fully once they were made.
Kara adjusted her glasses, as she reached up to knock on the bright, white door. She felt her sister put a supportive hand on her back, as she made the last movement to warn Lena of their presence.
She heard rushed footsteps in the apartment, and Kara steeled herself when the door swung open to reveal a disheveled Lena. Her girlfriend froze in her tracks, eyes racking over every inch of Kara to make sure she was physically okay.
When she seemed satisfied that her girlfriend was unharmed, she grabbed Kara's shoulder, pulling them into a tight embrace. Kara felt Lena's frame shudder under her hands, and started to run her hands up and down her back to sooth the Luthor.
"I'm okay." Kara whispered, into Lena's ear.
That was a half-lie in and of itself. Physically, yes, but she still felt the emotional turmoil of the day's events. She just couldn't block the images out of her mind. But Lena needed to hear it.
In a way, she was relieved that she felt the pain she was feeling, it reminded her that she was still alive. A person who felt things, who could feel pain even when they were technically indestructible.
She felt Lena redouble her hold, burying her face into the crook of Kara's neck. Kara looked up to see her sister, watching them with a small, sad smile. With a nod from Kara, Alex left Kara's line of vision, probably to go see her fiancée.
Kara raised her head slightly, placing a kiss on the side of Lena's head.
"Look at me." Kara whispered, when she pulled back to see Lena avoiding eye contact. Lena looked up, watery green eyes meeting blue, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left you like that."
Lena started to protest, but Kara cut her off, "It's not your fault, okay? What I said earlier…"
Kara inhaled a shaky breath, her hand going to cradle Lena's cheek, "I love you, I love you so much that sometimes I can't breathe. But I would never give that up, I could never give you up. Not for Supergirl, not for anyone.
Lena gave a hesitant nod, a confident one following before leaning forward to place a kiss on Kara's lips. It didn't last more than a couple of seconds, but it was enough to calm their racing hearts.
"I love you, too." Lena whispered, turning to face Alex who was standing next to Maggie on the other side of the room, "Thank you for bringing her home."
Alex smiled, looking between the two, "She just needed a little push. We'll leave you guys to it."
Alex said, placing a hand on the small of Maggie's back so she would follow.
Alex stopped to give Kara a quick hug, Maggie took a step back giving the sisters some space as Alex whispered "Never let her go." into Kara's ear. The hero felt her heart clench at the words, as her sister placed a feather light kiss on her forehead.
Ever since they stood on that balcony, Kara heartbroken over a love that she never thought she would have and she said those words to Alex it was like a final acceptance of Maggie. She had no doubt that her sister belonged with the woman who made her so happy and it was her way of telling Alex exactly that. And when Alex proposed to Maggie and she said yes, Kara had been thrilled for her sister and future sister-in-law.
Now, Alex had said the same words to Kara, knowing what it meant between them.
And all efforts to slow her racing heart ended at hearing those words.
Kara's eyes filled with tears, her sister stepping back, smiling as she said five last words, "You deserve to be happy."
Thank you. Kara mouthed, Alex nodded before grabbing Maggie's hand, making their exit.
Lena watched the couple leave with questioning eyes, "Kara? Everything okay?"
"Yeah," Kara said, while clearing her throat, "Yes, come sit with me?"
Lena took the hand Kara offered to her and they walked towards the couch. Kara sat down first, Lena following. They sat shoulder to shoulder. Kara repositioned their hands so her arm was under Lena's, their fingers laced together in her lap.
"Did your flight help?" Lena asked quietly.
"Some." Kara nodded, squeezing Lena's hand in reassurance, "It still hurts, I hate that I wasn't able to save him."
Kara shook her head, she didn't really want to deal with all the conflicting emotions she was feeling, "Can we maybe hold off on this talk for tonight? I'm just so exhausted, maybe we could - "
"Yes." Lena said, smirking at the laugh coming out of Kara's mouth. "What should we do instead, mm?"
"Movies? Or we could go lay in bed for a while?" Kara suggested.
"It's up to you."
"Can you just…." Kara sighed, "hold me? I just need to be close to you."
Lena responded by standing up, pulling Kara with her until they made it to her bedroom. She shimmied out of her pants before climbing into bed, raising an eyebrow when Kara stood at in the doorway. A moment later Kara was changed into a t-shirt, and climbing into bed to snuggle into Lena's side.
They both shifted a couple of times, their bodies molding to each other. Lena wrapped an arm around Kara's lower back her fingers running along exposed skin, her other hand running along Kara's arm that was across her stomach.
"Better?" Lena asked, placing a kiss on Kara's forehead.
"Yes, thank you." Kara mumbled.
"No need." Lena whispered, feeling Kara becoming heavier and heavier against her, "Get some sleep, beautiful."
Lena woke up to the smell of pancakes and coffee. Propping herself up on her elbows, she looked around her seeing Kara wasn't in the room. With a sigh, she pulled herself out of bed, crossing her arms against the cold as she walked to the kitchen.
Lena leaned against the doorway to her bedroom, a smirk playing on her lips as she watched Kara dance around on the balls of her feet, music playing quietly as she cooked breakfast.
She allowed herself to rake her eyes over the woman she fell head of heels in love with. Kara was wearing long socks that went up to the middle of her calf, and a too-large t-shirt. Her hair was down, even without any clips or bands it was in light waves, blonde accents highlighting her light brown hair as the sun glimmered through the large window.
In other words, she was gorgeous.
Pushing herself off the wall, Lena walked up behind Kara while wrapping her arms around the Kryptonian, "Morning."
Lena murmured, her chin resting on Kara's shoulder.
"Morning!" Kara chirped, tilting her head so she could give Lena a quick kiss. "I'm making us breakfast. Coffee should be ready."
"Is that a polite way of asking me to let you go?" Lena laughed, only tightening her hold on Kara.
"Never." Kara responded, instantly taking Lena back by her seriousness.
Lena pulled back just enough to turn Kara to face her, her hand going to the dial to turn of the stove. Once she was sure they wouldn't burn the building down, Lena took Kara's hand and walked them back to the couch.
They were going to have this conversation. Because if Kara was to the point where she was hiding behind her chipper facade then Lena wanted to know. And she would do everything in her power to help Kara feel like she belonged again.
"Talk to me." Lena whispered, "What's going on?"
Kara took a deep breath, literally preparing herself for the dive she was about to take, she knew she needed to tell Lena how she really felt. But Alex was taken aback by the little amount she had shared with her, what would Lena feel?
"I, um, I'm just questioning a lot of things right now." Kara murmured, looking up to meet Lena's steady gaze, "Not you, of course, never you. But, um, I guess I'm trying to decide if I still want to be Supergirl. And I know that sounds extreme, but you missed a lot of the beginning. Like how big it was that I came out as Supergirl, or how much it terrified Alex and Eliza. How much I questioned showing the world that crest and cape."
"Did I ever tell you why I saved that plane?" Kara asked, her eyes watering at the thought of almost losing Alex. Lena shook her head, not wanting to interrupt Kara's outpour by speaking. "Alex was on that plane, headed for Geneva. I was actually on a date, and this guy didn't want to be there, and so I started to focus on other things like the news and I heard it. They were saying that her plane was falling from the sky. And I reacted. I didn't think about the fact that I was exposing myself as an alien. Or the fact that I hadn't flown in years. I just jumped, because I knew that was what I had to do to save my sister."
"And you did." Lena said, pride in her eyes.
"Yes." Kara confirmed, "And then I went against her orders and started working with Winn to stop petty crimes. Later on, I joined the DEO, fought against aliens who meant to do harm to this world, and it was - "
"Thrilling?" Lena suggested, her eyes still bright as Kara retold her story.
"It some ways yes, and it also made me feel incredibly responsible. In a good way, of course. I loved it, it gave me a challenge. But now, I have you. And Alex has Maggie. And it's not just us fighting the against the world anymore. We have other people that we would have to worry about coming home to at night."
"Let me ask you this…" Lena said, waiting for a nod from Kara, "How did you feel when you saved that little girl from being hit by that car last week or when you stopped that alien from terrorizing those people in National Park?"
"Empowered, relieved, um, happy." Kara answered, her brain slowly catching up to what Lena was doing.
"And what about that family on the top floor of a burning building?" Lena pushed, tilting her head to the side.
"Lena…"
"Don't think about the rest, just answer the question." Lena said gently.
"Um, I was focused on getting back to the him, but I was overjoyed that I had managed to get the family out safe and that they were back together."
"And Henry Brooke?"
Kara closed her eyes at the name she had burned into her memory. Her heart hammered hard as she thought about a life she could have saved.
"Regret, anger," Kara shook her head with a frown, "pain."
Opening her eyes, Kara met Lena's, "All I feel is pain."
"You're allowed to feel, Kara. It's not a weakness, it took me a long time to learn that." Lena whispered, her hand going to cup Kara's face. "Everything you feel: love, pain, regret, anger, happiness… all of those emotions make you the person I fell in love with. And Supergirl or no Supergirl you'll always be a hero, your heart is what guides you, Kara, and that's why you put your life on the line every day, protecting this city, your sister, me."
Lena closed the distance between them, Kara let her eyes flutter close as Lena pressed her forehead against the hero's, "I love you, Kara Zor-el."
Kara's breath hitched, as Lena tilted her head, their lips meeting briefly.
"What about a good old fashioned girls' night?" Lena asked, knowing Kara needed her family right now. "You, me, Alex, and Maggie. We can order Chinese, watch some crappy films and just enough each other's company."
"How do you do that?" Kara asked, smiling at Lena.
"Do what?"
"Know exactly what I need."
"Because I know you better than I know myself." Lena laughed, pressing a kiss to Kara's forehead. "Come on, let's eat some pancakes."
Kara scrunched up her nose, "They're probably cold now."
"Well, thank god I made sure we kept the microwave when you moved in."
"I never said we didn't need a microwave!" Kara protested, this being a regular inside joke between the two.
"Right, says the woman, who I quote, 'Lena, I have heat vision, we don't really need any of this!' as she pointed around the kitchen." Lena raised an eyebrow, daring Kara to deny it.
"I was kidding!" Kara laughed, her arms going out, "Can't you take a joke."
"Oh, you don't think I can take a joke, do you?" Lena said, a mischievous glint in her eye that immediately wiped the smile off Kara's face.
"Uh oh." Kara whispered, a sheepish grin appearing on her face as she backed out of living room.
Lena smirked, before launching at her girlfriend, wrapping her arms around Kara as she kissed her playfully.
Laughter filled the apartment as their normal, lighthearted banter returned. They went through their Monday morning routine, knowing neither of them were planning on going into work that day. They needed a day where they could decompress from the events of the previous one. And soon they would be surrounded by the people they loved, and everything would slowly fall back into place. Kara's jobs would return to their normal jumbled mess, switching constantly from Catco reporter to the Girl of Steel. Lena leading her company, changing it into the force of good she always believed in.
And more importantly they had each other.
Their love healing the wounds unseen, a love that would carry them through the rest of their lives… together.
A/N: And that's a wrap!
Some of you may have noticed (some not lol) that I went back and smoothed out the first part of chapter one. After, re-reading it I realized that it was a little choppy, so apologizes! If any other parts stick out to you that are the same, please let me know! And give it a read if you like!
I do have a new Lena/Kara story that I plan on writing in the next couple days once I have more details planned out, I'm really excited for it so be on the lookout!
And don't worry! I fully intend on sticking with The Call!
Thanks so much for reading this story and my ramblings!
~Iza~