A few days later, Adam went back home after a hard day of work at the library of his college. When the young man opened the door of the penthouse, he wasn't really surprised to find his little brother on the couch, playing video games. Carter, however, when he turned his head to see the new person in the house, looked confused.
"Shouldn't you be out with Kara? I thought you guys had a date tonight." the boy asked, returning to his game
"She and mom will be working late tonight. They told me something came up and couldn't wait until tomorrow." Adam explained, clearly disappointed, sitting next to his brother
"Yeah, they have a lot of those. You'll have to get used to it." the boy said, handing an other controler to Adam
"So I guess it's just you and me tonight, huh?" he started. "Pizza?" Adam then asked after starting playing
"Absolutely." Carter agreed like it was an evidence, making his brother smile.
SSSSSSSS
Almost an hour later, the two were eating, still on the couch and the game pausing. Adam couldn't stop thinking about what Kara had told him a few days earlier about Carter. Since then, he had wanted to speak to the boy but hadn't found the right moment. So Adam took advantage of their loneliness and chose his words carefully, hoping he wouldn't scare the boy away.
"Carter?" he asked hesitantly
"Um?" Carter hummed, looking up to his brother
"You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"
"Yeees. Why?" the boy asked suspiscious
"Because if you have any questions you don't feel comfortable asking Cat, I want to make sure that you know you can ask me." Adam explained quite awkwardly, turning around the pot
"And?" Carter wondered, waiting for the rest to come
"Do you have some? I mean questions you might want to ask?"
"Kara told you, right?" the boy concluded with a smirk, amused by the embarassement of his big brother
"She didn't tell me everything." Adam started, still uncomfortable. "But she told me there was possibly someone and-."
"And you want to know more about her." Carter interrupted
"Well that and I also want to help you. If you need it, I mean. Maybe you don't need help at all but just in case, I'm here." Adam said at a quick rate
"Wow, you're really nervous." Carter chuckled. "I think you're spending too much time with Kara." he added before sighing, gaining courage for what would come. "Her name is Olivia." he finally said, suddenly becoming more nervous
"And?" Adam pushed, definitely wanting more
"And what? There nothing more to say about her!" Carter quickly answered, blushing a little bit
"That's not what Kara insinuated." Adam teased.
The two brothers stared to each other, Carter more glaring then anything else. But seeing that his brother wouldn't let go this stupid smile off his face, the boy decided to comply.
"She likes science, she's brunet and she smells good. There, I said it."
"Said what?" Adam kept pushing, clearly reversing the earlier role. "That you like her?"
"M-Maybe." Carter finally admitted, looking down. "But there's nothing yet. I mean it's not official or anything. I'm not even sure she likes me back." the boy shrugged
"Kara told me you kissed her on the cheek."
"Well that was stupid, ok? I went to say goodbye and the next thing I know, my mouth is on her cheek." he shot, angry at himself
"What did she do? How did she react?" Adam asked softly, encouraging his brother
"I don't know... She smiled." Carter answered more calmly
"Then it's good, man. You're on the right track." he assured, giving him a small push on the shoulder
"Do you think I should ask her out? Or is it too soon?" Carter wondered, his lack of confidence immediately kicking in
"I don't know. How often do you see her?"
"Well every two days since last week. She asked me to do the science project with her so every two days we have an hour and a half to work on it."
"That's perfect!" Adam cheered. "You know what? Just wait a few more days, see how it goes, and then ask her out. I'm sure she won't say no." he assured. "And besides, she is the one who asked you." the young man pointed
"I know but I don't know at the same time. It's not logical and I'm all about logic." Carter whined
"You guys, the scientists I mean, you think too much. Look at me. I'm a simple stupid guy, I don't think too much and I have an awesome girlfriend." Adam joked
"You're far from stupid." Carter chuckled. "Because Kara wouldn't date you if you were."
"That's because you didn't see me stare stupidly at her." Adam countered. "Love is a powerful thing but God it makes people act stupid!" he half-joked
"Do you think Olivia becomes stupid like I do when she's with me?" Carter asked afraid of the answer
"I'm sure she does." Adam started. "But you know what?" he added, receiving a negative nod from his brother. "We become so stupid that we can't even see how the other react. Alex, Kara's sister, told me that she didn't even notice that I was flirting with her the first we met. And trust me, it was pretty obvious."
Carter laughed at the revelation. Perhaps he didn't have to worry so much about asking Olivia out. Perhaps he just needed to believe in himself and stop being so scared. He was a scientist and all the facts tended to show that Olivia wouldn't say no. Smiling, the boy took an other slice of pizza and smiled widely.
"Thanks." he said, receiving a big smile from Adam.
SSSSSSSSS
The next day, in the end of the afternoon, after work, Kara was flying towards the DEO when she received a call from her boyfriend.
"Hey, am I disturbing you? You just flew above me and you were very fast." Adam said
"No, not at all. Everyting is good." Kara started, slowing slightly. "I'm just going to the DEO see my aunt. It's been a few days and I wanted to check on her."
"Oh..."
"Is there something wrong?" Kara asked, frowning, suddenly worried
"I just thought that, since last night you got caught up with work and we couldn't go out... I just thought that we could do something tonight." Adam said, upset
"I'm sorry..." the young woman said, embarrassed to kill her boyfriend's plan
"No, it's ok. I understand." he assured, still diappointed
"I'll be just away for a few hours. You can still come to my apartment and we could watch a movie or something." Kara tried
"You sure?"
"Yeah! I know it's not much. Sorry."
A short silence settled. It was uncomfortable. Kara felt bad for disappointing Adam but she had promised Astra she was going to come tonight. Finally, Adam's voice brought her back to the reality.
"Fine but I pick the movie and the food."
"Deal." Kara agreed with a smile, even if Adam couldn't see her
"See you there then." the young man said before hanging up.
With a heavy sigh, Kara focused back on her flight and sped up again.
A few minutes later, when she arrived at the DEO, the sun was almost down. After a quick glance around the base, she was glad to see that her sister wasn't around. Since the fight with Non, Alex had become more carefull about herslef and wasn't passing her nights at work anymore.
SSSSSSSS
Only a few minutes later, Kara landed in the base. Without thinking twice, the young woman walked towards her aunt's quarter. After knocking three times on the door, Kara entered to find her aunt sat at her new desk.
"Hello, Little One." Astra greeted with a smile. "Long time no see."
"Hi." Kara said a bit awkwardly. "I know, I'm sorry. I've been kind of busy these past few days. My boss was on a buiness trip so I had to organized things at work." she justified
"It's ok." Astra said simply before inviting Kara to come closer
"What are you doing?" the young kryptonian asked seeing the open book on the desk
"Studying. As funny as it might seems, I like learning about Earth's different cultures." the general answered.
The woman then stood up and invited her niece to sit on the edge of the bed to be more comfortable.
"Earth is so unlike Krypton." Astra added with a sigh of nostalgia
"I know, right." Kara chuckled. "Everyone had the same way of life back then."
"So much simpler but also so monotone. At least here, the difference may divide people but also create so much riches and diversity. I find it fascinating." Astra said with passion. "And do you know how the Histoty here is so full of surprises and treasures for mankind. I can really learn about how the human society is organized and constructed."
"Wow, you and Adam could be best buddies." Kara joked making her aunt smile
"I would really like that sometimes." Astra said sweetly.
Kara stared at her for a moment, a little taken aback by the revelation but also by the sweetness of Astra's tone. Until then, Kara didn't really know that Astra cared so much about Adam. Obviously, the only reason was because he was apart of Kara's life. If the young man was only a friend, she would pay so much attention to him.
"Me too." Kara finally smiled, leaning her head on her aunt's shoulder
The two stayed there, enjoying each other. At one moment, Astra extended one hand and stroke her niece's hair. It was such a rare moment. And it was a missed one too. The last time Astra had had such opportunity was back on Krypton. Eventually, Kara broke the silence.
"Do you know what will happen next?" she asked softly
"Maybe. I have a few ideas." Astra answered before pausing. Kara waited pentiently. "I want to make up for my action, Kara. But I also want to save this planet. Is there such thing as ecolocigal embassador?" she said making her niece face her again
"I don't know. I mean there's Green Peace and everything."
"I think I want to do that. I want to make people aware of the great danger this planet is facing. But without...killing people." the general half-joked with a sad smile
"I'm glad you have plans. What about the others?"
"Two of them are inclined to follow me and stay by my side. The four others want to start a new life of peace and tranquility." Astra sighed. "I can't blame them. I have to agree it is very appealing."
"Then why did you choose to fight?"
"Because I have failed Krypton and I will not fail Earth too. I feel like I have a debt to this planet. I gave orders I am not proud of." the general confessed, ashamed
"But you've already payed the price and you helped us stop this war." Kara countered sincerely
"Kara, you do not know what Non and I had planned for later. You do not know the terrible things that would have happened." Astra shot back
"It's over now. Whatever was going to happen, you stopped it. No one will get hurt." the young woman assured, taking her aunt's hand in hers. "You have to stop blaming yourself."
"I will when humans will trust me. It might take a while before they gain faith in me." she countered more coldly than she wanted
"I have faith in you, aunt Astra. And I will help you."
Astra smiled weakly. Kara obviously was the sweetest person in the galaxy. Her niece hadn't really changed since Krypton. At least, her faith in people was still intact. Astra was so proud of her.
Again, a few seconds of silence settled and Astra quickly noticed something in Kara behaviour. Was it...impatience?
"Kara..." Astra started, making the young woman look up. "Go." she smiled.
Kara didn't respond with words and only managed to appear confused.
"Go see your loved one. I can guess by the look on your face. You should learn to be a little less obvious with your emotions." Astra smirked, making Kara fake a pout
"I'll try to work on that." she laughed.
Eventually, Kara stood up with a smile and started to leave.
"It was good to talk to you, aunt Astra."
"To you too." the general smiled. "And Kara." she called when the kryptonian opened the door, making her look back in a smile of enticipation. "Don't break the bed." Astra smirked widely.
Kara snapped her eyes open and flushed bright red before leaving quickly, embarrassed at her maximum. She left Astra laughing and shaking her head.
SSSSSSSS
After only a few minutes of flight that was enough to wipe the embarrassement off Kara's face, the young hero was entering her apartment through a window. She smiled widely when she was welcomed by a passionate kiss.
"Good evening to you too." Kara smiled once there separated
"Dinner is ready and waiting on the coffee table. You just have to change and then we can start the film." Adam said still holding his girlfriend's waist
"I'm too hungry for that." Kara chuckled. "And I like eating in my suit. It's contradictory." she added envelopping them in her cape.
The two headed toward the couch and sat next to each other.
"I thought pasta and Avatar would be a good choice." Adam said
"Oh, I've never seen that one!" Kara cheered
"Really? I tought you had seen every single films with aliens in it."
"Not this one. I had a bad experience with blue aliens once on Krypton." Kara explained. "Na'vis don't have computers right?" she asked, joking
"No." Adam laughed before playing the movie.
SSSSSSSS
A few hours later, after the movie and an entire bowl of pasta, Kara finally traded her suit for her pajamas. Adam had made some comments about them, finding them cute in a way that meant that he didn't like them. However, Kara wouldn't give up her comfy pajamas. The two lovers went to bed without any action, despite what Astra had predicted, and quickly fell asleep in each other arms.
It was almost 4 a.m. when Adam shifted in his sleep. Turning from his side to his stomach, his left arm went to wrap the other person in the bed but found no one. Instantly feeling something was wrong, Adam woke up confused. He looked at Kara's pillow with his sleepy eyes. Usualy, when Supergirl was requested in the middle of the night, Kara would leave a note on her pillow. But tonight, nothing was left there. Sitting up in the bed, Adam looked around him, slightly concerned, until he found the object of his desire. The young man left the bed and walked, still half asleep, in the living-room. There, Kara was standing by the window, in the moon's bright light, a hand on her stomach and a single tear running down her cheek, staring at the city.
"Another nightmare?" Adam asked, softly wrapping his arms around Kara.
The young woman just nodded, leaning into the man's bare chest. The nightmares had replaced the phantom pain. They weren't mandatory every night, just occuring once or twice a week. The sessions with the DEO psychologist really helped. Kara tried to attend at least once a week.
"Are you ok?" Adam asked, gently rubbing the woman's stomach where her wound used to be
"Better now." the young woman answered weakly, still staring outside the window.
Kara silently covered Adam's hand with her own and squeezed it gently.
"Want to go back to sleep?" the man asked
"Yeah." Kara said weakly.
The kryptonian turned to face her lover and kissed him lightly on the lips, thanking him. Going back to the bed room, the silent and comfortable atmosphere broke with Kara's phone.
"I guess we'll have to wait." she said, sighing, then frowned when she saw it was Alex.
After picking up, she didn't have the time to say one word that her sister had already explained the situation and the one sided conversation was over. Determination settled on Kara's face, contradicting with Adam's concerned expression.
"Lord Technology is under attack."
AN: Thanks for reading/following!
Still not much action but cliffhanger! I wanted to developpe relationships in this chapter to sort of update you on what happened in the two months separating the two stories. Don't forget to comment on this chapter. I'm open to suggestions and advices.
Next, Kara will have to defend Lord Tech and the mystery begins. Also some lighter moments like game night with James and Winn.