It isn't very comfortable sitting outside on a patio chair whilst your home is being ransacked for bugs right behind you. Kara learns that as her bathing suit clings to her uncomfortably and the towel sits roughly against her skin.
Lena is right beside her, one hand in her own and the other on her thigh rubbing gentle circles almost unconsciously as though it is her body's sole purpose to make Kara feel better.
"How much longer before we can go inside?" Kara asks, the fatigue heavy in her voice.
Lena clears her throat before speaking, a clear indicator to Kara that she is going to say something that she knows Kara won't like. "Probably not for a while, I called the head guard to come down and scan the house herself because we can't trust that we don't have a second mole working for the security company."
Kara tilts her head, exasperated but nods anyway. "Ok, I think I'll call Alex and get her to pick us up then, we can go over to her place in the meantime."
Lena keeps the movement of her fingers on Kara's thigh, trying to keep her calm and the movement works for comforting herself too, the warm skin beneath her fingers warming her own flesh.
"Ok, darling. I'll have to stay here for a while to sort with the guards, but I'll come and join you guys when it is all over. I'm glad you'll be with Alex though since you can't go with any guards, she's the only person on this planet that I trust to be competent enough to keep you safe."
Kara lets out a tired chuckle. "You're probably right about that. Are you sure you can't come with me?"
"Yeah, I have to get this sorted, this place was meant to keep you safe, keep us both safe. I'm going to go through every inch of this house if I have to so I know that there are no more bugs and then we can come back and keep living our lives and working on stupid cases that result in assassination attempts like normal people."
The teasing tone Lena takes as she speaks puts Kara at ease, it makes her feel as though all of this isn't as terrifying as it actually is. She takes out her phone and finds Alex's contact, pressing the call button before she can think of what to say.
Alex picks up the phone quickly and is out of the door even quicker when Kara explains what's going on and asks if she can come and get her and if she can chill at her place whilst it all gets straightened out.
She is actually pretty put off by the fact that Kara was acting as though she might say no and how nonchalantly she was talking about the situation, completely void of any deep emotions. The only time Kara talks like that, it means she is internalising because she's in crisis mode. Since she can't be there with her, as much as she wants to be and will be soon, she just hopes that Little Luthor is looking after her baby sister right now.
Kara finishes up talking to her sister and ends the call with guilt building in her chest, clenching down on her diaphragm and making it hard to breathe. She hates making her sister worry for her and yet she has, all because she was nosy and just had to go and take a look.
It was a good job she did look because who knows who has been bugging them and watching their every move but at the same time, ignorance is bliss.
"She's on her way now, I think she had a heart attack when I told her everything though so I'm fully expecting her to be watching over me with one hand on her gun." Kara squeezes Lena's hand.
Lena shifts to put her arm around Kara's shoulder and directs her to put her head on her shoulder. "That's a good thing, I'll be able to work better here knowing that you're safe, darling."
Kara tilts her face, so her nose is pressed to Lena's neck, and she is able to breathe in the comforting scent of her girlfriend, the expensive perfume tickling her nose with a pleasant tingle. The cool air is making her skin prickle and she unconsciously curls into herself.
She pulls Lena's arms around her tighter, relishing the warmth she is gaining from her. "Can we at least get some clothes? It's a little chilly out here and I would prefer it if my sister didn't drive me across town like this, that would be awkward."
Given a job to do, Lena springs into action. She stands and holds an arm out to Kara, her hand falling to her waist and automatically taking a soft grip, so she doesn't press onto her bruises, although they have been fading very nicely so they are nowhere near as sore as they were before.
Pressed tightly to one another, they make their way inside, ducking past security guards with bug-tracking devices in every room. A lot of their belongings have been either moved or at least inspected closely and despite the knowledge that they are just doing their jobs, it does feel a lot like an invasion of privacy.
Lena kicks them out of the bedroom, taking a tracking device for herself and scouring the room with it and only when she is completely sure that it is clear does she give Kara a thumbs up to indicate that their bedroom is safe.
"I think we're alright in here, no signs of any tampering but that isn't too much of a shock, I set this room up myself and never gave any of the security permission to come in here before today. Let's grab some proper clothes, I am not a fan of walking around in a bikini and the guards have their eyes so firmly shut when we walk by that they couldn't find something if they tried."
Kara tries to force out a laugh, grateful that Lena is trying to take a lighter approach to the situation, more for her benefit than her own. The laugh comes out as more of a mumble and she lets herself flop down onto the edge of the bed.
She opens her mouth to speak but instead, a sob forces its way free as tears begin to stream out of her eyes. Lena is at her side in seconds.
"How did we get here, Lena?"
Lena, to her benefit, doesn't answer, no words seem right in response to such a loaded question.
"I mean, this is supposed to be a happy time, we got together, and we are living together now, even if we didn't mean for it to happen, I have a mega case that is going to lead to an amazing article that I'm already proud of and my life has never seemed to be so put together. I guess every good comes with its bad, in this case, it's just very bad."
The words just seem to flow once she starts, and it is clear that Lena is privy to Kara's brain working in real-time. Despite the situation, she is extraordinarily happy to hear that Kara is grouping moving in together into the good category, she was worried that Kara was beginning to resent living together already since so much bad shit has gone down, forcing their hand.
She can't help the smile that spreads across her face and Kara notices, stopping her rant mid-sentence. "Maybe it's some kind of karma…What are you smiling about?"
Lena brings a hand up to cover her face, still unable to straighten it out or put on her mask. "Sorry, it was just the part where you said that you were happy that we moved in together, I'm just really happy we did too."
That gains her a smile in return and the blush that she loves to see so much. Her neck and chest flush with her cheeks, a light dusting of cuteness. "Well, it is the best thing to come out of this."
"I agree, it is really good. I was nervous that you felt that I'd pressured you into it, especially since you got out of the hospital."
Kara pulls Lena closer to her and into a cuddle full of love, trust and sincerity. "No, I like it."
Lena pushes her face into Kara's hair and lets out a relieved breath, unaware of how much she needed verbal confirmation and acceptance from Kara until right now. It's like she was on fire and Kara just came along with a cool glass of water.
"I'm really happy to hear that." She whispers it into Kara's ear, delighting when she feels her shiver in return. "And just for the record, I like it too."
"Good."
"Good."
"But, just so you know," Kara leans back slightly so she can see into Lena's eyes. "You couldn't make me do anything if you tried. Nobody can force me into something I don't want to do or into not doing something that I do want to do, It's sort of how we got into his whole situation."
They share a giggle, and they pull back into the cuddle, leaning back onto the bed fully with their limbs entwined as much as their souls are.
"We should get dressed," Kara whispers.
Lena holds her tighter, not willing to let her go just yet. "Five more minutes, Alex won't be here for a while yet anyway."
Kara needs no more convincing, she's down for a cuddle any time of the day. They shift a tad, Kara onto her back with Lena cuddled into her side, an arm around her waist and their legs tangled.
The clock across the room ticks soothingly in the background, the constant noise filling the room, stopping their brains from running amuck, at least for a couple of minutes.
It doesn't last all that long. "Did you check the clock for a bug?"
"Yes, but now you're making me overthink it so I will have to double-check," Lena complains, she didn't want to move but now it will be in her head until she checks again. "You can be really annoying, you know that right?"
The cheesy grin she is gifted almost makes it better. Almost.
The clock is clean of bugs, just like she knew it would be, she had already checked in when they first came in after all. They finally get dressed side by side, dropping the bikinis into the laundry hamper as if it is just an ordinary day and they are collecting their dirty clothes for the wash.
"Would you say we are weird people?" Kara can't help but ask when they take a seat back on the bed and snuggle down again, listening to the sound of the security guards rifling about in the other rooms.
Lena shoots her a pointed look like she wants to argue but settles for a simple "Absolutely."
Kara smiles widely at her. "This is going to be a story to tell the grandkids."
"Grandkids? Don't you have to have kids before you have grandkids?" Lena raises an eyebrow at her, a challenge if she has ever seen one.
Kara nods back at her resolutely. "Baby, you know we're going to be kickass mothers and even kickass-er grandparents. It's basically written in stone by now."
"How many kids will we have?"
Kara thinks about it for a minute. "Hopefully two, then they won't be lonely. I would love for our kids to have a relationship like mine and Alex's."
"Me too," Lena says. There is a sadness to the words that stems from her own failed sibling relationship with Lex, but she knows in her heart that she only has well wishes for Kara and Alex's relationship and the relationship between their future kids.
Lena walks her down the drive to Alex's car, not letting go of her hand until she is safely inside. "Text me when you get there?" She tries to preface it casually but the anxiety of being away from Kara is much clearer than she hoped it would be.
"Of course." Kara leans in to kiss her. "Keep us updated on everything and be safe?"
Lena gives her another kiss when she sees Alex's disgusted face at the first one, as much as she likes her, she does find a sick kind of pleasure in grossing her out, call it an act of dominance.
They wave each other goodbye, hating to be separating even though they will be together again in a few hours. Kara watches her in the mirror until they turn the corner.
"You guys are so disgusting."
"I know, it's great," Kara smirks.
Alex is keeping a close eye on her, Kara can feel her looking at her. She is waiting for her to break. "You can stop looking at me like that, I've already had my emotional ramble and now I feel much better."
Alex's knuckles turn white with how hard she grasps the steering wheel but forces them to relax when she feels the beginning of a cramp tugging at her nerves. "I'll judge that for myself, thanks though."
The rest of the drive is silent, neither of them sure of where to go from there. They have a lot to talk about but neither knows where to start or how to express how they are feeling to the other woman.
All they know is that one way or another, by the end of the night, they will have all of their emotions laid bare for their sister to see.
Alex's place is more of a mess than Kara had expected. Usually, she keeps everything organised to a T, everything in its place. Now, it is a complete mess of paperwork and files. The kitchen is filthy, the sink full of dishes and the counter is piled up with takeout containers.
"Oh, Alex." Kara breathes out as she takes in the sight.
Alex shifts uncomfortably next to her for a second before launching into a cleaning spree, tossing the garbage off the counter into the trash and setting the tap to run onto the crusty dishes. "It's nothing Kara, I just got a little behind. I'll sort it now, it'll only take me five minutes."
Kara reaches out a hand, covering Alex's own and stopping her on her mission to clean the kitchen. "Stop, let me help."
Alex brushes off her words, facing away from her sister because she can't look her in the eyes right now without breaking down.
Kara can tell that Alex isn't going to say anything else so she grabs a few cleaning supplies from under the sink and gets to work on scrubbing every surface she can as Alex disposes of the trash. After a few minutes of silent cleaning, she speaks, keeping her voice low and soft. "I'm here when you're ready to talk, Alex."
Looking at the back of her sister's head, Kara can see a faint nod in response and takes it as a win. Now that she is here and really looking, she can see the messy way her hair falls against her head like it hasn't been brushed properly, and the way her clothes are crinkled as she has slept in them.
It worries her, how quickly she can lose sight of the needs of the people in her life. She knows that she is in a tough situation herself but how could she have been so blind to her own sister's struggles when it has been right in front of her nose this whole time?
It takes a while but when they do finish, they head over to the couch, cups of coffee in hand, thanks to Alex, although Kara isn't a hundred percent sure that she didn't slip something a little bit stronger into her own when she wasn't looking. That would be a very Alex thing for her to do.
The remote is snatched up by Alex, she really isn't in the mood for a musical today. She scours the channels trying to find something half decent before giving up and opening up Netflix. "Why is there never anything good on anymore?" She mutters under her breath.
"Tell me about it." Kara can feel her pain, she too has struggled with finding good movies to watch recently but she is just grateful that Alex is talking again and is willing to say whatever it takes to keep the conversation going.
A deep breath is sucked in beside her and the remote is tossed somewhere onto the couch, destined to get caught between the cushions. "It's been hard the last few weeks."
"I know."
That sets her off, and Alex explodes. "No, you don't! You don't know what it's like to get a phone call telling you that your baby sister is in the hospital, that someone planted a bomb to try and hurt her, kill her even!"
Kara shuffles across the couch, her movements deliberately slow and steady. "No, I don't know what that is like."
"It's awful, and now you're telling me that someone, probably the same someone that tried to hurt you before, has planted cameras to watch you. How am I supposed to live knowing that I can't protect you? Every call I get is someone giving me more and more bad news and I can't do it, Kara. I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you, and I couldn't stop it."
That's all Kara needs to hear for her to close the gap completely and pull her into a bone-crushing hug. "Come here."
Alex sobs into her shoulder, her entire body shaking with the force of it. "I'm sorry."
Kara strokes her fingers through her hair, combing it back from her face with delicate strokes. "Don't apologise. Not to me, not for me and certainly not for having feelings. I'm the one that should be apologising for not being here for you enough. I should have been more present for you too."
At some point, Kara starts crying along with her, her own tears streaking down her face. Alex pulls back and frantically wipes her cheeks with the cuffs of her sweater. She sniffs once, loudly before shooting her a small smile.
"You ok?"
"No, but I will be," Alex replies honestly.
"Good. Now, how about you tell me what you've been doing with all of those files, and we'll see if we can work together to fix it. Is it something for work?"
Alex grimaces and gives the files a glare from across the room. "No, they are the files to do with your case, I got them from Ms Grant. I've been trying to find the guy that hurt you."
It's difficult for Alex to keep up with the number of emotions that flick across Kara's face at the admission. "Oh."
"I just want to help." Alex bites her lip anxiously.
An annoyed sigh falls from Kara's lips. "Everything sucks. I'm sure that you're looking at the same files I have spent the last week staring at and we could have been doing it together this whole time but instead, we were idiots. I'm surprised she's let you have them though, I had to agree to let her help for me to have them."
Alex breathes out a laugh through her nose, her head ducking slightly in amusement. "We are idiots."
"Yep. Shall we trade notes or what then?"
Alex stumbles to her feet to grab the files and bring them back over to the couch. "I got a few ideas and theories that I'm sure you'll love, let me show you."
"Bring it on, Danvers."
"You got it, Danvers."
Kara's phone dings with a text, startling both sisters as they are deep in concentration reading from separate files, only really speaking when something, in particular, stands out.
She grabs her phone up from the coffee table and checks it hastily, expecting an update from Lena anytime around now. She is pleased when she sees the name illuminated on the screen: Girlfriend.
Her eyes flit across the screen, reading the message with Alex's eyes burning a hole in the side of her head, she must be expecting her to tell her who it is, that's nosy sisters for you.
She purposely angles away from Alex as she types back a response with rapid thumbs and then puts her phone face down on the table again, making a conscious effort to be as unforthcoming to Alex as she can just to annoy her.
"Come on, Kara. Who was it?" Alex whines, kicking her foot across the couch to tap her and get her attention.
With an amused sigh, Kara gives in before she has even put up a fight. "It was Lena. She was just letting me know that the head guard is still conducting an investigation so we could be in for a long night before we can head back. She's going to let me know if we will have to stay somewhere else."
"You're welcome to crash here, I'll take the couch and you guys can share the bed. No hanky-panky though, I would have to replace the entire bed and it would scar me for life, you don't want that."
Kara's face splits into a grin. "Really?"
Alex rolls her eyes at the look of surprise on Kara's face. "Yes, but text your lady before I change my mind."
Kara takes the instruction literally, texting Lena again to let her know the news. She gets a response back almost immediately.
"She's going to be here soon, there's nothing more she can do there so she's just going to pack up some clothes and stuff then come right here so this is your last chance to back out."
"No, it's alright. Remind her to bring some good scotch though." Alex gives her a devilish smirk, knowing this will rile Kara up, she hates when people use Lena's financial status to get fancy things because she feels like they are taking advantage of her.
Kara hits her with a cushion, shaking her head. "If you want to be rude, text her yourself."
Alex takes that as a challenge so she pulls her phone out and uses it quicker than Kara can snatch it out of her hands.
"I really dislike you at times, Alexandra."
Alex regards her with a tongue sticking out. "Love you too. And I love Luthor when she brings me fancy drinks."
Kara doesn't even respond, just squints her eyes at her in disapproval then goes back to reading from her file.
Lena arrives a little while later, a bag of Chinese takeout in her hands and an expensive bottle of scotch in the other. She puts them down on the counter before shrugging the bag off her back and holding it up questioningly. "Where should I put our stuff?"
Alex points to the bedroom. "In there, and I will tell you what I told Kara. No funny business in my bed."
Lena responds in the form of a mock salute and an eyebrow raised at Kara. "Yes, boss."
They watch as Lena heads for the bedroom and Kara takes the time to give Alex one last warning. "Be nice, or else."
"Oh, I'm so scared." Alex holds her hands up with feigned terror.
Lena heads back in and over to them, pulling out the food from the bag whilst wondering why Kara hadn't started on it yet, she has never been one to turn down good food, especially when it is potstickers.
She slides them over to Kara with a smile and a kiss to her cheek. "Hi, darling."
"You two can stay elsewhere if you're going to be gross." Alex tries to jab a chopstick into one of Kara's potstickers and misses when Kara slides the container away from her, so her chopstick just hits the countertop and splinters.
Kara mumbles around the potsticker in her mouth angrily. "Get your own, these are mine."
Alex looks to Lena for help, but she just gets a shrug in response. "I got you scotch, what more could you ask for?"
Alex gestures to the container. "Potstickers."
Kara very tenderly cradles a single potsticker between her own chopsticks and perches it on top of Alex's rice. "There, now stop complaining."
"One, seriously? That's it?"
"Be grateful I gave you any at all, dummy."
Alex looks outraged but a sharp clearing of a throat interrupts them. "Are you two going be like this the entire time? This is not the kind of atmosphere I enjoy eating my dinner in."
They both apologise somewhat reluctantly and take more bites of their food. Lena has to hide her quiet laughter at how much they look like scolded children.
"So, what have you two been up to?" Lena breaks the silence that followed the mild telling-off she gave them.
Kara smiles at her, understanding that she is just clearing the air. "We've been going over some files, we think we might have a few points to follow up on."
"That's great, darling." Lena is truly happy that they are making progress and that Alex is on board, Kara has got one intelligent sister, not that she would say that to Alex, her head would grow fifty times bigger.
"How is everything at the house coming along?" Alex questions.
The exasperated sigh she gets is all the answer she needs. "It's a long, slow process. I have someone I trust looking through the SD card from the camera to try and figure out who put it there. We already have an idea of which guard it was based on the rotations and a very grainy image from the camera but we're hoping for more."
Alex hums in acknowledgement. "Was that the only camera that they found?"
Lena looks between them anxiously. "No."
Kara's eyes shoot up to meet her own. "Where?"
"The living room, it was outside in the bush aiming through the window. It's pretty well known through the guards that you do your research in there so they were likely just trying to get as much information as they could on how much we know about them."
A lump forms in Kara's throat. She tries to swallow it down but can't. "They were watching me the whole time."
It's not a question, she's simply stating a fact and she does it with a distinct blankness that neither of the two women know whether or not to reply.
Kara let her head fall into her hands. "Nothing is going right."
Lena can feel shame bubbling up in the pit of her stomach. She brought Kara to that house because it should have been safer than her penthouse but here they are, in a worse position than they started in.
"I know. I'm having the penthouse scanned too and then we can figure out where we are going to stay. It can be the house, the penthouse or a brand-new place. Wherever we want." Lena offers up the only solution she knows how to give.
Kara closes her eyes for a second and rubs her temples with two fingers, pressing hard to try and alleviate the headache she can feel forming. "Can we just talk about this tomorrow? I really just can't deal with this right now."
"Yeah, we'll all be better for a shower and some sleep." Alex jumps in, not letting the answer be anything but that. After so many years, she knows when the pressure is getting to Kara and knows that it's best not to push.
Lena takes Kara's hand in her own. "How about we watch a movie and then head to bed? An early night will serve is all well."
"I am so far in agreeance with you that I might steal you from my sister." Alex jokes.
Kara raises a perfect brow at her sister. "I would threaten you for trying to steal my girlfriend, but I have a feeling that you would meet her very nifty right hook if you ever did try so I'm feeling pretty good about it."
Alex glances at Lena to find her smirking along and miming a punch. The look on her face is terrifying. "Alright, I'll leave you two nerds to your perfect relationship, but just for the record, I'm not scared of you."
"Of course, you aren't." Kara laughs, holding her glass to her face but being unable to actually drink from it because she's laughing so hard.
Lena is right there with her, as always, laughing along with her shoulder pressed to Kara's own.
They finish their dinner when they manage to stop laughing and take turns having a shower and getting their comfiest clothes on to watch the movie. Kara helps herself to some of Alex's wine as the other two women cheers their glasses of scotch.
Alex chooses the movie, which is great because Kara and Lena are too wrapped up in each other to actually pay attention to it. They are snuggled together in a blanket, embracing one another in their own love cocoon.
They fall asleep like that, and it takes all of Alex's restraint to wake them up to move them to the bedroom rather than leaving them to share the couch and waking up with sore necks from the uncomfortable angle.
They fall right back asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows giving Alex the space to think on the couch away from them. The blanket is still warm from them, and she can hear their breathing in the other room, just a short distance away from her.
Tomorrow they are all going to have to have a very serious talk about the case and their safety, namely Kara's safety. Their mental health is on a swift decline and things seem to be going to shit, one thing after another.
It's going to take every person they trust to get this whole thing over with to expose Lord and his plans to the public, it's the only way she can think of that will end this all, until the article is written, then everyone is in the dark and none the wiser that her sister is being silenced. Once it's out in the open it makes it a million times harder for her to be targeted.
They need to help Kara write this article and get it out into the world and they need to do it quickly.
Kara stumbles out of bed with the morning sun beaming through the windows, her eyes still closed and her feet catching on the carpet beneath her. She rubs her eyes with a yawn, set to start some coffee brewing for her caffeine junkie sister and girlfriend.
Her eyes are barely open when she rounds the kitchen counter and flinches when Alex pops up out of nowhere, coffee already in hand. "Good morning, sunshine."
"Jesus Christ! Alex, don't scare me like that!" Kara's hand comes up to rest on her chest as though to settle her rapidly beating heart.
"Sorry, you want coffee?" Despite her apology, Alex is laughing behind the rim of her mug, happily sipping away and enjoying the lovely morning drama.
Kara squints evilly at her for a whole two seconds before she nods. "Absolutely, yes. Is there enough for Lena too? We wouldn't make it until lunchtime with a coffee-deprived Lena, it's a scary sight."
Alex, unfortunately, has once seen the monster that is caffeine withdrawal Lena after a hard stint of Lena helping the FBI with some work relating to her brother and L-Corp when he was still in charge, and she never wants to see it again. It was terrifying and she had genuinely wondered if she should have started to plan her own funeral because there was no reasoning with her in any which way until she had her coffee.
Speak of the devil, Lena comes wandering in, a cute little frown adorning her face. "You left me behind, traitor." She snarls at Kara, giving her an unwavering glare.
"Sorry baby, I was just coming to get some coffee started but Alex beat me to it. Here, let me get you some." Kara kisses her forehead as she scoots past to grab a mug.
There has never been such a sudden change in a person's demeanour than in the moment that Lena sipped her coffee, she became a new woman. One that smiles and pecks her girlfriend on the cheek in thanks and can hold up a decent conversation instead of pouting like a five-year-old.
"That's much better." Lena sighs, a tiny smile curling her lips. "Now, what are you guys doing waking up so early?"
"Well, I don't know about Kara, but I was coming up with a game plan." Alex stands up from her stool and grabs something from beside her feet. "This is what we are going to need." She slams down a big pile of folders and files onto the counter between them and smiles much wider than anyone should when holding that much paperwork.
"We're going to work on the case?" Kara furrows her eyebrows, staring at the unappealing pile.
Alex nods. "Well, yes but also no. Lena and I are going to work on the case, and you are going to get started on writing your article. The quicker we expose Maxwell Lord, the quicker we have public support and a means to having the safety barrier of the public."
"Smart." Lena loves a good plan of action, doubly so if it is designed to keep Kara safe. "Let's do it."
Alex launches into a detailed explanation of her plan which includes separating the documents and following up on any leads as quickly as possible so a rough draft of the article can be made, and they will be able to see where they need to be putting their attention.
"Oh, and by the way, Lena and I will be following up on the leads where possible, you are just going to lay low and chill here writing your piece and any leads that you are required to chase, we will be right by your side. Welcome to your own personal hell Kara, you're getting no freedom until you write write write. Call it motivation, sis."
Kara dramatically lets her head flop down against the surface of the counter with a groan. "Ok, let's get this over with. Bossy."
Between them, they sift through all of the papers within a couple of hours and have a list of things to follow up on. Lena set out making phone calls to potential witnesses and sources from Maxwell Lord's building that could spill a couple of beans and Alex is all about planning a break-in to get into his office for a good snooping session.
"Hey, do we have any documents pertaining to the building of the planned facility?" Kara asks, sitting in front of Alex's laptop, waiting for the words to come to her.
"Lena flips through the papers and smirks devilishly when she finds the name of the contractor. "Yep. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"I don't know. Are you thinking about leaking the plans for the building to the company and its workers to see if their morals will kick in and stop them from going along with it so Lord will have to find a new contractor and it will slow him down by a decent amount?"
"Hell yeah, darling." Lena grabs her by the back of her neck and tugs her closer for a kiss.
"And Alex, do you think you could use your contacts within the FBI to find out which sector of the government thought it would be a good idea to do this shady deal to take away the rights of human beings?"
"You got it, I already know who to call." Alex is glad to see Kara getting her groove back again, her fingers buzzing across her keyboard every few minutes when she finds the right words to portray her points.
She moves into the living room, her phone already glued to her ear and her voice rushing her words in hushed tones.
Kara nudges Lena slightly. "Hey, I'm glad you're here."
"Me too." Lena rests their foreheads together, sharing a peaceful moment of mutual care.
"Later, we're going to snuggle and start that audiobook we've been meaning to listen to for weeks as a reward for being so productive." Kara decides.
Lena smiles, picturing the blissful moment in the near future. "That sounds like a dream. Maybe we should add some ice cream into the mix to make it even better though."
Kara leans in for a slow, passionate kiss. "I always knew you were a genius."
Lena sinks into the kisses, savouring the movement of their lips and the entwining of their tongues. It's sensual and full of their unspoken love. "Do we have time to talk really quick?"
"Uh-huh. Always." Kara dips back into another kiss, only half listening.
"It's about living arrangements," Lena warns. "Last chance to opt out."
Kara smiles at her, ready to hear her out. "Go for it."
She wrings her hands in front of her, nervous energy bubbling up into her chest. "I want us to live together, officially."
"As in, permanently?"
"If you're ok with that." Lena clarifies, her breath caught in her throat. "I would really like it if you were willing to put up with me but if you aren't ready yet then I'm fine with that too, I don't mean to pressure you, especially at a time like this."
Kara patiently waits for her to finish her spiel. "Are you finished with your adorable ramble?" Lena nods, her cheeks ablaze. "Good, the answer is yes."
"Yes, you want to live with me or yes, you're not ready?" Lena needs the answer to be crystal clear. If it isn't then she will spend the rest of her life questioning and talking herself into believing that she doesn't deserve the good things in her life.
"Yes, I want to live with you permanently, I just think that next time, we should keep it just us and let the security guards have their own homes." Kara snickers and then breaks out into a goofy grin. "I'm really happy you asked though."
"Really?" Lena matches her goofy expression to a T, overjoyed that she actually said yes.
"I'm positive, I was too scared to bring it up myself, but I had thought about it too, I didn't want to scare you off though. Jess almost had me convinced to ask you but then everything went down, and we got majorly sidetracked."
"That woman deserves a raise."
Kara definitely agrees with that sentiment. "She deserves two raises and the biggest bouquet of flowers you can get."
Lena makes a show of pretending to take notes, thriving in the incredible feelings that have stemmed from Kara agreeing to live with her and the idea that her assistant was willing to spend her time convincing her girlfriend to commit to her.
"I actually have something else to say now that we are being completely honest." Kara takes her hands in her own and stares deep into her emerald eyes with her own sapphire orbs of beauty. "Lena Luthor, I have fallen in love with you."
Her eyes grow two sizes with how wide they go, and her mouth goes completely dry, making it hard to respond. "Kara…"
"You don't have to feel the same, I just think that you deserve complete transparency," Kara explains, mistaking her shock for awkward hesitation and rejection.
"I don't have to, but I do. I've fallen in love with you too, a long time ago really. I just never let myself actually admit it."
"We love each other," Kara states the obvious.
Lena presses their foreheads together for a second time. "Yeah, we do. I love you."
"I love you."
Their lips crash together in a frantic, heavy breathed clash of lips, teeth and tongue. It's not the best kiss they have ever had but it's one that they will remember for the rest of their lives.
Alex walks in at that perfect moment and is blinded by the gross display of love taking place in her kitchen. "Oh, come on guys, I had one rule!"
"Alex, we love each other." Kara holds up their joined hands like she is announcing them the winners, and in a lot of ways, they are. "And we're going to move in together properly."
She doesn't have it in her to be mad at her overly happy baby sister, she deserves this. "Congratulations, I'm really happy for you both."
"Thank you, Alex." Lena can't stop smiling, this is the best day of her life.
Alex lingers a couple of meters away for a few seconds longer, swaying awkwardly on her feet. "So, do you want to hear about what I've found or do you want to live in the moment a little longer?"
A shared look gives them the answer, and Lena lets Alex in on that answer. "Hit us with it."
"It's a military sector that approved it that is run by a General Lane. I have already had my boss put in a temporary review stoppage on the contract so it will be delayed under investigation but there is no guarantee that they will scrap it altogether."
"It's good news, Alex. All of the little things we are achieving will add up, I'm sure of it." Kara pats her on the shoulder. "And that is giving me some great ideas so I'm going to go write whilst you two can do a little bonding and figure some more stuff out."
Kara leaves Lena with a kiss and Alex with a pat on the arm as a dismissal.
She gets two matching eye rolls back and yet they still listened and grabbed some files to take into the other room, happy to leave her be so she can concentrate. They can already tell that today is a good day and that this article is going to make some epic waves.
Nobody is going to be used and hurt on Kara's watch. Prisoners are still people and not lab experiments and Kara is going to be sharing those views openly and debating the targeted responses she knows she will get and incorporating them into her article.
This piece is going to blow the minds of everyone in National City and help save lives at the same time. She really is talented.