"Kara, please don't take this wrong, but I'm so glad your parents have gone. That was really awkward." Alex says as she sinks into the couch, Kelly curled into her side half-asleep.
From beneath Lena's arm where Kara is held against her, the blonde shrugs. "I know, but we're not going to have to deal with them for long. I've got a plan."
"Is this a well-thought-out plan, or is this a Kara plan? Because if it's a Kara plan, I'm not sure how on board with it I am." Alex groans, pulling Kelly closer to her and pressing her lips to the top of her head gently, smiling into her hair at how cute she is when she's all sleepy and snuggly.
Kara's mouth drops open in offence, her eyebrows furrowing and her nose scrunching. "Hey, all of my plans are well thought out."
"Did you plan out your attempt at getting the information crystals all the way through?" Alex asks, already knowing the answer.
A brief, telling silence is followed by the squeak of Kara sucking her teeth. "Shut up."
Lena sighs, dropping her head so her cheek rests against the top of Kara's head. "Kara, as much as I support you and think your plan is great, whatever it is, I think Alex is right in that we need to have our next steps thoroughly planned out if we're going to make this work and get out of here with the other crystal too."
"I agreed to stay here for five more days. We'll be gone before day four is through. That's our best chance. I have a plan but I need you to trust me. I don't have every part of it planned out to perfection, you're right about that too. However, I do think that I have a good handle on the situation and if you can trust me, I promise you that we'll get exactly what we need and be out of here in no time."
Alex sighs heavily, and before she can either begrudgingly agree or complain a bit more, Kara jumps back in.
"Plus, my plan also means we get to go sightseeing. What's not to love about sightseeing?"
Lena's arm tightens around Kara's shoulders. "You know I'm with you, but we do have to make sure we go over the plan and ensure everyone is fully aware of what they must do and how to act. Keeping the plan a secret from your parents is going to be difficult. We all know they will be on the lookout for any strange behaviour."
"That's a good point. I'll mull the plan over a little more and we can go over it in the morning. You guys are tired and I know that pretty much anything I say at this point is going to go in one ear and out the other." Kara climbs out from under Lena's arm before holding a hand out to help her up.
Lena presses a kiss to Kara's cheek in thanks, soft and chaste. "I'm going to head to our room. Can you please grab me a drink when you come to join me?"
"Sure." Kara agrees lightly, not even questioning why Lena isn't getting it herself. This woman has been her crutch this entire mission and even before that, the least she can do is get her a drink when asked.
"That's our cue to head to bed too." Kelly yawns again, letting Alex pull her up off the couch. We'll see you in the morning to go over everything, but first…" Kelly breaks free from the arm wrapped around her waist and stumbles towards Kara. "Good job today." She mumbles, wrapping her arms around the blonde.
The sentiment brings tears to her eyes, and she's very nearly pushed over the edge when Alex takes her turn hugging her. "Thank you."
"Get some rest, sis. You've earned it. Tomorrow is another day, and we'll be home very soon, just like you said. We've got this."
"Yeah, we do." Kara does her best to sound enthusiastic, to dig deep and find the confidence that Supergirl possesses in the face of the mightiest of foes to reassure the public back on Earth.
Alex takes her forearm in a gentle grip, just strong enough to get her attention. "I mean it. We really have."
"I know." Kara smiles weakly. "I just can't believe that this is where the mission ended up."
"Me neither, but everything happens for a reason. Mom always used to say that, remember?"
She's right. Eliza always did say that, and she has no doubt that if she were here now, she would be reminding them of that. "Yeah. She'd be telling me all about the opportunity I've got to show you some of the wonders of my planet and how I should make sure not to miss this chance to share this part of myself with you. Of course, she would also tell me not to get too distracted because we've got a job to do, but my point still stands."
Alex takes her by surprise with a softness usually only reserved for her wife and daughter. "She's going to be so proud of you when she hears about all of this, you know that?"
Ducking her head and screwing her eyes closed to hold back her emotions, Kara has to take a second before she can look back up and meet the soft brown eyes of her sister. The ones that radiate nothing but warmth and comfort. Home. Safe.
"I hope so."
"I know so." Alex insists before letting go of her arm. "Alright, get some rest. You hear me? Don't stay up overthinking this plan of yours."
"Whatever you say, boss."
Alex smiles at her one last time before leading Kelly away, who is practically dead on her feet at this point.
Kara heads into the kitchen to grab a couple of drinks before joining Lena, leaning back against the pillows of the bed with her eyes closed, already well on her way to the dream realm.
"Hey, baby," Kara announces herself quietly so she doesn't startle her. "I got you a drink."
"What did you get me? Is it something different?" Lena asks, her eyes not opening at all in her questioning.
Kara sets the drinks down on the bedside table. "Yeah. It's made of milk from a fruit similar to a coconut, but it tastes a little bit like chocolate. "My parents sometimes let me have some when I was younger, but we didn't have it all that often because it's expensive. It's hard to grow, and with the declining state of the planet, it became hard to get. I guess they got it here to try and win me over. It's half working."
Twisting onto her side, Lena leans over to take a sip of the milk. "Mm, that's good."
Kara gathers her pyjamas to take into the bathroom so she can wipe all of the makeup off her face and get ready for bed. She doesn't really want to, a very large part of her would prefer to fall face-first onto the bed, bundle Lena up into her arms and then go to sleep but she'll wake up feeling awful if she does that.
She's not very impressed with the way her skin has been betraying her on this mission. Her usually flawless complexion randomly assaulted from time to time with the odd breakout that Lena runs her thumb over with an amused smile as she tells her that she thinks it's cute.
Lena is under the covers when she makes it back to the bedroom and staring blearily at her, fighting the inevitable.
"You didn't have to wait up for me."
"I wanted to." The words are hard to decipher but she forces them out through a wall of exhaustion anyway. "Can you tell me more about the drink? Or something else? I like hearing you talk."
Kara climbs in beside her, tipping back her drink in a long chug that feels entirely inappropriate for the atmosphere of the room. Quiet, peaceful, tender. An ocean with only the tiniest of rippling waves.
"Is that why you sent me to get you a drink? You wanted me to get a different one so I could tell you about it." Kara snuggles into Lena's back, moulding herself into her, her nose instantly burying itself into her raven locks, her natural waves pretty and very tickly against Kara's face.
"Hmm. You sound hot when you're teaching me things."
Pressing herself even closer until there's not an inch of space between them, Kara nuzzles deeper into Lena. "Is that because you like my voice or because you're a nerd that likes learning things?"
"Both. It's a win-win. Now shut up. It's sleepy time."
"Love you," Kara whispers into the back of Lena's neck, accepting the adorable demand. Lena's tired side is one of her favourites. It's when she's the least guarded and when she reaches the point where she doesn't care about her reputation. If the woman wants sleepy time and a snuggly cuddly, Kara is more than happy to hand those over and store away the memory of Lena asking for those things forevermore.
"Love you too." Lena murmurs, her eyes long since shut and her breath deepening as every second goes by.
Kara sighs, lying there with her eyelids drooping, sleep clutching at her and dragging her in. She has a plan, but it's a plan within a plan, and that might be too many plans. She'll plan to plan tomorrow. Maybe her plan to flesh out her plan within a plan will work out with a good night's rest in her belt.
"So?"
"So, what?" Kara asks, stretching as she wanders through the kitchen in search of something to ease the beast in her stomach that's grumbling away.
"Are you going to clue us into your plan or not?" Alex asks, an attitude that can only be brought through being woken far too early lacing her voice and making her harsher than usual.
Kara rolls her eyes. "Ask me nicely and I'll consider it."
"Darling, that's not a fight you can win. You'd better just take the loss." Lena jumps in, pressing a plate into her hands. She, Kelly and Esme were the first ones up and decided to cook but were interrupted by Alex not long after, who promptly just took a seat and started complaining about being left with Nia and her not-so-quiet snoring.
"You should listen to your wife," Alex grumbles. "
"Did we get married and nobody told us?" Kara turns to Lena with a raised eyebrow. "I feel like that's an event I would remember."
"Me too, but then again, you are very forgetful. As for me…I must have been really drunk or something."
Alex groans again loudly, folding her arms against the dining table that is seated in the centre of the kitchen and then drops her head down atop them. "You're as good as. Tell me the plan before I beat it out of you."
"You're not a good influence." Kelly hisses, covering Esme's ears and trying to distract her.
"Thank you, my darling wife."
Kelly flicks her with the kitchen towel and pins her with a harsh glare in response.
Alex wavers before giving in. "Fine. I'm sorry. Now, Kara, my little sister whom I love so much, please tell me every aspect of your plan right this instant…please."
"That was painful to listen to." Kara mumbles. "Can we hold off until we've all eaten? I don't want my food to go cold."
Alex sighs loudly. "No."
Kara takes a seat opposite her. "Fine."
Lena sits beside her, pulling her plate closer and digging right in before waving her fork at Kara. She speaks with her mouthful in a move that she probably would have never dared to do on Earth, but Krypton and the mission have weakened her ability to give a fuck. "Shall we wait for Nia?"
Kara shakes her head rapidly. "No, no. There's no need to bother her. I'll catch her up later, but I actually don't need her to do anything other than watch Esme when the time comes."
Both Alex and Kelly frown, but it's Alex who voices her displeasure. "Why is Nia the one that will watch Esme and not me or Kelly?"
"Because I'm going to talk my parents into hosting us for dinner at their apartment in Kandor, but it's going to couples only. They won't understand why one of you would stay back with Esme, but they will understand if I put the relationship qualification on the dinner."
"And something is going to happen at this dinner?"
"Obviously." Kara huffs. "That's when we're going to put part of my plan into action. However, I won't tell any of you my plans until it's time. I don't want you to know, so you have deniable plausibility if you get caught. Half of my mom's job is being able to tell when people are lying, so it's best you're not in the position where you're doing so until you absolutely have to."
Lena shakes her head. "Kara, that's a really bad idea. We need to know what's going on."
"Incorrect, my love." Kara grins. "All you guys have to do is enjoy being tourists on an alien planet the next few days while I work mysteriously in the background. I'll let you know of any plans that involve you guys the night before I need you to do something."
Alex looks between Kara and Lena tiredly before pinning Lena with a demanding look. "Please beat some sense into my sister, please. I can't be bothered to stand up."
Kara's mouth drops open indignantly, ready to argue, but she changes her tactics and instead pouts, putting on her best puppy dog eyes at Lena. "I just need you to trust me, baby. I promise I know what I'm doing. I'm not going to let anyone get hurt. I can assure you of that. I just want you guys to be able to have a good time here without the mission hanging over your heads too. I really want you all to get to see my planet the way I remember it, everything else aside."
"So, is your excuse your mom's lying detection skills or your need for us to be tourists?" Lena suppresses her smile.
"Both." Kara tries, her lips pulled up into a tiny smile, her eyes filled with hope now that Lena is almost on her side.
"Fine, but we need to know everything about the plans once you need us involved. No skimping on the details."
"I promise." Kara nods solemnly, hiding her crossed fingers behind her leg. "Now, let's eat properly and then we can move on to our first activity of the day. I'm taking you to the Jewel Mountains before I spend some time with my father in his lab."
Lena shovels another bite of her food into her mouth and drops her free hand onto Kara's thigh, squeezing it softly once before letting it rest there. The warmth is comforting to both and Kara finds herself leaning into Lena gently, something the brunette doesn't mind about at all.
She's honestly not feeling too great about being kept out of the loop, not because she's desperate to know the plans. She trusts Kara to handle this, she really does. There's nobody here that could handle this better. What she's upset about is not knowing what's going on so she can support her through it. This is going to take a tremendous mental toll on Kara, and she won't be able to do anything other than hold her tight at night and pray she can keep herself together until they are back on the Legion ship and on their way home.
It's kind of unbelievable that they are at the point where they are going to be on their way home soon. It's crazy to think about how far they've come and everything they've learned about themselves and each other. Lena got a girlfriend here and that blows her mind, although she is mad that Sam was right that one time she told her, 'There's no way on Earth you can get a girlfriend…'. There was more to the quote, but Lena's being picky about it because she didn't get a girlfriend on Earth.
She glances over at Kara, sharing a short smile before they get back their food. At the very least, she can spend the next few days attempting to take in the planet that Kara once called home.
"Oh my goodness!" Kelly's hand is practically glued to her chest as she stares out of the pod's window as they fly over Kandor towards the apartment.
Alura is at the helm, expertly flying them along, not bothering to hide her smile. She's delighted Kara's friends find Kandor to be so impressive. Over time, it's become less so for her despite being one of the planet's most expansive and luxurious cities. She wishes she could still view the world with that kind of wonder.
Looking over at Kara, she expects her daughter to also be looking out of the window the same way the rest of the group are, but instead, cerulean eyes are focused on one person. Lena. Her daughter's love for the woman is undoubtedly true, and she couldn't be more grateful that she's found that kind of love after all she's been through. She couldn't wish for a better partner for her daughter except for maybe someone Kryptonian, but given the circumstances, she'll let it go.
"Kara! You could have mentioned how beautiful the city is before!" Nia admonishes her.
"I would, but you're always asleep." Kara throws back with a cheeky grin.
A hand flies up to her chest in mock offence. "Girl, do you really think I can look this good without my beauty sleep?" She flicks her hair over her shoulder.
Peering back at Nia, Kara squints. "On second thought, maybe you should have a nap until we get to the apartment. You might need another twenty minutes."
"How dare you?" Nia spits.
"We're almost there." Alura almost shouts. "There's no time for sleeping or arguing. Please just look out your windows and be civil."
Everyone's eyes are drawn to Kara, who got a stern glare along with the words where nobody else did. She's now sitting there with her arms crossed and a pout fixed on her face. She looks to be the epitome of chastised.
They all hold back their laughter, some better than others, but they do greatly enjoy seeing Kara being told off by her mom. Mama of Steel for the win.
"Kara, do you know your way to the Jewel Mountains?"
"Yeah, it shouldn't take that long in a pod. Plus, the autopilot will do most of the work anyway, right?" Kara sips her drink and crunches through the bowl of mixed berries and nuts her mom set out for her and her friends, barely sharing with anyone else except Esme.
Alura clicks her tongue and shakes her head softly. "You must know your way. You may be able to set the pod to automatic pilot, but no technology is guaranteed to work. Please memorize your flight path before you set out."
Kara sighs faintly but comes up with a smile, almost revelling in the overprotective nature of her mother that she hasn't felt since she was a child. "I'll go do that. Are there information crystals in the cabinet in your bedroom?"
"Yes, the one with the maps on it is on the top shelf on the left."
Kara stands up reluctantly, putting the bowl down after shoving one more handful into her mouth, breakfast long gone and lunch too far away. "I'll be right back."
Alura watches Kara go, apprehension written across her face. She itches to stand up, to follow her and watch her every move. She wants nothing more than to be able to trust her daughter, but given everything that's happened, it's just not possible. There's an uncomfortable feeling sitting heavy in her stomach and she can't ignore it.
"Will you please excuse me?" Alura asks, already getting up to follow Kara.
Dread fills every pore as she goes to step into the bedroom. She feels that she's about to catch Kara doing something that will confirm her distrust. The step forward takes a great deal of bravery, and when she sees what's going on inside, her heart breaks and she's filled with anger.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Kara peers up at her from where she is digging through the bedside drawer, shrugging nonchalantly. "I couldn't see it in the cabinet, so I thought that maybe it was in Father's drawer. You know how terrible he is with directions. He always used to get the map out before we went on trips, and we would memorize them together."
"He did that to teach you how to read a map, not because he's bad at directions." Alura presses her lips into a tight line, her breathing staggered. "That is my side of the bed, Kara."
"Oh, sorry. I thought this was his side. You were always on this side when I would come and wake you up in the mornings when Father left early to go to the lab."
Alura softens slightly, accepting the excuses but not completely believing her. It all lines up too well. "That was because I liked to use his pillow."
"Oh, sorry. I'll check the other side then."
Alura stops her as she tries to move away from the drawer. "Hold on, don't move." She grabs Kara's arm to stop her despite the fact that Kara is already in the process of slowing to a stop. "Close your eyes."
Kara does so, her eyebrows pulling together into a half frown. "Um…alright."
With her eyes closed, all Kara can focus on is the sound of her mother reopening the drawer she was just in and then the telltale tapping of wood as she pulls out the box she stores the key to the safe out of it. Six slides of the lock on top and then it's open, the key still firmly in place. It snaps shut and the lock is reset before it's replaced.
Alura clears her throat. She feels dumb but still has a strange feeling about all of this. "I'll check the other side for you. You can open your eyes now."
Kara watches the conflict travel across her mother's face. She can see that she's causing confusion and doubt in her mother, and while she hates that she's the reason her mother looks so inwardly distraught, it means her plan is working.
Alura opens the other drawer. Lo and behold, there's the crystal. "Oh, here it is." She hands it over to Kara, clasping her hand over Kara's as she presses it into her palms. "I'm sorry I doubted you. I should trust your intentions."
"I don't blame you. I know we don't have a good level of trust. I should have asked before I went in the drawers too."
"No, this is your home. No matter how old you get or what part of any universe you live in, this is your home and you're welcome here. I want you to know that."
"Thank you." Kara ducks her head. "Does that mean you'll let me steal half of the food in the kitchen to take with me to the Jewel Mountains?"
Alura chuckles wetly, tears pooling in her eyes. It makes Kara want to sob along with her. She hates lying to her. Perhaps one day, she can find peace in what she has to do to make this mission succeed. "No, I'll give you some money. You can buy some food for you all there. Perhaps you can get a souvenir too, something to remind you of the trip when you're back on Earth."
Kara's heart cracks. She doesn't trust her mother either, but she can see that there are still parts of the woman she once knew in there. It's clear as day.
"Thank you."
Alura pulls her in for an unexpected hug. "You never have to thank me, Inah. It is my job to take care of you. I'll always be your mother."