#but also canon divergence

[therosefrontier]

DAY 3: SET UP FOR FAILURE

Title: I'm Not Quite Ready (to Turn to Bone)

Fandom: Yes, Your Grace

Character(s): Lorsulia (POV)

Placement?: canon, expanding on that moment where Ivo accuses Lorsulia of being a witch, plus recollection of everything leading up to that point

Word Count: 3407

+++

Lorsulia had known, for a long time now, that this marriage was not going to end well.

Their disaster of a wedding and Ivo’s reaction to it was her first ill omen, and the cold way he treated her right afterwards, even before they ever made it “home,” was her second. She knew that this was going to be rough, but at the time, that hardly surprised her, because she already had bad feelings about this before she even knew who she was going to be engaged with. She knew she was going to be married off to someone she didn��t know, even though her father had tried to assure her otherwise. He probably didn’t think he was lying when he made a promise he couldn’t keep, but Lorsulia knew. She knew her fate, and she knew that getting to be with someone she loved or was even merely friendly with would be purely a matter of luck. She was the eldest daughter of the king, and for that reason, everyone was going to want her hand, whether they had the faintest idea of what kind of person she was or not.

She knew, then, that she would be lucky to have a marriage that was anywhere close to good. The universe, however, had apparently deemed it fit to be much crueler to her than even her worst fears.

The first time Ivo raised his hand against her was a shock. The second and third and fourth times were just a nightmare. He hated her, and he hated when she spoke up against him, and he hated when he thought she spoke up against him. The best she could do was stay as silent and as distant as possible, and even that wasn’t enough. He still wanted her in bed every night, so she couldn’t avoid him, and she was still severely restricted in which parts of the castle she could be in, so she couldn’t flee. There was no garden or rooftop that could hide her now. She tried to tell herself that it would get better, eventually. Ivo was mad because his father just died, and he assumed Davern to be at fault for it. One day, he would cool off. One day, he would grow more reasonable and less prone to childish bouts of yelling at everyone. One day, he wouldn’t treat her like an object in their own marriage bed, forever taking his frustrations out on her even while they were supposed to be ‘making love.’

She always knew her hopes were a lie, though. She especially knew that to be true when she finally put the pieces together and realized the truth about King Talys’s murder.

In a way, parts of this really did align right with the worst nightmares her imagination dreamed up of back when she was worrying over the very idea of marriage, but even then, she was kind enough to herself to imagine a way out. She fantasized escaping and somehow running all the way back home, where her parents would regret ever giving her away. However, in the real world…that never happened. In reality, even when the nightmare had set in, she chose to lie, instead.

Her father saw the bruises and was outraged, but she lied and said that it wasn’t true; Ivo was good to her, just like her letters said. She knew that he wouldn’t believe her, but her point was clear—the truth wasn’t what they needed. What they needed was for this alliance between Davern and Atena to work. Even for all of her fears, and her rages, and her desires to be selfish, for once, Lorsulia knew she couldn’t do that. War with Radovia was on the horizon, and Davern was hopelessly outnumbered. Without Atena’s support, people would die. Thousands of people would die. So, she had no choice but to appease Ivo, even though he only grew angrier by the day. He was angry at his father’s death, angry at his mother’s continued sickness, angry at Davern’s supposed betrayal, and with all that anger, there was no room in his heart for anything else.

So Lorsulia tried. She tried and she tried to make things better, and she tried just to survive. Then, Ivo killed Dusty, and he told her to make him into a scarf. Lorsulia…couldn’t believe what she was seeing and what she was hearing, when it happened, and she marveled at how the killing of her cat filled her with more terror than the beatings ever could. Ivo had gone mad. He yelled and said that she paid more attention to “that cursed cat” than she did to him or to “her duties,” as if he ever truly wanted her in the first place and as if she was ever allowed to do anything besides sit there like an ornament. He spat off something about black cats being cursed with bad luck and being only suited for witches, and later, after Lorsulia’s horrible task was done, he sent that fur scarf to her family in Davern.

At that point, Lorsulia knew that she was a fool for ever trying to salvage this. Ivo would never help Davern, no matter what she did. War was on the horizon alright, but not with Radovia—Atena was going to be the one doing the attack. So, she tried again and again to send messages to her family. She called for help knowing there was nothing they could do, but…she tried. Finally, her attendants helped her sneak a message out, and later, they said that Davern was mobilizing against Atena, as if they knew that was what she was hoping for, but…

…but it was too late for her. She knew it would be. She was playing a dangerous game just to be doing anything at all, even if that thing was ultimately pointless. She wasn’t smart enough or strong enough to try to escape from this hell by herself. All she could do was wait for what fate had in store.

But…even so, she never expected that the end would come quite like this.

“YOU…YOU FOUL WITCH! How dare you bring this sorcery into my house!? I should have known…I should have known you would plot against me! I trusted you, and this is how you repay me!?”

Guards grabbed Lorsulia on both arms before the books and charms flung from Ivo’s hands even hit the ground. Magical articles clattered across the ballroom tile, causing gasps to erupt from the many people around them. A moment of chaos erupted as some backed away and others grew closer, alarmed cries and whispers emerging from all of them as they watched the banquet get so crudely interrupted by this sudden ‘revelation.’ Ivo was making a scene, and Lorsulia knew that he knew it.

“The princess is…IS A WITCH!?” one of the court ladies cried out with a swooning gesture. “Say it isn’t so!”

“It’s true,” Ivo growled. “I found this in her personal belongings. She’s been hexing us…bringing disease and disaster on this entire kingdom.”

Lorsulia felt her throat grow dry. She was…shocked, and at the same time, she wasn’t. This was what they were going to accuse her of? She thought she might be blamed for the poison, but this was… “None of that is mine,” she spoke, her voice somehow steady even though she felt she might faint. She…she should do more. She should be reacting more. Shouldn’t she be crying and raging right now? Convincing everyone of her innocence? And yet, the very idea was laughable to her, like even that would be playing into the game. It was true that those things weren’t hers—she had never so much as touched a spell book before in her life—but also, magic wasn’t a crime in Davern. Yes, opinions on it varied, but for the most part, a good healer witch was respected for their skills. How was she supposed to declare herself innocent, when she didn’t even possess any strong feelings for what she was declaring herself innocent from? She would still be living a lie, just like she had been every day since her wedding day.

“LIES!” Ivo shouted at her, the young king’s face growing red. “Your actions have already proven yourself many times over! You brought a black cat into this court, and you refuse to participate in our religious ceremonies to the gods!”

“Refuse!?” Oh. Oh now she had something to feel strongly about! “You wouldn’t let me go anywhere! I was barred from every ceremony you had!”

“And that’s because I could see how you were plotting! You hate Atena, don’t you!? The cold look in your eyes every day makes it obvious! So, you use black magic against us!”

“I did nothing to you!” she yelled back in kind, with the last energy she had. It was over. There was nothing left to pretend for, wasn’t there? She was really going to…

“No, your guiles won’t work on me anymore!” Ivo shouted back, this time with a veneer of nobility as he turned to the rest of the banquet guests, as if to finish his performance with a speech. “I’ve had enough! I tried to help Davern; I really did! But they poisoned my father, King Talys, and that treacherous King Eryck attempted to kill us all through the demonic schemes of his eldest daughter, by giving her to me to wed under the guise of friendship! But no…today, we’ve had enough! We will fight back against Davern, with everything we have! The entire world will know of their sins! We will conquer them with the full might of Atena! Now, will you fight with me!?”

Many in the crowd gave their fullhearted assent, or at least, their best impression of one. Lorsulia’s eyes narrowed as she stood there helplessly, the guards gripping her tight enough to leave a bruise.

“Now, guards! Throw this witch into the dungeons!”

+++

Lorsulia had done nothing to give her a reason to be here. It was not, however, hard for her, trapped in this cold, slimy cell deep beneath the castle, her fine Atenan dress still shining in stark contrast to her bleak surroundings, to imagine why she was here. It was all a game, in the end. She was a pawn to Ivo and to Atena at the beginning, and she was a pawn at the end. Everything Ivo felt towards her was what he felt toward her family and her homeland. He kept her around because she was his ticket to the Davernian throne, but now, he was getting rid of her, because he decided he had no need for that pretense anymore. Maybe, it was because he simply didn’t want to look at her anymore, or maybe, the whole charade was just doubling as a fine blood-boiling story to sell to his own people to rally them to his cause.

So, in the end, why Lorsulia was here had nothing to do with Lorsulia herself. However, she almost wished that it did.

She wished that she was stronger or braver or smarter, so that as soon as things went wrong, she could be the spy in Ivo’s bedchamber, ready to plunge the knife in his back either metaphorically or literally. She wished that she could have smuggled information back home, rather than risking her life just to send nothing but a call for help. She knew how foolish it was, and her own self of a year ago would have scoffed at her for it, but…she really did wish that she could have done something, so that when they decided it was time to kill her, she could say that she chose her own fate and took her own risks that led to this. So that she really could give him something to be angry about.

As it was, however, Lorsulia’s new ‘change’ in fortune was really no different than what she was doing before. She left with nothing but to sit there and wait for her fate. She shivered against the cold and absently rubbed her fingers across the dark bruises that were always kept hidden under her sleeves, and she thought. She thought about home, and about how much she missed it. She hoped that they were still okay. She hoped that Cedani never found out about Dusty’s death, and that perhaps, she found herself a new cat by now. She always did love her pets, and she was very attached to Dusty. She was always so enthusiastic about everything…she deserves to still be happy. Lorsulia also wondered about Asalia, and how she was doing right now. Seeing the way she was getting into learning swordplay, she probably fancied herself ready to defend the castle by now, although obviously, she shouldn’t. Asalia was always so headstrong… but, she was a good sister, too, if it weren’t for the pranks. Lorsulia regretted fighting with her so much in those last few weeks she had with them—she started it, of course, but… Lorsulia would give anything just to see them again. Asalia, Cedani, and Mom and Dad, too. She wanted to just…be a kid, again. Just this once. She had always tried so hard to be the ‘mature’ one of the three even while she subtly dreaded growing up, but thinking about it now, she would love to go back to those old memories, before she became so stressed, if she could…

It was a useless thought, but useless thoughts were all she was left with. Lorsulia spent far too much time with those thoughts, although she might also say that the solitude was a blessing in disguise for the brief moment being, but she kept doing her best to make peace with herself and her fate. Until, that is, some indeterminable but also relatively short time later, when she got an unexpected change in her situation, yet again…

“My lady! My lady…are you there?”

“What…Yelana?”

It was…one of Lorsulia’s attendants, one of the Atenan ladies-in-waiting who had been assigned to her. Lorsulia blinked in shock, pulling herself off the ground to meet the young woman standing at the bars of her cell. What was she doing here!?

“Oh, thank the stars you’re still alright!” Yelana let out a large sigh of relief, although ‘alright’ was an extremely relative term, right about now. “I wasn’t able to come last night, but the others helped me get through tonight. We don’t have a lot of time, though. His Majesty is trying to rush a trial; it’s probably going to be today, my lady…”

“I…I see.” Lorsulia nodded blankly, thinking in the back of her mind that honestly, she would prefer that ‘trial’ sooner rather than later, so that she could die now and not drag the nightmare out towards its inevitable conclusion any longer, but the stronger part of her mind was still just reeling in shock that Yelana was even here. There was no way that they would have allowed her down here, and that meant she took a risk, just to…warn her? Or was she really…? “But, I’m sorry, what…are you talking about? ‘We’ don’t have a lot of time?” she echoed in confusion, because obviously, she was the only one with a timer here, and no one else would…

“My lady,” Yelana spoke even more seriously now, her hand gripping the bar with a fervor. “The king…he made all of this up. Everyone knows it. We’re too afraid to do much, but…my lady, they’re…they want to burn you. The penalty for witches is being burned alive. Don’t you understand? Your life is in danger! So, you have to leave! Now!”

“L-Leave!?” Lorsulia sputtered. “But, I can’t! You don’t mean…?”

“Yes. I do,” Yelana said with startingly surety. Lorsulia stared back at her with disbelief. Yelana and the others…they had been kind to her, this whole time. They helped her smuggle that message back to her family. They told her information, and they covered for her, when Ivo was upset or when the more hostile attendants and court staff were trying to accuse her of something new. Lorsulia…wasn’t sure how that happened. She was glad for their companionship, in spite of how bleak things were. She just never thought they’d go this far. This was madness!

“We’re going to help you,” Yelana continued. “It’ll be difficult, but Maggie already got a hold of the keys and gave them to me. We just need to get you out of here and out of the castle, and you can run for the mountains!”

“Wait…no.” Lorsulia shook her head with a horror that squashed down her new unexpected flash of hope. “No, please, Yelana, I can’t ask you to do this! It’s dangerous! You haven’t even known me for long! Please, you have your lives and your jobs to think about. I won’t…”

“It’s okay.” Yelana shook her head with a sad smile, and distantly, Lorsulia realized that she had an accent which somehow never showed when they spoke before. “I promise, it’s not just for you. We…want out of this, too. His Majesty has grown mad. You’re…you’re not the only one he’s lashed out against. We want to leave, and we talked and supposed that it might as well be now. And as for me, well…I was taken from my village, a long time ago. I was captured and sold off, and I’ve never seen my family ever since. So, you see, my lady, I would really like to see them again, if I can.”

“Yelana…” Lorsulia said, feeling only even more breathless, now. She assumed that everyone here had been hired normally. She never would have thought… “I had no idea. I’m…sorry that happened to you.”

“It’s okay, my lady.” She smiled wider. “I’m just here to ask you about you; you don’t have to worry about me one bit. Because you see, you’re right. I could escape on my own much more easily. However, I want to help you. I haven’t forgotten your kindness to us. But my lady, it’s up to you. This is going to be a risk, and it might still end in disaster, but, what do you say? Do you want to try to escape, just this once?”

Lorsulia stared into Yelana’s smiling eyes, and she thought about it. She still felt whiplash over how quickly this just happened, but also, she was…happy. She was thankful and honored that they wanted to help her, even though the idea was a terrifying one. What if all she did was get everyone killed? She didn’t know what to do, and she wasn’t a leader. She wasn’t the master of her own fate—that was a thing only for her fantasies.

But…she could try.

Lorsulia…didn’t want to die. She didn’t want to give up. Still, she didn’t know how this would end. The final result could still be the same, or, her choice could mean something, this time. It wasn’t a choice she felt she could claim for herself, since it came only through the kindness of someone else, but, it was still a choice she could make. A thing she could do that wasn’t decided for her.

Because maybe, just once, just this once, Lorsulia wanted to let herself be selfish enough to decide her own destiny.

Lorsulia’s hands trembled in a way that didn’t happen when she got arrested. She felt already so numb then, but now, the color was pushing its way back into her again. “Thank you,” she said, truly meaning it with everything she had. “I don’t know if I could ever find a way good enough to repay you, but, I will try. Just be careful. Please.”

“Of course!” Yelana smiled again, and she looked completely out of place with the surroundings around them. Perhaps, they’ve both gone crazy. However, maybe, just maybe, that would still work for them. At least, they had to try. Whether she died or lived, Lorsulia would just have to try.

[sboochi]

*sips tea* it's dumb crossovers time

I guess here King Arthur was a real dude who became legend after his death (in which demons and angels might have been involved). Our heroes now have a mystery to solve, with the help of a certain sorcerer.......

Part 1 >> Next

[laikabu]

transhet t4t AU sorry im just playing w my touys in my dollhouse pls don’t get mad at me look away if you dont like

[hiddenmoonbeam]

After a year of admiring amazing art and fics, I finally started drawing them too. So why not share, yeah? :')

[bnnywngs]

i feel like, actually, i know that wei wuxian is definitely the more serious parent between him and lan wangji - not as in personality, but in the way they treat their kids' needs (like studies, personal belongings, etc)

the last word deciding anything to do with their kids is wei wuxian's, he's the one everyone looks when they ask for something because as much as a fake teary eyes works wonders with lan wangji, it doesn't matter because if wei wuxian says no then it's a no

a-yuan: dad, can i go out with my friends this weekend?

lwj: ye- *looks at wwx calmly drinking his gourmet coffee* yes, you can

jingyi: dad, can i have this famous luxury brand's shoes?

lwj: *taking off his phone to buy it* *looks at wwx who's looking at him very seriously over his custom mug* ...no, you can't

[demaparbat-hp]

Almost

[blanze]

It feels good to be back.

(A more risque version under the cut)

[nibbelraz]

Post-Canon Shang Qinghua thinking he's done with all the systems bullshit but marrying Mobei reawakened it to add more missions and plot but now it involves them both

[kat1nkulta]

I can’t stop thinking about Loop. Imagine doing everything, anything, to get out of a traumatic situation but the price is you. Your body is gone, your name is gone, your family doesn’t recognize you, you feel like most of your memories of them are gone too anyway. Suddenly you’re denied your identity. It’s like YOU never existed… and someone else took your place. You, whose biggest fears are forgetting and being forgotten in turn. You, who’s hesitant to change and now you’re forced to. You can’t even really blame anyone else because you did get your wish, right?

It’s explained clearly in the game, but the implications of it just hit me extra hard sometimes. Siffrin is as much of a study of Loop as Loop is of Siffrin. They share(d) their fears too so mal du pays words essentially becoming the truth to Loop is just… 🪨🪨🪨🙁🙁🙁💥💥💥💥

What do you do when all you have is ripped from you, all your worst fears come true, and youre forced to just… come to terms with it?

[captaincrowe]

Anyway, after watching the Wicked movie again, I think my ideal outcome of the love triangle in a canon divergence scenario is "Gelphie and their free-range boytoy Fiyero who comes and goes as he pleases."

[half-a-life-left]

LOYALTY (PART 6/?)

[fycoren]

what if I.. shared these fellas

I have many lore and thoughts for this AU man help

[ethaniscool69]

"you love him." gwen said, knowingly.

arthur looked away, and scoffed, then looked back with a serious face.

"i love him."

"then, why don't you tell him? are you worried he does not reciprocate?" she asked him.

"that does not hold me back from confessing. what holds me back is that, as of this moment, i cannot give him what he deserves. if he does reciprocate, i do not want him to be my secret, i do not want him to be my person on the side, a person i see whenever i please, i do not want him to hurt, i do not want him to be miserable and desperate. i want him to have a good life and be happy, even if it's not with me. i want to give him the world because he is deserving of it and as long as my father is in charge, i cannot give him that. so, for now, i will stay as i am, watching from afar, watching him find joy, happiness and love. i will stay as i am until i find a way to give him all that, even if he does not reciprocate. because i love him. i do."

[sssammich]

fic: come what may

a/n: this is a continuation of THIS post which was inspired by the fanart. please give that fanart some love if you haven't, it was so very compelling to me and that's why we're here.

anyway read the first part and then come back to this lol

---

Lena retreated to the single stall washroom after graciously thanking everyone around her for their applause and cheering. In the quiet of the small space, she was able to think about the last five minutes of her life. 

It had been a week since she had spoken last with the caped hero, the word ‘villain’ rang in Lena’s ears still to this day. 

It had stung her, lanced through her more like. But in this world, she had no choice but to keep moving forward if only to survive. She knew that reintegrating Lex back into her life was a risk, but what was the alternative? To let back in the one person she’d trusted with so much of herself only to be the same one who broke Lena irreparably? It figured that they would be one in the same. Supergirl had a habit of being duplicitous, after all. 

Despite all of these thoughts, the dance had been more than she anticipated. For a brief moment in time, her world narrowed to the size of the dance floor when she and her former best friend twirled and glided across the space, held close to one another, swaying to the beat of the song.

Until Supergirl called out to her, the tenor of her voice bringing up a world long gone, the time together but a distant memory. Only to then ask her, “what’s your plan here, Lena?” 

The illusion broke through and shattered all around them, and her eyes darkened, her heart hardened. 

“You will never trust me,” she announced finally when she looked at Kara’s beautiful face, her equally beautiful blue eyes. Now, an enemy. “I can see it in your eyes.” 

She pulled away and turned, not sure she could look at that face again, anymore. Still, she would admit that it was enough consolation to see Supergirl on edge, to put her on her red-booted back foot.

She recalled turning her head slightly and caught enough of Supergirl's departure from the middle of the dance floor and into the evening sky. It gave her some satisfaction, but not nearly enough to placate the ache in her chest. 

Lena stared at her reflection; her makeup remained impeccably applied, impeccably in place despite the exertion of their dancing. The heat of Kara’s hands lingered all over her body, the warmth of those hands pressed into her, holding her in the illusion of safety as the song notes progressed. Her former best friend was clumsy in her movements, at least at first. It would have delighted Lena plenty to see Supergirl stumble her way through her movements. Yet, she held her own and led the two of them throughout the dance floor in an acceptable tango. On any other day, any other moment, she would have been charmed by it, let herself be led around so long as they stayed in each other's arms.

But those moments were no longer accessible to them. 

She returned to her guests and maneuvered through the compliments and conversations, but every now and again, she glanced up into the open sky. Just in case.

—

In the end, Lex was defeated and rid of once and for all. The details of it were fuzzy to her now, but none of it mattered. Simply that he was gone from her life for good, that he would no longer be a terror to anyone and everyone, to those she loved. 

Once again, however, she was left to pick up what remained of his ruinous rampage, if only to be surrounded by something beyond her isolation. 

It was just a few scant weeks ago that she’d reached a truce with Kara and her Superfriends (nevermind that she’d once thought of them as her own friends, as well). Now here she stood weeks later: alone. 

Lena had run out of options or excuses and finally sought out help from Kara without hope or expectation for true reconciliation or forgiveness, from either of them. They’d drawn their lines from one another so long ago, she’d considered them carved in stone. 

Now she stood on her empty balcony overlooking the city just after the sun had set and the sky was now engulfed in dark blue. 

Without a brother, a mother, a father. An orphan, twice over. It seemed that she was destined to live in solitude. They say no man was an island, yet perhaps Luthors were. 

She gazed at the last remnants of the setting sun across the horizon, not giving away that she heard the sound of a cape billowing at the far end of the balcony. She made no move to say or do anything, simply took a sip of the amber liquid in her glass. If Supergirl had anything to say, then Lena was not going to stop her. 

“How are you?” Kara finally said, after minutes trickled past them. 

She scoffed, unable to help herself. She glanced over her shoulder and watched as Kara hovered outside of the balcony. She simply took another sip of her drink. 

Kara, never one to leave well enough alone, moved so that her feet touched the ground and she stood somewhere behind her. Lena closed her eyes and took a swig of all of her remaining drink. 

“You’re trespassing.” 

“I know.” 

“I can have you arrested.” 

“That’s fine.” 

“What do you want from me?” 

“A dance.” 

Lena quickly turned around, Kara standing only a few feet away, her arm outstretched. She glanced up and met blue eyes, an ocean of patience. 

Resigned, Lena unfurled the fist by her side and placed it in the offered hand. She took a step forward until their bodies were almost flush with one another, Kara’s other hand placed on the small of her back. An easy fit between them. A thought that Lena shoved into a box for rumination and reflection later on. 

“There’s no music,” she commented needlessly even as she put her free hand on Kara’s shoulder, her nerves manifesting in lightly scratching the fabric of the supersuit under her fingertips. 

“There’s always music.” Just then, Kara pulled her phone from a hidden compartment behind her and pressed the screen until soft music started playing. It was the final duet in Moulin Rouge between the two leads, where she and Kara shed a tear or two when they watched it in the past—a distant lifetime ago. They were now extraordinarily different people from those versions of themselves. 

“This musical was a tragedy.” 

The superhero shrugged, her eyes focused past Lena’s head. “I know.” 

“Are you trying to tell me something?” 

Kara eventually returned her attention until their eyes met and Lena waited. She watched as Kara took a deep breath and offered Lena a cautious smile, resignation plastered on her own face. “I’m trying to tell you a lot of somethings.”

She studied Kara’s face, wanted to glean any kind of information from her features alone, but Kara betrayed nothing. “Start with one.” 

“I’ve been practicing.” When she furrowed her brows in confusion, Kara clarified by twirling Lena out of her embrace only to pull her back into her orbit once again. This time without bumbling through any of the movements nor without a stutter in her steps.  

The move surprised Lena enough to take her breath away, her senses suddenly alight as she considered what any of it meant. When? How? Why?

“Tell me another,” she whispered, her hands grasping tighter onto Kara just as the song started to swell. 

“I want to start over.” 

Lena stopped in her tracks so Kara did, too. Distantly, Lena observed that neither released their holds of one another.

“Why? We’ll only hurt each other.” 

“Maybe. Probably,” Kara supplied before tugging Lena back closer to her and swayed side to side to encourage Lena to do the same. “But life without you in it is infinitely worse, I think. So if it’s all the same to you, I’ll take my chances.” 

Lena’s heart felt like it was getting catapulted across time and space. And maybe it was actually getting catapulted along with every sway she took with Kara. Still, she couldn’t help but push. “Even with a villain?” 

Kara grimaced slightly before flashing an apologetic smile. “Sure, Lena. Even with a villain.” 

“I was one, you know,” she offered, watching for Kara’s response. She was complicit, had gotten her own hands dirty. She owned up to that. 

“I know.” But Kara simply shrugged and brought them closer. “Believe it or not, I’ve been one, too. You’re not exactly very special in that department, Lena.” 

A small laugh that bubbled out of her caught her off guard, and Kara smiled at her before spinning her away and back together again until Lena hid her face against the crook of Kara’s neck until the song finally ended. 

They parted from each other, Kara taking a step back until she was a few feet away, her hands clasped in front of her. 

“Thanks for the dance,” Kara said. 

“You’ve gotten better.” 

“I appreciate that. It means the practice has been paying off.” As if nodding to herself, Kara gave her a smile and began to turn so as to take off into the night sky, but Lena stopped her. 

“Tell me one more,” she urged, realizing she didn’t want their interaction to end quite yet. 

Kara then looked over her shoulder. “Can I come back tomorrow?” 

“If you’d like.” 

“I’ll tell you tomorrow.” 

“I’ll hold you to it.” 

Kara’s body twisted so she was looking at Lena more fully. “Goodnight, Lena.” 

“Goodnight, Kara.” 

Lena watched as she took off into the sky, disappearing into the night. She’d stayed out there for a little while longer, the heat of her drink coursing through her veins while the moment between them warmed her against the cool breeze that passed through. 

Nothing had yet been fixed, and there was a long road ahead of them. But something in her caged heart had loosened, allowing her to breathe again. That was a start.

[cryptic-underground]

Just got back from a three day con and, while I am resting up, I drew some lesbians!!

[zazrichor]

just what kind of fool am I?