#lena is whatever kara wants her to be

[natalievoncatte]

There was a knock at Lena’s door, and it startled her awake. She was awake, but also wasn’t, sitting in a side chair beside her sofa with a glass of whisky still in her hand, loosely held by tired, nerveless fingers. It nearly fell from her palm when the sound jolted her from the twilight between fitful wakefulness and falling asleep sitting up. By her side was that goddamn picture, the glass still cracked. She grabbed it and forced it down so she didn’t have to see her grinning face, feel the ghost of a warm soft cheek lightly grazing hers.

The whisky made a fiery stab at her heart as she finished it and went to the door. She already knew who it was, the only person who’d dare disturb her at this hour, and who could get past her security.

Kara stood in the hall, clad in fluffy pajamas and disbelieved, tracks left by hot tears still cut into her soft rosy cheeks. There she was, the pretty little crying princess again.

It was an act. It was bullshit. The real her was hiding behind it, standing tall, appraising Lena’s faults with eyes that could burn mountains, the cold judgment of an extinct empire carved into her godlike, inhuman beauty. Lena made herself see that, refused to let her guard down.

“What, Kara?”

“Can I come in?”

Lena didn’t even answer. She began to close the door, only for her movement to be arrested by a single word.

“Please.”

Part of her made her stop. She seethed against it, hated it. She had carved icy knives of vengeance to carve it out herself. Alcohol had failed to drown it and the sharpest logic was dull against it. It was both too hard to crush and too soft to squeeze, this hateful thing that coiled around her heart and made her feel when she had sworn never to feel again.

Kara took a halting step forward. Lena threw out her palm and pressed it into her chests, stopping her.

She shouldn’t have done that. There was something heady and intoxicating in it. Kara froze in place, and Lena could feel her pulse along her collarbones. The pinnacle of alien might, strength so vast that nothing could stand as her equal, and she stopped from Lena’s lightest touch. That was power.

“What do you want?”

“Just to talk.”

“I’ve heard your apologies. Don’t waste my time unless you have some new material.”

Kara licked her lips. “Maybe.”

They couldn’t stay like this. Resting a hand on her chest had too many possibilities. Touching her had too many implications. It would be so easy to let the soft thing win and bring her hand up and hold her palm to that soft cheek and seek to balm those tears, make it better, care.

She let herself remember that Kara’s pain was a shoeld for Supergirl’s judging wrath and pulled back, but she didn’t close the door. Kara did as she slipped inside.

Thee was a heavy pause of silence, where Kara just breathed, soft and ragged.

“Why are you here?” said Lena.

“I needed to see you. I needed to know you’re safe.”

“Nightmares?”

“Worse,” said Kara. “It was so much worse.”

The agony in her voice shook Lena.

Forcing herself to composure, she poured another three fingers of single malt and flipped into her chair, extending neither drink nor invitation to Kara. The drink was a bad idea. It was dangerous. The smokey, hazy heat of it burned the soft bitter taste of regret from her teeth. Lena didn’t look at her.

“It was the imp.”

“Excuse me?”

“It calls itself Mxy. It says it’s from the fifth dimension but I have no idea if that’s true or not. All I know is that it has vast powers, even godlike. The last time it… it tried to force me to marry it.”

Lena knew what darkness in her birthed the hot rage in her gut, the possessive jealous fury that welled within her at those worse. This thing, how dare he.

She took a drink.

“It… he came to me tonight and said he wanted to make amends. He offered to let me change the past. I could fix whatever I wanted.”

“Hmm. Must have been a trick,” said Lena. “Let me guess, restoring Krypton had some ironic Twilight Zone twist.”

Kara blanched, blinking. “No, I… I didn’t even think of that. I asked him to help me fix us.”

There is no us, Lena began to say, but the words died on her tongue. She washed the taste away.

Something in her twisted, a cold shiver like a water dumped over her head. She knew Kara’s bullshit super senses would pick up on it and steeled herself.

Rubbing her arms, Kara paced.

“I tried telling you at different times, so you’d hear it from me and not Lex or someone else.”

“What happened?” Lena said, trying to look more interested in her whisky than the answer.

It was purely an intellectual curiosity, she told herself.

“You died,” Kara said, blunt. “You died every time.”

“How?”

Every which way. Reign killed you five or six times. Mercy blew your brains out all over my chest. Lex… Lex could be creative. Poison, blades, fire once. He was fond of sadistic choices and clever tortures. Say, use red wavelengths to negate my powers and set up a sadistic challenge I could never pass, that sort of thing. It got so bad I stupidly wished I’d never met you.”

Her voice was ragged, breathing uneven. Fresh tears glittered on her cheeks and Lena felt herself lunge, start to stand. Kara’s pain called out to something in her, something beyond the physical or even the emotional. It was like something in Lena’s soul yearned to stop that terrible pain.

“The worst was when you drowned. Almost.”

Lena looked away, swirled her drink.

“Sounds like you kept trying.”

“I did. The timeline where we never met was one of the worst. I wasn’t there when your chopper crashed. Your mother… you tried to kill me and I couldn’t even fight back.”

“Is this where we segue into the ‘I would never hurt you’ lecture?”

“No. I did hurt you. I deserve your hate. If someone else did to you what I did, I’d snap their neck.”

Lena flinched. There was something cold in that admission, something brutal and beyond even Supergirl. Raw.

None of her rules matter for me.

A tiny voice in that darkness whispered to her: And if some poor bastard locked her in a Kryptonite cage the way you did, they’d be begging you for death. They’d know you’re a Luthor.

Lena shuddered.

“What do you do?”

“I kept trying. I thought… I felt… I had to keep trying.”

“Well, you gave up and came here eventually. You…”

Kara swallowed hard. “It thought it worked, finally. I picked the night I reached you from Corben. Remember that?”

“I remember,” Lena said, hesitant.

Kara Danvers believes in you.

“I told you when you asked me why I saved you. I took you home, made sure you were safe. Life went on. These… these timelines or whatever they were, Lena, they were real. I lived them. That one was, it was…”

“What?”

“A few days later after things calmed down we went to lunch. We were just chatting about something unimportant and you looked at me and our eyes met and it was like…”

Kara looked away from her, wrapping her arms around herself the way she did, not a smug Supergirl pose but a woman shielding her heart from the world that clawed at it.

“When I first arrived on Earth there was a night where my powers had just kicked in and I looked at the sky. I could see more than stars. There was an aurora that was invisible to humans. I could see invisible lines of energy crackling between the stars, the cosmic background radiation shimmering on the dark. Can you imagine that? I can see the remnants of the Big Bang when I stargaze.”

Lena’s had trembled, the dregs of her booze shaking in the bottom of the glass.

“It was like that,” said Kara. “I knew I’d never be the same. I was staring at you like a big goof and you just stopped talking and stared back. I blurted out ‘is this a date?’”

Lena clutched the glass so she wouldn’t drop it and forced the tears back with all her might, but she was weak. Always weak.

“I take it I said yes,” she managed to say, voice quivering.

“We got married three years later. Lori was born a year after that.”

“Kara,” Lena began.

“Then it happened.”

“Kara, shut up.”

“Kalibak killed you. My sister. My little girl. My everything.”

Lena hurled the glass and Kara snatched it from the air in a superhuman blur. Lena was already on her feet, stabbing an accusing finger.

“So what?” Lena demanded. “We’re star-crossed lovers, now? Is this your ploy to fix it? Make me realize how in love we are? It’s a sick joke, Kara.”

“I know I can’t fix it,” said Kara. “I don’t want to.”

Lena blinked, her rage momentarily cooled. “What?”

“I would rather live in a world where you hate me as long as you’re still in it.”

“Kara,” Lena said.

“We are star-crossed. I don’t know want I did to deserve this but I can’t fix it. There was never a right time to tell you. It was doomed from the start. I’m here to tell you to let me go, Lena.”

She blinked. “What?”

“I know about Non Nocere. I know what you’re trying to do. I’m here to ask you to stop. Please. Don’t do this. Don’t ruin you life over me.”

“Why couldn’t you just save me and leave?” Lena demanded. “That’s what everyone else gets. A quick rescue and a wave and a wink and you’re gone. Why did you have to drag yourself through my life and wreck everything?”

“I tried that.”

Lena screamed, bellowed at the top of her lungs.

“So what? So fucking what, Kara?”

Kara just stood there.

“I don’t know. I just… I just had to see… all I want is for you to be safe.”

Lena turned away from her.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so fucking sorry,” Kara choked out, behind her. “I did go back to Krypton one time. I told him I wanted to stay and die with my world, that it was the only way.”

“Let me guess, you did that and…”

“Car accident.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Lena cried. “You have to be kidding me.”

“He made me watch. Not just you, everyone else that died because there was no Supergirl. I… I think I’m in Hell.”

Lena blinked. She turned slowly. A memory came flooding back to her from another time, a closed casket in a small Irish church with Lionel Luthor lurking, waiting for her with an entourage. She’d asked the priest in her precious child voice, am I in Hell, Father?

A sob forced itself out of her. She let herself look at Kara, standing there bedraggled and teary eyed in rumpled Hello Kitty pajamas and felt sick, like she’d swallowed a belly full of rancid oil. All she could see was the hurting, and she wondered if that was it, if this pain was the source of the unbreakable quantum entanglement that had dragged this alien being across a gulf of stars to fuck up her life.

Or save it.

“Kara,” Lena whispered. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I dragged you into my life.”

“I’m not,” Kara whispered. “It was a gift, every minute of it. I wouldn’t trade a single moment for anything. Even the ones that didn’t happen.”

“What the hell do we do?” said Lena.

“I leave. I keep saving you. You find someone else, live your life, be happy. I do everything I can to keep you in this world and watch you grow old. That’s it. I should go.”

Kara turned and Lena screamed, balling her fists.

“Don’t you fucking dare leave this penthouse, Kara Danvers.”

Kara froze.

“I went back.”

“Went back to what?” said Kara.

“I went back to let you out of the Kryptonite cage. I couldn’t stop thinking of you lying on that cold floor in pain so I had to go back, but you weren’t there. I… I… I don’t know what I’m doing. I want to stop this but I just keep going and I don’t know what to fucking do anymore. I’m so lost.”

Kara’s shoulders slumped.

“I would take it back if I could.”

Kara turned back to her.

“You don’t have to.”

Lena backed away, unable to look at her. Kara crossed the gap in seconds and tenderly rested her hands on Lena’s arms.

“I’m sorry. I mean it. I am truly sorry from the depths of my soul. I would fix this if I could.”

“I’m sorry I hurt you,” said Lena. “It makes my soul hurt, and I don’t believe in souls.”

Lena pulled her in, clinging to her as if she might disappear. Kara was tentative, testing with every movement.

God, they had a daughter. A child! Lena could imagine, almost see… what had she done?

“It’s going to be okay,” Kara said. “I think this is what I was supposed to learn.”

“What?”

“To own my mistakes, and if I don’t want you to be a villain, I shouldn’t treat you like one.”

“I’m so tired.”

“I should go home and let you rest. This is a lot, I know, and it’s late. I…”

Kara trailed off, and Lena looked up at her. Their eyes met, and Lena… knew.

“Will you come back?” said Lena.

“Always.”

[weinzapfel]

"Thank you for all the help. I don't know how we'd have gone through that without you two."

Kara smiled at the familiar face, who smiled back. There was a comfortable silence between them very briefly. "Hey, uh..." Kara let out, quietly. "Before you go, can I ask you something?"

Lena from Earth 13 just nodded keeping the soft smile. Kara didn't know why she wanted to ask that or maybe she was just afraid of admitting she wanted to hear whatever was the answer from Lena, even if that wasn't her Lena.

"Your families' history on your world is even more complicated than mine and Lena's in this one. How did- how... how did you two-" Kara was nervous. That wasn't a simple question about some other people. Something in her wanted to know if there was hope for whatever she was feeling for her Lena.

Supercorp AU in which married Supercorp from another Earth is brought to Earth 38 (pre crisis) because of a portal malfunction and they end up helping around in many ways before figuring out how to get back home

[thatonebirdwrites]

Oh my god. I love this idea. I played those games to death. Notes on this: In Fallout 3, the player leaves the vault in order to search for her/his father (you can be any gender in the game). The father left in search for water and better technology but never returned. This leads the player into a landscape near Washington D.C. that is riddled with factions desperately seeking purified water and food. So there's a lot of strife, and seeking the father was a rather interesting storyline. However, in Fallout 4, you start in Boston in pre-war with a family (one kid). (I have a mod that lets me play as two lesbian parents by the way, otherwise it's a het pairing). The bombs drop and you race to the vault, where you get cryogenically frozen. Your family gets cryogenically frozen, and so when the player finally leaves the vault, it's out of a desperation to find Shaun (their baby) who was kidnapped from the cryo pods. Fallout 4 has more interesting factions I think, but I do love Fallout 3's storyline as the fight to find and purify water makes sense in a nuclear wasteland. Side Note: Kara as vault dweller pits her as a sort of alien to the wasteland, which is why I think she'd fit that well. Lena would ally with a science-oriented group but I'm debating on if it'll be brotherhood or not. ________

Year 2278, May 12

Two days after leaving the vault, Kara realized that the world did not fit what the overseer had described. In fact, everything she'd been told about the world seemed to be terribly wrong.

The giant cockroaches and mosquitoes? They weren't supposed to be that big! When she saw the furless mongrel dogs, cows with two heads, she quickly realized that biology book was utterly useless for this wasteland. The land itself mostly dried grass, dead trees, and mutated plants that were so much larger than they ought to be.

How was Kara supposed to find a clean source of water and better foodstuff to replace their lost stores? The wasteland looked so inhospitable, and barely anything grew. Her Geiger counter kept bouncing up to warn her away from the more dangerous areas -- her vault suit didn't quite protect against the radiation, she should have worn a hazmat suit -- but other areas that did harbor some life, none matched her biology vaultbooks.

Up ahead, Kara sighted three figures. She darted behind a rock. Last thing she needed was a fight. The last one with that creepy, fur-less and rabid dog had nearly gotten her killed. Her arm still ached from the dog's claws. She'd had to use three stimpacks before the injury began to slowly repair itself.

So she huddled behind a rock and watched the approach of humans. The first she'd seen since leaving the vault. She had a knife with her, some food and water, some tech from the vault, but the gun she picked up was out of ammo. Not that she was any good at it. Shooting wasn't part of vault curriculum.

Two of the humans were dressed in leather coats, black pants with knee pads, and a hard helmet. A giant, hulking robot walked next to them, but a human voice emanated from it. It looked like one of the power armors Kara had seen in the textbooks from the war. One of the humans looked like a woman. She held a device in her hand and moved it back and forth over the ground. Her skin was sun-burned, her black hair tied back in a loose ponytail, but her eyes were so, so green. As green as the tree drawings in Kara's vault textbooks. She was gorgeous.

The trio walked closer, and their voices drifted over the broken trees and shattered road. "Jack, are you certain this was the coordinates? Because I'm not picking up any signals." Even the woman's voice sounded beautiful.

"We've been over this, Lena. The triangulation pinpointed the crash to this location," Jack said, his deeper voice held an accent Kara didn't recognize. "We simply need to cover more area."

"Perhaps we should split up?" The power armor person said. Their voice was a low alto. "Cover more ground?"

"Bloody hell, Sam, we'd be easy pickings for any enemy then," Jack said with a dramatic flourish of his hand.

"You would be fine, Sam," Lena said with a roll of her eyes. "You got the power armor. Besides, I have the detector. Without it, you're looking for a cap in a lake."

Kara blinked as their words filtered through her. Wait. A crash? She'd seen lots of crashes since leaving the Vault. In fact, one had been still smoking.

Without thinking it through, she darted to her feet. "Hey! I saw a crash!"

And soon found herself facing three weapons -- a flamethrower in Sam's hands, some sort of rifle in Jack's, and a laser gun in Lena's.

Kara threw up her hands. "Please don't shoot! I don't mean any harm. I just heard you talking about a crash, and I saw one."

Lena lowered her weapon first. "You're wearing a vault jumpsuit."

"Yes?" Kara looked down at the blue and yellow suit. The number 111 was emblazoned across the front. "I left it two days ago."

"Wait, you're a vault dweller?" Jack sheathed his weapon with a grin. "Lena, our luck is in! Can you take us to it?"

Kara lowered her hands. "Why?"

"Most vaults are powered by fusion," Lena explained, "and we're low on fusion cores. Is your power still functioning?"

Kara shifted uneasily back toward her rock. "I'm not sure." She'd left the vault mostly intact, meaning her family was still there. Leading these people to it just for them to take the vault's power? That would put them all in danger.

"What do you mean you're not sure?" Sam asked. She had lowered her weapon, but her voice was still intimidating due to the power armor. "Come on, you just left it, didn't you?"

"I can take you to the crash," Kara said, firmly. Alex and the others relied on her mission to find a better water source. Leading strangers there to steal power was not part of the mission. "And maybe we can negotiate if you help me find a clean source of water."

"Now see here," Jack started to say, but Lena held up her hand to stop him.

She stepped forward with a smile. "Negotiate we definitely can. So what's your name? I'm Lena, this is Jack, and that's Sam."

"Kara Danvers from Vault 111." Kara smiled back at Lena.

Fallout AU?

Vault Dweller Kara and Knight Lena?

I haven't seen enough to have an au in mind yet. But I'm not averse to conjuring one eventually :)

[ekingston]

A chef!AU, maybe? In any case, a story in which Kara and Lena meet through one of them preparing/serving/etc food for the other and build their relationship based on that.

(also on ao3.)

“I’m telling you, Alex. It’s her.”

At three pm on a Tuesday their restaurant is characteristically dead, save for the one lone customer Kara is spying on from behind the kitchen doors. The woman is perched, a little perilously, on a barstool at the counter. It’s the one that’s closest to their register, the one with the wobbly leg that Alex keeps telling Kara to fix. One of her red-soled heels is dangling from an impatiently bouncing left foot.

“This is the fourth time this week she’s come in here,” Kara says. “You don’t think that’s just a little bit suspicious?”

Alex shrugs, fully committed to her task of mincing onions. “Maybe she’s just a big fan of Italian food.”

“No way,” Kara says. “No woman who looks like that would put something in her mouth that wasn’t clearly marked gluten-free and vegan. Give me your phone.”

Alex rolls her eyes dramatically as she elbows it over. “Tell me again how you’re totally over Siobhan.”

“Oral sex isn’t a moral issue!” Kara takes a decisive breath while she unlocks her sister’s phone with practiced ease. “Whatever. Water under the bridge.”

“Uh-huh.”

“A love for pasta also doesn't explain why I heard this woman answer a call yesterday with a different name than the one that’s on her credit card,” Kara points out, before snapping a quick picture through the porthole window.

“Okay, now you’re being creepy,” Alex says.

“Shut up,” Kara tells her. “I’m texting Winn.”

Kara eyes the woman at the counter while she waits for his reply. The subject of her suspicion—Lena, she’d called herself on the phone; Tess Mercer, it had said on her mastercard—twists a soft-looking lock of dark hair around her finger as she studies their menu. The way the sunlight sets it ablaze almost makes Kara take a second picture, purely for its artistic merit.

Alex dabs at her onion-induced tears with the cuff of her sleeve. “Let it go, Kara,” she sighs.

“Let it go? Let it—” Kara whirls back to face her, throwing her hands up in frustration. “Do you want The Tower to end up like Winn and James’ steakhouse? Or are you fine with getting swindled by this—this… villain?”

“Of course not.” Alex looks at her like she’s stupid. “But even if this woman is your so-called ‘food influencer’, what do you suggest we do about it? It’s not as if we can bully her into giving us a fair review.”

Kara squares her jaw and sets her fists firmly on her hips. “No,” she declares, her tone grim. “But we can teach her a little about journalistic integrity.” She blows at a lock of hair that’s fallen in her face. “And also, possibly, credit card fraud.”

Alex narrows her eyes at her. “Kara,” she warns, putting down her knife. Her voice is low and cautious, as if she’s talking to the rowdy raccoon that moved into their dumpster three weeks ago instead of to her baby sister. “Let’s just take a breath and think about this for a m—”

Kara is already gone, the doors to the kitchen swinging closed behind her. Sliding into the cluttered space behind the counter, she crosses her arms and then drops her elbows on the bar, leaning what she belatedly realizes is probably a little too close to her adversary. She’s close enough to make out the individual downy hairs on her chin and the lines in her painted lips, which are still pursed thoughtfully in what Kara is sure would look like an attractive pout to someone who didn’t know any better.

But Kara knows so much better.

“Let me guess,” she remembers to get out, much less biting than originally intended. “Today you’ll be having the fifth entrée down the list.”

As soon as their eyes meet over the miniscule amount of space left between them, Kara knows leaning in was a fatal mistake. Her nemesis blinks up at her with wide, startled eyes that remind Kara of the glass pebbles she finds on the beach on her morning walks, not-quite-blue and not-quite-green, and for a moment Kara’s brain sputters out as if someone abruptly turned off the flames that kept it cooking.

But the woman recovers fast, like the scheming scoundrel that she is. She guiltily shutters her eyes behind thick, charcoal lashes, and Kara’s temper revives at the observation that her enemy isn’t as good of an actress as she thinks she is.

“I’ve actually been thinking of breaking my own rule,” she says, with a smile that lands somewhere between self-deprecating and apologetic. “I may give in and order the same thing you served me yesterday.” Kara goes hot all over with righteous indignation at the rich timbre of the woman’s voice, the almost flirtatious lilt it takes on when she adds, “I haven’t been able to stop dreaming about it.”

Kara pulls back a little in an effort to escape that curious gaze, the enticing scent of the woman’s perfume. It’s sweet enough to drown out even Alex’s mountain of onions. “I know what you’re doing,” she blusters.

The—frankly unfairly beautiful—soulless grifter stares at her, stricken. “I’m—I’m sorry?”

“You should be,” Kara says. “I know who you are.” And then, as if she’s putting down the last card in a game of Uno, “Lena.”

The woman goes very still for a moment, and then the corners of her lips tug down in a bitter semblance of a smile. “I see,” she says. She’s rigid, regal; she’s royalty perched on a wobbly wooden stool. “And am I to assume that’s enough for you to turn down my patronage?”

Kara’s resolve wobbles, too. She hadn’t expected her adversary—Lena, she now knows—to roll over so easily. “Well, yeah, obviously,” she flusters, her energy suddenly too large and lumbering in the face of Lena’s deference. “Winn and James are family.”

“Family.” There’s a flicker of wistfulness in Lena’s voice, before confusion colors her features. “So the cold shoulder,” she says. “It’s personal?”

Kara scoffs. The fraudster doesn’t even remember the names of her latest victims. Typical. “It was their steakhouse that you razed to the ground last month,” Kara reminds her.

Lena blinks at her. “The establishment just up the road?” She raises a critical eyebrow. “I’m pretty sure they set themselves up for failure when they decided to name their restaurant Misteak.”

Kara huffs. Her air quotes are appropriately vicious when she says, “They were doing just fine before your slanderous ‘review’ went viral.”

Lena does a remarkably convincing impression of someone who is genuinely flabbergasted. “I don’t even know what that means.”

“Liar.”

Lena’s shocked laughter is bright but brief. It’s the first time Kara has heard her laugh. It’s maddeningly attractive and deeply annoying.

“Okay,” Lena says. She folds her arms in front of her chest and leans back a little in her seat, unaware of its delicate disposition. A smirk tugs at one corner of her mouth. “Tell me,” she says, her eyes narrowing. “Who do you think I am, exactly?”

Kara leans in close again, refusing to allow Lena to get the upper hand. She’d like to wipe that smirk from Lena’s face—manually, if need be—preferably, even, if it means she’d get to smudge that infuriatingly immaculate lipstick with her thumb—

“You,” Kara charges, in an effort to drown out that unhelpful thought, “are a fraud. You call yourself a ‘mystery food critic’ on TikTok, but really you’re blackmailing businesses into buying a favorable review.”

“Hey, um.” Alex has followed her out of the kitchen, holding her phone. “So. Winn texted back, and he says—”

But Lena laughs again, her guarded posture melting down to unmistakable relief. “I’m so sorry,” she says, her voice a high warble. “That sounds awful. And also extremely illegal. Have you reported this person to the authorities? I can get you in touch with an excellent lawyer, if you’d like.”

Kara doesn’t know if she feels more outraged or confused.

…Or possibly some secret third thing.

“So you’re telling me—” Kara barks out a disbelieving laugh. “You’re saying you’re not her.”

“This, ehm— Tic Tac person?” When Lena’s dark lashes flutter, something in Kara’s chest flutters too. “No.”

Impossible. “Then why have you been in here every day this week?” Kara interrogates, the full force of evidence she’s collected behind it. “When neither one of us has seen you here even once, since we opened?”

Alex rolls her eyes. “I told you I wasn’t sure whether I’d seen her here before,” she points out. “Also, Winn says—”

“Oh please,” Kara scoffs, her eyes fixed on Lena, who has propped her elbows on the counter again, closer now than she’d been the last time their eyes met. “As if you could forget a woman as beautiful as—” Kara’s gaze drops to Lena’s mouth, unbidden, when Lena parts those rude, ruby lips. “...You.”

Alex stares.

Kara swallows.

Lena blinks; two times fast, and then again, after a beat, slow and sticky, her eyes darkening.

“So you may as well come out with it,” Kara croaks out what little remains of her anger. “There’s something you want more than our fettuccine.”

Lena’s cheeks have turned a treacherously charming shade of pink. “I suppose you’re right about that one, at least,” she admits after a beat.

In Kara’s peripheral vision, Alex frantically slides her hand across her throat. Kara frowns at her, telegraphing a wordless what is your problem but finding no satisfactory answer in the crimson shade her sister’s face has taken on.

“Yeah, well,” she says, almost disappointed, fumbling to fill the space left by Lena’s confession. “I’m telling you right now that it’s never going to happen.”

Alex clears her throat with startling force. “Winn wants to know,” she says, reading from her phone, “Who’s the hot chick?”

When Kara returns her gaze to the woman on the other side of the counter, she gulps. Lena is somehow even closer than she was before. She’s also fully propping herself up now on the laminate surface between them, granting Kara a glimpse of freckled cleavage that in no possible universe could be interpreted as unintentional.

“So,” Lena drawls. “What you’re saying is you’re not going to give me your number?”

Kara’s throat is suddenly very dry.

“Huh?” she manages, but only just barely.

“I was hoping,” Lena says slowly, that maddening smirk once again tugging up the corner of her mouth, “that you’d maybe like to—”

Lena shifts in her seat, crossing her legs in what is bound to become a devastatingly seductive pose, but the barstool decides in exactly that moment that's it’s finally had enough. Lena yelps as it gives out beneath her with a dramatic snap, one of its rickety limps flying across the floor as if celebrating its first taste of freedom, and Kara’s never considered herself to be very quick, but here she is anyway, on the other side of the counter in what feels like less than a second, one hand gripping Lena’s forearm, the other slipping smoothly around her waist.

“—fuck,” Lena gasps up at her. She feels good, in Kara’s hands, slight but pleasantly heavy, like the santoku knife Alex has forbidden Kara from touching ever again. “Well,” Lena says. “That’s. Perhaps not the way I would have phrased it, especially in front of your friend—”

They both glance over at Alex, but she’s disappeared, the swaying of the kitchen doors the only indication she was ever there.

“O-kay,” Kara says.

Lena grins. “Okay?”

Kara mentally rewinds the conversation and feels her ears burn at the realization of what she just agreed to. “I mean,” she amends. “We could, maybe, grab something to eat first?”

Something devious sparks in Lena’s terrifyingly gorgeous face. She glances down at Kara’s arms before blinking back up at her again and smirking. “I thought you already had.”

And, goodness gracious.

Kara is about to be in so much trouble.

[spaceman-earthgirl]

Supercorptober Day 28: Book

ao3 fic link. ao3 series link. - Thanks to @itistakingover for this idea!

Kara knows she’s in trouble. She can see it as soon as she walks into their apartment and sees her sister sitting at the dining table, book closed in front of her.

“We need to talk.”

There’s no preamble, Alex getting straight to the point, which means Kara’s in even more trouble than she thought.

It also means there’s no getting out of this.

“I can explain,” Kara starts, even though she can’t. Or, well, she can, but Kara knows Alex won’t be taking any of her excuses, not this time.

“Kara, this has to stop,” Alex continues, ignoring her. “We can barely afford rent and food and all the bills that are piling up and you brought another book. You promised you wouldn’t.”

Kara swallows. She thought she’d hid the book better, but Alex must have found it as it’s sitting on the table between them.

Kara’s glad she took a bag to the bookstore today, Alex would be extra upset if she knew that in Kara’s bag is a new book she bought less than half an hour ago.

Kara opens her mouth but Alex cuts her off. “And don’t you dare tell me you had to buy it.”

“But Alex, I did!” It’s really not her fault, she wishes Alex could see that. “I was at the bookstore and Lena was there and I had to buy it or else she’ll wonder why I was in the store again.”

“Oh my God, Kara,” Alex groans, head falling forward, knocking against the table.

Kara, alarmed for a moment, rushes to her sister’s side. “Are you okay?”

Alex sits up, levels Kara with a glare. “You have to stop spending all our money on books. We all know you have a crush on Lena, we all know that’s the only reason you go to her store so often. So please, for the love of God, just ask her out so you’ll stop buying so many books.”

“No, that’s not-“

“Kara, please, just don’t. Yes, I know she’s pretty and I know she’s smart and funny and whatever else you have to say about her. That’s no reason to spend all our money. All you need to do is ask her out and then you’ll get to see her whenever you like and we won’t get kicked out of our apartment because we can’t pay the rent.”

“I...” Kara bites her lip. “What if she says no?”

Alex looks surprised because yes, maybe it is rather obvious that Kara has a crush on Lena, but this is the first time she’s admitted it. Or is close to admitting it anyway.

“Trust me,” Alex says. “She won’t. You’ve both got it as bad as each other.”

Alex has said this before too but Kara has never listened, because there’s no way it’s true. Kara is in way too deep with a girl she only knows because she visits her bookstore so often. To Lena, Kara is probably just another customer who spends a lot of money, which means being nice to her is good for business.

“So,” Alex says, pulling Kara from her thoughts. “You promise you won’t buy any more books? And this time actually mean it?”

“But what if she-“

“No.” Alex cuts her off. “That’s it, come with me.”

Kara is alarmed as Alex abruptly stands and grabs onto her arm. Kara stumbles a little as she follows her sister.

“Where are we going?” Kara asks as Alex drags her out of the apartment.

“We’re going to the bookstore so you can ask Lena out.”

Kara stops on the spot, pulling Alex to a stop too. “No.”

Alex turns and tugs on her sisters arm again. “Yes. It’s either this or we’re going to starve because I know the next time you see her you’ll want to buy another book and we just can’t afford that.”

Considering that that’s exactly what happened this morning, Alex might be right.

“But,” Kara starts, except that only excuse she can think of not to do this is because she’s terrified. Which is a pretty good excuse in Kara’s opinion.

“No buts. Please, we need that money.”

Kara sighs, Alex is right.

“What do I even say?” Kara asks, starting to walk again on her own, surprising Alex again.

“Hi Lena, I’ve been in love with you forever and I want to have your babies.”

This time, Kara glares at Alex.

Alex laughs. “Ok fine. You just say, ‘Hi, I really like you, do you want to go out for coffee sometime?’”

“That sounds too easy.”

“It is that easy,” Alex agrees, though Kara still doesn’t believe her.

Kara stops again once they arrive at the store, standing outside, too scared to go in knowing what Alex wants her to do. And she wants to do it too, has dreamed of this, of actually telling Lena how she feels, or Lena asking her out, any version that it goes well and she gets to be with Lena.

Kara sees Lena through the window and despite the fact that Lena is talking to a customer, she happens to look up and catches Kara’s eye through the window. Lena gives her a small smile and wave and something in Kara’s chest loosens.

This is Lena, who always makes time to chat with her in store, who is always nice and friendly and is kind to everyone she meets. Lena, who is always willing to help Kara with any book request, no matter how silly it is and always makes her feel so warm and welcome.

Lena, who she is in love with and maybe does want to have her babies, but she’ll never admit that out loud.

“Go on,” Alex urges and Kara takes a deep breath before she steps through the door. The bell jingles above her head and even that is comforting in its familiarity.

Alex follows her in and Kara is glad her sister is here, even if she’s probably just going to embarrass herself.

Alex wanders off, making herself look busy looking at books but Kara stands awkwardly in the middle of the store, unsure what to do.

It’s a few minutes before Lena is finished with the customer and then she immediately makes her way towards Kara.

“Kara, what a nice surprise. Was one book not enough for you today?”

Kara shoots a quick look at her sister and finds Alex glaring at her, so obviously she’d heard and hadn’t figured out Kara had already bought a book today.

Lena catches the look, glancing between them. “Is everything okay?”

Kara shakes her head, and then just goes for it. Honestly is good, right? “No, Alex is upset I keep buying books.”

Lena looks confused. “Is that a bad thing?”

Kara bites her lip. “Yes, when I’m spending all our rent money on books.”

Lena still looks confused. “Oh I-“

Kara cuts her off. “Let me explain?”

Lena pauses and nods.

“It’s not the buying books part that is bad, it’s that I’m buying books I don’t need because I come in here just to see you but use the books as an excuse.”

Lena’s eyes widen. “Oh.”

“And I have genuinely enjoyed all the books I’ve brought from you, but the main reason I come in here most days is just to see you.”

Lena smiles. “I know.”

“What?”

“I mean, I did think you wanted the books and I wouldn’t have let you buy them if I’d known you were spending your rent money. But I did know you were coming in here just to see me.”

“Oh.” It’s now Kara’s turn to not know what to say. “Is that okay?” Kara finally asks when the silence stretches too long.

“Is what okay?”

“Is it okay that I come here just to see you?”

Lena nods. “I look forward to your visits. Every time the bell jingles, I hope it’s you.”

Kara bites her lip, her heart skipping in her chest. This isn’t how she saw today going at all. “Does that mean if I ask you out for coffee, you’ll say yes?”

Lena presses her lips together, her cheeks pink as she nods. “I’d really like that.”

“I really like you,” Kara replies, the words tumbling from her mouth without much thought but as soon as she’s said them, she regrets it immediately. What if that’s not what Lena meant, what if she-

Kara’s thought process is derailed when Lena reaches out and takes her hand, warm fingers slipping between her own.

“I really like you too,” Lena says, voice soft and eyes bright.

Kara could spend forever looking into Lena’s eyes, trying to figure out exactly what colour they are.

“Thank God.” 

Both Kara and Lena startle at the interruption, Alex suddenly beside them.

“Sorry to break this up but Lena, you have a customer.”

Lena’s cheeks go properly red this time as she turns and sees a customer at the counter.

Lena turns back to Kara. She takes her hand, pulls a pen out of her pocket and scribbles something on Kara’s hand. 

“I have to go, but text me?” Lena asks, shy again like they didn’t just both admit they like each other. Of course, Kara isn’t going to say no.

Kara nods as she watches Lena go and help the customer. She looks down at her hand and sees Lena’s number written in blue ink, a little heart beside it.

Alex bumps her side. “Told you.”

Kara grins. “Thank you.”

“It was entirely selfish, I just wanted you to stop spending money,” Alex says but Kara knows that’s not true. It’s definitely partly true but by the way Alex is smiling at her, Kara knows her sister is happy for her too.

Kara links her arm with Alex’s. “Donuts to celebrate?”

Alex laughs. “At least now you can go back to spending all your money on food.”

Kara waves at Lena as she leaves, Lena sending her another small smile that makes Kara warm from the inside. She can’t wait for their first date.

[rustingcat]

“So… how's the risotto?” Lena asked from behind her glass of overly expensive red wine. The quiet between them felt palpable despite the hums of conversation of the restaurant around them.

“Eh, good. Good.” Kara nodded with half a smile as she shoved another spoonful in her mouth to prove her point.

It was far from convincing, and Lena knew it wasn't about the food. “Alright, why does it feel…”

“Weird?” Kara finished her sentence with a small chuckle as she swallowed her bite.

“Yeah.” Lena smiled. At least it wasn't just her that felt that way. “It wasn't like that last time.” She signed and put down her glass.

“To be fair, last time we didn’t realise it was a date,” Kara pointed out.

“Is this what we should do then? Pretend like it's not a date?” Lena asked with a hint of worry in her voice. They only just made the big step. She didn't want things to return to the way they were.

“I don't know, I kinda like holding your hand.” Kara gave Lena’s hand a small squeeze while flashing her a warm smile.

“To be fair we did that before we decided to give this whole dating thing a try.” Lena visibly relaxed, giving kara a small smile in return.

“I also don't want to stop telling you how smart and beautiful you are.” Kara continued, basking in the rosy colour that appeared on Lena’s cheeks.

“Well, you did that before too, if I remember correctly.” Lena bit her lip in an attempt to suppress her growing smile. It was amazing how fast Kara can make her relax.

“Your memory is as amazing as you are, so I doubt it could betray you now.”

“Kara Davners, are you flirting with me?” Lena raised a sharp eyebrow as she took a sip of her wine.

“Should I stop?”

“Don't you dare.”

The silence that followed wasn't awkward anymore, it was warm and calming with the joy of something new.

“Then are you from tennessee? Cause you're the only ten I see.” Kara finished with a wink and an over confident smirk.

“Oh dear lord! No.”

“You don't like that one? I have more.”

Lena chuckled. God, she loved that woman. “Just eat your risotto, darling.”

Hand in hand, Lena and Kara exited the restaurant into the cool evening breeze of the city. Kara didn’t even ask before wrapping her blazer around Lena’s shoulder who smiled gratefully in response.

“Such a gentlewoman,” Lena remarked.

“I try,” Kara shrugged and captured Lena’s hand once more with her own.

“Well, this is me.” Lena bit her lip as the couple made it to her building’s entrance.

“Shall I walk you to your door?”

“If you insist.”

“I am a gentlewoman after all.”

They greeted Bill the doorman on their way up who wished them a nice evening with a smile.

They stopped again once they reached Lena’s door.

“So, a date or not a date?” Lena asked with a small smirk.

“Date, definitely a date.”

“And why is that?”

“Because I really want to kiss you right now.”

Lena answered by cupping Kara’s face and connecting their lips. It was wild to her how much she craved it already. They only kissed once before, and it was already one of her favourite things in this world. Their tongues connected and Lena let out a small whimper as heat consumed her entire body in seconds.

“Would you like to come in?” Lena asked breathlessly while Kara moved l to kiss her neck.

“I thought it was a third date kind of thing?” Kara smirked, whispering her words into her ear.

“Would coffee and whatever in my fridge work for a third date then?” Lena bit her lip while eyeing Kara’s swallowed kissable lips.

“Yeah. Yeah, I think it would.” Kara barely nodded before crashing their lips back together.

They stumbled into Lena’s apartment deeply consumed by one another.

They never got to make that coffee.

Well, not until the morning after.

You can also find this on AO3

Huge thanks to @sssammich for pushing me out of my comfort zone to come up with this ficlet! Thank you for your help, darling♥️

[kj-yikes]

14. Chill

(on ao3 here)

Nia Nal: Hey, wanna come over tonight and watch a movie? We can just chill.

Lena rereads the texts from her friend with a puzzled look on her face. It's been a while since she hung out with Nia one on one. Lena enjoys spending time with the younger woman, both in a group setting and alone, but something seems fishy about these texts. Nia, like Kara, isn't very subtle at the best of times, and Lena just has a feeling.

Whatever it is, Lena thinks, it'd be good to spend some time with Nia. Plus, Kara has a sisters night with Alex, and this will ensure that Lena doesn't work too late.

Sure, she types out on her phone, I'd love to! <3

Great! Come over at 7. I'll have food. Lena locks her phone and shakes her head.

------

"It's open!" Lena hears Nia shout as she knocks on her apartment door. Lena pushes the door open and sees Nia and Kelly sitting on the couch, in the middle of a discussion.

"Kelly! I didn't realize you were coming," Lena says, placing her bag on the kitchen counter. Nia suddenly stands up and clears her throat.

Lena frowns suspiciously and raises an eyebrow. "What's going on?"

"Welcome to your intervention!" Nia exclaims. Kelly elbows her. "What?"

"My…intervention? For what?" Lena has no idea what has come over her friends.

"Well, since Nia has decided to just jump into this," Kelly looks over at Nia with an exasperated look. Nia crosses her arms and shrugs, sitting back down. "We wanted to talk to you about Kara."

"Kara? Is she okay?" Lena asked worriedly. Nia rolls her eyes and groans at Lena's immediate panic.

Kelly gets up and crosses to Lena, grabbing her arm comfortingly. "Yes, Kara's fine. She's with Alex. This is a good thing, I promise."

"We know you're in love with Kara, and we think it's about time you did something about it," Nia spills in a rush. Kelly sighs.

Lena has had years of practice for this moment. She arranges her face into a look of disbelief, letting out a small chuckle. "Nia, Kara and I are just friends."

"Oh, come on Lena. I've been watching the two of you for years." Nia joins them in the center of the room. "That's not going to work on me. I've seen your lovesick heart eyes you always give her the moment she enters the room. I've had to watch Kara get handsy with you on one too many game night." Nia's nose crinkles slightly. "Don't get me wrong, you two are adorable, but sometimes it's like, sickening. Last game night, Kara couldn't stop kissing your forehead. She kissed you, like three times!"

It was five, actually. Lena remembers. Oh, Lena remembers. Kara was always very physical with Lena, this was true. But Kara was definitely straight. That fact builds the foundation of Lena's determination to never let Kara know that Lena's very much in love with her, has been for years. After everything they've been through, Lena doesn't want this one last secret to break them.

She shakes her head. "We're friends," Lena emphasizes, crossing her arms. "That's just how Kara treats her friends. You know! You're both friends with her."

Kelly and Nia exchange glances. "Lena, really? Have you not been paying attention? I'm her friend, too. We don't do that. Ever."

"Kara Danvers has never kissed me on the forehead," Kelly chimes in with a laugh. "I'd feel kind of awkward about it, to be honest, seeing as she's my fiancee's sister."

Lena sinks to the couch. Now that she was thinking about it, Kara wasn't as handsy with her other friends as she was with Lena. Had she missed something? Or perhaps, had she tried not to notice something in a desperate, scared attempt to ensure that her newly-rekindled friendship didn't experience any new tremors that could shake them apart again.

"Lena," Kelly starts, grabbing her hands and sitting next to her on the couch. "When you found out that Kara was Supergirl, I thought the two of you had broken up. I didn't know that Kara was Supergirl yet, and I didn't have any other explanation for what happened. I was the one who made Alex realize that Kara is in love with you."

"Kara's not in love with me," Lena says automatically with a snort. She closes her eyes at her words. "Sorry, it's a reflex." Kelly squeezes her hands.

Lena shakes her head, trying to make sense of all of this. "You're telling me that Alex knows too? Does everyone know?"

"Pretty much!" Nia pipes in. "We have a whole group chat about it."

"Nia!" Kelly admonishes. Lena buries her face in her hands.

"I think you're missing the point, Lena. The two of you clearly have feelings for each other. You both deserve to be happy, especially after everything that's happened," Kelly says sincerely.

Lena rests her elbows on her knees, head in her hands, and sighs. "That's just it, Kelly." She closes her eyes in defeat. "After everything that's happened, I can't risk losing her again. I can't."

"Who says you'd be losing anything? What about all the things you'd gain?" Lena opens her mouth to argue when there's a knock at the door. Nia's brow furrows, and Kelly gets up. She crosses the apartment to open the door.

Lena's eyes widen as she takes in Kara in the doorway, chest heaving and looking determined.

"Kara? What are you doing here?" Nia's voice trails off as Kara rushes in to the apartment.

Kelly doesn't look surprised, though. "That was…shorter than expected," she laughs. Alex rushes up to the doorway behind Kara. She grabs her fiancee's hand and places a kiss on her cheek.

"I know. I was surprised by how quickly I convinced her," Alex answers. They share a look conspiratorially.

Lena's barely paying attention to anyone but Kara as she crosses the room in three long strides to stand in front of Lena.

"Lena," she breathes. Her crystal-blue eyes are focused on Lena's lips, and Lena can see the yearning in them. Before Lena has a chance to do anything, Kara grabs either side of Lena's face and pulls her in for a kiss.

Nia squeals in the background, and Alex groans, but Lena barely notices. She hears something that sounds like a high five, but Kara's lips are on hers, so soft and moving gently and spreading goosebumps up Lena's arms. Kara tastes like spring and her mouth is so warm and oh, her tongue is licking into Lena's mouth. Lena lets out a soft sigh, hands slipping under Kara's shirt and fingertips running across Kara's firm abs.

Kara groans and cards her fingers through the base of Lena's ponytail. The kiss is quickly tipping from chaste to something more, and Lena can't find it in herself to pull away.

Nia's voice breaks Lena's stupor. "Hey, guys? This, uh, this is my apartment. Maybe you should go back to yours?" Kara pulls back suddenly. Her eyes search Lena's face, and Lena nods. Kara gathers Lena in her arms and walks to the window.

"Bye, be safe, make good choices, consent is sexy!" Nia yells at them as Kara flies her out the window and to Kara's apartment.

Later that evening, Lena is laying naked, wrapped in two strong Kryptonian arms as Kara mouths gently at Lena's neck. Lena threads her fingers through Kara's hair, playing with the soft baby hairs at the base of her neck.

"I guess you got an intervention, too," she whispers, giggling. Kara hums.

"Yep," she pops the 'p' at the end, nuzzling into her hair. "Isn't our family the worst?"

"Mhmm," Lena sighs as Kara nips behind her ear. "Remind me to buy Kelly and Alex the most expensive thing on their registry." She feels Kara grin against her neck as her hands wander back down below the sheets. Lena's hips buck slightly as Kara's fingertips graze her inner thigh. "Or maybe, just their entire registry. And something for Nia, too."

"We'll make sure to thank them," Kara picks her head up from where she was making her way down Lena's body, leaving behind soft kisses. Her eyes are midnight blue, dark and gorgeous and wanting, and Lena shivers. "Right now, I'd like to ravish you again, if that's okay."

Well, Lena's not going to stop her.

[suzukiblu]

Do you read much fic yourself? and if u do, do u have any recs?

I kinda read fic in fits and starts, to be honest? Like it ebbs and it flows, pretty much, hah. So sometimes I read a TON of it and sometimes I pretty much don't read any at all. So like, currently not really, but previously enough that I def DO have recs, haha.

Not an exhaustive list of my faves, just some random Good Ones I can think of off the top of my head ( all some variant of DC or DPxDC ).

( also def read the tags on these, there's def some tags on a few of them that at least some people would wanna know about before reading. )

Catching Icarus by Fantasyfire ( YJA!Conner gets Super-adopted, interdimensionally-speaking. Fully the inspo for that "the last son of Krypton meets Hypertime Kon" WIP of mine, for the record. )

I Want It That Way by WynterSky ( Tim/Kon but make it 90's and also an emotional rollercoaster. )

Stress Relief by daemoninwhite [ nsfw ] ( Kon goes to a sex club in space for some free-use/stuck-in-wall-style stress relief and gets exactly what he wants. )

Jasmine Luthor by Die_Erlkonigin6083 ( Jazz finds out her biodad is Lex Luthor and literally does not care until she finds out CONNER Luthor exists. )

The Unnecessarily Dramatic Death of One Jasmine Fenton by Rowan_the_Escapist ( Jazz and Jason meet at a party and it all goes to shit pretty quick. fyi I will chew on this worldbuilding and also this version of Jazz/Jason until I ALSO die. )

Lazy Sunday by Faeriekit [ nsfw ] ( . . . I did not think I'd be so into Jason/Tucker but uhhhhh turns out I'm real into Jason/Tucker and especially into Jason getting consensually hypnotized into a househusband while absolutely desperate for his boyfriend Dom to fuck him, go fig!! )

The French Mistake by Vamillepudding ( The wrong Bruce is in this reality but he's a much better dad than the right one, so is that really a problem?? )

Buy One, Get One by iselsis ( Incubus!Jason gets rescued/surprise-adopted by Batman and then tries to figure out if it's safe to ask Bruce to save his succubus!mom from his shitty dad. )

Catherine/Bruce Medieval AU by iselsis and PotatoLady ( I am not emotionally well about this whole entire concept, hahaha. Omegaverse medieval AU where Bruce beats Willis in a fight and therefore wins whatever belongs to him. Which in this scenario includes Catherine and Jason. )

bystander by greeneyedfirework ( Batfam omegaverse where alpha!Jason finds a messed-up Robin!Dick in heat and it is a Problem(tm). One of the specific genre of omegaverse-Robins-in-distress that was inspo for the "Robin gets nested" WIP. )

Eyes Like Kryptonite by dragonez ( Lena Luthor gets a strange Kryptonian on her balcony who doesn't know if he's from an alternate reality or time-travelling and wants specifically HER help. Kara/Lena. )

your ghost i will gladly bear by merils ( Interdimensional Timkon featuring two Robins on a rooftop while they're both dead. THIS CONCEPT, I LOVE IT. )

This isn't how things are supposed to go. But we've always been unorthodox. by RenkonNairu ( Please and thank you for this slightly niche and highly interesting omegaverse take including omega!Kon, bless. Also Tim/Kon and Bruce/Clark, accidental and deliberate and deliberately-AVOIDED bonding, and the shitty version of Lex/Clark. )

Fairy Godbrother by envysparkler ( Batbrothers accidentally-on-purpose decide to meddle in another reality's version of themselves in quick succession, or over the course of several years, depending on how you timestream it. )

. . . . . . like, just go check out thebodydies and Briarwitched, I cannot effectively narrow down the options there, haha, just gooooo.

[thatonebirdwrites]

Courage

The moment the elevator doors shut, panic lances through her muscles, arcs across her brain, and stifles her breathing. Kara slumps against the wall as the sensation of spinning turns her stomach to goo.

She needs to get out. Escape, but her limbs won't move. She's rooted to the floor and wall, her body a trembling branch in a nonexistent wind.

A ding rings out and the doors open. Kara pushes off the wall and leaps forward, blindly. She collides with a soft body, who breathes out a soft 'oof' before wrapping arms around Kara. They tumble in a heap to the floor.

"Kara?" Lena lays under her.

Kara scrambles off her. "S-sorry," she stammers. Her head spins from the vertigo, and that urge to upend her lunch clenches her stomach.

"Hey, hey, it's okay." Lena sits up and gently touches Kara's shoulder. Her thumb rubs back and forth, and the soothing touch ripples through the panic-clenched muscles. Slowly, she relaxes under Lena's ministrations. "How about we go to my office and chat?"

It's an out, a way to escape the suffocating embarrassment of having knocked over the new boss of CatCo. Kara doesn't want Lena to see her like this, but as they sit on the floor, she can't think of an excuse for her mad dash. Or her trembling hands, or the sheen of sweat along her hair's roots.

She's exhausted, scared, and dreading the Supergirl calls. Psi is still out there, and the horror of each encounter brings up another trauma. Layers and layers like a badly baked cake.

Running will only make Lena and their coworkers more suspicious, so she nods. People keep glancing their way, but no one says a word as Kara follows Lena into the CEO office.

Once Kara's settled on the sofa, Lena sits next to her and takes one of her hands. Her thumb strokes back and forth, and the terror that'd gripped Kara eases further.

"What's wrong?" Lena's words are soft, her expression so earnest, that Kara almost bursts into tears.

Instead, she sniffles and tips her head back against the sofa. "Panic," she mumbles.

"I figured as much. What caused it? If you feel comfortable sharing."

"Elevator." The dread of the elevator had latched onto her soul, an emotional flashback to being trapped in her pod in the Phantom Zone for years.

"Ah, small enclosed space." Lena continues to massage Kara's hands. "If it helps, I'll ride in it with you. Even if I have to ride back up to the office after."

Kara frowns. "Why? That seems silly." That last vestiges of the panic has faded into an ache in her chest. Lena's touch always does that to her, a relief that soothes the ending grief that haunts her steps.

"Helping you is never silly." Lena states it as if it's a fact of nature. "And it's no trouble. Truly."

Kara meets Lena's gave and blinks back tears. Such a small offer shouldn't affect her so, and yet, here she is on the verge of weeping. She wants to tell Lena everything. To finally let go of the secret that mars the relationship between them.

Before she realizes it, she finds herself crying, her face pressed against Lena's shoulder, and Lena's arms tight around her. She rocks her gently, rubbing her back, and whispering kind platitudes in Kara's ears, and that only breaks her further.

"I need help," she whispers, finally. "But I'm scared to ask. That once you know this truth about me, you'll be furious. That you'll hate me for it."

"Darling," Lena says, gently, "That sounds like what my therapist calls catastrophizing. Building up worst case scenarios without evidence."

The term surprises her. Kara's never really thought about it quite like that, but what is her evidence that Lena will be angry? She thinks of how Lena prefers transparency, hates lies, and how prone to anger she can be in those situations.

And yet, she's never shown anger with Kara, even when she has to leave their hangout early due to Supergirl stuff.

"This is a pretty big thing though," Kara says, quietly. She rubs away her tears an sighs. "I don't want to lose you, Lena."

"Whatever you have to tell me," Lena continues, "it won't hurt what we're building, okay?"

Kara tugs at the cuffs of her button-down shirt. "It might."

Lena tilts her head and studies Kara for a long moment. "How about I be the judge of that?" she says finally.

Kara winces. Valid point. "Okay. I -- I'm dealing with a metahuman who -- who somehow induces flashbacks of the most horrifying parts of my life. She's been breaking into banks with this ability, and I can't fight her. No matter how hard I try. The panic hits, I'm back in that -- that horrible memory, and it lingers for the rest of the day. Like the elevator. It -- it felt like I was trapped in my pod again, watching my planet die again and again." She breathes in sharply and blinks back tears. Lena's hands grip hers tighter. "Normally, I can usually handle it."

"But not today." Lena looks thoughtful, but she doesn't seem angry or upset. "I'm so sorry about what happened to you. I can't even imagine that." Her eyes dart to the row of televisions behind the desk, where a few play a segment about the bank heists and Supergirl. "But perhaps I can help?"

Kara shakes her head. "I don't want her to hurt you, Lena! I can't lose you-"

"Kara, darling," Lena ducks her head to meet Kara's distraught gaze. She squeezes Kara's hand. "You're talking to an engineer and biophysics researcher. All powers, even yours -" when she says that word, a slight smile forms on her lips, and Kara knows then that Lena isn't angry about her reveal "- have a signature. If this thief is using a power to induce panic and trauma into another, that means a signal must emit from the thief. I could try crafting a few devices to nullify it, creating a field to protect you."

Kara blinks, startled. "Huh. You know, that -- that could work." It'd be better than her reliving all her traumas at once. No matter how hard she pushes herself through it, it slows her down far too much. Psi gets away every time.

"Then how about this. I'll need to do a scan of the area of her most recent heist. Preferably directly after. Then give me a day to craft you something." Lena's firm, problem-solving voice invokes a sense of warmth that washes through Kara from head to toe.

"She might still be nearby if it's directly after."

"Then let's be quick, and you can fly me out of there after." The way Lena so casually suggests flying has Kara breathless, but not due to panic, more of a relief and sense of wonder. Maybe Lena already knew her secret this whole time and had simply been waiting for Kara to tell her?

"Okay." Kara smiles for the first time that day.

***

The next heist is that evening. Supergirl shows up, the fight goes awry, Psi gets away, but this time Lena Luthor surveys the site with a handheld scanner. Her disguise is a simple black outfit, similar to Alex's agents, but without any markings.

"Kara, what the hell is Lena doing here?" Alex whispers as she hands Kara a water bottle.

Kara, still shivering from the Psi-induced panic attack, chugs the water. It's cool taste soothes her from the inside out. "She had an idea on how to help. But she needed a scan of Psi's signature."

Alex's eyebrows raise almost to her hairline. "You told her?"

Kara shrugs and crumples the water bottle flat in her hands. When Lena finishes her scan, she walks over, her smile a little forced, and a look of unease in her eyes. The residue of Psi's power still lingers.

Kara does as promised -- flies her to her lab at L-Corp.

***

The second heist after that, Kara comes prepared with Lena's new device latched to her belt. This time when Psi smiles and attempts her mental attack, Kara feels only a soft buzzing at the edge of her awareness.

"Nice try." She superspeeds forward and slams Psi into a wall. "Your reign of terror ends today."

"Oh? No longer eager to play?" Psi teases, her voice like honey, cloying and sweet. "And here I thought we were becoming friends."

"As if." Kara slaps on the power-dampening cuffs and leads Psi out of the bank. Alex waits with her team just outside. Pushing Psi into the back of that van gives Kara a sense of satisfaction.

"A bit kinky, isn't this?" Psi says with a grin. She nods her head at the black interior and holds up the cuffs. "Makes me think you're wanting some of this."

"I can guarantee you I don't, but I'm sure you'll love your new accommodations," Kara says with a smirk before she shuts the doors. The entire vehicle is built to hold in most powers, but Supergirl flies above the van just in case. At least until Psi is safely transported.

Alex catches her just after Psi is locked in a holding cell, where she'll stay until her trial. "Hey, Kara, so that device?" She gestures to Kara's belt. "Lena made that?"

"Yup." Kara taps it with a smile. "Worked like a charm."

"Huh." Alex taps her chin, thoughtfully. "Think she'd be interested in looking over some of our tech? We could use an upgrade."

"Can't hurt to ask." Kara loves the idea of Lena helping with other Supergirl related things.

***

Kara settles onto the sofa next to Lena. She has a bowl of popcorn in her lap, and various sodas and wine cups sit on the table. The movie is cued up and ready to go, but Lena plucks the remote from Kara's hand.

"Can we talk a moment?"

Kara freezes and dread curdles in her stomach. Is this the moment her world crashes down at her? Is Lena going to reveal how angry she is that Kara kept her Supergirl identify from her now that Kara's out of harms way? "Uh sure."

Lena places the popcorn and remote on the table and faces Kara. "I want you to know that I'll keep your secret, Kara." The words eases the tension in Kara's muscles and she sags against the sofa in relief. "And I'm open to assisting further if the need arises, but I want to establish a boundary first."

"Oh -- oh okay."

"When you're in the suit, I'd like for us to maintain a strictly professional relationship. Consider it a job. Outside the suit, I'd like us to be ..." Lena hesitates and wrings her hands, nervously. "I'd like us to be us. Not me the CEO and you a superpowered alien, just us as Kara and Lena. Enjoying our time together like before."

Kara breathes out in relief. "Yeah. Yeah, I like that boundary." It makes sense to since it'd give them some protection from the gossiping rags. Plus it eases a fear Kara hadn't realized plagued her -- that maybe Lena no longer saw her as just Kara.

"Great." Lena grins and leans into Kara's side in relief. "Okay, now we can watch the movie." She picks up the remote and dangles it from her fingers. When Kara reaches for it, Lena jerks it out of her range. "And on second thought, I have one more condition."

Kara freezes mid-grab.

Lena smirks and spins the remote in her hand. "Every other movie I pick it and we'll watch with no complaints from you."

Kara lets out a laugh. Lately, she's been picking absolutely terrible science fiction movies, mostly for the laughs. Of course Lena would have a limit to how many she could handle watching.

"Deal." Kara nabs the remote and hits play.

[sssammich]

For supercorp 💗 🥹🥹

💗 slow kiss / gentle kiss / inevitable / soft

thanks for your patience, anon! alas, i have gone overboard once more because i cannot help myself.

ask meme

---

she's been given a mandatory month off from supergirl duties. she's not sick, she hasn't solar flared, and she's not hurting for any freelance work that requires her attention. she had simply been told that she needed to take the time off and to avoid any caped hero work unless absolutely necessary.

so that's why she's here now, without superhero work for the next thirty days. free to do whatever she wants.

after the initial shock washes over her, she places her hands on her hips and nods towards alex and j'onn. she knows exactly what she wants to do with her freedom.

"okay."

"look, before you fight th--okay?" alex stares at her, wide eyes mirroring kara's. "really?"

she shrugs, already heading towards the elevator. no need to fight the inevitable. "really."

as the elevator doors close in front of her, she can't help smirking in amusement at the identical confused expressions on both of their faces.

she has one destination in mind.

-

she knocks on the massive wooden door, though she knows she doesn't need to. it's a formality at this point considering the unrestricted access that she's been granted to enter the top floor of this condominium highrise.

still, she waits, because the anticipation is half the fun.

her face splits into an easy smile when lena opens the door to her with her own toothy grin.

"heya," she greets, stepping foot into what she calls home: within lena's arms.

"hello to you, too," lena says, swift yet careful in wrapping kara in her arms. her hands are open as they rub circles on kara's back. kara sinks further into lena's embrace, pulling lena further into her. "how are you?"

"i'm great."

lena stares into her eyes. "yeah?"

"oh yeah. i'm on vacation." she emphatically nods.

lena beams at that. "funny you say that. me too."

she quirks a brow at that, though she shouldn't be surprised. a month vacation doesn't just fall into people's laps without explanation. "yeah?"

"oh yeah," lena mimics her.

kara, still holding lena in her arms, pulls the other woman back in, the two of them swinging in place. "what a coincidence, right?"

lena throws her head back in laughter.

-

they arrive in a private villa off the coast of naples.

it's a modest hillside two bedroom house that overlooks the gulf below. when the local guide roll their suitcases for them, he unknowingly wheels lena's to one room and hers to the other. she smirks and lena tips him handsomely--enough that his olive skin tinges in embarrassment at just how much is in his hands. when their eyes meet after he leaves, they break into a giggle.

because they know the truth, despite not uttering a word of it: why bother taking up more room when right by each other's side is all the space they'll want to take.

despite the destination of her luggage, her body follows after lena to the other room, the one with the better view of the water. just as well, lena's body follows after her when they busy themselves in the kitchen to make themselves a quick dinner. when they finish, they share the hammock sitting out on the back deck, lena's head on her chest and her arms around her waist, while kara's arms wind their way in holding lena against her, their limbs tangled.

when lena yawns a few too many times, they call it a night. lena leads, their hands entwined, and they end up on lena's bed, drawing back the thin covers enough to stave off the inevitable cool night air.

-

they walk everywhere, always touching. a hand on the arm the elbow the bicep the small of her back. an arm slung over a shoulder or hooked together.

it's when they reach a destination that kara's courage grows, that lena's bravery broadens.

when they travel to the town square market as they shop for groceries that lips find their way on one another's skin; the temple the cheek the forehead.

when they treat themselves to a picnic right by a vineyard and lena is leaning back on her between her legs, lips chance on a bare and pale shoulder.

when they lounge in the hammock and lena is resting on her chest, lips chance on collarbones and behind the ears.

when they tire themselves out from full days, fuller stomachs, and fullest hearts that they are in bed and lena is facing her and their legs are tangled with one another, lips chance on entwined hands and fingers.

each one given freely, each one received gracefully.

soon, kara thinks, this will all change. especially when they cross the final threshold between them. though that's a formality at this point, all things considered.

still, she will wait until that happens, more than happy to be exactly where she is.

-

thirty days is long and short and is plenty and is not enough.

on their last day while they wait for their local guide to collect them, they stand on the corner edge of the back deck, lena in her arms as they overlook the gulf for the last time.

"i don't want to go back to work," she murmurs into lena's ear. lena twists in kara's arms until they're facing one another.

"you don't have to, if you really don't want to."

"we can move into this villa. i'll learn to fish. you can sell them at the market."

lena laughs in her arms and kara holds her tighter, like trying to capture lightning in a bottle.

"you're no good as a fisherman, sweetheart."

kara pouts because it's probably true. but she'll learn for lena.

"well, next time we're on vacation, we ought to come back."

"anything you want," lena says, her eyes dipping down to where kara's lips are.

"anything?"

lena nods, assuring, her eyes darkening. kara's smile widens and she leans forward just enough, their noses brushing.

kara is ready for what's to come. she's ready for lena.

still, she waits, because the anticipation is half the fun.

[autisticlenaluthor]

“I’m just so tired,” Lena cries, leaning forward, and pressing her heating pad further into her stomach. “I don’t want to live like this anymore.”

She inhales deeply and releases the breath back through her mouth. It’s an instinct now– breathe through the pain, slow and steady. Steady and calm. Calm and consistent. Breathe so she won’t pass out, so her heart rate won’t continue to rise, so she won’t spiral even harder the next time the knife digs into her side and expands so far she thinks it might make the entire organ pop. 

“I don’t want to be sick. I don’t want to keep doing this.”

She sniffs and squeezes her eyes shut. Hot tears trail down her cheeks as her nose begins to run. The heating pad is making her sweat now too. It’s damp around her shoulders and inside her armpits. Her back is sticky and so are the undersides of her knees. But if she takes her sweatshirt off, she’ll start to shiver, even with the heat cranked up. 

So she pulls her arms around her and tries to ignore the wet spots on her back because somehow, she’s still freezing. And when she opens her eyes again, she looks at Kara, as if somehow, Kara could fix things. But all Kara does is return the same regretful glance. 

“I’m sorry,” she says– like she had any say in this. “I’m so sorry. You don’t deserve this.” 

Lena nods and bites down on the inside of her mouth. She hugs herself around the heating pad and presses it in so deep it burns. 

She used to think it was true– nobody could deserve to live like this. It was a cruel fate to watch your body rip down its tendons like wallpaper, peel apart its muscles like expired fruit, and chip away at its bones. Lena had felt every last aggression and with each attempt to fight back– to savor the life she knew, was met with more anger.

 Accusations over anxiety diagnoses and trauma, as if she’d committed a felony for having emotional pain too. Speculations over her weight, her age, and her family. It didn’t matter that one day, the vessel she was living in decided to tear itself apart while she was still stuck inside. All that mattered was that her symptoms, her personality, and her past, weren’t convenient enough to be taken into consideration. 

Lena knew that kind of treatment wasn’t normal. She knew that at least, it shouldn’t be. And yet it was. So she rationalized it. She told herself that maybe she did something terrible in a past life. Something eons worse than anything Lex Luthor ever did, and this was her punishment. She told herself whatever vague, obscure story she could come up with in the moment because pain like this shouldn’t be allowed to exist without a reason. She’d tear down everything she’d ever believed in– destroy the fundamentals of science and existence and everything else she’s put a lifetime of faith in because she needs to keep herself on this Earth and if she doesn’t have a reason, she isn’t sure she can continue to stay. 

“What can I do?” Kara asks her. “How can I make this better?”

Wordlessly, Lena shakes her head. Another wave is hitting her. It’s sharper and stronger than the last one, and God, she feels like she could puke. 

“Just…”

Sit with me, she wants to say. Hold me.

“I don’t know.”

Kara looks at her with an expression like Lena just shot a baby deer and somehow, Lena manages to start hating herself even harder.

She hates herself for not being able to cope after years of being sick. She hates herself for still feeling the pain as deeply as she did when it first came on. Hates herself for not getting better like she was supposed to. 

“I’m sorry,” she murmurs– the words are the only thing she believes in right now. “Kara… I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

Kara grabs one of the blue bags from Lena’s nightstand and unfolds it. Without a word, she moves behind Lena and sits so she can rest between her legs.

“Just breathe,” she says. “It’s okay.”

Lena does as she’s told and tries to focus on her uneven breaths. She watches the way Kara loosely wraps her arms around her stomach, where the heating pad is, and squeezes her thigh. 

“Is this okay?”

Lena swallows and nods. Her brow furrows when the stabbing starts to grow again. Saliva fills her mouth. 

“Am I hurting you?” 

Lena shakes her head. 

“No, it just generally hurts,” she says. She gets the words out as quickly as she can before she needs to swallow again. 

Kara nods. She leans a bit closer and presses her front ever so slightly into Lena’s shivering spine. She lifts the bag just a bit so Lena won’t have to move if she needs it– something about the gesture only makes Lena cry harder. It overwhelms her so strongly the pain almost takes a backseat. She can feel the weight of Kara’s body hovering over hers, feel her breath on her neck, see her arm extending in front of her. The woman who’s always told her “I don’t do throw up,” is now waiting to catch her vomit. 

Lena almost wants to tell her she doesn’t have to stay– she doesn’t want Kara to be feeling shitty too. So she keeps quiet, not wanting to risk her leaving.

[natalievoncatte]

1. Leaves

Lena was, in all honesty, having the time of her life. Since they’d arrived here, she had finally relaxed. Really relaxed. Lex was gone. Capital-G Gone. The last of Cadmus had been mopped up. The Conpany was no longer a problem- L-Corp was being sold off, from entire divisions down to sales of old office chairs. The Estate and nine-tenths of the family holdings were all being sold off, and the money quietly funneled into a holding company. Sam Arias would manage Lena’s wealth.

Lena had nothing to do anymore, and it was glorious. She’d done what she’d never done in her entire life: rest. She ate when was hungry, slept when she was tired. She stayed up late finishing a thriller novel she’d grabbed off one of Kara’s tables and slept it off the following day. She could do whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted, so one day she said, “Let’s go watch the leaves change.”

“Not much of that in National City,” Kara had said, not looking up from her laptop.

Lena was flipping channels when she made the suggestion, another pedestrian activity that had been too far beneath her to ever indulge during her CEO days.

“I’m serious,” said Lena. “I’ll rent us a cabin, book a flight, and we’ll be there by tomorrow morning. Vermont, or maybe New Hampshire.”

Kara looked up. “I could just fly us.”

“Short distances only,” said Lena.

Kara weighed it for a moment. She looked at Lena for a drawn out instant, eyes darting this way and that. Lena knew she had a deadline; she had become privy to the details of Kara’s life ever since she started couch surfing at Kara’s place after dumping her chic penthouse on some petroleum heir from the Emirates.

She had been “crashing” at Kara’s place for three months and had her own key, but they weren’t talking about it. Lena had remained on the couch, falling asleep to YouTube videos of molten lava and cat purring sounds, while Kara puttered around the house.

There were moments of tension. Pauses during shared meals. Moments when they pressed closed on sofa, times when Kara got up to go to bed and Lena felt this yearning to follow that she never quite obeyed.

Kara was thinking. Hard.

“Rent a cabin?”

“Yeah, someplace remote. So you can take a break. You’ve been working harder than ever, Darling. It almost feels like you’re avoiding me.”

Kara swallowed. “Okay,” she said. “We’ll fly. The regular way.”

They did, arriving in Maine less than a day later. Lena rented a Land Rover (because they were on an Adventure) and did all the driving, three hours from the airport to the cabin.

Kara rode in silence, though Lena heard her gasp.

The trees were beautiful. They were alive with color, as if an impressionist master had made the world a canvas and run riot. It was more than a mass of reds and yellows and oranges. It was astonishing.

It was dark when they arrived at the cabin. Lena had chosen one with two bedrooms, though she hesitated when she did. It had a full kitchen with a gas stove and all the amenities but also a fire pit and picnic table and gazebo, and overlooked a private swath of a small lake. It was like something out of a Bob Ross painting.

They were both tired from the flight, or at least Lena was, and turned in right away. When she rose the next day, she cheerily told her cabin-mate she was headed into town to get some supplies.

Kara went out to chop wood. Lena, of course, watched a few swings before leaving. Kara didn’t really need an axe but Lena didn’t care; she was preoccupied watching the muscles of Kara’s shoulders and back as she swung the splitting maul.

Lena got back before noon and carried the groceries inside, enough for her to use the fancy kitchen to prepare a mighty feast for her companion.

She didn’t hear the sobs until she had most of it put away. Lena bolted to the back door and stopped.

Kara was sitting on the picnic table, feet resting on the long board that acted as a seat. She was holding a single golden leaf on her hand, studying it and sobbing softly to herself.

“Kara?”

She looked up, soft blue eyes wet with tears. Lena felt a wave of grief but also panic, rushing to the table.

“Kara, what’s wrong?”

“I,” Kara started. “Lena, I’m scared.”

Lena swallowed hard. “Why?”

Kara looked at the leaf. “Another year past. The leaves turn colors and fall, school starts, things change.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Alex is married now. They’ve got a kid to raise. Nia and Brainy will probably get married soon. We hadn’t had a game night in two months.”

Lena swallowed. Kara was right. When Lena had first joined, then rejoined, this wonderful found family had been aggressively social, and now they forgot to text as often as not. They all spent more time at home or at their real jobs than at the Tower. The world had just started moving on. Kara didn’t even wear the cape every day anymore.

“I know,” said Lena, her voice thick. “But you’ve got me.”

Lena felt her pulse start to race. Kara had been so distant, she couldn’t help wonder if she was enough. If boring, retired Lena wasn’t enough. Oh God, what if Kara was thinking about going to Argo? Or the future?

“Not forever,” said Kara, her voice cracking like glass. She let the leaf drop from her fingers. “Eventually you’ll go. All of you. Brainy, Nia, Alex, Clark if he doesn’t come back from Argo. You.”

“Oh,” Lena said, softly. “Oh, Kara.”

“I think I might be immortal,” Kara whispered. “I don’t feel any aches or pains. Nothing about me changes. I don’t forget things like people do. My body just keeps repairing itself and it never makes any mistakes. What if I’m just like this forever? Or even a thousand years? What if everyone is gone and their kids are gone and no one knows who I am anymore?!” she was frantic now, the words coming too fast.

Lena reached out, tentatively. She put her hands on Kara’s shoulders and pulled herself in, wrapping her best friend in a hug.

Birds chirped, the waters of the lake made soft glug-glugs, and all around them was the soft tapping sound of the leaves, already letting go.

“I won’t leave you,” Lena whispered. “Kara, I won’t. If I have to live forever I will. I’ll find a way. Tech, magic, fifth dimensional imps. I’ll find a way.”

Kara sighed, arms firmly around her.

“Do you need space?” Lena asked. “I could leave you alone for a bit. Look for a place when we get back, so I’m not on the couch all the time.”

“I don’t want you to leave,” Kara blurted, almost cutting her off. “I know I’ve been distant, it’s just… I keep looking at you and thinking about all the time I’ve lost and all the mistakes I’ve made and how I’ll regret it forever. We have so little time and I’m so scared I’ll lose you.”

Lena pulled back to look at her. “We have a long time to make more memories. As many as we can.”

“I’ll lose you too,” said Kara. “I know you want more. A family, a partner. You’ll start to have less time for me. You’ll all just fall away and I’ll be stuck here alone.”

“That’s not going to happen.”

“How can you say that?”

Kara started to pull away. Lena stopped her with a tug on her arms. It stunned her, sometimes, how she could overpower a god with her tiny human hands. How she could stun the other whirlwind or a touch.

“Kara,” said Lena. “I don’t want someone else. I want you.”

“Me?” Kara squeaked.

Lena cleared her throat. “I wanted to tell you at the wedding. I mean, I didn’t dress like that and go stag for the hell of it. I just lost my nerve and you seemed so overwhelmed.”

Kara blinked a few times.

“You want me?” said Kara.

Lena felt a cold rush of terror. She’d just blurted it out, artlessly, unplanned.

“Like want me want me? Like kissing want me?”

Lena licked her lips. “Yes. I’d like to kiss you right now, if you let me.”

Kara settled back into the table, leaning forward. Lena leaned in, pushing her back slightly, moving her hands from shoulders to hips, scoring the way Kara tensed and trembled. She was hardly inexperienced, Lena knew, but something about this felt like a first kiss, even for her. It tasted like one, too, down to the quivery way their lips met.

Kissing quickly became something more. Lena didn’t know if she was pulling or Kara pushing. It didn’t much matter; the path led to the bed in Kara’s room, marked by a trail of shed clothing.

Years of anticipation overwhelmed them both; dinner was forgotten, and they didn’t even emerge until the next day.

It was in the morning sun, the light turning Kara’s skin gold, that Lena saw it. Twisted within one of the curling locks of hair, splayed around Kara’s head on the pillow, was a faintly visible thread of purest silver, chased through the gold like an engraver’s masterpiece. Lena couldn’t help but twirl the errant strands around her finger.

As Kara slept, she looked up through the window and watched the wind as it caressed the leaves.

[fazedlight]

Tattoos (fluffy supercorp ficlet, post-6) “The wild days of youth,” Lena said jokingly, holding out the to-go box of potstickers to Kara from her comfy seat in the Tower. “I just didn’t want to stop.”

“What was the appeal?” Kara asked, reaching for a potsticker with her fingers, popping it into her mouth as Lena pulled the box back.

Lena smiled in amusement. Classy as always, she thought, as she reached for her chopsticks. “I suppose it was just… the expectations. A Luthor should not be so uncultured.”

Kara was making small grabby fingers, so Lena rolled her eyes affectionately, passing the box of potstickers before reaching for the pan-fried green beans. Kara popped another potsticker in, her voice muffled from the food. “So it was an act of rebellion?”

Lena hummed. “My arm tattoo was first, the day I turned eighteen. A simple bird, something that could fly - it always seemed like freedom to me. Same reason I got my pilot’s license.”

“What came next?” Kara asked curiously, curling up on her spot on the couch.

“I went big. The ‘Purity’ script on my back.” Lena smiled, somewhat embarrassed. “It was kind of an ironic tramp stamp. I wasn’t as, uh, extroverted as some of my friends. Veronica was kind of wild at parties.”

Kara laughed. “And then the circles?”

Lena grew pensive for a moment, before nodding. “Lex turned the sun red, and I… just couldn’t breathe. I found myself thinking about my mom a lot.”

“Your mom?” Kara said gently, pausing from her food to look up.

“She… talked a lot, about past, present, future. It’s one of the few things I remember her saying.” Lena glanced down at her wrist, where three circles of growing sizes lay in a line. “I just wanted to commemorate that. That whatever I was going through now, I would be able to get past it.”

“Oh, Lena,” Kara said, a little sadly.

“It was a long time ago, Kara,” Lena said emphatically, her voice… perhaps a bit contemplative, but content. “Things are better now. You make things better.”

Kara smiled softly for a moment, before wondering out loud. “And the pain didn’t bother you?”

“Not really,” Lena said. “It hurt, but it was… meditative? Something to focus on, when I needed to distract myself.”

“That makes sense,” Kara said thoughtfully. The two glanced at each other, before quietly resuming their meal.

Lena reached over for a paper napkin, smiling in a bashful way that crinkled her nose. “So am I the most tatted person you know?”

“Oh no, definitely not!” Kara said, as she popped yet another potsticker in her mouth, looking down into the container for her next one. “Kate has way more tattoos than you,” she muffled through her food.

Kate Kane? Lena thought, with a twinge of… something. She forgot that Kara had even met Kate before. “Oh really?”

“Yeah, like everywhere,” Kara said, reaching for the scallion pancakes. “She even has a dolphin on her butt. It’s super cute. Just don’t tell her I told you,” she said with a laugh.

And Lena’s mind froze. A moment passed, before it slowly started turning again. 

Kara- 

Kara has- 

KARA HAS SEEN KATE’S ASS?! 

“That’s nice,” Lena said tensely.

Kara glanced up from her food, examining Lena closely. “Are you okay?”

“Yup,” Lena said, failing to get the stiffness out of her voice.

Kara’s eyebrows crinkled in concern, as she set her food back down on the coffee table - a large feat, really, considering that there were still three potstickers left. “Are you- are you jealous of Kate?” Kara asked curiously.

I didn’t know you liked women, Lena thought desperately. Why didn’t I know? “It’s- I’m fine. It’s fine.”

Kara tilted her head. “You can always get more?”

“What- no, Kara, it’s not her tats I’m jealous of.”

Kara blinked. “Then what are you jealous of?”

Fuck fuck fuck.

Lena paused, taking stock of her options. Kara isn’t currently dating Kate, Lena thought to herself. That much was certain, Kara didn’t mention visiting Kate at all, and Lena was pretty confident that whatever they had before, wasn’t going on now. And it did mean that Kara was into women…

Maybe they had a chance? “I like you,” Lena said, trying to keep the grimace off her face. “Romantically, I mean.”

“Oh- wait- really?” Kara said, stuttering. “I’m not sure how that relates- I mean, I didn’t think you- I-” Kara coughed, pausing for a moment to clear her throat. “I like you too. Romantically.”

“Oh,” Lena said, her eyes widening as Kara smiled shyly. “That’s… that’s good.”

“Yeah,” Kara said, smiling softly. “I want to… take you out on a date?”

“I would like that,” Lena said.

Kara’s foot bounced, a nervous sort of excitement in her body, the two sheepishly resuming their meal, with the occasional warm glance, thoughts floating by their minds on what the future might hold.

Until, eventually, Kara’s expression grew a bit pensive. “What’s wrong?” Lena asked.

“Nothing!” Kara said. “I’m just not sure how we got here from talking about tattoos.”

“Oh, I… I just didn’t realize Kate was your ex, that’s all.”

“My ex?” Kara said, her eyebrows furrowing again in confusion. “Wait, I- you thought- oh.” “What?” Lena asked curiously.

“Lena, I-” Kara paused, holding back a laugh. “I saw her tattoos in battle. I needed to use my x-ray vision.”

“... Oh,” Lena squeaked.

[lena-in-a-red-dress]

Musician Age Gap AU Pt 11

As soon as Alex and her family are safely in a car on the way to a hotel, Kara and Lena board Lena's jet back to the states. During the flight, Lena curls in on herself, picking nervously at her cuticles with a worried, guilty expression.

"Hey," Kara says, pulling Lena's gaze towards her. Her features remain heavy. "I'm not mad."

At that, Lena's face softens, but only enough to grimace with a soft huff. "You're not the one I'm worried about."

Kara must look confused, because Lena soon continues.

"As a rule, my mother knows who I spend my time with, and when." The guilt returns. "Except for you."

"So she didn't know I was in Capri with you..."

Lena confirms it with a shake of her head. "Nor why I went back to National City."

Well... this wouldn't be easy then. Dealing with a rabid press is one thing-- being at odds with one of the key players in keeping her family safe is another.

"I'm sorry," Lena murmurs. "I just... wanted to keep you mine. Just for a little while."

Kara shoots her a look. "I'm still not mad."

"You can be. If you want."

"I don't." She moves seats, switching to the bench Lena's on. She makes no attempt to still Lena's nervous picking, but simply spreads her legs enough for the outsides of their thighs to touch. Kara intends the physical contact to serve as reassurance, but she doesn't know if it works.

"I'm a big girl, Lena. I know I can back out whenever I want to. But I don't. Not yet."

A little bit of warmth cuts through Lena's anxious fog. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Kara's heart beats a little faster, when a small smile answers her. Impulsively, she leans over to kiss Lena's cheek. She feels... giddy? Far more exhilirated she has any right to feel at her age. "Bring it."

----

Lillian Luthor is a slender, austere woman. Kara clocks her the moment the plane lands on the tarmac, tall and styled in her designer clothes and looks that only money and astronomically good genes could provide.

Only Kara witnesses the short beat Lena takes before stepping out of the plane, bracing herself for whatever follows. Kara keeps pace with her once they descend the ladder in single file. She may not be driving this bus, but she is no shrinking flower. In this, she is Lena's equal.

Not that the look Lillian gives her would have anyone believe.

"In the car," the woman orders. "Now."

Lena obeys without a word. Kara is a little slower to fall in line, but ultimately follows Lena's lead. Lillian climbs in behind them, leaving Jess and a woman Kara doesn't recognize to scramble on board last.

"The family is checked into the Lariat. So far no indication that they've been identified, but its still early."

"What about Kara?"

"What about you??" Lillian demands, tone scathing in its heat. "What were you thinking?"

Kara sees Lena wilt, and anger bubbles up in her throat. "Don't talk to her like that--"

"You have zero business here," Lillian fires back with steel in her voice.

"Mom!" Lena exclaims in Kara's defense. "It's not that big a deal--"

Ice blue eyes turn on Lena, freezing her to the spot. "It's a big enough deal that you saw fit to sneak behind my back, with a woman twice your age no less--"

"Mom!"

"Timeline, now."

Lena's shoulders sag, but says nothing. Looking to divert some of Lillian's ire, Kara moves to speak up. "We--"

"She already knows," Lena rolls her eyes.

"I do," her mother confirms. "But I'll hear it from you nonetheless."

Lena huffs. "Night two of the National City stop. Her niece left her phone backstage, and we exhanged numbers."

"Then?"

"Texting."

The exhange sounds like a repeat of one they've had many times before. Neither Jess nor the other woman-- who Kara assumes is Lillian's own assistant-- look at all nervous at the rapidfire crossing of words.

"Texting?" Lillian demands. "Or sexting?"

Kara bristles. "I don't see how that's any of your--"

"*Texting*, Mom, god!" Lena seethes. Her cheeks are bright red, from anger or embarassment or both. "Will you just--"

"Just *what* Lena?"

Lillian's voice is so sharp Kara can see the moment it cuts Lena down. Her jaw tightens, and when Kara sublty shifts to take her hand, Lena shifts away.

Satisfied that her daughter is suitably in line, Lillian turns to her assistant. "Mercy, have PR prepare a statement. The photos were misconstrued, they simply capture a couple of friends taking in the sights."

"Mom, no," Lena croaks. "I don't want-- who cares if people know that I'm gay--?"

"You are not gay!"

Lena flinches, features blanching as though Lillian had landed a physical blow. Only then does Lillian seem to realize that she's talking to an actual person. Her tone doesn't soften, exactly, but it doesn't sharpen any further.

"Your *brand* isn't," she amends, likely the closest thing to thing to an apology Lena would get.

"I thought Lena is the brand," Kara interjects.

Lillian's frigid gaze snaps to her. "She is."

"Her fans are more open-minded than you think--"

"Her fans don't buy tickets," Lillian informs her coolly. "Their parents do. And *they* are far less forgiving."

Kara looks towards Lena, who meets her gaze with a helpless one of her own. It's not untrue-- Esme hadn't bought her tickets, after all.

"Then what do we do?" Kara allows finally.

"Cut ties. Immediately." Lillian looks down her nose at Kara, her regard as condescending as though she were speaking to a teenager, not a women merely ten years her junior.

"No."

To Kara's surprise, Lena's response is faster than her own, and carries only the barest of trembles.

"Don't be foolish..."

"I'm not--"

"Do you love her?"

Lena freezes. Her gaze flicks to Kara. "It's only been a few weeks..."

"Precisely. Cut ties now, before--"

"But I want to," Lena finishes. This time, her gaze lingers on Kara's, a small smile warming her eyes. "I want to love her."

Lillian scoffs low in her throat. "You're too old to be play the love sick teenager. Or have you forgotten what happened last time?"

Kara watches Lena hold her mother's gaze, something heavy passing between them, inscrutable to anyone else. But Lena holds her ground, and surprisingly, Lillian is the one to back down.

"Then what would you suggest?"

"Like you said-- we give them something else to talk about." Lena swallows, but forges ahead. "I have some new material, I can perform it live in Paris."

Lillian purses her lips, but doesn't smack down the idea. She considers it, her gaze calculating. "And you two?"

"We do what we want," Lena delivers firmly. "No statement, no confirmation or denial. Let people see interpret it however they want. However they need."

Kara thinks of the young fans, isolated in their orientations or identities, seeing themselves reflected in their favorite artist. The gift that would be, the vote of confidence needed to dream of a future where what Lena and Kara share might be theirs.

Lillian shoots Kara a hard glare. "And you? It's your family in the crossfire if this idea goes to shit."

"Then it goes to shit, and we deal with it."

It might be selfish of her, but in all of their conversations, neither Alex or Kelly have suggested backing off. They spoke only of adapting, of overcoming, and Kara knows she has their unspoken support. And even now, being talked down to and chided, she feels happier sitting next to Lena in this moment than she has in years.

Lillian barely contains her snort of derision.

"Very well," she concedes, with a sharp note of criticism. Then she turns from them entirely to speak with Mercy in low tones.

Kara takes advantage of the moment to lean closer to Lena, murmuring in her ear.

"I want to go to Paris with you."

Lena blinks at her. "You don't have to--"

"Would you feel better if I were there?" Kara asks bluntly. Lena deflates a little, but this time in relief rather than shame.

"Yeah."

"Then let me come." Kara gives Lena's hand a squeeze, and is rewarded with a tired smile. "You're not alone in this."

"Okay," Lena says, her smile deepening into a challenge. "Let's bring it."

[biblomaniac]

Supercorp headcanon:

Lena’s sick.

Congested, nose running, fever high, chills, and a cough so severe that her throat burned with every breath.

She called out of work for the first time today. More accurately, she almost fainted getting out of bed this morning. When she called Jess to push back her first meeting, her secretary refused her access into L-Corp, its servers, or her work email.

After Lena accepted she would not be able to go to work (or her living room, for that matter) she laid in bed drifting in and out of sleep until a soft touch along her sweaty brow awoke her.

“Lena? Lee, baby, you’re burning up. You have to wake up.”

Lena stirs, mumbling incoherently before leaning into the warmth of her girlfriend’s hand. When she speaks, her voice is quiet and raspy. “Kar?”

“Yeah baby, it’s me. Jess called. She said you were sick, so I called in to work from home to take care of you.”

Bleary green eyes open, unfocused and searching. “Kar, I’m cold.”

The blonde is still stroking Lena’s warm brow, trying to persuade Lena into leaving the bed. “I know you feel cold, but you gotta get out of the bed. I need to change your sheets and you need to cool off. Come sit in the tub for a bit to lower your temperature.”

“Can’t walk.” Lena whispers.

“Don’t worry, I’ll carry you, okay?”

“Okay.”

“I’ll be right back,” Kara says, going to run a warm bath.

*************************

When Kara returns ten minutes later, Lena has drifted back to sleep. She looks so unwell, skin paler than normal with a green tint. She pulls back the covers slowly, not wanting to startle Lena. It seems she’s worried for nothing. The brunette doesn’t stir at all, not even when Kara sits her upright.

“Okay, baby, bath time.” Kara lifts Lena into her arms, carrying her to the bathroom. She sits her love on the cool counter, trying to rouse her.

The temperature change works minutely. Lena cracks her eyes open for a moment, humming to acknowledge Kara.

“Lena, open your eyes.” The blond says, tying dark tresses into a top knot to prevent it from getting wet.

“I’m going to put you in the tub, I need you to stay awake for 15 minutes, okay? I’m going to change the sheets and get you some fresh clothes.”

“‘Kay,” is Lena’s only reply.

Kara sets about undressing Lena, then lowering her gently into the lukewarm water.

Once she is assured the brunette won’t immediately fall asleep, Kara sets about putting fresh cotton sheets on the bed and finding a loose set of pajamas. She keeps her hearing trained on Lena, making sure she isn’t asleep or passed out.

With the few minutes she has left, she orders chicken noodle soup, several sandwiches, and sides from her favorite delivery that delivers.

Kara makes her way back into the bathroom, grabbing a fresh rag and Lena’s Milk Honey & Vanilla body wash. She sets about washing Lena’s red face, then apply a lather to her body before she uses the shower head to rinse her off.

“Okay, babe, all done. I’m going to get the towel, just a sec,” she gets the towel warm from the dryer and returns to pick Lena up, wrapping her in the towel and walking to the bedroom.

She sets her love on the bed, drying her off and preparing to dress her in the pajamas she laid out, which Lena promptly refuses to wear.

“Don’t want that. Want your shirt.”

“The one I’m wearing? I wore this to the office earlier—“

“No, in the closet. Bottom dresser,” she croaks.

Kara finds her old Midvale High gym tee amongst an assortment of lounge clothes in the aforementioned drawer. She chuckles, walking back to Lena and helping her into the shirt and a pair of cotton boy shorts.

“You stole my shirt? I’ve been looking for this,” she jokingly accuses.

“No. You left it. Mine now,” comes the raspy reply.

“Whatever you want, babe. Let’s sit on the couch a bit while we wait on the food.”

Kara carries Lena to the living room. Offering to make tea to sooth Lena’s sore throat. As she bends down to set Lena on the couch, she clings to her front like a koala, refusing to let go.

“No,” she whines, “don’t leave.”

“I’m not, I’m just putting the kettle on,” Kara soothes.

“No, carry me,” Lena pleads softly, glassy eyes begging.

Never one to deny her girlfriend anything, Kara tightens her hold and migrates into the kitchen. One arm holds Lena under her butt as the other navigates putting a pot of tea to boil.

The brunette has her head tucked into Kara’s shoulder, laying a kiss there before closing her eyes.

Kara presses a kiss to the side of her head. “It’s okay, princess. Just relax,” the blonde coos, stroking her hand along Lena’s spine.

Before long, Lena’s body has molded to Kara’s own, placid and limp. Kara remains standing, not wanting to jostle Lena by laying her on the couch. When the kettle whistles, Kara turns off the burner, pouring the tea into a thermos to keep warm for later.

Kara carries the thermos to the couch, setting it on the end table, then returning to grab a couple of water bottles and a mug.

Kara intends to let Lena sleep a little longer, but a knock at the door alerts her to the delivery man’s arrival. She lays Lena along the couch carefully, pressing a kiss to her brow before answering the door and paying for the food.

Kara gently urges Lena to wake, “C’mon, baby. Wake up; you have to eat something.”

“No,” she mewls, “don’t want it.”

“Lena, you have to eat so you can take some medicine. You’ll feel much better after. Just eat some soup and I’ll let you sleep.”

The brunette ends up drinking the soup broth and eating a few pieces of dumpling before she refuses anymore. Kara is able to coax her into drinking the ginger and chamomile tea.

“No more, sleepy,” the sick woman mutters, eyes drooping.

Kara sighs, stroking flyaways from Lena’s flushed cheeks. She deposits a tender kiss to Lena’s cheek and forehead before moving to stand.

“Sleep, baby. I’ll be here when you wake.”

“Wait, kiss.”

Kara lets out a soft laugh, pressing a short kiss to Lena’s lips. “Sleep, princess.”

And with that, Lena drifts off.

[morganacorp]

“I’m telling you Lena, there’s no good Luthor. All of them are shady.” Kara said and downed a shot of tequila while Lena cringed internally.

“Maybe one of them will surprise you.”

“Impossible.” Kara chuckled, grabbing a handful of peanuts and popping them into her mouth. “Where there’s smoke there’s a Luthor.”

“I’m sure there’s something good in one of them.”

“No, I don’t think so. There’s what, three of them left? A mother whose foundation has been under investigation for allegedly mishandling funds, a son under investigation for his links to the mob and controversial political speech, and a third one no one knows anything about… probably in jail for all we know.” She chuckled.

“Or maybe doing work on their own, away from the nefarious family stuff.”

“No, Lena… I’m telling you. That family’s rotten.”

“Don’t be so rude, Kara.” Alex chuckled, handing her another shot of tequila. “We don’t know if this other Luthor is actually a good person… say for a moment Lena’s right, what if we don’t know anything about this person because they’re doing good and don’t want to be associated with the family scandals?”

“I guess it’s a possibility.” Kara finally conceded, clinking her glass to Lena and downing the shot. “I just don’t like it that there’s so much noise about them investing in the hospital… yay for them to do something good, but at what cost?”

“Maybe it’s a good thing.” Alex shrugged.

“Maybe they’re just trying to save face.”

“Whatever the reason, lots of people will benefit from it.” Lena interrupted her. “The hospital got more money, we can certainly use it for good.”

“That’s true. I hope we get some help to renew the facilities and that sweet new machine for-”

“Hell no, Alex. We need more nurses! We’re swamped and busy! You get your machine when we stop having to work overtime to help with the workload.” Kara scoffed. “You fancy doctors always forget about us.”

“Impossible to forget about you… you whine too much.” Alex smirked playfully, making Lena laugh at the offended look on Kara’s face.

“Oh you don’t laugh, Dr Kieran!” She said in a mocking voice.

“Sorry nurse Danvers.”

“What would your surgeries be without us? What would your patients do without us?”

“Kara, chill! We’re not the union people, okay?” Alex laughed. “We know nurses see important, but improving the technology we have at hand to help people makes a difference too.”

“I know, but don’t play all high and mighty when- is it the hospital?” She asked when she saw Lena checking her phone and frowning.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Lena said simply to Kara and grabbed her bag before making her way out of the small bar near the hospital where they usually met after work.

“I know you said you’d wait to tell her, but-”

“I can’t just tell her I love her, Alex.”

“You can, and in fact you should do just that.”

“She’s just not into me like that.” She pouted. “She’s perfect and so amazing.” She groaned, looking down at her hands. “Why would a prestigious surgeon like her be interested in someone like me?”

“Because you’re great and Lena isn’t some superficial asshole who looks down on you because you’re a nurse.” She rolled her eyes. “Kara, if I’m insisting on you telling her it’s because I see you two together… the way she looks at you? That’s not friendship.” She chuckled. “You know which friend looks at me like that? My girlfriend.”

“You’re so funny.”

“I mean it, Kara. Just… tell her how you feel.”

“What if she doesn’t feel the same?”

“What if she does?” She groaned, knowing the road the conversation would take if she didn’t stop Kara’s train of thought. “She’s Lena when she’s with you, and she looks at you with more than professional respect and friendship. I have my own two eyes and I see it, Kara. You have to tell her.”

“I have to find the perfect moment.”

“You guys are going to the theater tomorrow… that screams date. Tell her when you walk her home.”

“How do you know I’ll walk her home?”

“You always do. It’s your way of making sure she’s safely home.” She rolled her eyes. “Tell her… you might get lucky with a goodnight kiss, or maybe some more.” She smirked and Kara groaned and nodded for another shot to be poured for her.