Chapter Text
The holiday season in Midvale could’ve been ripped right out of a Hallmark movie. Snow blanketed the small town like a soft blanket, reflecting the golden glow of street lights. Every store front glimmered with festive decorations - painted snowflakes on frosted glass, garland and red ribbon wrapping the streetlights, and colorful fairy lights hanging in front windows.
A towering Christmas tree stood in its full glory in town square. It was adorned with thousands of twinkling lights and ornaments that shimmered like stars in the night. Townsfolk were drawn to the tree like a moth to a flame. Every year, children beg their parents to bring them to the tree to catch a glimpse of santa. Couples stroll by, hands intertwined, sipping hot chocolate or coffee in between conversations.
Some may say there was magic in Midvale this time of year - Kara, on the other hand, couldn’t stand it any more. She didn’t always hate it. There was a time when both Kara and Alex were little and they would beg their parents to bring them to town square. They’d race around the tree and toss snowballs at unsuspecting townsfolk until their parents were blue in the face from yelling at them.
No, she wasn’t always such a grump, but alas, these were the cards dealt. While her mother, Alex, and Maggie rushed to different stores to grab last minute Christmas gifts or a missing ingredient, Kara stayed behind, working long hours on the Lena Luthor project. It was all coming together - working in tandem, with a few helpers along the way, Kara and Alex worked nearly nonstop on the project until all that really remained was unwrapping certain furniture and finishing up the large office space. Yet, when December rolled around, Alex put a pause on her long days in order to get holiday shopping done with her fiancee.
Lena was more than understanding - she even told the women she didn’t mind if the project was pushed back a month so they could spend quality time with their family around the holidays. Though touched by the offer, Kara continued to put in the hours because, in her mind, she didn’t have anyone to go home to for the holidays.
Kara even found herself working on Christmas Eve. It wasn’t planned at all - in fact, her plan was to stay at home and help set up for the annual Danvers Christmas Party, but after a particularly grueling week emotionally and not having a therapy session today, she decided to slink away to the Luthor house. A few hours away wouldn’t ruin anything anyway - Kara was sure Eliza and Alex would be so focused on having everything perfect that they wouldn’t even realize she was gone.
She didn’t have much of a plan going into the house, but when Kara walked through the threshold, she felt compelled to make her way to the office space. The forest green paint that Kara applied two days ago was finally dry and in the middle of the room lay the pieces meant for the enormous bookshelf needing to be built. So, that is exactly where Kara decided to start. Pulling a blade from her back pocket, she carefully ripped through boxes and plastic to unwrap each individual part needed.
Minutes turned into hours and only when she eventually her body tired, Kara stopped. She sat on the edge of the desk in the room admiring her work. The bookshelf wasn’t nearly done - the remaining half still needed to be placed and then she could line up the track on the wall along with the ladder that would slide along it. She was impressed.
Kara fished her phone out of her back pocket. There was a missed call and 5 unread text messages. She’d been out of the house since 8 in the morning and the clock read 2pm now. It appears that Kara’s assumption that her absence would be unknown was incorrect. Alex sent her multiple text messages telling her she had until latest 3pm to get her ass home or she would come drag her home. Kara sighed and placed her phone on the desk next to her.
Her leg ached - likely from all the physical activity. She lightly pulled on her prosthetic, putting it to the side and rubbing her leg. The superficial wound healed well - the scar started to fade and Kara’s mobility got better every day. The internal wound barely began to heal, though. Some days, Kara felt two steps ahead and then something would happen and she was no further along than where she started.
“Care to explain why you’re here on Christmas Eve?”
The voice startled Kara and she nearly fell from the desk where she sat. She turned to see Lena Luthor leaning on the doorway. Kara clutched her chest and sighed, “You could’ve given me a heart attack.”
“If you hadn’t been so deep in thought maybe you would’ve heard me come through the front door.”
“I don’t think so. I am starting to think you have catlike stealth.”
There was a pause between the two women and the silence felt suffocating. They had only interacted a handful of times since the cafe, but Kara couldn’t keep the other woman off of her mind. She found herself thinking of her the moment she woke up until the moment she went to bed. She felt silly for it - the two barely shared a cup of coffee together and she turned into some love sick puppy.
“You didn’t answer my question, Kara.” Lena clicked her tongue and raised an eyebrow.
“Sorry,” Kara said sheepishly and rubbed the back of her neck. “I just needed to get away, I guess.”
The answer seemed to please Lena for the time being. The dark haired woman pushed off the doorway and walked closer to Kara. Suddenly, Kara was all too aware of their closeness. Her breath hitched and she hurriedly reached for her prosthetic, trying desperately to cover what she thought to be an imperfection. Lena glanced briefly at her leg, but her eyes only remained for a second before she scanned the room.
There was a smile on Lena’s lips. “I guess that is why I wanted this place built.”
“Because you needed to get away?”
Lena nodded and went over to the window. Kara was in awe of the other woman’s beauty - even doing something as simple as gazing out of the window was enough to make her knees weak. She was afraid that if she tried to stand, she’d fall to her knees like some love sick fool. Kara shook her head and willed herself to stand and meet Lena by the window. She leaned on the sill, her hand brushing against Lena’s.
“Is there somewhere you go for the holidays or anyone you see?” The question felt too personal, but Kara couldn’t help but ask it. The other woman didn’t look at her, instead she continued looking out of the frosted window. Kara couldn’t help but gaze at her side profile - her beauty was unmatched.
The dark haired beauty sighed before turning to Kara. “No, not anymore.”
Kara arched an eyebrow and said, “Care to share.”
Lena’s lips formed a tight line and she rubbed the side of her face. She hummed, “Where would I even start?” There was a brief pause before she let out another sigh. “My father passed away when I was young and my relationship with my mother has been…strenuous most of my life. If anything, I am more of a burden to her than a daughter, so it is easier to just stay away… the only other family I have is my brother, but since he has been…away, I have nowhere to go.”
Kara nodded, listening carefully as the dark haired woman spoke. All she wanted to do was listen to Lena talk for hours - she wishes she could record her voice and listen to it when times were dark. Lena sighed and said, “what about you? I know that you’ve got people at home, so why exactly are you hiding here?”
“Because my family cares too much?” It came out as a question and Kara felt awkward even saying it. A blush danced across her cheeks and the tops of her ears burned in embarrassment. When Lena didn’t laugh or gawk at her, she cleared her throat and continued. “That makes me sound horrible, doesn’t it?”
“No,” Lena said softly. “It makes you sound human.”
“Sometimes it just feels so suffocating. Not just with my mom and Alex, but with everyone in this town. They all look at me like I am some spectacle. When I imagined returning to Midvale, I thought I’d be known as a decorated veteran, but instead everyone looks at me like I am some broken toy.” Kara gestured at her leg, exasperated.
Kara continued after a moment, “and when I try to have a normal conversation with people they always want to ask about my leg first or what exactly happened. It is never, ‘hey Kara, how are you,’ it is always ‘oh Kara, I am so sorry about everything,’ and it is just so exhausting.”
Lena stared hard at Kara, taking in every last word. Kara swallowed hard, feeling as if she was a kid standing in front of a classroom presenting a class project. There was nothing on Lena’s face that gave away what she was thinking and that alone panicked Kara - would this woman pass judgement on her?
After what felt like an eternity, Lena placed a hand on Kara’s shoulder and squeezed. “For what it matters, I am more curious to learn about you than to just poke and prod about something that is not my business.”
A weight that Kara didn’t even realize rested on her shoulders lifted slightly at Lena’s words. She leaned into the other woman’s touch and for the first time in what felt like forever, she felt comfort. The two women locked eyes and something sparked again, just like in the cafe. Their hands brushed against each other again and Kara’s eyes dipped to Lena’s lips. She wondered what it would be like to kiss them. Yet, before an action could be made or a word could be said, the front door clicked. The women jumped apart from one another in an instant.
Right on time, a fiery eyed Alex came storming into the house. Her eyes were locked onto Kara and she said, “I bet you thought I was joking about dragging your ass home at 3pm.” Lena cleared her throat and the older Danvers sister broke eye contact with Kara and whipped her head to the noise. Suddenly the fire in eyes disappeared and her anger deflated. Alex scrambled, “I am so sorry, Miss Luthor - I didn’t know you’d be onsite.”
Lena smiled. “No worries. It was a spontaneous stop in. I wasn’t expecting company, but I was delighted to converse with your dear sister.”
Alex glanced between the two women like she did at the cafe. Kara and Alex only spoke about that day once and it turned into a screaming match between the two - it wasn’t particularly a conversation Kara wanted to have again. She rubbed the back of her neck and pushed herself off the windowsill.
“Well,” Kara said, breaking the awkward pause in conversation, “as delightful as this awkward stare down is, I better get going so I don’t get grounded.”
Alex scoffed, but Kara knew she’d never argue this in front of a client. Lena smiled, “it was lovely seeing you, Kara.”
Kara smiled and walked towards her sister. It was finally time to head home and deal with the holidays - nothing about this night would be pretty. Kara found herself pausing at the threshold of the office - she peered over her shoulder at Lena who was back to looking out the window. She thought of their conversation mere minutes ago and in a moment of what she could only describe as insanity, said “Hey, Lena - maybe you could stop by our house tonight? No one should be alone on the holidays.”
Kara swore she heard Alex’s breath hitch and a warm smile spread across Lena’s face. There was a sparkle in Lena’s eyes as she said, “I’ll think about it.”