Chapter Text
The wind swept through Kara’s hair as she roared down the street. Right hand resting on the top of the steering wheel, her left elbow sat in the open window with her hand supporting her head. Her sandy blonde hair was down in light, scruffy waves and dark aviators adorned her face.
Casting a glance out the window at the passing horizon, Kara pressed her Converse covered foot harder onto the accelerator. Groaning when her NSYNC cd started skipping again, she lightly thumped the magic spot on the dashboard that always fixed it.
Old Blue may have been a bit of a shit box, but Kara loved her nonetheless. Kara had come across the beat up old Civic a number of years ago, about a year after she set off on her own. The slightly rusted in spots blue car had been abandoned on the side of the road, in the out of the way country town Kara had been in at the time. Kara had watched it for a few days to see if anyone came back to retrieve it, when no one did Kara decided to take a look.
Years ago, her foster brother - one of the nicer ones, Tom - had let Kara tinker on cars with him. He taught her bits and pieces, easy fixes for general issues with cars. She learned a lot from him, and they were some of her better memories.
She had sighed in relief when she found the doors were unlocked, maybe her luck was finally turning. Kara popped the hood and lifted the stand to keep it open. She took a moment to shuck her red flannel shirt to avoid getting it dirty and tied it around her waist, leaving her in a tight, white tank. After doing a bit of investigating Kara was able to fix a few minor things, wiping off the bits of grease and dust onto her shirt.
Kara closed the hood and dug through her bag for her water bottle, using it to clean off her hands. Putting her flannel back on she climbed into the car and threw her duffel bag onto the passenger side, sagging into her seat.
After a moment she gathered herself, sitting up and looking around the car. There was a pair of sunglasses folded on the dashboard, a blanket hanging off the back seat, a few loose cd’s in the console, a roadmap tucked between the centre console and her seat, and a whole lot of trash thrown about. Yep, this car was perfect for a runaway.
Crossing her fingers with hope, she searched the car in hopes of finding keys. She knew how to hotwire a car, but it had been a while and she would rather avoid it if possible, and she was feeling optimistic.
Just as she was about to give up, she noticed a single key deep in the glove compartment. Bingo!
Kara wondered who the hell leaves their spare key inside a car, but still, she was thankful.
The teen knew it was unlikely anyone was coming back for the junky car, but she still felt a twinge of guilt as she started her up and pulled away. She wished she didn’t need to resort to things like this, but what option did she have.
Kara had named her Old Blue, and they had been together ever since. Kara knew she could rely on Old Blue to keep her safe and warm. The beat up old car felt like a representation of Kara’s life so far – rough on the outside, maybe not treated so well, but still going strong.
She was pulled from her reminiscing by the cd skipping again.
“Shit,” she sighed when she noted the low gas.
She took the next exit that indicated a nearby gas station. Ten minutes later she was filling Old Blue up with gas and doing the math to see if she could afford a pack of Twizzlers too. It had been so long since she had had those.
Kara paid for the gas and the Twizzlers, yes, and smiled at the cashier before leaving. Stuffing her last nine dollars back into her wallet and Twizzler packet hanging from her teeth, she halted when she noticed a flyer in the window.
It was a For Sale flyer for a house nearby. The few photos of the house showed an empty interior, that probably meant no one was living there right now. Kara noted the address and headed back to Old Blue, pulling out her road map. She made sure the first thing she did every time she entered a new town was get hold of a road map.
Finding the address on the map and noting it wasn’t too far, and quite secluded, she decided to wait until a little later in the evening to check it out. Less light meant less chance of being noticed, not that she thought she would get caught, surely no one was in that house.
She drove to a local park, cut the ignition and pulled out her worn copy of Jane Eyre. She climbed into the back seat and snuggled down, blanket thrown over her legs, and opened to her bookmark.
The novel had been given to Kara by a sweet little old lady who owned the local bookstore when Kara was around twelve years old.
That bookstore had been Kara’s escape, her getaway - the foster home she was living in at the time was one of the worst. She was only there for eight months, but it was eight months too long.
The old lady, Gerry, had given Kara a number of books over that period of time, seemingly aware the young girl needed to escape to an imaginary world. She would allow Kara to sit tucked in a corner of the bookstore away from prying eyes and spend her days reading quietly, curled up in the oversized chair.
When Kara thought back on it, she often wondered if Gerry was the reason she was eventually removed from the home. Kara remembered turning up to the bookstore in tears and with a black eye. Gerry had comforted her, rocked her softly and read to her until she calmed. When Kara left that night, Gerry hugged her tightly and handed her the copy of Jane Eyre. She told her it was her own personal copy, and it had gotten her through many trials. She pressed it into Kara’s chest, telling her to never give up hope, never stop dreaming, and that everything would be okay. The next day, CPS was taking Kara away and she never saw Gerry again.
Kara disappeared into the story, still captivated even though she had read it almost a dozen times, until she noticed the sun starting to set.
Heading towards the address, Kara bit her lip nervously. An abandoned house would make her feel less guilty, but spending a night inside an empty house that was for sale was still pretty harmless, Kara decided. She didn’t plan on trashing the place or anything, she just needed a warm place to sleep that wasn’t the squished back seat of Old Blue, and maybe a shower too.
She pulled up opposite the house and let the car idle, watching the house for any indication of someone being inside. Empty carport, no lights on inside she could see – it was almost dark enough that anyone home would have to put one on – no sign of moment.
Heaving in a breath she looked up and down the street, there was no one around so she pulled down the driveway and parked off to the side when she reached the house.
Climbing out of the car Kara looked around, she was pretty hidden from the road which was good. She moved to the nearest window, slightly crouched on instinct, just in case.
Kara peered in the window. Blinds obscured her view, but unlike the flyer, there was a bed in the room. Shit!
The door to a wardrobe was open but it was empty. Kara’s brow furrowed, did someone live here or not?
Staying low, Kara moved towards another window. This window had no blinds and was completely empty.
Kara circled the house, looking in all the windows. The house was for the most part vacant, only a few bits of furniture laying around. Kara concluded that there was no one living there, it was definitely unoccupied, but the owners had just left a few things behind. Maybe they had less space where they were going?
It was rapidly getting darker and Kara decided the small risk was worth it.
She jogged back to the car and grabbed her duffel, digging around in it for the screwdriver and torch she always carried with her as she walked to the back door.
With the torch in her mouth to keep her hands free, Kara jammed the screwdriver between the door and its frame. Shouldering into the door repeatedly, she roughly jiggled the door handle and screwdriver until the door finally gave way and swung open. Kara felt uneasy moving through the house, she kept the lights off and used the torch in her hand instead, but put the feeling down to residual guilt for essentially breaking in.
She dropped her bag in the empty living room and headed into the kitchen. She tried the tap and thankfully the water was running, so she splashed some on her face.
She opened a few cupboards hoping other bits and pieces may have been left. Much to her surprise she found an unopened box of cereal, a few tins of tomatoes, some pasta and a bunch of apples.
Kara furrowed her brow taking in the items, something felt off. She looked over her shoulder into the darkness. Lifting her torch, she scanned it across the space, looking for anything else that seemed odd. Just as she flashed the light past one of the bedrooms, Kara heard a faint scuffle.
Her body completely froze. She swallowed thickly and stepped towards the room timidly.
Heart thumping wildly, Kara entered the bedroom - the one with the bed. She flicked the beam of light to the bed first, nothing. She could see under the bed too, nothing there. The corners of the room also empty. Ever so slowly, she faced the wardrobe.
The door that was open earlier was now pulled over, almost closed.
Kara licked her dry lips and swallowed again.
Slowly, she cast the light towards the door and shakily reached for the handle. Kara was tough, her body strong, she knew she could handle herself – that didn’t mean she wasn’t currently terrified.
Rather than rip the door free in one fell swoop, Kara opted to ease it open and peer in.
She didn’t realise she was holding her breath until the glow from the torch fell onto a girl huddled in the wardrobe, and Kara gasped.
The teen’s face shot up from behind her knees, eyes wide in terror.
“Shit!” Kara yelped in surprise, hands up in surrender trying to look non-threatening in the darkened room. “It’s okay! It’s okay!”
Kara knew the girl probably couldn’t see her in the dark and wanted to let her know she wasn’t a big scary dude that might hurt her.
“It’s okay, ’m not gonna hurt ya,” Kara said calmly, she could see the girl trembling. Kara glanced around in the dark and saw the outline of a lamp next to the bed. Shining the torch over she confirmed her thought. “I’m gonna turn the lamp on, okay? So you can see me. I’m not scary, I promise.”
The girl gingerly nodded and Kara scampered over and flicked it on, illuminating the room in a soft orange glow. It was pretty faint, but it allowed the two girls to see each other more clearly.
“It’s okay,” Kara reassured her. In the new light, Kara could see the girl couldn’t have been much younger than herself, maybe a year or two. But she was thin, and before she could hide them Kara noticed faint bruises on her forearms.
Slowly, so as to not scare the girl further, Kara moved back to the wardrobe. The girl was watching her with guarded eyes. Kara reached out a hand in offering.
“It’s alright,” She encouraged with a smile.
The girl’s eyes flickered from her hand to her face, back to her outstretched hand.
With a shaky hand of her own, the girl reached out and placed her hand in Kara’s.
Kara helped the girl to her feet and then stood awkwardly in front of her, swinging her arms back and forth.
The girl standing in front of her was gorgeous. She was slightly shorter than Kara, needing to tilt her head up in order to meet Kara’s eyes. She had long black hair, it was tousled but still had a nice look to it, framing her delicate cheekbones and strong jaw. What really got Kara was her eyes. They were the most beautiful emerald green, it felt like they could see into her soul.
“Uh,” she cleared her throat, “I’m Kara.” She reached out her hand again.
“Lena,” the girl murmured and shook her hand.
“Are you, um- okay?” Kara bit her lip nervously.
Lena nodded, “Yes, thank you.”
An awkward silence settled between them, Kara rocking on her feet, Lena staring at her own shoes.
“Why did you break in?” Lena asked quietly.
“Why did you?” Kara fired back with a smirk.
Lena shrugged, “I didn’t.”
Kara’s brows furrowed and she tilted her head in confusion.
“This is my home. Or, was. Until the others decided to pack up and leave while I was out. Didn’t even leave a shitty note.”
“What?”
“They sent me to get some food, and I came back to an empty house,” Lena huffed.
“That’s fucked!” Kara blurted, eyes wide in shock.
The teen shrugged again, “I shouldn’t have been surprised, they never wanted me here.”
“I’m sorry,” Kara whispered, the words full of empathy.
“Your turn,” Lena cocked an eyebrow and Kara almost shivered. That was hot.
“Uh I- I um,” she coughed nervously and rubbed the back of her neck. “I saw a for sale flyer at a gas station. The place looked empty in the photos and I needed a place to sleep that wasn’t my car, and hopefully shower. I didn’t think anyone would mind,” she rushed out in the end, ducking her head shyly.
She heard Lena hum but didn’t lift her head. After a moment, Kara felt Lena brush past her and move to the doorway.
“I don’t mind,” she called over her shoulder.
Kara’s head whipped up dumbfounded. “Huh?”
She followed the other girl out into the kitchen where the overhead light was now on.
“I said, ‘I don’t mind,’” Lena was leaning against the counter looking smug.
“Is that right?” Kara replied cheekily, one eyebrow raised.
“Mhmm, wouldn’t be the first time I took in a stray puppy,” Lena winked.
Kara could only chuckle and shake her head.
Where the hell did this bold girl come from?! What happened to the terrified teen from the wardrobe?
Kara could tell Lena was still guarded, withdrawn, but there was a playfulness to her now.
“Well, this puppy thanks you,” She gave a mock bow and smiled when she was standing again.
“So, um,” Kara tucked her hands into her pockets, scuffing the ground with the toe of her shoe. “How long have you been here? Alone, I mean.”
Lena sighed, “I don’t really know? It’s been a while. Maybe six or seven months? I lost count of the days pretty early on.”
“Far out, how do you manage?!”
“It’s hard but I get by. Behind this block, about 2 or 3 miles, there’s this big farm that grows heaps of fresh produce. I swipe fruit and veggies from there when I can. I try to only take enough so it won’t really impact them, scraps mostly. The local store always has heaps of stuff in their garbage most nights, since they can’t sell it if they don’t sell it that day, but it’s technically still good to eat, all in packaging.”
Kara nodded along, impressed look on her face.
“I’m assuming you’re a runaway or something?” Kara nodded. “How long?”
“Three years, I left on my sixteenth birthday.”
“And you’re wondering how I managed half a dozen months?! How the hell have you managed?” Lena asked in shock.
“Well the early months are the hardest - you don’t really know what you’re doing. After a while it’s instinct and second nature. Plus, I move around a lot, makes opportunities a bit easier I guess.” Kara shrugged.
“I suppose that’s true.”
Another silence settled over the girls, not an awkward one though, just a calm. It was broken however by the loud rumbling of Kara’s stomach.
Lena laughed at the appalled look on Kara’s face as she quietly shushed her stomach.
“I was going to make pasta for dinner, is that okay with you?” Lena asked as she started to move around the kitchen. It was only now Kara noticed the few cooking tools scattered around.
“Oh, no Lena, I couldn’t-” Kara started to decline.
“Kara, it’s fine there will be enough for two and it sounds like you’re starving. Besides, what would you eat otherwise,” Another raised eyebrow.
“Uhhh, Twizzlers?” She pointed to her duffel bag like it held the answer.
Lena gave her a pointed look. A scary look.
“Kara, you are not eating Twizzlers, for dinner,” She scolded, “I’m starting to wonder how you have lasted three years.” Lena rolled her eyes, “And how are you so jacked if you live off Twizzlers?!”
“Hey!” Kara pouted, “I don’t live off Twizzlers, thank you.”
Lena just cocked an eyebrow, again. Why was that so hot?
“Whatever,” Kara huffed, “Thanks for at least complimenting the tank,” Kara winked as she posed like a body builder.
Lena laughed and ducked her head to hide the faint blush colouring her cheeks.
“It’s not going to be anything fancy. Just tomato pasta, but it’s better than nothing.”
“It’ll be perfect. I don’t even remember the last time I was actually able to cook something.”
Kara looked so excited.
“You can go shower while I get it started if you want?” Lena offered.
“Oh, uh- are you sure?”
“Yeah, it’s fine, this is easy and won’t take long,” Lena smiled. “Bathroom is just through there.”
“Okay, if you’re sure,” Lena laughed but nodded, “Alright, thank you. I’ll be back.”
Lena watched Kara amble over to her duffle. She dug through it for a minute before huffing and picking up the whole bag and carrying it off with her.
Fifteen minutes later, Lena was plating up dinner when Kara stepped out of the bathroom, feeling more refreshed than she had for a while.
Lena took a minute to admire the older girl. Her hair was damp in mussed waves, she was wearing a loose shirt and baggy sweatpants that hung low on her slender hips. Lena licked her lips when Kara stretched her arms over her head revealing a sliver of abs.
She blushed when her eyes lifted to Kara’s face and found the girl smirking back at her.
“Dinner’s ready.”
“Awesome,” Kara beamed. “I hope it’s okay but I rinsed out my clothes hung them in the bathroom to dry?”
“Yea course,” Lena smiled handing a bowl to Kara.
“Thank you,” Kara gave her a warm smile in return.
The two girls headed back to the bedroom, Lena sitting cross legged on the bed, Kara opting to sit on the floor opposite Lena, back against the wall.
They talked idly as they ate, sharing stories about their lives.
Lena learned that Kara had been orphaned as a young child - she had been found in an alley when she was two years old, huddled near a dumpster in tears. She never learned what happened to her parents, or why was abandoned, it was something that ate at her often. She didn’t even have an official last name.
After being found she was put in the foster system, and it was downhill from there. Not that she even started high up on the metaphorical hill, that was the terrible part of it all.
She bounced from one shit home to the next. There were supposedly stories of children finding their dream foster families, where they were adopted and cherished, loved. Where the hell were those families when she was in the system.
All Kara ever got was abuse and neglect. Treated as a worthless waste of space and time. Sometimes the other kids in the homes were okay, understanding and facing the same struggles. Other times, not so much.
When Kara was 14 she was moved to another home, and she thought her luck was finally changing. The family was nice! They took care of Kara, they encouraged her, Kara felt maybe eventually she could be loved by them. But the night before her fifteenth birthday, she was removed from the home and never told why.
A year later, she had had enough. No more. If no one wanted to take care of her, fine! She would do it herself. So, she packed a bag, snuck out in the night and never looked back.
Lena had listened, with soft eyes and a sympathetic smile as Kara told her story. Though Kara didn’t cry - hardened from her past and never wanting to waste her precious emotions on memories of those who didn’t deserve them - Lena had to swipe at her eye as a few stray tears fell.
Then it was Lena’s turn.
She told Kara how she was originally from Ireland and that her mother died when she was young. She could only vaguely remember her – strawberry blonde hair, dark green eyes, soft calm voice singing a lullaby.
After that she met a man named Lionel, who brought her to the US and told her she was now a Luthor. She didn’t know who the Luthor’s were at the time, apparently, they were a big deal, one of the most powerful families in the country. All Lena knew was that they were her new ‘family’, and she didn’t like them.
From the minute she entered the mansion, they started to groom her into something she was not.
Of all of them, Lionel was the ‘kindest’. Lena could tell he cared, just not enough. Business was always more important. He only showed Lena attention if it could benefit him somehow or when he played the doting father figure for the media.
Lex was her older brother. Her first day, he taught her how to play chess. He appeared to be kind, but Lena learnt early on it was all a ruse. She thought she had the upper hand, knowing it was a game, but he still always managed to play her perfectly, without her even realising. The few times she did manage to outsmart him, he would lash out and threaten her with a hand clasped around her throat. After the third time, when she was left huddled on the floor gasping for air, bruise already forming along her neck, she stopped trying to beat him.
The worst, was Lillian. Lena never knew why, but Lillian was cold and cruel from the start. Lillian would barely look at Lena unless it was absolutely necessary, and when she did, there was always fire in her eyes. Her game was subtler than Lex’s, she played the long game. Psychologically abusing her day in and day out, all while appearing to be the loving mother that took in an orphan.
During the nights, when Lena would drift in that quiet between awake and asleep, Lillian would sit and whisper in her ear. ‘You’re worthless. Nothing. No one will ever love you. You’re worthless.’ Engraining it into her subconscious, poisoning her mind.
Every move Lillian made was calculated, every move served a purpose. Her game with Lena, was a game of chess. Lena likened it to Wizard’s chess – the girls had discussed their mutual love for Harry Potter early on - brutal and destructive
The endgame came when Lionel suddenly died, she was sixteen. They were told the cause was a heart attack during his sleep, but Lena doubted that. Not two days after his death, Lillian dragged Lena out of the mansion by her hair. She threw her out the door with a harsh “With Lionel gone, I no longer need to waste my precious space and time, on a worthless bastard child. That’s right, the only reason he took you in was because you had his blood, and your whore of a mother guilted him into taking you. He never wanted you then, and I certainly don’t want you now.” Lillian threw a letter containing the address of a supposed extended family member at Lena before slamming the large double doors on Lena without a second glance. Lena never even got to attend her father’s funeral.
During Lena’s story, Kara had moved to sit beside Lena on the bed, both of them sitting with their backs against the wall. She placed a comforting hand over Lena’s own where it sat in her lap, offering her support to the emotional girl. Lena flipped her hand and squeezed Kara’s hand, trying to ground herself.
“After that, I bounced around a bit. Couch surfed with a few friends until I was able to make my way out here,” Lena sniffed. “Frank was my uncle, but I had no memory of him. When I got here he told me he hadn’t seen my mother since they were teenagers, said he had no responsibility to take me in. His wife made him take me in, if only for a while.”
Lena paused to take a few breaths. Kara squeezed her hand again.
“Not that here was any better than the Luthor mansion really. I never had a room or a bed, and they only barely tolerated me. A year later, they disappeared and well, you know the rest,” Lena shrugged sadly when she finished her story.
“We’re quite the pair, you and me. Something wretched about us,” Kara whispered into the quiet.
Lena hummed in agreement, dropping her head to Kara’s shoulder. They had to have been talking for hours, her body was starting to feel the fatigue.
“Hey, can I ask you something?”
“Sure,” Lena yawned.
“Why did you trust me? Let me stay? You didn’t know me, I could’ve been some crazy psycho killer,” Kara asked seriously.
“I don’t know,” Lena breathed out, “Once I saw you in the light, and knew you weren’t a crazy guy, I don’t know, I just felt something. There was something in your eyes. Something lonesome about you, but also wholesome. Familiar. Don’t you agree?”
“W- well, yeah. Definitely y- yeah but-” Kara stuttered.
“As for being a crazy psycho killer well, at the time I didn’t care either way, what did I have to lose? Now, I know you aren’t or you would’ve done it by now,” She gave Kara a cheeky smile at the end.
Kara smiled but grew sombre, “You have your life to lose Lena, that’s still something, even if it isn’t at its greatest right now.”
Lena sighed, “I don’t know for how much longer. I need to be out of here in two days. I’m pretty sure someone is moving in. They came past the other day, didn’t come in but I could hear them talking. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
“What if-” Kara bit her lip.
Lena looked at her with a question in her eyes.
“W- what if, you came with me?” Kara kept her eyes downcast, suddenly nervous.
“Really?”
“Yeah, why not? We don’t have anyone else, so we could have each other’s backs. And everything is better as a duo! I- I know we kinda only just met, and it’s probably crazy, but you’re right, Lena. You’re familiar, it’s like looking in a mirror. We can just get in the car and drive, see where the road takes us!”
Lena smiled at the twinkle of excitement in Kara’s eye, even though she was clearly beginning to tire too.
“We’d be like partners in crime! Like Bonnie and Clyde. Oh, oh! Or Thelma and Louise!”
“Kara, firstly we’re runaways, not criminals. Second, Thelma and Louise died,” Kara could hear the amusement in the affectionate scolding.
“Well yeah, okay. Thelma and Louise but without the criminality and death,” Kara rolled her eyes but beamed at Lena. She stuck out her hand, “What d’ya say? Partners?”
Lena smiled, lip between her teeth, and reached out.
“Partners.”