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Kara woke up to a soft cry through the wall. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, they began to adjust to the dim morning light.
She felt the cool air against her skin as she registered the missing body of heat. Turning her head to see the rest of the bed empty and half the sheets pulled back, she was momentarily discombobulated. There was no light emitting from the bathroom, no, she wasn’t in there.
Brushing the hairs from around her face, Kara swung her legs over the side of the bed and padded towards the door with a tiny yawn. As she stepped over the threshold and made her way down the hallway, her ears picked up the tiny cries coming from the far room. A second voice, a soft melody, meets the cries in the middle.
Ever so carefully nudging the door open, slowly and quietly enough to not disturb the scene in front of her, Kara peered in to see Lena facing towards the window. She was gently swaying back and forth and when she began to turn, there lay Lorelai, curled into her chest, her little eyes clenched as she let out small sobs of discomfort.
Through the doorframe Kara let out an almost silent sigh of content. Leaning to the side, a smile creeping onto her face as she watched Lena nuzzle her nose into Lori’s head, continuing to hum to her calmly. The melody felt familiar but she couldn’t quite place it.
Kara stayed in her position against the frame for a few minutes, admiring the woman she had made a life with, quite literally. Thanks to Eliza and her seemingly endless knowledge of mixing Kryptonian and human dna. Alas, 9 months on Argo and then some later, here the three of them live. A half super powered little baby and them. Lena cradled Lori close but her cries would not cease. The flowing melody grew louder with added words.
Kara crinkled her eyes as she took in what was a lullaby. A momentary confusion. It was Kyryptonian. A melody her own mother had once lulled her to sleep with. Kara didn’t know where Lena had heard it. Let alone where she learned the words and no doubt their meanings. Tears puddled gently in the back of her eyes. Never a day going by where the beautiful raven haired woman she called her wife, the love of her life, didn’t amaze her. Not a day where Kara didn’t think about how incredibly lucky she was. She had crossed the stars and here they are. It was a tale that would rival the ones told as fairytales from afar.
Kara pushed the door open so she could enter the room, a longing to be closer to her family overtaking her. She had spent so long looking towards Lena, on the outside, she didn’t forget how blessed she was to be in the moments with Lena. Two parts, now three, of a whole story. Kara walked up silently behind the pair. Wrapping her arms around Lena’s waist, careful not to disturb Lori further, she placed a kiss on her shoulder blade, the curve of her neck, and finally right under her ear.
Lena lifted her head ever so slightly to peer back at Kara as she smiled peacefully. Kara rested her cheek back atop Lena’s shoulder. She smiled back at her with her eyes, as her lips spread into a smile, halfway still pressed into her shoulder. The warmth spreading from the contact was something otherworldly.
“Don’t stop, please. Keep singing.” Kara lightly gazed into Lena’s eyes, wanting the familiar song back. Lena had a glimmer in her eyes that could be described as no less than enchanting as her lips furled into a smile. Returning her attention to Lori, she traced tiny circles on the infant's back. The melody began to move again, streaming from an unknown database of knowledge, but from a beautiful place in her heart.
Kara allowed her eyes to close for a few moments. Letting herself be transported back on to Krypton when she was a child.
When Kara began to join Lena in singing the soft melody, she could tell it caught her off guard as her breath hitched just a little too long. But they sang softly together. Kara moved one of her hands from around Lena’s waist to move it on top of hers where it had been resting on Lori’s back.
Lori was now long asleep. But Kara wasn’t ready to head back to their bedroom yet. Letting go of her hold around Lena, she walked around to reach out to take Lori from Lena’s arms.
Careful not to cause a stir to the little Kryptonians sensitive ears, Kara pulled her close to her chest, feeling and hearing her heart beat against her own. Lena walked over to the rocker placed in the corner across from the window, watching Kara. With her eyes closed and a seemingly permanent smile spread across her face, Kara caressed the tufts of hair on the back of Lori’s head as she swayed around side to side. She snuggled her face against the crown of her head, she could smell the lingering scent of Lena’s perfume. Turning to pause in the direction of Lena, her eyes opened. Across the space piercing blue met warm brown and Kara peered from where her head was tucked against Lori’s with her glowing smile. Lena’s face was no different.
Lena moved over in the rocker, of which they had purchased one wide enough to hold the three of them comfortably, and Kara took her cue to come join her. Gently bouncing Lori, she settled in and Lena closed the space between them. She leaned against Kara, their hair mixing in color, and rested her left leg over her slightly longer right on top of the ottoman. Lena listened for the small breaths escaping Lori and revealed in the heat coming off of Kara; she was always so warm. Lena gently held on to one of Lori’s feet; she could hear Kara lightly singing still, in her native tongue, but a different melody than before.
Laying against her chest, with eyes closed, Lena moved her free hand to trace patterns on Kara’s upper thigh, light and soothing. She knew how tired she was, she had been out so late stopping a robbery, which is why Lena didn’t wake her when she heard Lori fussing. But she also knew Kara hated to not be there at night, to take care of Lori and read her to sleep. So Lena didn’t say anything about Kara going back to sleep, she’d conveniently forget to wake her up early in the morning to make up for her lost hours of rest.
Neither of the two were quite sure how long they’d been sitting there. Not that it really mattered, they were perfectly content with staying as they were for as long as possible. They rocked back and forth in a familiar silence, the kind that allowed fir all the other worries in the world to fade away. It could’ve been hours or merely minutes before one of them spoke again.
“I’ve been talking with your mom,”
Before Kara could do little more than begin to open her mouth to ask which one, Lena aptly continued on, “Alura, and I wanted to surprise you. I wanted to try and learn Kryptonese and a few lullabies for Lori. It was supposed to be more of an anniversary surprise. You weren’t supposed to walk in, you were sleeping.”
Lena wasn’t upset the surprise had been advanced in its delivery, if anything it made it more special. Without the nerves of getting it wrong because yes Kara made her nervous in all the wanting it to be the best but knowing she’ll love it no matter what kind of ways.
Kara shifted slightly and in turn Lena scooted away from her source of warmth momentarily.
“You were singing to our daughter in Kryptonese, Lena.” She paused. “Do you,” Kara was struggling to hold in the tears that were welling on her eyes, “do you know how much this means to me?”
Lena gave Kara a knowing look. She had listened closely on the nights Kara would break down. Speaking of how confusing it was for her to be the only one from her home planet living in the city. How alone she felt in expressions of her culture. How she was afraid to lose it with time. Lena gave a soft nod to let Kara know she perfectly well understood what it meant to her.
“I wanted to bring more of your home to you. I wanted to learn,” Lena squeezed her thigh in emphasis, “for you.”
By now tears were freely creating paths down Kara's face. They refracted the light streaming in from the window.
“For us. For our family.” Lena concluded.
“I'll always be at home with you, Lena. Always. This is… this is more than I ever could’ve asked for.” Still holding Lori with her right, Kara placed her left hand on the side of Lena’s face, gently cupping her cheek and imploring her to look into her eyes. Her thumb traced a small circular pattern below the corner of her eye. Lena leaned in to the gesture and turned her head to press a kiss against the palm of Kara’s hand, lingering for a breath.
Lifting her eyes back up, Kara let out a whisper with no less intensity than she could muster, “Thank you.”
Kara moved to close the small pocket of air between them and Lena met her somewhere in the middle. The light from the window shined on Kara’s hand where it held Lena’s face. The beams ran down her arm and encircled their little family. Was it possible for her lips to be softer at this unknown hour? Lena was sure of it. Rolling her forehead across Lena’s as she broke the kiss with a smile only matched by the woman with the raven hair, Kara placed Lori in Lena’s arms once again.
Taking Lori from Kara, the Kryptonian settled in and Lena moved to sit in between Kara’s legs, placing her head on her shoulder, right in the crook of her neck, of the woman behind her. Lori snug to her chest, her foot ran slightly up and down the inside of Kara’s ankle. Once again allowing her eyes to close in a feeling of contentedness, Kara felt a warmth and calloused knuckles as she encased Lena’s hands in her own. She listened for the steady beats of the two hearts in line with her own. She allowed the increase and decrease of pressure of Lena’s rising and falling breaths against her own chest to be a promise of many more times like this to come.
“What time is it?” Lena slightly nudged the curve of Kara’s neck with her nose.
“Ahh I don’t know.” A smile was evident, tugging at the corners of Kara’s mouth as she released a small chuckle.
They had purposefully not hung a clock in this room, they didn’t want to ever feel anything but in the moment while in here.
The hint of an early morning sun was starting to cast its rays across the cityscape. Shadows moved in a dance across the skyline as it gained altitude and changed the black of the night to a pale ocean blue.
The streaks of light were casting hauntingly beautiful shadows across Lena’s features. It produced a newfound warmth and appreciation in Kara for just how striking she was. Looking down at their joined hands atop Lori’s back, the light found all the crevices on the peaks and valleys of the tired and loving entwinement. She smiled once more as her eyes closed, breathing in deeply, before exhaling; listening to how her breaths ebbed and flowed between that of those whom she held in her arms.
“Awfully beautiful.” Lena whispered gazing out the window.
“Yeah, it is.” But Kara wasn’t looking out the window. Nor was she referring to the outside sky.
By Rao’s grace she had seen the suns, living and breathing, sharing their lives with her. She had received and given love in ways she didn’t know possible until Lena. To love someone so deeply, with such an intensity and frivolity because love was easy with complicated reasons behind it. She’s still not sure she fully understands it, but maybe that’s the point. To learn more and more each day, to keep growing together metaphorically and in family size. But that was a conversation for another day.