Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was a chilly mid afternoon. 

Lena settled down on her couch, nursing a steaming cup of tea while contemplating the absolute silence in her living room. All the windows and the balcony doors were closed to block the cold air from disrupting the warmth of the heater engulfing the apartment. Absorbed in her own thoughts, Lena jerked from her spot when her phone pinged, announcing a new message. 

Kara <3

[1:29 pm] Is there any chance my favourite person in the whole world is free on this fine afternoon?

Lena

[1:30 pm] I don’t know… are they?

Kara <3

[1:32 pm] Please, you know who I’m talking about.

Lena

[1:32 pm] Do I?

Kara <3

[1:33 pm] Stop answering my questions with other questions! 

Lena

[1:34 pm] Fine.

I’m actually free, yes, I’m just sitting around my apartment.

Why?

Kara <3

[1:34 pm] Can you come over? I wanted to ask you something.

And I miss you.

Lena

[1:35 pm] I miss you too. I’m sorry I’ve been so unavailable lately, busy days in the Foundation.

And yes, I can. Should I go now?

Kara <3

[1:36 pm] You can’t possibly imagine how proud I am. Don’t apologize!

Yes, please. You could use your portal if you want, so you don’t have to go out in the cold. You could get sick.

Lena

[1:37 pm] Alright, alright. See you in a few minutes.

Lena spent the next minute debating whether she should finish her tea in a hurry and lose the feeling of slow sips and savouring the flavour or just bring her cup with her so she could finish it there. She went with the latter in the end, because she knew Kara wouldn’t mind. Actually, Lena was sure Kara would’ve offered her some tea or any other hot drink of her own, claiming humans needed to keep warm in such freezing temperatures of late December.

Kara was curled up on the couch when Lena entered her apartment through the portal. Somehow that was one of the most common scenes in their relationship, Kara commented once. And she couldn’t help but notice the familiarity of the feeling that rushed through her veins when she sat in the spot beside Kara, was aimed with all the love and warmth the blonde’s eyes would always sparkle with. How such a thing as holding her cup of tea with only one hand because the other was making a home inside Kara’s hoodie pocket could feel so right.

Lena joined Kara in watching whatever show was already on when she arrived for the few minutes that followed until the end of it. Only then, when Lena’s mug was already empty on the coffee table, did Kara finally break the comfortable silence that had settled between them. “So… I don’t know why I’m nervous about this because we literally do it every year, but I know you don’t have any plans for Christmas—” Lena opened her mouth to protest. “Working yourself to sleep isn’t a plan.” The blonde interjected. “I wanted to know if you want to go to Midvale with me this year? Everyone will be there and it’ll be like our regular Christmas every year, but in a different place.” Of course, her signature pout appeared right after she finished talking.

(If only she knew she didn’t even need that low move to get Lena moving.

But she didn’t, and Lena didn’t tell her.)

The brunette made a show of pretending she was considering the invite, even faking a sigh. “Fine, I’m going with you.” And she swore the smile she got as a reward could power National City for years. “But shouldn’t you be already there? Eliza was always here a few days before Christmas Eve and it’s the 22nd already.”

Kara sealed her lips in a thin line before looking at Lena sheepishly. “We actually have to leave in about 2 hours if we don’t wanna get there too late.”

“Kara! I don’t even have anything packed!” Lena got up abruptly.

“Then what are you waiting for? It’ll be only a few days, Lee. You don’t need to pack your whole closet. Just get a bag.” The blonde followed her movements to the middle of the living room. “Or we can just share one of my big ones, they’ve got divisions and that would be less volume.”

(Lena quickly thought about the domesticity of sharing a bag for a short trip. She shouldn’t agree.

She didn’t, but she knew she would, if Kara insisted.)

The scientist rolled her eyes lovingly as she clicked the button on her watch, opening the portal she’d come to rely on. “I’ll be right back.”

Kara did not wait for her to finish packing and walk back through the portal into her apartment. Instead, Lena heard a tap tap tap on her glass balcony door just as she was zipping up her duffel. Walking out to her living room, she barked out a laugh at her best friend’s antics. 

The Kryptonian had squished her face into the glass, leaving condensation with every puff of air. Her cheeks and chin looked almost ghastly, and her sky-blue eyes glittered with amusement. At the sight of the younger woman, she stepped away from the pane and huffed out a warm breath over the glass. With a finger, she drew a sloppy heart before shooting the Luthor a face-splitting smile. 

Lena pushed open the sliding door, rolling her eyes again. At this rate, her eye muscles would be the strongest part of her body. 

“C’mon, Lee! The car’s out front. I left a minute after you did, figured I would save you the trip. David is keeping the seats warm for us.” Unbeknownst to the blonde, by the time she finished speaking she was floating five inches off the ground. Tugging lightly on her best friend, Lena bent down and picked up her bag by the straps, walking toward her front door as she hid a gentle smile she knew was growing. 

“Better come back down to earth, then, Supergirl. Get a move on! Midvale awaits.” She walked down the hall to the elevator without a backwards glance.

The elevator doors slid open noiselessly, but before she could collect herself she felt her arm being pulled forcefully, and her body followed without much choice. 

Lena was used to Kara’s excitement at this point in their relationship and knew it was better to flow with the motion than try and dig her heels in. She already spent enough time in the hospital as it was. 

The taller woman loaded her bag into the empty trunk, sheepishly explaining that she’d already flown her bag to Midvale. With fondness, Lena shook her head as she climbed into the passenger seat. 

Unsurprisingly, she’d never gone on a road trip when she was younger with the Luthors. They took their private jet everywhere, even to the summer house that was only a few hours away. But she enjoyed listening to Kara sing along to showtunes she’d never heard before, watching as the dying rays of sunlight glimmered in blonde hair. 

—

“Lee?”

With a distinctly unladylike snort Lena shook herself awake, only to find Kara standing in front of her, the Luthor woman’s black-and-forest-green duffel in one hand. Behind the blonde, the sky was a light blue and she could see the handsome homestead that stood out amongst all the trees around them.

Taking Kara’s hand, she pulled herself out of the car, still taking in her surroundings. For once, she didn’t hear a bustling metropolis or people wanting to kill her. The only things she heard were birds twittering and squirrels scampering around gorgeous trees with large trunks and naked crowns— a consequence of the recent winter solstice. Oxygen filled her lungs after a deep, relieving breath and Lena felt the kind of safety in the almost quietness of that place something nearly nothing else could provide her. Not her security team, not the huge amount of resources put into making sure she could exist inside her office or her penthouse without fearing death at every given moment. No, none of that felt reliable enough for the brunette to let her guard down. But in that moment, surrounded by nothing but nature`s sweet melody, the warm presence of one happy Kara Danvers and the cold fluster of winter wind on her hair, Lena could finally let herself have the oh so desired peace of mind.

The superhero smiled at her and gently slipped her hand from the brunette’s grasp to close the door behind her, which made the smaller woman immediately miss the contact when the cool breeze blew against her bare skin. Her right hand slipped inside her hoodie’s pocket in an attempt to gather some remaining warmth from within the soft cotton covering the insides, but the other remained awkwardly picking at a loose thread in her trousers, silently hoping Kara would reach for it again. Soon enough her wishes were granted and the blonde’s warm hand was back on hers after the door was closed and locked, a steady anchor that kept her grounded.

They walked up the driveway, stopping at an aged, dark wooden door. It had seen better days, but it still stood strong and proud. The knocker was a small brass cat, which Kara rapped twice before stepping back and explaining that she had made the knocker with Alex before the older sibling left for university. “We modeled it after Streaky.”

Lena smiled at the thought. She made a mental note to bring up Streaky and owning cats when they returned to National City. Her thoughts soon morphed into caring for a pair of cats together, living in the same house, fully moved in with each other—

The front door opened, shaking her out of her thoughts. Before her stood a tall blonde woman, who looked strikingly similar to the woman of her heart that stood next to her. 

Her mouth moved faster than her brain. “Are you sure Alex isn’t the one who’s adopted?” She was met with silence. Then, her sluggish brain caught up with the rest of her. As she began to apologise, both blondes doubled over in laughter. Kara’s familiar bark intermingled with her mother’s tinkling chuckle. Eliza pulled herself together enough to greet her, wiping away tears.

“Welcome to Midvale, Lena. Kara’s told me a lot about you! And believe me, we’ve gotten those comments before. I can’t say I blame you all, we do have a seeming resemblance. Come in, come in.”

The inside of the house was way warmer than Lena had expected, the heavy coat over her hoodie and the cotton trousers going from comfortable to overwhelmingly hot in just a few minutes. She shifted uncomfortably on her feet, mentally going over everything she had packed earlier in the afternoon only to realise she hadn’t brought any of her few pairs of unmatching sweaters and sweatpants— that she was quite sure had belonged to Kara originally. Her uneasy movements mustn’t have gone unnoticed for the blonde, who quickly turned on her feet to face the smaller woman.  

“Well, let’s get you into some lighter clothes, shall we?” She had barely taken a step towards the staircase when hesitant fingers tugged at her sleeve and Kara turned to her once again. 

Lena scratched the back of her neck and looked down at her shoes before tilting her head slightly to throw a sheepish look at her friend. “Um… I might or might not have forgotten to stick some, uh— ‘normal clothes’ when I was packing.”

Kara chuckled lightly. “I figured you would do as much, thus I have brought a few more to spare just in case.” She gave Lena’s hand a light squeeze before letting it go. “Plus, it’s kind of my fault. I did rush you into packing everything in what? Twenty minutes?” Her shoulders rose up in a silent apology.

The brunette’s expression softened for a moment before she rolled her eyes with affection. “Impromptu everything is your thing, I’m used to it.”

The superhero blushed lightly and averted her eyes between Lena and her adoptive mother cleaning up non-existent mess on the hallway desk to pretend she wasn’t listening to their interaction. “Let me just—” Kara vanished from the bottom of the stairs in a blur, only taking enough time for Eliza and Lena to look at each other, equally amused by the blonde’s antics, before she zipped back down the stairs holding up her favourite sweaters (that was more like theirs if she was being honest) and matching sweatpants. “I left your bag on top of the covers, it’s in mine and Alex’s childhood bedroom.” 

The Luthor grabbed the clothes from her hands and held them to her chest with a whispered thank you before turning to the older woman. “If you’ll excuse me for a bit, I will…” She trailed off while signaling upstairs with her head.

“Of course, dear. And please feel at home.” Eliza waved her off with a warm smile and a quick glance down the clothes hanging from Lena’s arm with something in her expression that slightly resembled amusement, but she decided not to dwell on it, shooting the taller woman a smile of her own and heading up the stairs instead.

Kara’s eyes followed her steps until the brunette’s small frame disappeared by the corner of the hallway. A small, content sigh left her lips and she turned to Eliza again, intending on leaving the hall where they were still standing. Instead, the superhero was met with a raised eyebrow and crossed arms that reminded her too much of teenage years and broken rules. Only that, this time, there were no rules, no hiding powers, no frustration caused by accidentally broken door knobs.

“What?” The blonde amusingly questioned, mirroring her adoptive mother’s stance.

Eliza’s smile grew and she shook her head in faux disappointment. She took a step closer to Kara and pulled her into a tight hug that the blonde responded with a bone-crushing grip of her own, making the older Danvers wince and laugh for a moment before they both pulled away.

“And to think, you almost threw Alex into the sun the first and last time she tried to wear that sweater.”

Kara pulled the collar of her sweatshirt up to her nose, inhaling and exhaling through the soft fabric. “Lena doesn’t have a lot of comfy clothes. And she really likes my grey NCU crewneck, so I give it to her when she needs it.” She hadn’t told Eliza, but the sweatshirt she was wearing had last been worn by Lena. She breathed in again deeply, savouring the smell of her best friend. 

“I think it’s less the fact that it’s comfortable and more the fact that it’s yours. Are you sure you trust her with this?”

The inflection that Eliza placed on this made it clear that she was talking about more than just the sweatshirt. She tried to say Yes but her throat closed up before she could. Instead, she fell into her adoptive mother’s arms again. “It’s okay, I know.”

Kara heard a door being pulled open and then closed on the second floor and knew she had to find a way out of Eliza’s attentive gaze and questions she wasn’t sure she was ready to answer before it got any further. Her hands shook awkwardly in front of her body, “Why don’t we just head into the kitchen to make some of that hot chocolate? I think we could all use a mug, yeah?” She started taking steps back to the white wooden door and nervously fumbled with the doorknob before almost throwing the door open under the taller woman’s curious attention and the sound of Lena’s footsteps getting closer to the top of the staircase. She managed to slide into the kitchen just before the brunette could see her.

The smaller woman slowly descended the steps to the hall, fully dressed in the clothes her best friend had given her, slightly gripping the handtrail so as to not slip when her socks touched the wooden floor. Her expression turned confused when she stood next to Eliza and Kara was nowhere in sight. “She’s in the kitchen.” The blonde said with a smile when she picked up at Lena’s puzzlement and the brunette nodded before awkwardly looking down at her socked feet, quite as if she wanted to say something, but was not certain she should. She didn’t have the time to overthink it when Eliza pulled her into a hug that felt like sweet reassurance and a cup of steaming tea after a long day. “I’m glad you came.”

Lena smiled brightly at the words and let her shoulder fall out of the tension that wanted to creep in again, hugging back and letting herself be embraced. In more ways than only one. “I’m glad I came.”

—

They got into the kitchen just a few moments later, pretending not to see the smile Kara failed to hide when they crossed the door. The brunette immediately gravitated towards her, sinking down onto the stool beside her and leaning in close to the blonde’s shoulders to peek at what her friend was doing. The superhero looked over at her while pouring milk into the pot and smiled. “Come closer, I’m gonna teach you the Danvers’ recipe for the best hot chocolate you have ever had the pleasure to drink!” 

The Luthor let Kara’s hand pull her closer and fully leaned onto her side, head on her shoulder and arms loosely wrapped around her midsection while carefully watching the blonde mixing the ingredients inside the pot and listening to her step-by-step. Just because Kara wanted to teach her.

(Not because she wanted to remember it when they went back to National City. Not because she wanted to know how to make it for Kara whenever she went over to her penthouse.

Certainly not because of any of that.)

They remained in that same position until Kara had to hop off her stool to heat up the mixture on the stove, taking no longer than a few minutes to come back to Lena’s side with three steaming mugs. She set them down on the counter before leaning down to open a cabinet and suddenly rising up holding an overwhelming amount of candy and a can of whipped cream. To top the chocolate, Lena assumed. 

Eliza was silently watching them move around each other from the other side of the kitchen, occupied with her own task to make something that, from outside, looked like pie. Her eyes observed Lena and how she seemed enchanted by Kara’s every movement, how Kara’s smile would tug up every time she looked over to Lena, just to check if she was keeping up, and how Lena’s eyes brightened just a little more whenever Kara’s landed on her. She smiled and mumbled you choose, dear when Kara turned to her, a faint shade of pink creeping up her cheeks when she realised they were being watched, and asked what she should decorate her cup with.

“Kara, you know this could be called candy and whipped cream with hot chocolate and not the other way around, right? How much more chocolate chips are you gonna put in this?” Lena started reaching for her still untouched mug, concerned about what Kara would do with it after seeing the mountain of whipped cream and countless kinds of sweets on top of the blonde’s cup, but the superhero swatted her hand away before she could get to it.

“Chill, Lee.” She playfully rolled her eyes before setting her own mug aside and grabbed Lena’s by its handle, setting it in front of her to start adding the toppings. “Hot chocolate is no fun without the toppings, but I know Lena Luthor is also no fun so I’m gonna go easy on you.”

The brunette feigned a shocked gasp and clutched her hand at the fabric of the sweater just over where her heart was, “I’m no fun? You take that right back, Supergirl!”

Kara put the can of whipped cream down and looked at Lena with that stupid smirk that made her entire face flush in bright pink. “Or what?” 

Lena fell into a stunned silence for a moment, shortly before she returned the smile, just as wickedly, “Wouldn’t you want to know?” She whispered into the space between them, as if challenging the blonde woman. Kara just raised an eyebrow at her. “What a shame would it be if my balcony door was suddenly locked all the time, don’t you think? Such a shame for whoever wants to land there for a movie night… or whatever.” She said nonchalantly, inwardly laughing at her friend’s wide eyes and scared expression.

“You wouldn’t!” Kara protested.

“Why not? I’m a Luthor, after all.” Lena reached for the bag of marshmallows and popped one in her mouth, not breaking eye contact with a now pouting Kara Danvers. She laughed after swallowing the candy and and leaned into Kara’s space to grab her face with both hands, peppering kisses all over her cheeks and almost cooing at how stupidly cute she looked with her face squished. “I’m only teasing, darling. Now finish decorating this excuse for a sugar bomb before it gets cold.”

—

“C’mon, you haven’t seen Home Alone yet, right?”

“I mean, I’ve been home alone…” Lena reflexively fell back on familiar habits and deflected with humour. Fortunately, Kara knew her better than anyone, and she simply nudged the Luthor woman forward out of the kitchen as she grabbed both mugs. 

The sky outside was dark by now and she stopped in her tracks in front of the patio door to gape at the moon. It was so pale and pretty, contrasting against the inky black sky. 

“Wow, I love the moon. She looks so beautiful tonight.”

Off to her right, she heard Kara set the mugs down on the coffee table and sidle up to where she stood. “Hmm, you’re right. But I only have eyes for one celestial body in this galaxy.”

Lena groaned. “That was terrible.”

“You smiled.” The tall blonde shrugged lazily before grabbing one of her hands and pulling her toward the couch. She slid the disk into the CD player, grabbed a couple blankets, and nestled right up to Lena. Her heart skipped when the smell of sandalwood from her best friend’s cologne intermingled with peppermint and cocoa powder reached her nose; she hadn’t even taken a sip of her drink yet. 

As the opening scene started to play, Lena reached down and picked up her mug, blowing on it gently as she returned to Kara’s shoulder. 

(So if she looked at Kara like she hung stars in the sky, it was that she felt compelled. Pulled into her orbit.

At Kara’s side was right where she belonged.)

She brought the mug to her lips, wincing slightly when she made contact with the liquid.

“Too hot?” Ever-observant, Kara whispered to her as the light from the television glinted off her frames. She pressed a comforting hand into Lena’s side with one hand and leaned into the younger woman’s space. Gently, she blew on the mug Lena was holding. “Try now.”

The younger woman tentatively sipped at her drink again, humming in approval at the slightly cooler temperature. It was still warm, but now it wouldn’t burn her tongue every time she went to tip her mug up. She nuzzled up close to Kara, mumbling her thanks into the blonde’s neck. Her chest warmed as she felt the arm curled around her waist tighten. 

She sighed contentedly, feeling a sense of peace wash over her. Settling in, she turned her attention to the screen, bringing the mug to her lips.

Partway through the film, Eliza swooped in with bowls of warm chicken pie, fresh out of the oven. The crust was crisp, crackly, and buttery; the filling was creamy and savory. Lena nearly licked her plate. Kara did, happily. 

With full stomachs, the third act of Home Alone unfolding before them, and Kara pressed warmly into her side, Lena felt her eyelids growing heavy. She couldn’t fight it, simply put her head on the blonde’s shoulder and smiled as a warm arm encircled her again.

—

When she was shaken awake, the television was dark and the sky outside even darker. Eliza had finished reading a book outside and was on her way up to bed when she came across Kara and Lena bundled up together on the couch. With hugs and motherly pecks on the forehead, both women were ushered up to Kara’s childhood bedroom.

The older woman yawned and stretched. “Good movie?” Crouching in front of her bag, she withdrew a dark, waxed canvas toiletry bag. Lena had gifted it to her one year, heeding the advice of her friend Maura from Boston: personalize or monogram things with your best friend’s initials, so they can’t return whatever you got them. 

Kara was resistant to accepting the gift at first, until Lena showed her she’d gotten a matching bag for herself. 

(She tried not to think too hard about the implications of that.)

The scientist stopped in front of her duffel and dug out her toiletry bag as well, and a change of clothes. “The parts I saw I enjoyed. I’ll have to watch the rest of it again at another time.”

Kara walked over and hugged her, toiletry bag still in one hand. “I’m glad I got to share it with you. And I’m glad you came to Midvale with me.”

“If you weren’t here, I wouldn’t be either. Thank you for inviting me.”

A kiss was dropped on Lena’s head, spreading warmth throughout her body from the point of contact. “C’mon, let’s wash up. I’m dead on my feet.” 

They brushed their teeth together, making funny faces in the mirror at each other and trying to make the other woman laugh. 

“I’ll see you in bed, yeah?”

“After I do my night beauty routine, I’ll be right out.” 

Kara smiled sleepily as she shut the bathroom door behind her, leaving Lena to apply her night cream and change into her pajamas: a pair of maroon MIT sweatpants and a thick cotton grey t-shirt. Lastly, she shrugged on Kara’s NCU sweater on top, even though she was never worried about a cold bed when she slept next to the Kryptonian. 

Padding across the room, she climbed into bed where Kara was already lightly snoozing. The blonde woke up as she slid under the covers, smiling sleepily, making Lena’s heart skip, and opened her arms up.

They moved in tandem, arranging their limbs in the way they always did. At this point, they had their sleep routine down pat. They slept together more often than they slept apart these days, and they knew how they slotted together like a Mortise and Tenon joint. In the end, Lena ended up with her head on Kara’s chest, arms wrapped around each other, and legs tangled up. Sometimes, when she was feeling spiteful, she pressed her cold feet into the backs of the taller woman’s calves. 

Not today, though. 

Today, Lena cozied right up to the living radiator next to her and sighed happily, feeling all the tiredness and pain of the day fall away. 

“Night, Lee. Love you.” 

Before Lena had the chance to say I love you back, she drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Text

“Mornin’ Eliza.” The younger blonde yawned and stretched as she entered the kitchen, bumping her nose into the shoulder of her adoptive mother, seated on a stool at the bar counter.

“Good afternoon! Plans for today?” Eliza smiled and leaned over to kiss the top of Kara’s head. Her lips and breath warmed the Kryptonian’s chest. She smiled to herself as she turned to grab two mugs from the cabinet. 

At this point, the photographer knew Lena’s coffee order by heart. Pour a full, steaming cup of whatever coffee was available. Go over to the sink and pour it down the drain. Rinse the cup out, find two tea bags, and plop them in. Pour hot water with a little room at the top. Follow up with 5 dashes of milk, no sugar. With her super powers, it was very easy to fix up a cup of tea in the blink of an eye, but something convinced her to slow down this morning and use a kettle.

(She wasn’t thinking about the fact that Lena was in her hometown, in her house, in her childhood room, in the bed she used to sleep in.

But the sight of the Luthor on her chest was enough to turn off her alarm and sleep in for a few more hours.

So maybe she just wanted to slow down and appreciate what was in front of her.)

“I was thinking of taking Lena to the club, you know the one next to the recreation centre? She’s still asleep, but hopefully she’ll be up around noon.”

“Do you think she has the right shoes for it?”

“I got her a pair.”

Eliza shook her head wryly, whispering something into her coffee even Kara couldn’t hear. Setting her mug down, she spoke again. “Just make sure you don’t get back too late. Alex and Kelly should be here by dinnertime.”

Kara nodded, unwinding the teabags and dropping them in Lena’s mug.

“And don’t let her bruise her knees too much.”

“Morn’.” Before she could say anything to her mother, the black-haired woman came shuffling in slowly, pushing hair haphazardly out of her face. She had pulled on one of Kara’s many university sweaters over her white t-shirt, sleeves rolled up a couple times. 

The blonde dropped the subject, to Eliza’s quiet amusement, opting instead to cross the kitchen and wrap her best friend in a hug. “Hey, you.”

She got a tired, grumbly sentence in response. “Kara, I love you, but if you don’t give me my tea I will kill someone.”

Eliza and Kara glanced at each other amusedly as the photographer handed the scientist an empty mug with the teabags in it. They watched as Lena brought the mug to her lips, blowing across the top reflexively before tipping the bottom up a tad to take a sip. 

“Hm? Darling, this is empty.” A small smile touched upon the dark-haired woman’s lips as her light green eyes bore into Kara.

(How had Kara never noticed Lena’s Irish accent?

She definitely noticed now.)

“Water’s not boiled yet, silly. C’mon, sit.” She gently plucked the empty mug out of her hands and steered the smaller woman to a seat at the bar next to her mother. 

“Good afternoon, dear. How did you sleep?” One of Eliza’s hands drew Lena into a warm hug as the sleep-filled woman yawned into the sleeve of the sweater she was wearing. 

“Great, actually. I had my personal space heater keeping me warm all night long.” The elder Danvers woman snorted into her coffee. “And aside from that, it’s very quiet out here. I appreciate the calm, more than you know.”

Kara came up to her other side, a mug of coffee in one hand and Lena’s tea in the other. She received a sleepy peck on the cheek in thanks from her favourite person as she settled into the bar stool next to her. 

For the next few minutes, there was silence, save for the slurping of their drinks. Eventually, mugs were emptied, rinsed, and set on the rack to dry. Lena looked considerably more awake by now; her eyes were more alert and when she spoke she sounded like her usual self. 

“So, what do the Danvers women do on Christmas vacation?”

“I think Kara here has plans for the both of you. Alex and Kelly are coming in later this evening, and I have a book that needs reading.” Eliza hugged both women and kissed the tops of their foreheads. “I’ll keep some hot chocolate warm for when you come back. Have fun!” With that, she left them standing in the middle of the kitchen.

Lena turned to her with raised eyebrows and that smile. The smile she reserved for only Kara. “Miss Danvers, what on earth do you have planned?”

The bespectacled woman simply shrugged and grinned enigmatically. “Dress warmly.” The Danvers women exchanged a look as Kara skipped into the garage. Grabbing a padded sports bag and a ragged duffel, she made her way to the driveway from the front door.

———

The next time she saw Lena, she had traded Kara’s sweater and her MIT sweatpants for a pair of thick jeans and a thin turtleneck under a heavyweight flannel. She didn’t have shoes on yet, but her thick cream socks looked very warm. 

“Should I wear my boots?”

“You can wear whatever shoes you want. You’re going to have to change when we get there.”

“When we get where ?” Again, Kara said nothing as she held open the front door for Lena to walk through. She fell into step with the shorter woman for a few seconds before moving ahead to open the passenger door. She moved around to the other side of the car, buckling her seatbelt and trying not to snicker under the weight of her best friend’s gaze. 

“Kara Zor-El Danvers, you better not be taking me to go skinny dipping or ice fishing.” 

“We’ll be indoors, calm your tips.” The blonde started her car with a gentle growl, shifted the stick to reverse and then drive, and grinned at the dark-haired woman sulking beside her. 

“It’s calm your tits, and are you really not going to tell me where we’re going?” Trees whizzed by, eventually turning into streetlights. The dirt road transformed into paved ones, but still Kara divulged nothing. 

“Well,” the older woman tipped her head to the right, “it would ruin the surprise. So yes, I won’t tell you where we’re going. Just enjoy the ride!” 

For the rest of the journey, Kara stayed silent, occasionally snorting at the glowers sent her way. She could feel her right leg jumping up and down in anticipation, even when she pressed down on the gas pedal. Then, she felt something warm and steady on her thigh, and her leg calmed down at once.

“If you weren’t Kryptonian, I’d be worried about your blood pressure.” Lena smirked, before softening as she tapped the thigh she was holding onto. “Excited, hm?”

Kara had to be careful she wasn’t gunning the accelerator; the anticipation was thrumming through her entire body now that her leg was stationary. And parking was hard enough to begin with. Cautiously manoeuvring the car into a parking space, she threw the stick into park and pulled up the parking brake before beaming at Lena. Drumming her fingers on the wheel, she took a deep breath. “Oh my Rao, I am so excited for this. I have so much to tell you and so many cool facts, so many tips and tricks— and I love this place so much! It was like a second home to me when I was younger, and the owner still remembers me.”

With her knuckle the taller woman pushed the bridge of her glasses up, rubbing her hands together in nervous anticipation. It didn’t take long for Lena to notice, as she cupped the journalist’s hands with her warm, callused ones. It was one of the many things she loved about their relationship; they always looked out for each other, they knew what made the other woman tick, and they knew how to calm the other down. 

Lena wasn’t normally a tactile person, but she knew that Kara benefited from it greatly. So whenever she felt that the older woman needed some physical contact (and she was never wrong), she gave it without hesitation. Kara, in return, knew that the scientist’s love language was quality time. For a woman who could move at the speed of light, Kara was naturally impatient and impulsive. She grew frustrated easily when she blew her powers and had to do things at a human speed. But for Lena, she wanted time to slow down. She wanted to be able to take in every detail, soak up her best friend’s presence for as long as she could. 

They brought out the best in each other this way, but neither woman quite understood their synergy until they lost it. Kara had only felt loss so acutely once before; that explosion of Krypton was the only other time she felt her world collapsing before her very eyes.

The woman the world knew as Supergirl, the Maiden of Might, Girl of Steel, or National City’s Resident Superhero, had seen, done, and heard a lot of shitty things in her long life. She regretted not telling Lena about her secret identity most of all. That was why, once Kara got her back in her arms, she was determined to never lose her again.

“Is something wrong? Your nerves seem to be all over the place.” Lena’s eyebrows furrowed in worry.

Kara sighed and remained silent for a few moments, before stopping at a red sign and finally turning to look at Lena again, gripping the hand still on her thigh. “It’s nothing bad, I just—” She paused, but Lena kept looking at her, patiently waiting for the blonde to unfold what she wanted to say. “I want you to like this place— not specifically where we are going, although it would be nice if you did, too.” She smiled sheepishly. The sign turned green and her hand gently slipped from Lena’s to grasp on the steering wheel again. “Midvale was my first contact with this planet, I spent the most of my hardest times as a traumatised teenager here, being forced to accept blue skies and a yellow sun were my new reality. And— it could’ve been different, if I hadn't opened my mind for a different view, maybe I’d still be resenting this town, the state, the country, who knows?” Another sigh left her lips as she made the final turn on a quiet-looking street and finally pulled in.

Turning off the engine, Kara once again looked over to Lena, who had the indistinct gleam in her eyes whenever something had her undivided attention. The sight made the superhero smile, “But I did— I allowed myself to accept that enjoying what had been given to me didn’t mean I loved my roots any less. It was nowhere near easy, but I learned how to love Earth and embrace it as my new home, along with every good thing that it has ever provided me with— including Alex, you and everyone else in this crazy family of ours.” They both laughed wetly. “I just want you to have a good time here, so you could know and appreciate this part of me as well.”  

Soothing hands cradled both sides of her face, making her look up again and meet Lena’s eyes, laced with awe and unbalanced adoration. “Is that what’s worrying you? What do I think about it?” Kara nodded. The smaller woman tilted her head slightly, taking in the blonde’s smoothened features before continuing, “Darling, I’ll tell you you have nothing to be concerned about. Just the fact that we are here together, making memories I’ll cherish for what is probably the rest of my life, already makes me hold this place closer to my heart than you think.” Her right thumb caressed Kara’s cheek in a slow motion, making her lean into the contact. “And if— if it’s part of you, then I’ll love it; if it made you the person you are today, I’ll love it even more.” Her hands shifted slightly to tuck a strand of golden hair behind Kara’s ear. The taller woman beamed at her and Lena returned the gesture with a toothy grin, caressing her cheeks once more before removing her hands. “Let’s go. We'll do whatever you’ve planned for us today and have so much fun that our friends will be jealous for weeks, once we tell them about it.” Kara’s smile grew at her words and she unbuckled her seatbelt.

The photojournalist threw open her door with a flourish, sliding over the hood of the car to the passenger side to open the door for Lena, who was still buckled in and incredibly bemused. Gracefully, the Luthor woman clicked off her seatbelt and pulled herself out of the car, crinkling her brow at the building before her. “I still can’t believe your favourite place is called…St. Romoulda’s. It sounds like a damn church.”

The blonde shrugged. “You know, I never asked. But you sure can, once we get comfortable. Ready to go in?”

At the scientist’s nod, she pushed on the solid metal doors.

Stepping through the doorway, Kara felt her jaw slacken as she took in familiar surroundings. Not a thing had changed from her high school days, coming down to the club after school and on the weekends before she went off to university. Dark wood panelled the entire floor and the walls; hand-hewn planks kept the sturdy ceiling from collapsing. Comfy leather stools, chairs, and booths were scattered around battered but well-looked-after tables or cosy rugs. A large, crackling fire sat against the far wall, opposite a bartop where a grey-haired woman was rolling silverware. 

At the sound of the bell triggered by the opening door, the woman looked up. Piercing blue eyes scanned both Kara and Lena immediately, before a small smile broke out. 

“Why, it’s our favourite hotshot with a camera! And you’ve brought a friend, I see.” The woman stepped around the bar counter and walked toward them with a steady, calculated gait. 

“Hey, Miss Navine.” Kara felt like a stringy high schooler again, rolling in with bags under her eyes and papers slipping through her arms. 

The woman rolled her eyes. ”Zephyr, call me Zephyr. You’re making me feel like an old woman.” 

Kara’s face broke out into a bashful smile before she consciously thought to, and she scuffled her shoes. It had been too long since she’d stepped over the threshold; and most of it was down to her being guilty about Jeremiah and hiding in work. She hadn’t even gone to Midvale for Christmas the last two years, claiming that her work wouldn’t allow it. She knew that Alex had told Eliza, who in turn spoke with Zephyr. And she knew that the other woman had a long and storied life, pitted with mistakes and tragedies that could have been avoided, and definitely would have attempted to pull Kara’s head out of her ass. 

She might be Supergirl, but she was also intimidated by the soldier and powerhouse that was Zephyr Alexis Navine. Only she and Eliza could instil such a fear in the Kryptonian. 

Holding her arms out, the older woman quirked a brow at Kara. “Don’t leave me hanging.” 

The blonde stepped forward and embraced the wizened woman, who was almost Kara’s height. It made for good hugs. She’d missed the quiet intensity of the bar and club owner, and was happy to be back on the premises of St. Romoulda’s. 

The white-blonde haired woman pulled away from the hug and cupped her face, turning Kara’s jaw left and right. “Are you eating well? Getting enough sleep?”

“Have you been talking to Eliza?”

She earned a light slap on the left shoulder for that one. “And so what if I have? You know my weakness is smart and pretty blondes.”

“The issue being, you already have a smart and pretty blonde to chat up.” Another woman, slightly younger than Zephyr, came in back-first from a side door holding a crate of scrap metal. She stopped next to the grey-haired woman and pecked her on the cheek. This woman had an Irish accent and blonde hair like golden thread, which glimmered almost as much as the golden band on her finger. Setting the box down carefully on the floor, she stepped around it, wiped her hands on her overalls, and pulled Kara into a long hug as the other older woman had. 

Unlike Zephyr, the Irishwoman was gentler and softer to the touch. No doubt there was some steel in her and she was a force to be reckoned with, but the sweet, tender energy that exuded from this woman was a deliberate choice; as Kara knew from experience, to be forbearing in such a manner was often harder and braver than being brash and unforgiving.

Kara breathed deeply, the scent of machine grease and linseed oil hitting her nostrils. It dredged up memories of shop class in high school and working with Jeremiah in the garage when she first arrived. Her shoulder and back muscles relaxed into the embrace.

Before Kara could say anything, the other woman moved to hug Lena, as well. “Lena Luthor! I’ve heard a lot about you. Quite an honour to have you in our humble establishment. How do you feel about cold temperatures?”

The brunette laughed. “I do all right, but I’m nothing like Kara. She’s like a polar bear!” She shook her head and continued. “I feel like my mother would be disappointed, even with all the Irish blood in me I can’t stand when it rains.” 

All the women laughed. The older blonde woman sidled up to Zephyr, winding an arm around the taller woman’s waist. She spoke again to Lena. “Welcome to Midvale, love. I’m Penance Adair, and this is my wife Zephyr Navine. Together, we run this bar and the club in the back.”

“The..?” 

Penance and Zephyr exchanged an excited glance, before the older of the pair waved them to the area behind the bar. Pressing a button under the counter, they watched as a section of the wall slid away, revealing a large room behind it. It looked just as warm and inviting as the main bar area, but there was a slight chill running through the air. 

Kara walked through the doorway behind the bar owners, turning back to hold out a hand to Lena, who was still on the other side. “Do you trust me?”

Without hesitation, her best friend slid her hand into her waiting one, rubbing her thumb along the back of it. “Always.” 

Kara pulled her through the opening and drew the younger woman toward herself. They weaved through scattered chairs and couches, until they arrived in front of a large row of windows. The thick, clear panes started close to the floor, ending a few metres from the ceiling.

“Woah…”

Kra nodded. “That’s what I said, when I first saw this.”

Before them lay a large, flat sheet of ice. It was divided into four lanes by black lines, and each end of the sheet had four large targets. Red lines cut perpendicular to the black ones, and behind the targets were angled rectangular blocks. There weren’t many people out on the ice; only one lane was occupied. Two groups of three faced off, all equipped with long-handled brooms. Judging from the scoreboard it looked like the yellow team was winning. From this far away, she couldn’t tell who the people were, but she thought they looked familiar.

Lena turned to her, eyes gleaming as her fingers pulled at the sleeves of the sweater she was wearing. “Curling?”

There was no stopping Kara’s bouncing now. “Yep! Back in high school I stumbled across this place. I met Zephyr and Penance and tried throwing a couple stones, because why not? I was already there. I loved it. Every year after that, during the winter months, whenever I was in town I’d drop in. Zephyr had a lot less grey hair when I first met her—Ow, hey!—but this place looks like nothing has changed since then.”

“Actually, we switched over to heavier rocks last year, but you weren’t here for me to tell you.” Zephyr’s tone was a lot like Eliza’s, gentle but firm. 

“Haha, yeah. I’m sorry I didn’t come last year. I was…going through it.” The blonde rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. “Lena made sure I wasn’t alone for the holidays, though.” A warm squeeze reminded her that she was still holding her best friend’s hand, and she shot a quick smile to the woman at her side. 

“Well you’re here now, and that’s what matters.” Penance breezed by, dropping a quick kiss on Kara’s cheek on her way to the stairs tucked into the far side of the room. “You should play a round or two! Now that there’s four pairs, there will be full teams.”

Zephyr raised her brows at the younger women, asking a silent question. Kara turned to Lena, who grinned maniacally. “I’m going to sweep the fuck out of this slick.”

“No, sheet.”

“No shit, what?”

“No, it’s called an ice sheet.” 

The black-haired woman rolled her eyes. “Bastard.” 

“Is that an Irish thing? My wife calls me that too.” The older blonde winked at Kara. 

“Better not let Penance hear that, or she’ll call you something worse. Swear words from the UK are on another level.” Lena spoke gravely, a melancholy smile on her lips. 

The sadness tugged at Kara’s heart, so much so that she felt compelled to lean over and engulf her shorter best friend in her arms. She whispered, “I’ll teach you some Kryptonian swear words later if you teach me Irish ones.”

“Deal.”

“Okay!” They broke the hug, and Kara made her way back to the front of the bar. “I’m going to grab the stuff, stay right here!” As she turned away, Zephyr’s next words stopped her in her tracks.

“Why don’t you just super-speed and be back before we can blink?”

Her lungs spasmed as she choked on nothing. Turning slowly around, she found the all-black clad woman standing with a blank face, hands tucked casually into the pockets of her slacks. Lena was also staring at the enigmatic bar owner, green eyes filled with worry.

“You know?”

Zephyr snorted. “Please, I’ve seen you fly across an ice sheet and throw a stone better than most Olympic players on your first try. And the thing you do with your arm when you take off? Plus the way you push off the ground? I’ve seen all of that for years at the hacks right behind me.”

The grey-haired woman pushed her clear-rimmed round glasses up as she continued. “You really need a disguise. Neither your face nor your voice changes in your other form! I’m surprised more people haven’t figured it out. I know you don’t need a helmet, but, shit. Maybe a mask? Worst civilian disguise I’ve seen since Clark Kent.” She shook her head. “For Kryptonians, you two sure can be stupid.”

Kara felt her jaw hanging open as her thoughts raced furiously. Alex was not going to be happy. Lena, on the other hand, apparently found all of this very amusing. She was doubled over and her shoulders were shaking. 

“Kara, you’re going to catch flies if you keep standing with your mouth open like that. Go get the bags, and show Lena the ropes. I’m going back out to the front. Holler if you need anything.” Zephyr spoke over her shoulder as she walked back through the doorway. 

Lena walked up to her, wiping away tears. “She made some good points.” 

“Whatever.” Kara scoffed lightly as she felt her cheeks heat up. “I’ll be right back.” 

———

Before Lena’s loose hair had time to settle, she was back with both bags in hand. “C’mon, this way.”

The stairwell Penance had gone up also had more stairs leading down to the curling sheet, which was on a lower level. At the bottom of the stairs was a strange brush contraption and a large, flat, white rectangle. 

“Do what I do.” With practised movements she ran her shoes through the brushes a few times, and then stepped on the sticky rectangle. “The ice needs to stay clean so nothing blocks the stones. Outside shoes are brushed, and some provide adhesive to step on, before you enter the playing field. It takes off as much dirt as possible, so less of it is tracked onto the ice.”

Lena nodded and copied Kara, leaning on the taller woman for balance. “Okay, ready.”

The cold air stiffened their backs reflexively, but the reporter could feel her shoulders loosen at the familiar sounds and smells. It was like going back in time to better days. She grinned as she set the bags down on a bench and pulled out two pairs of shoes. At a glance, they looked like regular Vans. She’d gone to great lengths to make them look like regular shoes. One look at the bottom, however, and it was clear these weren’t just any old shoes. 

Lena’s right shoe had several stainless steel circles embedded in the sole, and her left shoe was thick rubber the same height as the stainless steel. Kara’s shoes were the opposite. 

Lena whistled lowly as she turned over her pair in her hands. “Nice work, Ms. Danvers.” 

“Thank you, thank you. Go on, put ‘em on!”

They sat shoulder-to-shoulder on the bench, lacing their shoes up. In the midst of this, they didn’t notice the other people on the rink walking up to them. 

“Kara Danvers?” 

Her head flew up quickly, almost flinging her glasses off her face. She knew that voice! A stocky, dark-skinned woman smiled and waved, curling broom tucked under her right arm.

“Maren? Oh, hey, it is you!” Kara sprang off the bench, launching herself into the arms of her curling friend. “How’s the clan?” 

Maren laughed and tightened her arms around the taller woman. “The tribe’s great. We had 3 calves born this month, and we had a newcomer join us earlier this year. She stepped away, motioning toward the woman beside her. This woman was pale, pale as snow. She seemed rather timid, but an encouraging look from Maren and she stepped forward with an outstretched hand.

“Pleased to meet you, I’m Elsa, Mare’s girlfriend. I help her on the farm.” Elsa spoke quietly and precisely, but not in a rude way. 

Kara took it enthusiastically, giving it a firm shake. “Kara Danvers! Director of Photography at Catco Worldwide Media. The pleasure’s all mine.” 

Another woman came swaggering up to them, pulling down a neck gaiter that covered the lower half of your face. “Yo, Danvers. Who’s your girl?”

Both Kara and Lena blushed at the straightforward comment, the younger of the two recovering first. “Lena Luthor. I’m Kara’s best friend.” 

The woman raked her hand through short, dark hair, winking in a familiar way. “Danvers here was always a babe magnet, even in high school. You had the jocks and the theatre kids drooling after you, did you know that?”

Kara rolled her eyes and hugged the lithe woman. “Not another word, Emily. Did Alexi have to bail you out this year?”

“Nah, I realised that tossing molotovs at pig wagons accomplished close to nothing. I started focusing on mutual aid and workers unions. I’m in my last year of law school right now. But I do a little revolutionising on the side, too.” 

Alexi, a woman with fiery hair, shook her head wryly as she hugged Kara next. “I’ve been working on access to firearms and creating localised militia groups to look after communities. Em and I are working on legal open carry laws. A lot of work, but it’s good for us to stay busy. Oh, and we recently celebrated our fifth anniversary, which is hard to believe.”

“Aw, I’m happy to hear that, Lexi. You better invite me to the wedding, if it happens.”

The soldier smiled, leaning forward to leave a polite cheek kiss. “Without a doubt. You keep yourself and the missus out of trouble, now. We know everything.” As they pulled away from each other, a woman with goggles strapped to her head came up to her, pulling a muscular Asian woman by the hand.

“Kara! Kara! Guess what?” The half-Indian woman stopped so suddenly, the blonde was surprised that she didn’t hear screeching. Before she even had time to ask what’s up?, the woman told her cheerily, holding up her hand. “I got married! I didn’t think finding someone who was okay with my asexuality was possible, much less marriage. But it happened!! I have a wife! I am a wife!”

No wonder Parvati was so excited; they’d had long talks in between throws when they were younger about finding a partner who was okay with their aversion to sex. As fellow asexuals they often vented to each other. Looking at Parvati and the woman next to her, matching rings on their hands, made Kara’s chest warm. 

She looked forward to her time. She wasn’t sure of much, but she knew one thing for certain; she wanted Lena there at the wedding. 

“This is my wife Junlei. I met her when I was applying for engineering jobs around the country. I’m not saying that I picked the job so I could talk to her more… but, maybe?” She smiled bashfully at the tanned woman, who just rolled her eyes endearingly. “We’ve known each other three years, been dating two, and we finally eloped earlier this year!”

“I had a feeling. I’d say it was a dumb reason to base an entire career on a pretty woman, but I fell in love with you the moment you walked in, my shining star.” Junlei wrapped a broad arm around Parvati’s shoulders. “I’m glad we met.”

Kara smiled at the obviously smitten pair. “Aw, I’m happy for you both. I’m disappointed that I didn’t get to see you guys actually get married, but if you ever have a post-wedding celebration…I’ll definitely be there.”

“Only if you sing something.” Junlei winked. “I’ve heard from this one what a pretty voice you have, and I want to hear for myself.”

Lena chuckled warmly. “Believe me, it’s the best thing you’ll hear all day. I’ve had the pleasure of hearing it several times.” Green eyes looked at her endearingly.

Kara decided she liked when Lena looked at her like that. It made her want to hug her best friend and never let go.

Before she could do anything, though, Emily spoke again. “Alright kiddos, quit eye-fucking so we can play a game.”

Kara whipped her head around just in time to see a mischievous smile on Emily’s face. She stuck her tongue out, hoping the red on her cheeks wasn’t too obvious. “Hold on a moment, aren’t you going to introduce yourselves? Just quickly go around.”

Black eyes glittered like obsidian. “Fine, fine. Emily Kaldwin, anarchist extraordinaire. Queer as fuck and tired of the way everything’s going. As I told Danvers, I’m in law school. Labour law lawyer is the plan.”

“Alexi Mayhew, former Marine JAG Corps Second Lieutenant. Served for three and a half years before I saw the light. And by that, I mean I was Emily, sitting at a coffee shop reading The Conquest of Bread. We started talking, and now I’m pursuing the same career as her. I’m hoping to kick some coloniser ass, the best way we know how; next to my girlfriend.” The woman with red hair slipped a muscular arm around Emily’s shoulders. She was slightly taller, and Kara could just hear the banter between the two about height. 

“Maren Nattura, I own a farm up in the rural area of Midvale with Els.” The dark-haired woman tipped her head at the woman next to her.

“Elsa Oldenburg. I know my way around machines, and I love maths. I help Mare with the books.” Maren leaned over and kissed Elsa behind her ear, which made the snow-white haired woman’s face turn apple-red. 

Kara nodded. “True love is hidden in the actions.” Everyone hummed in agreement, and she could have sworn she heard Lena mutter boy, don’t I know it under her breath. 

(Was it Lena? 

Or was it her own mind, voicing what she knew to be true?)

Finally, Parvati spoke. “Oh my law? It’s Lena Luthor! Ms. Luthor, your inventions an’ papers you’ve released? They’re amazing. Me and Jun sometimes read over them before bed, they’re truly so smart. I’ve been followin’ your work for a bit, and I’m so honoured I get to meet you in person. Sorry, sorry, I’m talkin’ too much. Can I shake your hand, though?” 

Lena, who was clearly expecting a different response, rearranged her face as the words hit her brain. “Well, thank you for your kind words. I’ve always been a scientist and lab rat at heart, but I never got to show it as CEO of LCorp. Thankfully, I’ve stepped down from that role. I only lead the Lena Luthor Foundation now, and I’m working on making the Luthor name something good.” She stepped forward and offered a hand, which Parvati grasped with both of hers, pumping a couple times enthusiastically. 

Junlei clapped Lena on the shoulder lightly. Unlike Kara, this was a woman who knew her strength. And she supposed it helped that she was human. “If I may say so myself, Ms. Luthor, you’re doing some good work. I heard about the LGBTQ+ children and teens shelter you set up in National City. And my wife here forgot to introduce herself in her excitement, so I’ll do it for her. This firecracker,” She bopped Parvati on the nose, “is Parvati Holcomb, Head Mechanic under my direction. And I’m Junlei Tennyson, Director of the Aerospace Engineering department. We both work at NASA.” 

Eyebrows were raised. “Wow, look at you, Parv. You’re going places…maybe even space!” Kara fist-bumped the mechanic, who beamed proudly. Shaking her head, she smiled ruefully. “I’m sorry I haven’t kept in contact with you all. But I’m glad I brought Lena down here this year.” 

“Aw, how sweet. Now that we got all the icebreakers out of the way, can we play?” 

“Always so impatient, Kaldwin.” 

“Thank you, Danvers.”

Maren raised her hand. “Els and I can play with Kara and Lena. Does someone have a coin?” 

“I do. Okay, Kara, call it!” Alexi pulled a coin from her pocket, flicking it off her thumb, straight into the air.

“Tails.” 

Catching the coin, the lawyer opened her hand to show the coin to the group. “Heads. We’ve got the hammer!” 

Emily whooped, as Parvati and Junlei grinned. Everyone made their way back onto the ice sheet as Kara turned to Lena. “Here, wait.”

She pulled two floppy rubber slippers out of the duffel, handing one to the shorter woman. “This is called a gripper, or an anti-slider. Put this on your sliding foot, the one with the shiny stuff on the bottom.” There were several squeaking sounds in the following silence as they both put their grippers on. “When you’re not throwing a stone, you should always have the gripper on. That way, you don’t fall on your face.”

Next, she unzipped the long sports bag, pulling out two brooms. “And this is a curling broom, which we use to sweep stones to help them slide across the ice. While an ice sheet is perfectly level, if it was perfectly flat a stone wouldn’t slide very far. You’ll see what I mean when we get on the ice, but there are tiny bumps on the playing field. I promise I’ll explain. Ready?”

Lena nodded. 

“Okay, let’s go!”

They walked to the end of one of the lanes where Maren and Elsa were waiting. The other four women were huddled near the scoreboard, heads close together. At their feet were sixteen circular, grey, polished rocks. Eight had a yellow handle, eight had a red handle. 

Kara continued her lesson. “These are curling stones, or rocks. They weigh a lot, so don’t try to pick them up. Each team member gets two shots, or throws two of these stones every end, which is basically like an inning in baseball. The goal of the game is to score as many points as possible every end.” 

Lena nodded. “I assume that’s when the big bullseye comes into play.”

Maren grinned, shooting her a thumbs-up. “That’s right! It’s called the house, and the smallest circle in the centre is the button.” She gestured at where Elsa was pointing with her broom. “Only one team gets to win each end, and you do so by getting the stone as close to the button as possible. After the last stone is thrown, if there is a referee they will decide who gets the point. But usually, we just let the skips decide. After all, we’re not playing for the damn World Curling Federation.”

Kara laughed at Maren’s wit and continued. “Whichever team gets the point, they are awarded an additional point for every stone that lies closer to the button than their opponent’s stones. And whichever team doesn’t get the point, they get the hammer, which is an advantage. Having the hammer means you get to throw the very last stone of the end.”

“I can see why that would be advantageous.” Lena furrowed her brow. “So what is a skip?”

This time, Elsa took a turn at explaining. “The skip is the captain of the team. They’re usually the best player, and they call, or direct, all the shots. I say skipping is akin to playing chess sometimes, because you have to think ahead and predict what the other team will do. ”

“Then there’s the vice-skip, or the vice, or the mate. That’s the person who talks strategy with the skip, and when the skip throws their stones the vice holds the broom and calls the shot.” Maren smiled sneakily at the Luthor woman. “Your girl happens to be one hell of a skip, and Els makes a fantastic vice. Teams are referred to by the skip’s last name, so go Team Danvers!”

Kara scoffed, but she was touched nonetheless. “Thanks, Maren. But I think you can be skip today, so I can help Lena.” Tapping some stones with her broom, she lined up four of them. So the playing positions are usually: Lead, Second, Vice, Skip. You can switch them around if you want to, but most people just stick with the usual. Everything making sense so far?”

“Yes. But…what were you saying about the ice not being perfectly flat?”

Elsa perked up. “Oh, that’s a really awesome thing. So the surface of a sheet is pebbled, which means it has tiny little droplets of water scattered to make bumps. To make the pebbles, someone has to walk backwards across the ice with a pebbler, which is basically a showerhead. When someone throws a stone, the heat of the stone moving and the sweepers sweeping will melt the pebbles, providing a little water for the stone to slide on.” She bent down and demonstrated a quick sweep. “The speed and distance of the stone can be adjusted based on how hard the initial throw is, as well as how fast the stone is swept. All this falls to the discretion of the skip and vice.” 

Lena hummed appreciatively. “That’s so intriguing! I guess you could say it’s pretty cool, huh? Get it?” 

Everyone else groaned. 

“Awful, Lee.”

“You love me.” The brunette stuck her tongue out. 

“Well, yes. I wouldn’t explain the rules of curling to just anyone.” 

As Lena rolled her eyes, the other four women came up to them. “Ready to play?” 

“Yep. I’ll explain more to Lena as we go.” 

Everyone went around and shook hands, murmuring good game, before Emily slid across the ice. 

Junlei saw Lena’s bemused expression and gave a small smile. “Every game starts and ends with everyone shaking hands and saying ‘good game’. If curling is known for anything, it’s the good manners and good sportsmanship displayed on and off the ice.”

Maren kissed her girlfriend on the cheek and made her way to the other side of the lane. “See you soon, love.” 

Kara and Lena cooed at the public display of affection as Elsa blushed and looked away. Taking pity on her, the blonde pushed one of the stones in front of the  black rectangular blocks. 

“Oh, right! So this is a hack, which is kind of like those starting blocks that runners use to start a race. When throwing a stone, you push off the hack with your dominant foot, sliding on your non-dominant foot. You hold the broom in your non-dominant hand to balance yourself out, and obviously you throw with your dominant hand. I’ll play lead, so you can see what the throwing position looks like. Just know that you’ll be pushing off the opposite hack block, because you’re left-handed.” 

Readying herself behind the hack, she waited for Maren to place her broom. “While one person skips and one person throws, the other two sweep. Elsa, do you think you could—?”

The engineer nodded. “This way, Lena. I’ll show you how to sweep.”

At the skip’s signal, she approached the hack, taking a deep breath as she slid her left foot back and pushed forward. Curling the red-handled stone gently in a counter-clockwise direction, she held her breath as Elsa and Lena started sweeping. With yells of Clean! and Easy! Maren guided the stone perfectly into the Free-Guard Zone. With a nod, Kara waited for her to call the shot again before she sent another stone. 

“Aw, damn.” Even before she sent the stone, she knew it was going to be a bad throw. Her fears were confirmed when Maren called Off! and Die!. “Sorry, y’all! It’s been a minute.”

“No worries, Danvers! By all means, keep those throws up!” Emily hollered from the other side, who cackled when Kara threw a middle finger her way.

“Up yours, Kaldwin!”

“No thanks, I’ve got Lexi for that!”

“ Babe!”

“Sorry, sorry. Who’s next?”

———

“Lena, you’re up!” Slowly, Kara walked her through the posture, using her hands to place the younger woman’s hips and shoulders in the correct position. Her patient encouragement seemed to work well with the Luthor woman, and she threw both her stones past the far hog line. 

Everything enthusiastically congratulated Lena on her great shots; and so the game continued. After the final stone was thrown, everyone walked over to where the skips stood in order to regroup and see how the house looked. 

Parvati came sliding up alongside them. “D’you see how the yellow stone is closest to the centre? That means our team, the yellow team, gets the point. And since that other yellow stone is closer to the button than that red stone and the next stone closest to the button is red, our team gets two points. Hey, Jun, put us down for two points!”

The mechanic pulled out a weathered brown cahier journal with a pen clipped onto it from a chest pocket on the inside of her jumpsuit. 

“Hey! Numbnuts! Settle down so I can teach Lena how to keep score.” Junlei’s leadership skills were on full display, and Kara understood why she had the role she did. How she remained approachable yet respectable was impressive.

The engineer beckoned the young scientist over. “There’s two ways to keep score in curling. The first way is more approachable and accessible, used in international competitions and on television. In this method, you put the ends across the top, with the team names and the hammer indication on the far left. Total score goes on the right. The score for each end is noted this way, with zero for the team that didn’t score.”

“So basically, going back to the baseball metaphor, it’s like a baseball scoreboard.”

“Yep! Simple addition. And that’s why it’s good for televised or international events, it’s a fairly straightforward format.”

Lena hummed. “I can see that you are not keeping score like that.” 

“Well spotted. There’s another way that we prefer to use, and that’s putting the score in the middle. You see on the left side there’s a team above and below the score. The asterisk on our team is to indicate that we had the hammer in the first end.” 

Elsa came slinking up, poking her head between Lena and Junlei’s huddling shoulders. “Are you sure I can’t help explain?” 

“Alright, alright. Take it away, Oldenburg.” 

“Great, thanks.” Blue eyes shining, Elsa held her hand out for the notebook, which Junlei handed over without complaint. “So on the top here is our team, Team Nattura, and along the bottom is the other team, Team Kaldwin. The numbers you see on either side show the score advancing each end. 

For example, let’s say Team Kaldwin scored two points in the first end, and then Team Nattura scored one point in the second. This is why you see ‘1’ under score 2, and ‘2’ on top of score 1. Then, Team Kaldwin got three more points in end three, and another point in end four. You add three to two and get five, so you write ‘3’ under score 5. Add another point to make six, so ‘4’ goes under score 6.”

“I think I get it. So are there any benefits to doing it this way, rather than ends on top?”

“Yes, actually. When using this method, you still have the cumulative points being added up, and you have the added benefit of physically seeing how well both teams are doing at any given moment. This way allows you to see the pacing of each team, how well they’re doing end-by-end. Do they have a strong start? Or do they slowly build? This helps with understanding how your own team plays, as well as your opponents.”

Lena fell back on her heels, whistling lowly and nodding. “You’re good at this. Why don’t you keep the score?”

Alexi winked at the white-haired woman. “We’d let Elsa do the scorekeeping, but she cheats.”

“It was one time!” 

“It was definitely more than one time.” Alexi ducked as the other woman went to slap her shoulder.  

“This is why you got kicked out of the Marines!”

“Oh yeah? This is why your parents never loved you!” 

“Okay, let’s start the next end!” Maren rolled her eyes and clapped her hands to get the squabbling women’s attention. “Remember you need four players to make a team, so let’s not go hurting anybody.” 

“Yeah, at least wait until after the game.” Emily snickered. 

Maren glared at her. 

“I meeeaan, no hurting people, even after the game! Okay, next end. You guys have the hammer.” 

The next few ends went by at a fast clip, with Lena being a quick study. By the fifth end, she was throwing her stones confidently and on her own. Kara was relieved to see that she both seemed genuinely interested in the sport and seemed to be having fun. 

As they waited for the skips to deliberate the score at the end of the eighth end, Kara nudged Lena’s shoulder. “Enjoying yourself?” 

“Surprisingly, yes. I find it hard to believe that you did this every winter?” 

“The lead in the walls blocks the sound from outside the building, and trying to throw a stone within the bounds of the playing field when I was younger helped me understand my strength. Just like photography, it was a way to focus.”

Unexpectedly, Lena entered her personal space and pressed her lips to Kara’s cheek. It was a forward move, especially in public, for the young Luthor. The only thing she felt was right in response was a warm hug.

“Thank you for sharing this with me. I know it means a lot to you, and I hope you know you can trust this with me.” 

“I can trust anything with you, Lena Kieran Luthor.” What she really wanted to say was I love you , but something about the time and place felt wrong. Besides, she had their whole lives to tell her. She didn’t plan on waiting too long, but knowing her best friend Lena would appreciate the slower pace. 

“I trust you. And you can trust anything with me too, Miss Kara Zor-el Danvers. I mean, it’s not like I’m going to find anyone as warm as you. I stay around for the free space heater, obviously.” 

“Obviously.” 

They stood silently, wrapped around each other, as they watched the other women goof around. They stayed like that until Maren called them over, a wide grin on her face. 

“Guys! We got two points, so you’re up, Kara!”

———

The game ended with a very close score: 8-7 with Team Kaldwin as the victors. Everyone was in high spirits and congratulated Lena heartily. She had done well, especially considering that she’d never played before. 

Pink-nosed and ruddy-cheeked, the women migrated to the sitting area that overlooked the ice sheet. Each of the winners bought the losing team a drink (Hot chocolate spiked with peppermint schnapps, dark créme de cacao, and crème de menthe). It turned out that Penance had some flairtending skills. Drinks in hand, they scattered around the cosy room and shot the breeze. Parvati and Junlei were particularly interested in Penance’s talent, and stayed at the bar to ask some questions. 

“Elsa wasn’t kidding about the good sportsmanship, huh?” Lena sat to Kara’s right and Maren sat to her left at the small table, watching the women around them.

Maren shot a sappy smile at her girlfriend, who had stolen Alexi’s gripper and was waving it around while Emily filmed on her phone. “Nope. It’s one of the most polite games you’ll find. Despite the sport coming from Scotland, you’ll find it’s usually associated with Canada. Which might be where the stereotypes of Canadians come from.” 

“Does she regularly play wearing only a t-shirt and jeans? How is she not cold? ”

“She says, and I quote, ‘The cold doesn’t bother me anyway.’ Sometimes I wonder if I’m dating a robot. But it means I get to look at her arms, so I can’t complain.”

Kara and Lena fell over themselves in laughter. They could have stayed in this place for the rest of the day, but a quick glance at the watch on her wrist gave her a shock of reality. 

“Sorry guys, looks like Lee and I have to go. My sister and her wife are arriving at Eliza’s today, and I’d like to make it back in time to welcome her home.” 

A round of farewell’s and see-you-later’s ushered them through the spectating area and into the main bar room, where Zephyr and Penance were talking and holding hands by the fire. 

Lena dipped her head. “Thank you for opening up this place to us and being so hospitable, Ms. Navine and Ms. Adair. I really enjoyed my time here.” 

“Oh please love, it’s Penance and Zephyr. And it’s been a real delight havin’ you and the other pairs here. Why, it reminds me of Zeph and I in our younger years. There’s nothing like watching young love, in all forms.” Penance came forward and grasped both of Lena’s hands. “I didn’t say it when you first came in, but I’ve read a few of your papers and schematics you released to the public. I think they’re brilliant.”

The young Luthor blushed and grinned bashfully as Penance brought her hands up to her cheeks. “You’ll do well to keep that magnificent brain of yours working, yes?”

“Yes, Ms— Penance. I love tinkering! Oh, here’s my phone number if you ever want to discuss things.” Lena gratefully accepted a napkin and pen from grey-haired at the bar, scribbling madly. “It’s nice to talk to a fellow inventor.” 

“Now don’t be a stranger, girls. My wife and I could always use a friendly face. It was good having you visit, Kara. And Lena, even if you aren’t with Miss Super here, feel free to drop in. St. Rom’s started as a home for orphans and those who’ve lost their way, and I'd like to think we carry on that mission.” Grey eyes gleaming, Zephyr came around the front bar and engulfed them both in quick but warm hugs. 

“I was asking Kara when we first got here why it was called St. Romoulda’s.”

“It came with the building, in all honesty. You’d have to ask the previous owner, wherever she is. She disappeared after we got it from her. We kept the name because we felt it fit the vibe of the building, and makes it stand out.” Zephyr chuckled, adjusting her suspenders. “A lot of people come by thinking it’s a religious building of some sort, and are quite disappointed. We have a couple homeless folks every so often though, and obviously our loyal curling folks. It’s a refuge.”

Kara nodded to herself, musing on how safe she felt in this establishment. She had always gravitated towards this place as she explored the woods of Midvale. “Thank you, Zephyr and Penance. We have to get going now, Alex and Kelly are arriving soon. See you later.” 

Penance patted her cheek in a maternal fashion as they all walked to the door. “Take care, dearies. And have a happy Christmas!”

As they exited St. Romoulda’s, the woman next to her sighed happily and leaned into her shoulder, intertwining their fingers as they walked to the car. “I had a really nice time. Thank you, Kara.” 

“Anytime.” 

As they pulled away from the stalwart building, the last thing they saw were two people arm-in-arm at the doorway waving. 

(I want that love, Kara realised.

Little did she know, Lena was thinking the same thing.

(Little did they both know, they had it all along.))

———

“We’re home!” It only took a moment for Alex and Kelly to poke their heads out of the kitchen doorway. 

“Hey, squirt. Luthor, looking good!” Her older sister gave her an affectionate head noogie and hugged Lena warmly.

“I’m taller than you.”

“And I’m older than you, what’s your point?”

Before Kara could fire off a retort, Lena laid a hand on her forearm. She shut her mouth.

“Kara, Lena. Happy holidays. What did you two do all day?” Kelly followed her much louder wife into the living room, talking at a quieter volume. 

Eliza came out next, cradling a large mug and sporting a rather un-motherly smirk. Kara could hear her mutter under her breath, “Who needs cable when I have entertainment for free?” Eliza sat in an armchair and quietly watched the events unfold. Both her girls were grown, and she didn’t need to interfere in their spats anymore. Especially not with Lena and Kelly in her daughters’ lives.

Alex and Kelly balanced each other out in the best way possible. The normally subdued psychologist had truly come out of shell since she’d met Kara’s older sister, and Alex had a sense of balance and security about her now. Granted, she was still loud and brash at times, but it was less panic and more passion. The glittering rings were still relatively new, which still made both Danvers siblings giddy sometimes. 

From young teens who sobbed under their covers as they thought of never finding That Person to the young women they were now, Kara thought they had come pretty far. Alex had Kelly, Kara had Lena. She’d even told Alex and Eliza as much. For some reason, the older two women always smiled enigmatically at each other when she said that. 

“Kara took me curling and I met some of her friends. We played a game, had a drink, and came home.” 

“A drink ??”

Kara shrugged. “Yeah, the winners buy a drink for the losers. That’s how it works.”

“At three in the afternoon? I don’t even drink that early.”

“Shut up! They were hot chocolate peppermint cocktails. We’re more respectable than that.” The blonde flicked her older sister’s shoulder. 

Alex’s eyebrows rose. “Oh, are you implying I’m not respectable?”

“I dunno, it seemed pretty explicit.” 

“Ooh, the audacity—”

Kelly clapped her hands. “Okay! How about we wave that aggression for board games? I noticed you guys have Monopoly, Sorry, Ticket to Ride, Catan, and a deck of cards.” 

“Hm, maybe in an hour. I could use a nap.” 

“I’m a bit tuckered out as well. Curling was fun, but it sure took a lot out of me.” Lena yawned into Kara’s shoulder like a small kitten. 

The psychologist steered them to the stairs. “Have a good rest, the both of you.”

They stumbled into Kara and Alex’s bedroom, nearly tripping over the bags left on the floor. In between yawns, they shucked off their outer layers and changed into comfier bottoms, leaving them in simple shirts and sweatpants. 

Lena took one look at Alex’s bed and immediately crawled into the other one, right into Kara’s arms. She nosed her neck, leaving soft puffs of air in it with every breath. “Sleep well, darling.” 

“You too, Lee.”