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After weeks of begging and trying to convince Esme's moms to finally say yes, Kara and Esme were finally successful. They got permission to go to the fortress of solitude and train Esme's powers there. Kara picked Esme up in the early morning hours, both of them really excited about training somewhere other than the tower and about getting to spend the day together. Kara had been embracing her new role as auntie Kara and co-godmother of Esme and was excited about showing the young girl a part of her history. When they left the house, a very overly-protective Alex was calling after Kara to be responsible and to make sure Esme would wear her winter coat. Kara and Esme just grinned at each other. They were going to have a blast.
They took the bus to a quieter, less populated part of town, where they snuck into an alley. There Esme climbed on Kara's back, just like they did whenever Kara would give her a piggyback ride, and with a final glance around the alley, to make sure no one saw them, they took off.
Esme shrieked with excitement. "Up, up and away!!"
When they got to the fortress, Esme was stunned at how beautiful it was, she couldn't contain her excitement, and Kara was proudly telling her goddaughter about Krypton. After Esme had taken everything in, they got to training.
"We will try flying again today. I know it didn't go too well last time, but I've got you, and I promise that it'll be so worth it once you master it!" Kara started.
Esme had expressed the desire to learn how to fly very early on in their training, however when they tried flying, she had been struggling with smooth transitions between flying and landing, which resulted in a lot of collisions with numerous walls. She never got seriously hurt, because she was indestructible when she was around her aunt, but her moms still asked them to press pause on their flight training for now, until Esme had grasped a better understanding of her powers.
"Really?? I thought my moms said I needed to wait??" Esme exclaimed in a high-pitched voice.
"They said you had done very well at school and with your training, and you have shown a lot of strength and restraint, and they want to reward you for it. They think you might have an easier time learning it here at the fortress, because it's larger than the tower's training room." Esme ran into Kara's arms, cheering loudly. Kara grinned from one ear to the other.
They started training. Slow at first, mastering the basics, before moving on to anything else. Kara wasn't going to rush it like last time. The first hour was all about floating just above the ground and holding your position for as long as possible. After Esme got the hang of it, they started bouncing up and down in the air. And later yet, they tried some short-distance flying. A few hours had passed, and Esme was getting more and more secure and confident in her flying abilities (she had only knocked into a single wall!). Kara was about to propose to go for a test-flight outdoors, when both of their stomachs let out a loud rumbling at the same time. They burst into laughter.
"What do you think we take a break first, bud? I brought grilled-cheese sandwiches." Kara grinned.
Esme's eyes lit up. "I LOVE grilled-cheese sandwiches!"
Kara laughed warmly. "Alright then, let's get you into that jacket of yours, before I get in trouble with your moms!"
They put on their jackets and made their way outside, they were gonna sit and enjoy the view for a bit, before continuing their training.
Meanwhile, inside the fortress, there was a beam of purple light, when a portal opened. Through it stepped Lena Luthor, wearing a fashionable winter coat and carrying books in one hand, and a steaming thermos in the other. She had a slight smile on her lips, like she always did, whenever she came here the past few weeks. It used to be a place that brought her pain, but ever since she started coming here to learn about Krypton, things had changed. She felt like she could let her walls down about the last secret, she was keeping, when she accessed the interactive database of the fortress to talk to Kara's ancestors. She had figured out early on, that if she told the computer to keep something confidential (like perhaps once feelings for a certain best friend) then the database would treat that information classified. With that knowledge, she didn't have to fear anyone (particulary Kara) finding out about what she was doing at the fortress. A couple of weeks ago, when she had finally worked up the courage, she asked to speak to the hologram of Kara's mother, Alura. She wasn't even sure what she was hoping to get out of the conversation, but she wanted to get to know the woman who helped shape Kara and who Kara talks so highly of. Alura's hologram actually figured out how Lena felt about Kara rather quickly into their conversation, which frightened Lena. But Kara's mom told her they would make a beautiful couple, which Lena took as her blessing and an encouragement, not to give up hope that Kara might feel the same.
The past few weeks - ever since the Dansen wedding - she had been coming here to improve her knowledge of the Kryptonian language - Kryptonese. She had started getting acquainted with the basics of the language when she set up the Lena Luthor Protocol at the fortress. But now she was going deeper, she wanted to get a full understanding of the language and she wanted to surprise Kara with it, in hopes to impress her - which was kind of embarassing. She was Lena Luthor, she didn't go around trying to impress people. And even if she did, she knew Kara wouldn't ask that of her. But Lena needed a grand gesture - as cliché and cringy as that sounded. She sometimes couldn't believe how much she had changed in the past year. A year ago, no one could have ever known, that she was willing to do all this and more for someone, anyone. Now she just wanted to do whatever necessary to make her best friend understand, that she was more than just a best friend to her.
She sat up her books and thermos on the interactive computer database of the fortress. She started by opening the hologram of a Kryptonian professor, with whom she had been studying the language. Without her, Lena would have never gotten the pronunciation for half of her new vocab right. They exchanged a quick greeting, before the professor started quizzing her on the newest words and grammar structures.
Once they were done with the excerises, the professor looked at Lena with a pleased look. "You are getting better every day, Lena. Soon there won't be anything more I can help you with." She paused for a moment, before continuing with a compassionate tone. "You're getting closer each day to being ready to talk to Kara. Have you decided how you're going to tell her? I remember you were still having second thoughts, the last time we talked."
Lena smiled nervously. "I haven't decided. It's just... What if this is a really terrible idea?" She started pacing back and forth, in front of the computer. "I have never done anything like this before and... I'm just... really worried she won't feel the same way and I will make a fool out of myself. I just don't want to fall back into old patterns, because I get scared or humiliated, but if she doesn't feel the same way... I don't know how well I will handle that." She took a deep breath, collecting herself.
The professor watched her with a slight smile on her lips. "That's how you know it's real, Lena. Don't be scared of your heart."
Lena had tears in her eyes. "Thank you!"
The professor nodded encouraging. "Alright, now who wants to learn about time meassurments in Kryptonese."
Lena beamed with excitement and they got to work.
"...so as you can see, a lot of the time the plural version is formed simply by adding an 'o' at the end. Now, do you think you can repeat what you've just learned?", asked the professor after finishing her lecture.
"Yes, so a thrib is equivilant to an earth second, a dendar is a Kryptonian "minute" and consists of 100 thribo, a Kryptonian "hour" is called wolu and is made up of either 100 dendaro or 10,000 thribo. And lastly, ten woluo create one zetyar, which is a Kryptonian day. Meaning, if my math is correct, your days are longer compared to Earth's 24-hour days."
The professor clapped her hands together. "Nicely done! You really know your way around numbers. I think we can move on to the next topic right away, you seem to have this one covered. I want you to get familiar with the culture of Krypton, too. Its art, entertainment, foods, history."
While Lena sipped some of her hot tea, from the thermos, she listened closely to the professors descriptions of Krypton's cuisine and traditional dishes and how some of their most popular dishes were actually inspired by Daxam's cuisine, but most Kryptonians would never admit that. After Lena had learned about these dishes, they practised her pronunciation. Lena was in the middle of repeatingly and alternately with the professor saying "Twellian", when she heard an excited voice yell out from the entrance of the fortress. "...heat-vision next? Please! I promise I'll be responsible!!" Lena let out a Kryptonian cussword, while frantically trying to turn off the hologram, which was still trying to get her to pronounce "Twellian" correctly.
Kara and Esme had just entered the fortress after their break, when Kara heard voices from the direction of the computer database. "We're not alone. Esme, hide!! Quick!!"
Esme ran into the opposite direction of the voices, while Kara started making her way towards the interactive computer database. She snuck around some crystals, and was able to make out a moving shadow standing over the database, pressing buttons hastily. She could hear a hologram talking in Kryptonian, repeating the word "Twellian" which was the name of a native Kryptonian fruit. Very confused, and with her guard up, she left the cover of the crystals and stepped out into the room. Kara finally got a good luck at the intruder, who ultimately managed to turn off the hologram and it was... It was Lena!
"Lena?? Oh, thank Rao! I thought there was an intruder. What on earth are you doing here?? You scared me half to death...."
Lena whirled around, looking caught in the act, face flushed. "I - "
Kara could hear Lena's heart racing and saw her fidgetting with her hands. Kara came closer, a worried crease forming between her brows.
"Lena, what's wrong? Why are you here?" she steadied Lena's shoulders with her hands.
Lena looked embarassed and avoided eye-contact, when she finally muttered "I... sometimes... come here to study Kryptonese ..."
Kara let go of her shoulders and laughed. "What do you need to know Kryptonese for? If you need to translate something I can help you with that."
Lena felt the humiliation rising in her body. She turned away from Kara and stammered. "It was silly anyway. Just forget about it, Kara."
Kara was getting seriously worried now and stepped closer, to stand right behind Lena. "Lena, what's going on? Why are you learning Kryptonese? Talk to me, please."
Lena shook her head slightly and managed. "It's nothing, Kara. It's fine."
Kara gently put her hand on Lena's shoulder and turned her around, so they were facing each other. She placed both of her hands on Lena's shoulders again. "Look, I don't know why this is so difficult for you, but I promise it's okay."
Lena's still deep red face took on a weak expression. "I was... I wanted to surprise you."
Kara was confused.
Lena continued, "I thought it would be..." she looked away, tears collecting in her eyes.
"You thought it would be what?" Kara asked softly.
"This was such a stupid idea..." Lena said in a low, embarrassed voice.
Kara stepped closer, their faces only a few inches apart. Kara asked again, tenderly. "You thought it would be...?"
Lena looked up into Kara's eyes, tears in her own. One tear rolled over her face and fell to the floor. "I thought it would be a... romantic gesture..."
She immediately looked away again, feeling humiliated and exposed.
Kara shackily took a breath. "Oh, Lena..."
Lena took a step back, shacking off Kara's hands on her shoulders. "You don't have to say anything, Kara. I know it was silly. I think I just want to be alone right now..."
She turned away again, tears of humiliation streaming down her face. Kara stepped around her to face her again, tears in her own eyes now. Lena wanted to turn away again, but Kara reached out, cupping Lena's face with her hands.
While she wiped Lena's tears away with her thumb, she stepped closer, their faces almost touching and whispered. "It isn't silly. It is romantic, Lena."
Lena looked at her in disbelief, but before she could say anything, Kara's lips were already on hers. She let out a whimper of surprise, before leaning into the kiss. It started out hesitantly and soft, and progressed into a passionate and deep kiss. Lena's hands found the small of Kara's back and pulled her closer, which made Kara gasp. They could taste the salt of tears.
When they broke apart, resting their foreheads against each other, the air was filled with longing and angst.
"I have been waiting so long to do that." Kara said.
Lena breathed. "I didn't know if you felt the same way..."
"Lena, of course I do, but I thought I had ruined all my chances by not telling you I was Supergirl sooner."
Lena pressed their lips together once more. "Don't worry, you didn't ruin your chances."
After a moment, Kara grinned teasingly. "So... you learned Kryptonese for me, huh?"
Lena couldn't help but laugh, and jokingly punched Kara's arm. "Well, it worked... didn't it?"
Before either of them could say anything else, they heard clapping and cheering from above. When they looked up, Esme was floating a few feet above them in the air, an adorable grin on her face. "Finale! We have ALL been waiting!"