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Kara leant against her kitchen counter, a mug in one hand and her head resting in the other as she hunched over her tablet, skimming her own article that had come out that very morning. Kara wondered if reading her own work was the equivalency of googling herself.
Though she had been reporting at CatCo for a long while now, Kara still felt that rush of excitement and apprehension when something of hers was published, as large or as small as it may be.
It was a Wednesday morning but Kara had taken the day off. She’d had few rogue hours of holiday left that needed to be taken and with Lena due to be away that weekend Kara had opted to take a day off during the week rather than spend a long weekend by herself.
Joyfully her day was empty with an air of opportunity. She’d started with a lay in, a long shower, and now enjoyed reading mundane news while she drank her coffee in peace and quiet. Lena was busy at work but had promised to leave early so that they might have some quality time together during the day as a busy week surrounded them.
Once her coffee was finished Kara went and dressed properly, taking her time to muse over what to wear and where she might go after she did so. She donned jeans and an old sweatshirt, further hammering in to herself that is was her day.
A rather frantic knock suddenly came at the door, shaking Kara from her daydreaming. She went to grab her glasses, looking through the door as she did to see who it was. The glasses went forgotten as Kara recognised the awkwardly hunched shape of her sister with two small forms dangling from her.
‘KARA!!’ her name was screamed in unison as Kara opened the door to reveal Alex’s stressed face and the obvious reason why as two children flung themselves into Kara’s arms.
‘Hiii,’ she stammered, unable to hide her surprise at the sudden appearance of her niece and nephew, ‘why?’
In one arm she held up Hector, an erratic ball of curly brown hair and dimpled cheeks. In the other was Ellie, the younger of the two, whom had inherited more curiosity than the famously killed cat.
Alex gave her a slightly crazed look as she began to speak through a gritted grin, ‘it’s an inset day, in the middle of the fudging week, an inset day that we forgot about and now mummy absolutely has to go to work while other mummy left at 6am this morning to answer a domestic disturbance call,’ she hissed, placing a large bag onto Kara’s shoulder.
‘Breathe, Alex,’ Kara smiled, letting down the children to gently taking Alex’s shoulders.
‘I couldn’t get a sitter, Maggie doesn’t know when she’ll get away from work, I really need to get to a meeting at the DEO and our mother refuses to move to National city and provide me with free child care like a good grandmother- is that coffee?’ Alex swept through the kitchen towards the half empty carafe.
‘It’s okay, Alex, I can handle this,’ Kara reassured understanding what Alex hadn’t yet said while mourning her quiet day off in the back of her mind. As much as she loved the children, caring for a two and three year old wasn’t her idea of a relaxing day off.
‘Can you really?’ Visible relief washed over Alex as she drank straight from the carafe and put it back.
Kara forced herself not to comment as she nodded a tight lip smile, ‘mhm!’
‘My whole day is unknown, I’ll text you as soon as I get off work, if it gets too much just-’
‘Alex,’ Kara interrupted, putting an end to her sister’s stressed ramblings. ‘I’m an adult, I can handle my own niece and nephew… Also Lena will be over this afternoon.’
‘You really are a superhero,’ Alex pressed a kiss to her cheek before swopping down on the two children whom had been running around their legs. ‘Behave, do you hear? Hector, I mean it,’ she told them sternly before pressing hurried kisses all over their faces. ‘I love you both. And I love you, Kara.’
‘I know, get out of here.’
With one last round of kisses Alex flew out of the door, leaving the three of them to stand silently for a moment looking at one another.
‘What are the chance you two want to sit and read books all day?’ Kara asked hopefully.
**
Many considered Supergirl a god on Earth, all powerful beyond control, greater than any human could hope to achieve. It was a belief that Kara leant on without truly believing herself as to spur her into many dangerous situations to be the hero she was.
However, no matter how inhumanly fast she was, Hector Danvers was somehow even faster as he sprinted around the apartment with a crayon to the wall while Kara attempted to catch him.
They’d started off well with Kara looking out a few odd toys she had for them in the apartment to keep them quiet. That had last ten minutes. After that had come the Q&A session every reporter dreamed to have with her about her powers and the extent of her abilities.
‘Can you lift a car?’ asked Hector.
‘Yep!’
‘A train?!’ he asked again.
‘Absolutely!’
‘A pink dog?!’
‘…yes?’
‘Wow.’
Next had come colouring in. Ellie loved this and was keen for Kara to sit and watch her as she expertly drew circle after circle and coloured them in. When Hector finally joined them the clock was ticking towards lunch time so Kara explored the provisions Alex had left her with. However, it was in the brief moment that she turned her back did the crayons begin to go array.
‘Rao, dammit,’ Kara hissed, successfully grabbing Hector by the ankle and lifting him up in a fit of giggles. ‘Got you, you terror.’
‘Lift me!’ Ellie cried, running over to them and throwing out her foot. Kara grinned, picking her up too and dangling the two of them a little off the ground. They squealed in delight, trying to wriggle free but Kara held them without fault.
When lunch finally rolled around a little calm finally descended. Alex had left them both with prepared lunches which Kara added a few crisps to as a treat. After the children had eaten they both lay down for a nap, providing Kara with a much needed break and a chance to eat something herself.
Several check in text had come from Alex as well as one from Lena letting her know she’d be over in half an hour or so. Kara leant against the kitchen counter, smiling at the little ones collapsed on the sofa. It was hard to believe something so small could contain so much energy.
She texted Lena back, letting her know about Hector and Ellie before wolfing down the rest of her lunch, fearing they might wake back up any second. She cleared away the plates and scowled at the crayon on the wall, wondering in the back of her mind how to get it off once the day was over.
Checking Hector and Ellie were still asleep, Kara padded off into the bedroom to give it a quick tidy before Lena came over. Once things were a little more shipshape she came back out into the sitting room only to find the sofa empty and neither child to be seen.
‘Kids?’ she called, looking around. Two stifled giggles followed as Kara turned towards the kitchen. As quietly as she could she tiptoed over to the counter. ‘Gotcha!’
Hector and Ellie let out playful screams, the two of them covered in crayon having been drawing on each other’s faces hidden behind the island. ‘Rao, why,’ Kara complained as she bent down to take the crayons.
‘Run!’ Hector cried, taking off from his spot before Kara could take the crayon.
‘No, not this again!’
The two of them darted in opposite directions with Kara hot on Hector’s trail, nabbing him from behind and holding him in one arm. He let out of roar of laughter and he wiggled to be free.
Kara turned her attention to Ellie, looking around for where she was hiding. She spotted a pair of little feet beneath the dining table and walked towards it. Hector took her moment of distraction to draw on Kara’s face with his crayon, earning an annoyed “gah!” as Kara held him at arm’s length in the air.
‘Come here, you monster,’ Kara threatened, lifting up the table to surprise Ellie who let out an excited shriek to have been found.
It was to the sound of manic, childish laughter that Lena walked into the apartment, eyes wide and mouth gaping as Kara lifted up the dining room table to reveal Ellie beneath it covered in crayon while Hector fought to free himself from her other hand still suspending him in the air.
‘Kara!’ Lena shouted, bring the ruckus to an instant halt.
‘Uh oh,’ Ellie whispered.
‘Lena,’ Kara grinned before glancing at both table and Hector still aloft in her hands, ‘it’s not what it looks like.’
Within five minutes, several stern looks and a scrub down for all three of them, Lena restored order to the apartment. She had removed Hector from Kara and herded all three of them into the small bathroom and taken a wet cloth to each of their faces, rolling her eyes constantly at their sheepish faces.
Once everyone was clean they piled back out of the apartment to hover in the sitting room, Hector and Ellie returning to their colouring under Lena’s watchful gaze as she hissed at Kara, ‘how is it possible for you to be bested by near babies?’ she asked, a perfect brow arched.
Kara rubbed the back of her neck as she fought the embarrassed flush threatening to take over her cheeks. ‘One minute they were asleep and the next it was anarchy. I don’t look after them on my own very much,’ she mumbled. Lena shook her head bemusedly before pressing a kiss to Kara’s cheek.
‘Ewww,’ Hector and Ellie said in chorus, giggling when they received identical glares.
‘Zip it,’ Kara pointed a finger at them, smiling.
‘If we can all keep our hats on perhaps we can have some organised fun?’ Lena said, receiving nods from all three of them.
With Ellie, Hector and Kara all seated on stools around the island counter, Lena got to work. ‘Have you all seen lava lamps before?’ she asked, gaining only one yes from Kara. ‘Well lava lamps are created through a chemical reaction, something that is easily created at home.’
‘Science,’ Hector observed with a profound nod.
‘Yes, science,’ Lena smiled as she retrieved several glasses and some vegetable oil from Kara’s cupboards, as well as some food colouring. ‘If we combine a cup of water and vegetable oil,’ she poured both into the glasses, ‘and mix it with some food colouring, we can create our very own lava lamps.’
‘How?’ Ellie asked, leaning low against the counter to watch with in interest as Lena added several different colours of food colouring.
‘By putting into our concoction some acetylsalicylic acid,’ Lena rummaged through her purse for a moment before producing a box of aspirin, ‘or our closest thing to it. Darling, would you dim the lights?’
Kara zipped around the room in a blink, shutting the curtains and turning off the lights so that they now sat in near darkness. The three Danvers eagerly awaited something to happen as Lena fiddled with the torch on her phone.
‘Ready?’ she said, holding two aspirins in either hand to drop into the glasses.
‘Ready!’ Ellie replied for them all, leaning as close as she could.
Lena flicked on her phone torch beneath the glasses to illuminate them before dropping in the aspirin. The tablets sunk into the coloured oil sitting at the bottom of the glasses and instantly began to fizz in the liquid, churning gloopy bubbles up out of the oil to rise to the top of the water and slowly fall back down.
A chorus of “oo’s” and “aaah’s” followed this display as Ellie and Hector clapped excitedly. ‘How?!’ Hector exclaimed, trying to put his finger in the glass.
‘Acetylsalicylic acid and water when mixed together create carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is lighter than the water and oil so bubbles,’ Lena pointed to the still bubbling liquid, ‘the food colouring helps you see those oily bubbles which make it both fun and educational.’
Kara snorted, shaking her head. ‘Very good, Professor Luthor,’ she grinned. Lena stuck her tongue out at her before continuing to the watch the children warmly as they excitedly swirled the water around to disturb the ascending bubbles.
Kara slipped off of her stool to go around the island and place a quick kiss to Lena’s lips. ‘You’re cute when you get nerdy,’ she whispered in her ear.
‘Shush,’ Lena chided, playfully pushing Kara away.
The rest of the afternoon was spent creating more organised fun through Lena’s guiding hand. She showed the children several more kitchen experiments while Kara attempted to remove the crayon from the walls.
By tea time they all shared sandwiches before Kara retreated to the sofa with Hector and Ellie nestled either side of her as she read them a book. Lena cleared up the kitchen, watching the trio with a growing yearn in her stomach.
Alex finally reappeared around six, the stress she’d been laden with that morning gone as she excitedly greeted her children whom both ran into her arms as she came through the door.
Kara trotted over to wrap an arm around Lena as they watched the sweet scene. ‘Did you guys have fun?’ Alex asked, picking them both up.
‘It was amazing!’ Hector grinned. ‘Lena showed us how to make lava!’
‘Really?’ Alex gasped theatrically.
‘We come back tomorrow?’ Ellie asked.
‘We’ll see,’ Alex replied, setting them both back down, ‘go get your things.’ While the two of them grabbed their coats and shoes Alex walked over to Kara and Lena, a grateful expression on her face as she hugged them both. ‘Thank you both so much for this.’
‘Our pleasure,’ Lena replied, smiling sincerely.
‘Were they much trouble?’
‘Nope,’ Kara shrugged, ‘told you I could handle it. I am Supergirl, after all. Plus, Lena and I make a good team.’
Lena stifled a laugh into a cough, smirking at Kara whom maintained a confident smile. Alex thanked them both again before ushering the children into saying their goodbyes. Kara and Lena hugged each other them, both oddly feeling sorry to see them go even after chaos they’d endured mere hour ago.
‘We’ll see you soon,’ Alex waved at them, ‘lots of love!’
‘Bye,’ Kara called after them, shutting the door with a sigh and running her finger through her hair. ‘That went well!’
‘Indeed, darling,’ Lena smiled, padding over to wrap her arms around Kara. ‘I bet you’ll make a great mum one day.’
‘You too, even with all the organised fun,’ Kara grinned. Lena swatted her thigh.
‘Laugh all you like, my games didn’t get crayon on the walls,’ she shot back, walking off towards the bathroom.
‘Where are you going?’ Kara asked.
‘I have one last science experiment I want to try.’
‘Oh?’
Lena paused at the door frame to look back at Kara over her shoulder. ‘Mhm, all we need is some hot water. Would you like to help me?’
‘You really do make science come alive.’