Work Text:
With the foundation going so well, Lena expected to travel around a lot, what she didn’t expect were the visitations that accompanied it, sure they were followed by some sort of excuse, but after a while they were becoming flimsy at minimum. Luckily for her, she was back at National City for at least a few weeks, bare any emergencies, since Esme birthday was coming around she wanted to spend some time with her goddaughter and her friends and maybe figure out her living situation.
Ever since she left L-Corp, she has been claiming squatting rights in Kara’s loft, most of her stuff gathering dust in some storage deposit downtown. Kara at that point had been nothing but a good sport, when she came back from the phantom zone and found about it, she had honestly asked Lena to stay, after a heartbreaking conversation about being traumatized by the experience, after a week of going to sleep in couch and moving during the night to the bed to hold Kara after a nightmare, she had became officially cuddle buddies with the kryptonian. While the Witch had stood her ground and Kara had started some therapy, the sleeping in the same bed never stopped.
She was sitting in the couch replying to emails when the familiar woosh came through the window “Lena!”, in a instant she was being held by a buff Kryptonian “Oh, I’m smelly, fire in a warehouse in the port” she stopped the hug immediately “Kara, you need to stop super-ing in civilian clothes, by this rate you’ll run out of clothes before the end of the year”
Kara raised her shoulders and lowered her head “I know, I know, it’s just.. I was so excited to come home and see you, that I forgot my keyring with the switch in my office” She moved to the bathroom and Lena could hear the shower starting and ending in a minute. Lena decided to order some food “Kara, I’m ordering at Min, do you prefer going down to pick it or just having someone drop it here?” “Nah, I’ll go otherwise you never let me pay for dinner” The blond left the bathroom in a pair of sweatpants and t-shirt. “Too late for that, I convinced her and her son last time I was in town to take online payments, my assistant told me that they started it last week”
Not long after, there was a small mountain of take out sitting in the small coffee table. “Are you working tomorrow?” Lena asked between a bite of noodles “Yeah, gotta review some of the articles for the Monday issue, why and why do I feel like the tables have been inverted?” Kara looked lost for a second “Well, while the answer is the same, the who asks the question is inverted, I’m the one who usually works on Saturdays. I’m going to Alex’s tomorrow, apparently there is a school fair and Esme asked me to go with her, after there is soccer game near by.”
“While there is nothing more than I would like to do than being you geeking around and being great with Esme, I really need to go, maybe if I can get everything wrapped up before noon, I’ll catch up with you guys for lunch” Kara put her empty container in the coffee table and opened her arms, a silent invitation for some cuddling on the couch before moving to bed that Lena didn’t need to be asked twice “Now, I know for a fact that you went to the tower today after arriving in the morning, so Lena Luthor, how tired are you?”
“And I know for a fact that you didn’t go to the tower today, so Kara Danvers, are you monitoring me?”
While Lena would deny under interrogation, not even ten minutes later she was sound asleep, maybe she was tired, maybe she just missed her extraterrestrial pillow.
“You know, I was surprised when you didn’t show up with Kara this morning” Alex said while they watched Esme trout around an set of volcano experiments “She had a work thing this morning, we might catch lunch if you interested” Lena could be blind to a lot of things, mainly glasses and a ponytail, but she could see from a mile where this conversation was going, Kelly had confided in her that Alex had taken as a personal mission to figure out what was going on between Lena and her sister. “Esme might enjoy seeing her aunt, you know she has been bailing on sister night the last few weeks? And Sunday’s brunch, apparently crime in South America is rampant lately, I mean an month ago it was Europe, what’s next? Africa? Middle East?”
“I honestly think things might calm down for a while, she is just worried with the world knowing, that she needs to be more hands on her approach” While it wasn’t a complete lie, Kara was worried about the perception people had on her after the reveal, the destinations of her work happened to match wherever Lena was staying, some flooding in Italy when she was in Rome, skinheads gangs in Munich when she was in Berlin, a tourist drowning in Rio de Janeiro while she was in Sao Paulo, a dog lost in the snow in Bariloche while she attended a conference in Buenos Aires.
“A dog stranded in the snow, is a bit too much, even for Kara, Lena. Look I know you guys had your complications and stuff that most people are never able to move on from but you need to figure out this codependency thing of you guys” Alex pointed her thermos to Lena and gave a look that most people would find intimidating, but not Lena. Lena mind was in overdrive trying to figure out what to say without making obvious of her feelings for Kara and yet trying to make sound like what they do is completely normal but that got thrown out the window right away “ Hey guys!” Kara in her own glory was standing in obvious work clothes, while Esme ran straight to her aunt arms, Alex had an eyebrow raised that almost gave competition to Lena’s “aunty Lena said you were working” Esme asked the question in everyone minds “Well, I might have cheated a bit and used super speed to finish it earlier, how could I not spend the day with my favorite people?” Kara replied while setting the young girl in her arm on a better carrying position and throwing a shy smile to Lena, who came right away for a side hug from the blonde before the trio walked away somewhere Esme pointed
Alex had her phone in hand and called Kelly “honey, I need help, Kara is here, she and Lena are holding hands while carrying Esme around, they look like a fucking family with our daughter… Well apparently, she is able to make an exception when Lena and Esme are involved, but I’m willing to bet this has more to do with Lena than Esme.”
Weeks later, the whole superfamily was reunited a party venue for kids, there was a small group of kids from the school running around with Esme, Alex, Lena and Eliza were talking in a table, everyone else was scattered around while Kelly and Kara organized the cake for the ceremony “Do you think I can talk the owner into letting me rent the place for a few hours one day? Don’t take me wrong, but I’ll jump in that bouncy house at any minute but I know Lena would never and she is dying to try it” Kelly had years of experience as a therapist and it helped her keep a straight face “While I don’t know the owner since Lena arranged the place, I’m sure that if you talk to him he’ll let you guys come” She focused in the little inscription on the cake “So, Lena is traveling again this week, where is she going this time?” Talking about Lena was obvious to everyone but Lena, Kara’s favorite activity “She is going to Japan, there is a company there developing some technology to prevent mold growth and she want to meet them and maybe get to replicate the tech in other applications, she says its possible to use the same theory in a nano scale and help with some diseases” It was visible how much the super enjoyed talking about the witch, her whole face lighted up “And do you plan on visiting her there? I heard Japan this time of the year is lovely” Years of experience had taught Kelly that sometimes the direct approach was the best approach and seeing her sister-in-law blushing made her think about how humans and kryptonians were alike “I… I, why would I, I mean if I’m around the area for some reason, but why do you say that?” Kara was patting herself in the back in her mind for being able to turn the question around “I mean you recently have found yourself near whichever country Lena is, maybe this time you’ll find yourself taking on peace conversations between North and South Korea and with time to spare to have dinner with Lena” Kara visibly flinched at Kelly words “look, I didn’t mean to call you out, and I know people have been asking Supergirl to intervene in that situation for years, but I also know, and everyone for that matter, that Kara Danvers didn’t leave National City to rescue a tourist in Brazil or a pup in Argentina, those where just excuses to see her, you guys live together, sleep in the same bed and have distance anxiety, the only difference between you and Lena and Alex and I is that we were already dating when those things happened”
Kara at that point decided to sit in one of the chairs near by “What if she doesn’t want me to? We are in a good spot, I don’t think I can handle losing her again” “Oh sweetie! Don’t you think that maybe, if she didn’t want it, she would have found another place to live? Would she have allowed you to come over all the times in so many different countries? C’mon you can think about this later, now we have to cut the cake and sing happy birthday, I already have parents calling me to come pick up their children”
If Kara kept an arm around Lena while they sang happy birthday, none of the adults commented on it
“Alright, you sure you don’t want me to take you to the airport” Kara was sitting in the couch while Lena finished preparing her handbag “No, darling that won’t be necessary, the driver is downstairs and the plane will departure only when I arrive there” There had been a burst pipe in the freeway during the day and traffic had been chaotic in the city the whole day “You stay here and use the time to rest, I’m sure you’ll have plenty to do without having to worry about this” That pushed the blonde to stand up and hug “I’ll worry as much as I can, I’m not the one flying on metal deathtrap all the way across the globe, gotta make sure you’re okay” she mumbled in the brunette hair, inhaling the scent “First, not all of us have the ability to fly ourselves anywhere in the world, second, I’m not actually flying across the globe, just across the pacific and the international date line, while timezones will tell you I’m 17 hours ahead, I’ll be airborne for 10 hours only, I’ll be arriving at my hotel when you finish morning patrol, third have you seen my earbuds? I have no idea where they are” Lena dropped her arms expecting Kara to break the hug but only got stare as reply, an unreadable stare of all “second drawer in my bedside table you forgot them this morning and I put them to charge” Kara replied after a minute and dropped her arms, shoving her hands in the pockets of her sweater while Lena ran to the bedroom “So I really need to go now, don’t forget to put the laundry out in the morning, use your supersuit, be careful, I’ll see you… soon, going to call you when I arrive at the hotel” she said while making a mental check list of her items, her luggage was in car already, her backpack was filled with her electronics and her purse had an amenities bag and a change of clothes in case she had to hit the ground running. The pause on her speech was noticed by Kara who prayed that Lena didn’t notice her blush “You too, be careful, I mean, and if you need me I’m watch away? Ok? Love you” she said the last part quietly more for herself than to Lena “love you too” she heard as the front door closed and that was the moment her headache started
It was close to 3 am when she felt asleep, computer open in the tracking website that showed Lena’s flight, while she trusted that Lena would use her watch in case of emergency, Kara always kept an eye on the website when she traveled out of the country just to be sure, when her alarm rang the next morning, the map showed the flight nearing Tokyo airport, which meant that it was patrol time, since she wanted to be home for the witch’s call (she always called, no matter the hour she arrived, or the hour it was in National City), spring was just starting blossom in the city and nothing in the city seemed too out of ordinary that needed super intervention. She arrived at home and took a quick shower and sat in the bed that was still made from the morning before waiting for the call that didn’t take long
“Good morning, how is the city doing?” the small joke is that they never asked trivial questions in those calls since the answer was always the same the trip sucked since Lena hated flying and never slept a wink in those, preferring to work, Kara usually had slept terrible as well since she didn’t have Lena near, the hotel was usually a major brand one and those didn’t change a lot from city to city, the only thing that changed was the news “Freeway still with two lanes unusable, there was a bus accident earlier, no causalities but lots of traffic near the port. Can I come over?” Kara didn’t realize what she had said until the words were out in the air “Wait, you know I’m 17 hours away right? It’s like 1 am here Kara. Where are you?” Kara rubbed her face with her hand, now or never “I’m home, National City, but I want to see you, I want to sleep with you, I mean not like that, I not now at least and not if you don’t want me to…” “Come, I’ll text you the address” Lena reply stopped whatever rambling Kara was starting, and she jumped to action, grabbing a winter jacket she used for long distance flights and her shoes, not even 2 minutes she was texting Ms Grant, explaining that something of major importance had came up and she would be unable to come this morning to work and set her Supergirl availability to high level emergencies only.
Exact 28 minutes later she was arriving at the Hyatt in Tokyo to the only window in the whole building open at such hours she didn’t say any words when she got inside the room choosing to just straight up hug Lena, who was wearing Kara’s old college sweater and sleeping shorts “You really came” was the first words uttered after the phone call “No excuses this time, I can’t sleep without you anymore and I can’t go on without telling you, Lena Luthor I love you, I love sitting in our couch and feeling you fall asleep in chest after a long day, I love hearing you mumbling in your sleep after a stressful day, I love that you put my phone to charge when you get up in the middle of the night to pee because you drink too much water and I always forget to plug it in. I love that you claim to hate my coffee but is always stealing sips of it, I love that you already have three college funds prepared for Esme, that you melt everytime she asks Alex or Kelly to call you and talk to you about whatever is going on at school, or when Nia goes to you for advice. I love how you and Brainy have this weird siblings relationship and you help him with his emotions and he helps you with yours. I love when you wear dresses, suits, but most specially when you are wearing my clothes, I love when you talk science, whatever videogame you’re playing in your computer, I love when you know exactly what to order for dinner, how your pancakes are always a bit burn on one of the sides but somehow always taste great. I love you too much, Lena, I wish I could explain but I want to spend the rest of my days with you, I want to travel across the globe just to cuddle with you, and right now I really want to kiss you”
“Oh Kara” Lena was silently crying “I love you too, you idiot, come here” Lena’s lips tasted salty from the tears, but so soft, and Kara imagined herself getting lost in them, but knew the time and place would come “C’mon, you need sleep and I need my cuddle bud”
As usual Lena was asleep in minutes, head resting on Kara’s chest who laid there playing with a strand of brown hair, bare a world ending situation nothing would make her leave Japan without Lena