Chapter Text
Say what you will about the benefits of magic, but Lena hates being a witch. She’s glad that she was able to use it to help everyone defeat Nyxly and Lex, but now that they’re gone – knock on wood – she can’t wait to get back to her normal routine of never doing magic again. Like, ever.
In fact, she’s decided to jump-start the process. After Alex and Kelly’s wedding last week, the tower has been completely deserted, which means it’s the perfect time for Lena to get some un-interrupted work done. She knows Kara already has three anti-kryptonite suits, but she’s learned so much since that first one nearly three years ago and she’s sure she can improve. She’s been trying to make it so that this next one is fully protective without needing a helmet; she knows Kara is claustrophobic, and Lena will do everything in her power to make sure Kara is never uncomfortable. Sometimes things not in her power, too.
Really, can you blame her? Kara is bright and golden and perfect, and it’s only fair that she gets whatever she wants. Not only has she saved the world multiple times, but she does it with a smile on her face, always ready to help people in danger. Always ready to help Lena.
Without Kara, Lena doesn’t want to think of where she would be. Kara was her first friend in National City, her best friend, and she shudders to think of the course her life could’ve taken without her. She remembers lonely hours in the Luthor mansion and sleepless nights alone in a lab and then Kara, who had taken all of that and washed it away. Now, with Kara by her side, she never has to be alone again. Kara is there whenever she needs her: telling her jokes, making sure she eats, forcing her to stop working when she gets tired, so it’s only fair that Lena tries to return the favor in whatever way possible. Even if she’ll never be able to repay Kara for the impact she’s had on her life, she’ll damn well go down trying.
When she hears someone enter the main room of the tower, she panics for a moment. It takes her a few second to calm down, only doing so when she remembers that not only is it not to crime to think about Kara (about how sweet and kind and beautiful she is) but that no one will be able to tell. She takes a deep breath, hopes she’s not blushing, and readies herself to pretend she’s a functional human being who isn’t hopelessly in love with someone she can never have.
“Lena!”
She hears Kara before she sees her, and despite the panic of getting found out, she can’t help but smile. Something about Kara makes everything better.
“Kara,” she calls back when the Kryptonian walks into the room, devastatingly handsome (as usual) and clad in her sinfully tight super-suit. “What are you doing here?”
Kara furrows her brows playfully, like Lena’s just asked her something ridiculous. “Um, I’m here to get you, of course.”
“Me?” Lena asks, eyes wide. “Kara, I’m so sorry, did we have plans?”
She wants to curse herself – a feat very easily attainable given the fact that she’s a witch now. How could she be so forgetful as to forget plans with Kara? She half wants to blame it on not having an assistant on this Earth, but she knows that’s a weak excuse. She’ll just have to find some other way to make it up to her best friend. Is buying a Chinese restaurant too extravagant an apology?
“Hey,” Kara interrupts, clearly noticing her internal struggle. “Don’t worry, okay? We didn’t have plans or anything.”
“Oh,” Lena says, deflating. “Then, why…?”
“Because I miss you, silly! Also, I couldn’t find you at your apartment or the foundation and I know that means you’re probably here, working way too hard.”
“It’s not ‘too hard’ if it’s necessary,” Lena grumbles, and Kara laughs.
“Fine, okay, you’re working a normal amount of hardness. I apologize for ever implying differently. Will you please go home now?”
Lena frowns and Kara – as if sensing she’s about to disagree – offers something she knows Lena would never turn down.
“We could go to my place and watch movies,” she sing-songs.
Lena sighs, knowing she’s been defeated.
“Just give me a few minutes to clean up,” she replies, and Kara beams at getting her way as she wanders deeper into the room. Lena tries to refocus on her work, on safely storing these dangerous materials and sharp edges, but she’s distracted by a delighted gasp from her best friend.
“Oh!” she cries, and Lena immediately turns to face her. “I love what you’ve done with the place!”
For a second, Lena has no idea what she means. She hasn’t ‘done’ anything with the place, has only used this room for its intended function and, occasionally, a nap. But she tears her eyes away from the Kryptonian – reluctantly, she must add – and upon raising her gaze to the wall that Kara is staring at, immediately sees what she’s talking about.
Sometime between Lena’s arrival at the tower and Kara’s entrance, pink flowers and leafy vines have sprouted around the room, covering every square inch of wall space available.
Well, fuck, Lena thinks. Those weren’t there ten minutes ago.
Remember how Lena hates being a witch? This, right here, is a prime example as to why. It’s statistically improbable that the atoms in the room had spontaneously combined to form a flower wall in the past ten minutes, which means that it’s only reasonable to assume that Lena, the only person in this building capable of accidentally sprouting flowers out of thin air, had done it. Especially considering that this is hardly the first time Lena’s lost control of her magic when Kara is involved.
She’s ready to play it off, tell Kara it was a spur-of-the-moment decorating decision, when the Kryptonian reaches out to touch one of the flowers and Lena loses all of her mental capacity. Kara’s hands are so strong, so powerful, have moved ships and fought gods and saved millions, and yet here, now, she runs a fingertip along a pink petal so softly it doesn’t even move.
Lena can practically feel Kara’s touch on her cheek, and she aches for more of it. She wants Kara to hold her with that sort of delicacy, like she’s precious and irreplaceable, so bad it hurts. (It’s a bit ironic how much she wants it, actually, considering the sheer number of hours she’s spent fantasizing about being trapped in Kara’s rough hold, unable to move or breathe or do anything unless Kara allowed it.)
“Lena?”
Lena comes back to herself with a start, looking over at Kara curiously. Kara doesn’t tease her, doesn’t give her one of those thousand-watt-grins like she usually does when Lena zones out. Instead, her expression is one of confusion – maybe even concern.
“Yes, sorry? Are you alright?”
Kara just blinks, as if the answer to that question is obvious, but when Lena doesn’t respond, she huffs out a laugh and nods.
“Um, yeah. I’m alright. I’m just… uh…” She gestures down to her legs, which are now enveloped in soft foliage, the thin vines that Lena had accidentally created gravitating towards her and sprawling up her legs like ivy.
“Oh!” Lena says, going cold, and instantaneously, the flowers drop to the ground. “I – um… Sorry.”
“Lena?” Kara asks, looking at her with nothing but gentle concern in her eyes. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah, yes. Absolutely. I just, um… I’ve been… practicing.”
“Practicing?”
“Yes! Practicing. Magic, I mean.”
Kara furrows her brows at that. “You have?”
“Mhm,” Lena confirms, lying through her teeth. “I wanted to see how far I could go with decoration, and then you came in and you liked them, so I was trying to get them to go to you. So you could see them more closely, I mean.”
It’s a terrible excuse. Not only is the storyline farfetched, but Lena’s delivery leaves much to be desired, so she’s almost entirely sure that Kara is going to call her out on it. Kara looks at her with curious eyes and a soft crinkle in between her brows for what seems like forever until she breaks out into a smile and says, proudly, “My best friend is the coolest.”
Lena lets out a breath when she sees that Kara has bought her lie.
“That’s what I aim to be,” she jokes when she regains the composure she needs to speak. “Your cool best friend.”
It’s all I’ll ever be.
~~~
Lena would like to say that she gets a handle on her magic after that. She’d be happy to say that, upon recognizing her own self-control issues, she’d managed to soothe herself into not casually using magic whenever Kara was at all involved. She’d love to say that she doesn’t do any more accidental spells just because of Kara spending time with her or being hot or, like, existing.
(She can’t.)
For the next two days, she does very well. No spontaneous flowers sprout out of the walls when Kara smiles and even when she sees Kara shirtless for a half-second while she changes into her supersuit, the only thing affected is a mug that breaks in her hand.
(At Alex’s incredulous look, she explains that the mug was old and cracking, anyway, so no wonder it broke when she ‘dropped it’. The agent doesn’t seem to believe her story, which is fair, considering there was still a chipped piece of porcelain in her hand and a slight glow emanating from her palms when she said it, but Kara took the words at face value, which is all that matters.)
It’s on day three when everything starts to go to shit.
She doesn’t quite think it’s fair, actually, how terribly it all goes. One second she’s at the tower with Kara helping her get familiar with version 1.4 of her kryptonite suit, and the next the stupid mayor is being attacked by a stupid alien and needs stupid protection. Lena doesn’t really care about him – knows him to be a bit of a dick, actually – but Kara has a heart of fucking gold and savior complex about a mile high, which means that she leaves to go save him.
She said she’d be back soon (‘in a jiffy,’ were her exact words) but it’s been ten minutes and Lena’s getting restless.
Actually, that’s a lie. Lena isn’t getting ‘restless,’ she’s losing her damn mind.
She hates when Kara goes off to fight. She knows the Kryptonian is nearly invincible and just wants to do good, but seeing Kara go up against super-powered creatures with ungodly strength and life’s goal of killing Supergirl is not good for her blood pressure.
Lena is currently watching the local news with baited breath. (Kara has told her she shouldn’t tune in since it only makes her nervous, but Lena refuses. The only thing worse than Kara going off to fight without her is not knowing what’s happening when she does.) So, now she’s clutching desperately at the table she’s leaning on and worrying her lower lip as Kara fights. She’s almost sedated the attacker and Lena finally thinks she can relax when the camera suddenly pans to something else.
Another alien. Another alien breathing fire. Another alien breathing fire and standing just out of Kara’s eyeline, probably preparing to attack her from behind. Lena’s entire body goes cold with fear.
She’s just about to call for J’onn to go back Kara up when she hears Alex swear sharply behind her and Kelly following suit, crying out in surprise. Usually she’d have sympathy, would try to understand that Alex must be worried about her sister, but right now she just needs them to be quiet so she can hear what’s happening.
“Shut up!”
“Lena!” Alex yells, and Lena sighs.
“Look, I’m sorry, I just need you to be quiet so I can hear what’s – ”
“LENA!”
This time the call is from Kelly, who would never yell at Lena unless necessary, which is a bit suspicious. She turns around to ask what’s wrong, to see if maybe they could talk about it once Kara is back in the tower safe and sound, but the scene she sees behind her is not at all what she’s expecting, and she involuntarily goes silent.
Alex and Kelly – holding hands like the disgustingly sweet couple they are – are both balanced precariously on the floor, holding onto the table (Alex) and a door knob (Kelly) for stability lest they slip and fall down. Lena blinks, confused for a moment, before she looks down at the ground to see the culprit and realizes exactly why Kelly and Alex are sliding around the floor like they’re wearing tennis shoes at an ice rink.
It's because the floor is, in fact, an ice rink now. Meaning, of course, that it’s entirely covered in ice.
There’s only a split second of confusion before she realizes the new weather’s most likely culprit, at which point she curses herself for not having a better control on her emotions. Sure enough, when she looks down, she finds ice expanding steadily out from underneath her feet (though she has no problem keeping herself upright).
“Fuck,” she swears. “Oh, God, I’m – Shit. I’m sorry! Are you guys okay?”
Alex groans exasperatedly from where she clutches at a table – clearly not in a forgiving mood – while Kelly replies, her voice gentle if a bit strained, “We’re fine! Could you fix it for us, though?”
“I – I don’t know how,” Lena laments. She’s just about to walk over to the couple and hopefully help them out into the hallway when she hears a gasp coming from the TV behind her and she automatically spins to face it. The reporter is saying something very quickly – nervously, even – as the camera pans to Supergirl, who falters a little in her flight after a particularly powerful blow from the aliens she’s fighting. Lena clutches her palm tightly in her other hand, nervous beyond belief, and then hears a loud thump somewhere behind her, followed by a sharp ‘oof’ from Alex.
Oops.
(Kara defeats the aliens in the next five minutes, much to Lena’s relief, returning to the tower unscathed and to an entirely ice-free floor. Granted, the third story of the DEO is slightly flooded, but – baby steps, right?)