Chapter Text
Ironically, Kara was the first to know for sure.
Well, Alex thought it was ironic, at least. Alex thought it was ironic, Lena thought it was sweet, and Kara? Well, Kara worried she was just oblivious.
***
Her first sign came on an unsuspecting Wednesday in the middle of October.
On this particular evening, Lena was stuck at the office just a bit too late, working a project that she had definitely explained to Kara at least twice before (all of Lena’s corporate business-talk, for better or for worse, tended to go in one of Kara’s ears and out the other). She decided to order their usual Chinese food for dinner, hoping that Lena would be back before it got cold.
As soon as Lena walked in the door, she made a face. “Oh god, what is that?”
Kara frowned. “What is what?”
“That… that smell .”
“Oh, um, I got us Chinese food? Cause you were working late, and…” Kara’s voice trailed off.
Lena closed her eyes and schooled the slight grimace off her face. “I— thank you, Kara, I— appreciate it, but… I can’t eat that right now.”
“Why not? It’s just our usual order? You’ve never had a problem with it before…”
“I know, I just— something about the smell right now… I just can’t.”
Kara was very lost.
“Oh, ok… I guess, I could bring it out on the balcony? But you need to eat something too, Lena…”
“I know, I know… I’ll just, maybe make myself a salad or something.”
As Kara hurriedly brought the takeout containers outside, she kept sneaking cursory glances to her wife, who, truth be told, was looking a little paler than usual. She tried not to worry, tried to convince herself that Lena would tell her if something was significantly wrong, but couldn’t seem to shake her uneasiness, the protective instinct that threatened to overwhelm her whenever she so much as thought about Lena. It scared her sometimes, the knowledge that she would destroy the entire world for this woman, this woman who had so easily let Kara into her heart and stolen her own in return, who had treated Kara as her equal in a world where she was destined to be anything but, had risen above her blood and loved every piece of Kara equally and truly.
She ate quickly, even by her standards, and found Lena inside picking at her salad. She sat down next to her and placed an arm around her shoulders, encouraging. Lena leaned into her shoulder with a sigh and Kara smiled, kissing her cheek and tangling her fingers in her hair.
Soon, Lena’s breathing grew deep and her heartbeat even. Kara wrapped both arms around her to gently lift her off the couch in a bridal carry. She floated them down the hallway to their room so as not to disturb her sleeping wife, and gently placed her on the bed before joining her on the other side and drawing up the blankets.
***
The next morning, Kara woke up to her alarm clock twinkling on the bedside table about a foot below her.
She frowned, surprised. Sleeping next to Lena didn’t stop Kara floating in her sleep, but she had usually been gently tugged back down to Earth for pre-breakfast cuddles by the time her alarm sounded. So to wake up still hovering was unusual.
Trying to shake the uneasy feeling in her gut, Kara gently descended and reached for her phone to turn off the alarm. She turned over to face Lena, and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead before slipping out of bed as quietly as she could and heading for the bathroom.
Kara stepped out of the steamy bathroom to find Lena still in bed. She was awake now, thankfully, her features sharpened by the harsh, bright light of her phone in the dim room. Still, not wanting to disturb her, Kara tiptoed her way to the dresser and pulled out a set of clothes. She dressed quickly, trying to put off the conversation she had been dreading since she woke up alone. But when she had finished donning her shoes, combing her hair, and even applying a touch of makeup, she knew she couldn’t wait any longer.
“Lena?” she asked hesitantly, “don’t you have work?”
Lena’s answer was short. “I’m not feeling well.”
“What’s wrong?”
Lena sighed. “I just feel really… nauseated, I suppose.”
“Oh Lena,” Kara’s face twisted. She hurried over to the side of the bed. “Let me call in and take the day off—”
“Kara, I’m fine, really.”
“Lena, I’ve hardly ever seen you get sick before. If you can’t go into work… that worries me.”
Lena’s voice turned sharp with warning. “Kara, I promise, it is not a big deal. I have already let Jess know to reschedule me for the next few hours, and I will go in when I am feeling a bit better. Now please, will you let me rest?”
Kara bit her lip. She wanted to keep arguing, but realized she was getting nowhere. “Ok,” she begrudged. “I love you, Lena.”
“I love you too, Kara.”
She pressed a kiss to Lena’s forehead quickly brushed her fingers through her hair before leaving. Lena was back to her phone before the door closed.
***
Then there was Halloween.
Kara looked forward to Halloween all year. She loved the whole fall season: the hot apple cider and pumpkin spice lattes, the bright colors of the gently falling leaves, the sharp air slowly creeping across the city on its cool breeze. But she especially loved Halloween.
She thought Lena did too. Well, she at least seemed to enjoy it with Kara, if nothing else. When Kara originally showed her the couple’s costume she wanted them to get, Lena had gently chuckled a bit at her enthusiasm, but the same eagerness that made Lena fall a little more in love with her every day had won out, and Lena acquiesced. But now there was less than half an hour until they were supposed to be at Nia’s for the “Hallow-DREAM” party she was throwing (and refused to let them get away with calling it anything else), and Lena was acting off again.
At the 15-minute mark, Kara happened a glance at the clock and promptly startled herself into action, practically leaping up from her position hunched over the desk in the home office that she and Lena shared when they felt like working from home. Headed to the bathroom, she was surprised to see Lena still lounging in bed, reading from her leisure book of the week, same as she had been two hours ago when Kara kissed her quickly on the forehead before begrudgingly going to work on her latest article.
“Lena—?” she questioned before she could stop herself. “Don’t— you need to get ready?”
Lena turned a page, not looking up from her book. “I don’t think I can go, darling, I’m sorry.”
“But—” Kara stopped herself from asking about their costume. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”
“Oh, nothing, I just have a slight stomachache is all. Don’t think I’d be much company tonight. Plus, you know how I get around sweets,” she replied.
Kara frowned, concerned. “I could get you some Pepto-Bismol, if you want? Or some crackers. Or—”
Lena closed her book, cutting off Kara’s rambling. “I’m fine, love, really. Just need to get some rest.” At Kara’s hesitation, she continued, “I’m sorry, I know you were excited about the costume. We’ll find another time to wear it, yeah?”
Kara nodded. “Okay, if you’re sure.”
When she stepped out of the bathroom clad in her fake bronze armor, Lena looked up from her book again with a glint in her eyes, quirking her eyebrow and biting her lip in that irresistible way that made Kara fall that much more in love with her. She laughed and hit an over-the-top strongman pose. “How do I look?”
“Well, forget Supergirl, I’ve got my very own Wonderboy to save the day.”
Kara blushed as heat rose not only in her cheeks. “You know, you could still come, if you wanted to? You don’t have to wear makeup, or even the costume…” she offered.
Lena shook her head gently. “Not tonight, Kara. You have fun at the party. Say hello to Nia for me?”
Kara leaned over the bed and kissed Lena again, pressing their lips together for a few seconds longer than necessary. When Lena finally pulled away, Kara searched her eyes for signs of something, anything. Finding only sincerity, she murmured, “I love you, Lena,” against her lips.
“I love you too, Kara. I’ll be right here when you get back.”
Kara nodded and stepped back toward the window.
And with one last lingering look at her wife, she flew away.
***
When Kara finally makes it back to the DEO after a full day of rehabilitating a confused group of jorukeeis, a normally-docile canine-like species who could nevertheless grow to the size of elephants and emit toxic fumes when stressed or threatened, she is absolutely exhausted, both physically and mentally. She’d been off her game today, and she knows it’s because of Lena. She just can’t help but worry that something is really wrong.
Alex notices, because of course she does. She asks Kara, as they’re finishing up the incident paperwork from the day, genuine concern evident in her “is everything okay”s and her “you seem really off today”s.
“Yeah, I’m fine Alex, I just…”
Alex just looks at her, head cocked to the side, waiting.
“...I’m just worried about Lena. She’s been acting… off. And I don’t know what’s wrong or how to fix it.”
She slumps down in her chair. The weight that the confession has lifted off her chest is miniscule, negligible. She doesn’t need to complain or rant, she needs Lena to be okay.
Alex reaches over the table and smooths a piece of hair behind Kara’s ear. “I’m sorry, Kara. That must be really hard.”
Kara sighs and shrugs, dipping her head. “I feel like she’s pushing me away, and I don’t know what to do.”
“Oh?”
As Kara explains the last few weeks, Lena’s irritability, exhaustion, and abnormal behavior fusing together into a sort of uneasy dread, Alex’s eyes narrow incrementally, and Kara swears she can see the gears turning in her head. Suddenly, her eyes widen as she stifles a small… giggle?
Kara furrows her brow, questioning, but Alex quickly shakes her head.
“Look Kara, I can’t di— tell you what’s going on with her, she…” She sighs. “Go home, talk to her, and have her come in tomorrow if you’re still worried.”
Kara nods reluctantly. She supposes Alex is right. Not that it makes her feel much better.
She decides to walk home before realizing that for the bad decision it is, given how late it already is, before realizing that she’s both too preoccupied and too tired to fly home safely, so she changes into her civilian clothes and walks toward the bus stop. Her mind wanders throughout the ride, but it always comes back to Lena.
Kara is about two seconds away from their apartment door when she suddenly freezes. There are… is that… two heartbeats coming through the door? No, it can’t be, the second is far too fast. But it’s got that characteristic thump-THUMP that distinguishes it, and Kara is so, so confused. She tiptoes towards the door and reaches her hand for the knob inch by inch, turning the handle as slowly as she possibly can. But as she peers into the room with apprehension, she sees only Lena, quietly and intently reading her book of the week.
She opens the door wider, enough that she can slip into the apartment, but stays cautious, apprehensive. At the sound of the door, Lena looks up from her book, which Kara recognizes from her nightstand: it’s the one by that French author that she can’t pronounce, with the photorealistic cover depicting a young girl picking a rose from a garden.
“Hello darling. How was your day?”
“Huh? Oh, fine. Listen, Lena…” She’s still trying to pinpoint the source of the second, faster thump-THUMP , the one that’s not the heartbeat she’s had memorized since she first walked into L-Corp with her cousin, when suddenly, it hits her.
All the pieces come flying together. Lena’s nausea. Her irritability. Aversion to smells. The heartbeat. Kara has to sit down suddenly, the force of the realization overwhelming.
“Kara?” Lena’s voice is gentle, worried.
“Lena, I— you—” She can’t find the words. She squeezes her eyes shut, squeaking her next words out as quickly as she can before losing her nerve. “I think you might be… pregnant?”
“What?” Lena breathes.
“I—I can hear the heartbeat, Lena. A second heartbeat. Coming from… you.”
Lena still looks shocked, her brain trying desperately to process the information.
“Pregnant? You’re—you’re sure?”
Kara nods. “As sure as I can be without using X-ray vision, ‘cause you’re not supposed to do that, right?”
Lena nods. “Probably for the best.”
Then she smiles, wider and wider, and tears spring to her eyes as Kara reaches for her, pulling her in close, and Lena’s lips capture hers in a fierce kiss, over and over again, hands tracing the features of each other’s faces and threading through their hair, and they’re both crying and smiling and laughing and so, so happy.
Until Lena realizes something, and pulls away from Kara’s lingering lips just enough to say, confused, “Wait… How—?”