Chapter Text
The history of Kara and Lena's friendship was marred by opposing family legacies and betrayals. Their mistrust of each other came naturally considering Kara's cousin Clark and Lena's brother Lex had been enemies for years, though both hoped for a fresh start to rise above those who came before them.
This was before Lena knew Kara's secret identity of course. She found Supergirl's righteous persona insufferable and was still slightly skeptical that a Super could think anything but the worst of a Luthor. Kara was less guarded when she first met Lena but as Supergirl she couldn't help but consider some of Lena's actions questionable. Once everything was out in the open and Lena knew Supergirl and Kara were one in the same, their friendship quickly dissolved into animosity and regret.
Now, having come out the other side of it all, their friendship has woven itself back together. Of course, things could never be like they were before, but they both knew they had to go through it all to get to where they were today. Except, something was still different. Not a bad difference, just different. It wasn't abnormal to see the two of them engaging in physical closeness but these days it was more apparent. It was as though Kara needed to maintain a physical connection in order to confirm Lena was really there. Her time in the Phantom Zone left her needing that confirmation. The same could be said for Lena. She relished the constant contact with her best friend as it meant they were both safe.
Another small crisis had arisen in the city which once again, seemed only the Super Friends could negate. A malicious alien was spreading a wicked virus to many unlucky citizens who were now all sequestered in the DEO's many holding cells until a cure could be synthesized. Lena worked tirelessly to whip up an antidote for this plague as Kara watched over her in the DEO's lab. It'd been another long day and they were both exhausted. They've been sitting together on a small and not very comfortable couch waiting for the cure to be ready for several hours already. The Kryptonian slumbered lightly on Lena's shoulder while the CEO answered a cacophony of work emails from her phone.
Still half asleep, Kara began to reposition herself into a more comfortable position but couldn't seem to find one. Lena took pity on her fidgety friend and pulled her into her chest while wrapping one arm around the Super's caped back. Kara curled her legs up onto the couch, brought her arm up to lay on Lena's chest hooking her fingers around the collar of Lena's shirt, and let out a contented deep breath against Lena's neck.
The sight of this small gesture caused Lena to pause her work momentarily and smile down at the woman in her arms, pinning this moment in her memory forever. She took in the feel of Kara's even breaths against her neck, the smell of the blonde's strawberry scented shampoo, the weight of her body curled into her own, and the feeling of peace the physical connection brought her. She wanted to remember everything.
Before their falling out, Lena would occasionally spend the night at Kara's apartment after game or movie nights. Back then she'd always sleep on the couch, trying to be as little of an inconvenience as she could while Kara slept in her own bed. Tonight however, both Kara and Lena fell asleep before their movie even ended, cuddled next to each other on the couch. At some point in their slumber, the two repositioned themselves from sitting positions so they were both laying down. Lena was laying flat with her head supported by one of Kara's many decorative pillows. Kara was laying between Lena and the back of the couch on her side with half her body draped over Lena's and head resting on the ravenette's chest.
The end credits started to roll on their movie, accompanied by unnecessarily loud music. The sudden change in volume startled Lena out of her peaceful sleep. She looked down to see Kara wrapped around her like a koala, still sound asleep. She laughed silently to herself at the fact she was the one the music woke up and not the woman with super hearing. After another moment she realized Kara had her fingers wrapped around her collar again, as though she was afraid Lena would disappear if she didn't keep a hold of her. She felt an indescribable happiness at this sight. The possessiveness and concern Kara had for her even while asleep melted her heart.
Trying to move as little as possible so as not to wake the sleeping beauty on top of her, Lena grabbed the remote and turned off the tv. She wrapped both arms around Kara and rested her cheek against her head to fall back asleep. As if the click of the remote and Lena's small movements could be heard louder than the end credits music, Kara awoke rubbing an eye with her knuckles. "You're still up?", She asked sleepily. "Just turning off the tv, you can go back to sleep", replied Lena softly. Kara began to rise off of Lena and fumble off the couch still half asleep. Lena was disappointed at the loss of contact, silently cursing herself for moving and waking Kara up.
Before she could berate herself any further, Kara reached down, grabbed her hand, and started to pull her off the couch too. "Come on, let's go back to sleep", Kara said sleepily pulling Lena with her towards her bed. A slight blush flushed Lena's face and her heart beat just a little faster at this suggestion. Thankfully, Kara hadn't noticed. As Kara fell unceremoniously into her bed pulling Lena down with her, she wrapped them both in blankets. Kara cuddled up to Lena and once again, unconsciously wrapped her fingers around the younger woman's collar where they stayed until morning.
It seemed like they both felt the shift in their relationship but neither were quite sure what it meant, and both didn't want to ruin the good thing they had going for fear of it ending. Their friends began noticing their increased closeness but there were no overt public displays of affection so they chalked it up to Kara's Phantom Zone PTSD. It wasn't until Lena crashed sister's night that Alex knew for a fact there was something going on between the two of them.
Lena was supposed to be working late that evening, trying to get ahead as much as possible before the weekend. Kara knew this was her plan and was herself planning on spending the evening watching movies and eating junk food with Alex. Relatively soon into their second movie, an unexpected hurried knock at the door startled them both. Laughing lightly at their silliness, Kara zoomed to the door to see who it was. The smile slid from her face when she opened it and saw a distressed looking Lena. Before Kara could ask what was wrong, Lena had launched herself into Kara's arms, hugging her tightly and talking fast.
Alex only caught snippets of Lena's frantic rant from across the room. "...memories...you were gone...lose you again...had to make sure...", she got more and more upset the longer she talked. Alex started to worry that something was really wrong. She was about to go over to see if she could help, but stopped before even rising off the couch and suddenly felt like she was intruding on a very personal moment. Kara had released Lena from a fierce hug but remained very close to the shorter woman whose arms now fell to Kara's waist. Alex watched, intrigued, as her sister cupped Lena's face with both hands and wiped away the tears forming in her eyes with her thumbs. She then whispered something to her best friend that Alex couldn't hear.
After a few minutes of this Lena seemed considerably more calm. She rested her forehead against Kara's and took several deep breaths. Raising her head again to meet Kara's eyes, she suddenly noticed Alex watching them from across the room. A blush crossed her cheeks as though she'd just been caught in a very compromising position. Lena stammered a hurried apology for interrupting their evening but Alex waved it off and asked if everything was ok. She put on her usual mask of control and stated politely that she was fine now. With a shy, "I'll see you tomorrow Kara", she made her way back towards the door feeling slightly awkward. Kara quickly glanced back at her sister, asking without words if Alex was ok with Lena staying. Alex nodded and moved from the recliner, motioning for them to take the couch.
Kara quickly grabbed Lena's hand before she could leave and insisted she stay for movies and junk food. Not wanting to impose even more than she already had, Lena was reluctant. Her resistance faded at Kara's continued insistence. She Let Kara lead her to the couch by the hand and sat close to her best friend while the blonde draped a large blanket over both of them. Attention back on the movie, Alex watched out of the corner of her eye as Kara unashamedly pulled Lena into her lap and wrapped her arms around the smaller woman who melted into her embrace.
Every so often Alex glanced over to see her sister with a smile on her face, whispering something into Lena's ear. Lena's eyes would close and a smile would spread across her face as she listened to Kara, occasionally stifling a small laugh. The way Kara looked at Lena with such reverence and hugged the woman closer as she spoke cleared up any confusion Alex had about the nature of their relationship. Catching her sister's eye, she gave her a sly smirk that clearly said, "You've got a lot of explaining to do".
Lena slowly awoke the next morning to the delicious smell of coffee brewing. As she opened her eyes letting out a big yawn, she realized she'd fallen asleep in Kara's lap and they'd stayed that way the whole night. Without having to look down she could tell Kara had tethered herself to Lena per usual, fist wrapped around the collar of her shirt. The familiarity of this gesture was comforting. Lena rested her head back into the crook of Kara's neck hoping to get at least a few more minutes of rest in her best friend's strong arms.
A quiet clearing of a throat from across the room pulled Lena back to reality. She looked up to see Alex staring at her holding up a cup of coffee. Setting it down across from her on the kitchen island, she took a sip from her own cup with a raised eyebrow. Lena felt she owed the redhead a thank you for allowing her to crash her quality time with Kara last night. With this in mind, she carefully extricated herself from a still sleeping Kara to join Alex in the kitchen. They kept their conversation low so they wouldn't wake Kara. Alex began by asking, "Is everything ok, you seemed really out of sorts last night".
Lena took a long sip of coffee to give herself more time to gather her thoughts before responding, "When Kara and I were fighting things were bad. I acted out of hurt and anger and did things no one should have forgiven me for. Even though she was no longer in my life as a friend, I knew she was still here. It wasn't until you told me she'd been lost to the Phantom Zone that I began to realize I never wanted her gone-gone, not really."
Alex didn't interrupt but raised an eyebrow again at this statement. Knowing she was remembering her threatening to blow Supergirl out of the sky with a Kryptonite cannon, Lena continued, "I needed to get her back, if only for National City to have their hero back. Then you chose to save the city over your sister; a choice I admire but could never have made myself. I spiraled after that but it did finally make me realize something else. I didn't just want to get Kara back for the city or for you, I needed her back for myself too."
Lena took a breath and another sip before continuing, "Last night something reminded me of that awful time and my brain ran away with those horrible memories. After a while I began to panic and second guess if Kara was really back home or not. I am sorry for intruding, I was just so relieved when I saw her answer the door." Looking more vulnerable than Alex had ever seen her before, a look of contemplation came over Lena's face before she looked up again and finished her thoughts, "Kara is special - more than being Supergirl. She means everything to me."
Just as she finished this confession, Lena felt strong arms wrap around her from behind. Kara pulled her back slightly into her warm embrace and whispered a sleepy, "You mean everything to me too" into her ear. Alex watched as Lena relaxed into Kara and brightened at her words flashing a shy smile. Smirking behind her cup, Alex said, "You two are sickeningly cute. It's about time you both figured it out." Lena blushed again but Kara smiled back at her sister.
Kara caught Alex before she left her apartment that morning and asked her not to make a big deal out of things. Until she and Lena talked about whatever was going on between them, she'd prefer Alex keep this all to herself. With her assurances, Alex took her leave and Kara went back to join Lena with a cup of coffee for herself. Head resting on Kara's shoulder, Lena said, "Thank you for being there for me last night, you always know the right things to say".
Kara placed a hand under Lena's chin and lifted her head up until their eyes met. "I will always be here for you Lena", Kara said sweetly with genuine affection in her gaze. She swiped a thumb across Lena's bottom lip, glancing down at them quickly then back up into those adoring green eyes. Lena's heart thumped wildly at the look Kara was giving her. Unable to wait any longer, Lena closed the gap between them and lost herself in her and Kara's first kiss.
A few weeks later, Lena rushed into the club to find everyone else already two drinks into the evening. With hurried apologies for her lateness and a quick kiss to Kara's cheek, Lena went to get everyone another round. Kara, who was already slightly intoxicated on alien rum, not-so-subtly watched Lena walk away towards the bar. She was vehemently admiring the way Lena's heels and tight skirt accentuated her figure. Seemingly the only one to notice this, Alex nudged Kara and quietly hissed, "Could you be more obvious?".
The bar was getting crowded now. The lights were turned down low and a crowd had formed on the dance floor. Music blared from speakers so loud they could feel the bass thumping in their chests. The group had an enjoyable evening, laughing, drinking, and occasionally dancing. At Winn's instance that the song currently playing was his "ultimate jam", the table emptied as they joined their excited friend on the dance floor. Only Kara and Lena were left at the table, glad to get some time alone together.
Kara's strong arms pulled Lena closer to her as her intoxicated gaze swept over the Luthor's body once more. "You are so beautiful", Kara said worshipingly as though she was so lucky to be able to cast her eyes upon such a diving being. Lena was still getting used to compliments with Kara's level of truth behind them. She was more accustomed to backhanded compliments of her mother's sort that were meant to do nothing but tear her down. She blushed and leaned in closer to Kara. She inhaled the intoxicating aroma of strawberry and spices, a scent that was entirely Kara. Laying a hand on the blonde's collarbone, she whispered into her ear, "I put on something extra special just for you".
Before Kara's boozy mind could fully comprehend what the red-lipped woman said, Kelly came bouncing back to the table to drag them to the dance floor. Lena took Kelly's offer, biting her lip seductively and throwing a wink back in Kara's direction. Kara watched her go with a sudden hunger in her chest. She stared hard at the black haired beauty as she danced. Lena caught her staring and her signature smirk crept over her lips. With another wink back at the tipsy Kryptonian, Lena drew Kara from the booth and onto the dance floor like the call of a siren.
Weaving through other dancing bodies, Kara reached her girl and wrapped her arms around her waist. Lena looked back at Kara and smiled with a teasing glint in her eye. She wove one hand into Kara's long wavy hair and pulled gently while grinding against Kara's groin in time to the music. A groan of longing ripped from Kara's throat, only audible to the woman plastered to her front. She was well aware of the effect she was having on Kara and it gave her immense satisfaction. More than that, she felt a deep warmth knowing she was both loved and wanted by such an incredible person.
Several more songs passed before Nia was completely wiped out from dancing. A few of the others had long since disappeared, back to the table she presumed. Nia returned to the others with Winn and Brainy in tow. "I'm ready to call it a night", she huffed. Everyone else agreed and began gulping down the rest of their drinks.
Nia soon realized Kara and Lena were nowhere to be found. The group looked around for them amongst the dwindling crowd, but their sights came up empty. Alex had a feeling she knew where they might be but didn't say anything; she didn't really want confirmation her little sister was doing what she thought she was. This was a bad choice she instantly regretted. Before she could stop her, Nia said she was going to check the bathroom and wandered off in that direction.
Opening the door to the small three stall bathroom and entering, Nia froze before she could even call out to see if her friends were in the stalls. From across the small room she caught a glimpse of more than she bargained for and immediately spun on her heels to exit from whence she came. Kara had Lena pinned up against the far wall, both hands held over her head by one of Kara's, and legs wrapped around the blonde's waist which caused her tight skirt to ride up into a bundle at her hips. Seemingly oblivious to the comings and goings of other people, Kara was busy leaving marks down Lena's neck while the smaller girl moaned a little too loudly for such a public space.
Alex came blustering into the room a few moments later, shielding her eyes but shouting loud enough to be heard over the music and Lena's moans. "So much for keeping things a secret! You two really couldn't wait til you got home to do that? Get yourselves together, we are about to head out". Kara spun around quickly, releasing Lena from her grasp. Lena masterfully adjusted her skirt and wiped the smeared lipstick off Kara's mouth. She then followed a sheepish looking Kara back to their friends, hand in hand.