Chapter Text
Inspired by the fanart of denimcatfish
The night sky over Metropolis is no stranger to threats that pose varying degrees of difficulty for superheroes.
However, most of the time it offers a peaceful, serene, even soothing scene. Kara came to realize this overtime as she established her presence on Earth, despite her fleeting escapades throughout the universe.
Clark’s encouragement for her to find her own comfort among humans led her to appreciate the beauty of the ordinary, such as the sea of stars and the subtle silence beneath the black cloak of night.
Not even Krypto’s barking could distract her from the pleasant breeze on her face as she flew back to the only place where she feels completely at ease.
It didn’t take her long to get there; the visit to her cousin’s place was quicker than expected, maybe because she was eager to catch sight of the edge of the building’s terrace where she had sat so many times alongside a special person.
The very same person who was undoubtedly asleep.
“Ah…perfect.” The key she’d been given a couple of months ago turned into the lock, but the door didn’t budge. “I forgot how careful she is with door handles.”
Krypto’s curious sound, accompanied by his tilted head and raised ear, made Kara grimace.
“Don’t look at me like that; the sequence of events has left my brain fried, and I’m not thinking clearly.”
She took a step back, rubbing her eyes as she tried to gather her thoughts, which had been overwhelmed by fatigue, sleepiness, and the emotional whirlwind of the past week. Kara felt a little out of place in her caped suit, so she was grateful that she and her dog were the only ones in that hallway of the building and that everyone else was still asleep after her swift intrusion, undetectable to anyone.
“If I break the door, Kendra will wake up and hit me with the mace. If I just break the doorknob, she might not wake up, but she’ll find out in the morning and hit me with the mace.” Kara sighed with her eyes closed, her brow furrowed, and one hand on her hip. “I’m not proud of climbing back in through her window again, but…”
. . .
This time, Kara didn’t use the bedroom window.
No matter how slight the noise is, there’s still a risk of waking up her girlfriend and, with that, getting into an argument she doesn’t want to have just yet.
She opted for the kitchen window.
“Hey, hey!” She grabbed her dog with both hands when he tried to run into the glass and forced him to face her before lowering her voice to a whisper that only the two of them could hear. “The last thing we want is for Kendra to hate us by sunrise, so behave yourself. My butt and your favorite nuggets depend on it. Got it, buddy?”
The dog just licked his muzzle absentmindedly, distracted by whatever was on his mind, while his owner stared at him without blinking. The despair of having come so close to losing him forever still lingers in her chest.
The panic.
The tears.
The lump in her throat still hasn’t completely gone away.
Kara can’t blame her best friend for being the way he is, knowing that if things had been different, she wouldn’t be holding him the same way she did the moment she met him, just now several meters off the ground and outside Hawkgirl’s apartment.
She gave him a long kiss on the head before stroking him behind the ear and smiling.
“Follow me in silence, okay?”
She placed her hand on the glass again, and in a second, the wooden frame went from being below to above. That’s when Kara regretted not having gauged her strength, or not having realized that the kitchen window would also have a lock.
“Shit…”
Supergirl hissed after the final sharp clang of the small piece of metal hitting the floor.
“I hope Kendra has sleeps soundly today. Please, please.”
Krypto couldn’t contain his excitement as he entered the apartment, spinning on his own paws, though he didn’t bark or bite anything. His owner made a shushing gesture with her finger as she left the cold night outside to sink into the warm darkness of the place she knows perfectly well.
She was careful not to bump the dishwasher with her boots.
“It’s fascinating how nothing ever changes around here.” She ran her fingers over the wooden table covered with a tropical tablecloth. “I didn’t know I’d get a wave of nostalgia at twenty-three.”
The dog’s soft whimper sent a clear message to Kara.
“Oh, right.”
She closed the window, stretched her fingers to make sure she hadn’t broken anything else, and picked up the lock lying on the floor. Krypto kept wagging his tail and sniffing every detail his nose recognized in the apartment.
“I’ll wake Kendra up if I take a shower. I’d better just wash my hands and face and go to bed with her, so she’ll get the best surprise when she wakes up in the morning in my arms. It’s a good plan to keep her from getting mad.”
Kara whispered to herself and played with the piece of metal between her fingers during her short walk to the bathroom, which was adjacent to the bedroom, separated only by a striped curtain that didn’t glow at that hour of the night.
“I bet she’ll say sweet things to me as soon as she opens her eyes and sees me next to her, or on top of her. I could even wake her up with a good cunnil…
The words died on her lips the instant the curtain strips were pulled aside, and the spikes of a familiar mace came to a halt just a few centimeters from her eyes.
A palpable look of shock was already spreading across her face as she processed, or rather, wondered, how she hadn’t seen the attack coming with her X-ray vision, or her super hearing, or any of her powers.
Kara assumed that Krypto’s distraction had rubbed off on her as well.
Another couple of seconds passed during which neither both said or did anything, until the woman with the mace lowered her weapon and stared at the blonde with an expression that was hard to read.
She didn’t seem truly angry, nor was she elated by her girlfriend’s arrival. The only thing Supergirl could make of it was that Hawkgirl was still on edge from sensing the presence of intruders in her home, in the midst of the darkness.
Despite the disheveled hair, simple pajamas, and exhausted look, Kara still thought Kendra looked perfect.
“I… I’m sorry, I didn’t- it wasn’t my intention; I wanted to come in without disturbing you and I ended up…I ended up…” She picked up the broken doorknob and pointed at it with her free hand, stammering, her gaze shifting between the woman’s annoyed face and the white short-sleeved shirt that accentuated her breasts. “…ruining the…”
This was far from the first time her mind had wandered to thoughts inappropriate for the moment. Kara knows it, Kendra knows it, and even Krypto seemed to understand, given the way he was tugging at the red cape with his teeth.
“…I got distracted.”
“I noticed.”
Relaxing her shoulders and exhaling awkwardly, the brunette set aside the spiked mace before turning on the hallway light and closing the distance between herself and the blonde. She didn’t miss the brazen glance the blonde gave her hips, clad in wool pants.
Kendra softened her gaze, as well as her voice; both became more cautious as she noticed a certain anxiety in her partner’s behavior.
Kara's lips were trembling. Her hands were opening and closing. Her breathing was irregular.
“How are you? How was your birthday?”
Seeing that Kara just stared back at her, unable to find the words, she placed her hand on Kara’s knuckles. She caressed her with her thumb, focusing first on the small metal object protruding from her fingers and then on the pair of sky-blue orbs.
Hawkgirl couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen so many complex emotions in those eyes.
All it took was a gentle nudge for their arms to wrap around each other.
Kara buried her face in the shoulder offered to her, breathed in the scent, and sighed with relief. Her hands clung to Kendra’s back as Kendra massaged her back with one hand and stroked Krypto’s head with the other when he stood up on two legs, leaning against his owner’s leg.
“A lot…a lot has happened.”
Saying anything more was unnecessary at that point.
They remained silent, each lost in her own thoughts about what their time apart had meant.
The only sounds were the dog’s whimper and the lock clattering to the floor.
. . .
“Here.”
“Thank you so much.” Kara wiped her face with the new towel and felt herself come alive for the second time after her shower and changing into more comfortable clothes. “Have I told you yet that you’re an angel?”
“If you keep this up, you’ll end up convincing me otherwise.”
“I’d also like you as my guardian demon.”
Kendra leaned back on the other side of the bed, her profile facing the blonde who was still sitting on the edge of the mattress, drying her hair. The purple shirt and gray pants gave off an image that didn’t quite match the Kryptonian’s tough, rebellious personality.
“Maybe you can spend your next birthday on Earth.”
“I definitely will; I’ve already had too much to drink. Can you believe I just said that without a hint of irony? It’s crazy.”
The wagging of the tail between them showed that Krypto was still awake, but calm.
“Something tells me you’ve trained him better this time around. He’s not trying to rip my sheets, or my boots.”
“It’s been a long time since he’s misbehaved with you.”
“Because he knows I won’t tolerate it like ‘others’ around him do.”
“Ouch, that was the most direct hint I’ve ever received.”
“You’re lucky it wasn’t another kind of ‘direct’.”
Kara pressed her lips together for several seconds without making eye contact until she finally placed the towel on the pillow and lay down in the same position as Kendra. It didn’t take long for her fingers to run through the dog’s white fur.
“You can go back to sleep if you want; I’ll tell you everything tomorrow.”
“I don’t want you to tell me everything, just what’s worrying you so much.”
“I’m fi…no, I won’t lie to you. I’m doing okay.”
“Then tell me, and that way we can both rest more peacefully.” She reached back to dim the bedside lamp and got more comfortable, one hand under the pillow as she gazed at her girlfriend’s closeness. “I can feel how distressed you are; something’s weighing on you, and I wouldn’t want to close my eyes knowing you’re dealing with things that are dying to come out into the open.”
“Sometimes you’re so…persuasive in tough times.”
“I’m always persuasive; never forget that.”
A sad smile played on the blonde’s lips as time passed and Krypto’s breathing fell in sync with the slow caresses on her ears.
“Kara.”
That smile faltered for an instant. The sudden gentle touch of a hand on hers, now both showing affection for the dog, unleashed the flood that the burning in her throat had been holding back, and it poured out as tears began to blur her vision.
“He almost died.”
Kendra’s fingers tensed around Kara’s, and her eyes quickly moved up to blonde’s face, which was staring at some invisible spot on the white fur. She could sense the effort Kara was making to hold back her tears, though the true pain seeped into Kara’s voice.
“I…it happened right in front of me. They poisoned Krypto, and I had no more than three days to save him.”
“Who did it?”
“Don’t worry, that bastard’s dead.”
Amid her stifled sobs, a hint of a smile flashed across her face at the brunette’s sudden aggressive tone, which softened slightly after the latest revelation.
“I was able to save Krypto in time, but even so…I still feel like at any moment he’ll collapse again and go limp.” Her teeth clenched behind her closed mouth, her fingers trembled in their shared warmth, and solitary tears rolled down her cheeks until they vanished into her clothes. “I came so close to failing him so many times that I hate myself to the core.”
“Did you kill the culprit?”
“Yes, I stabbed him with a sword that wasn’t mine and left him lying somewhere. I don’t remember where and I don't care.”
“So, you were able to save Krypto twice, once from the poison and once from that piece of shit hurting him again.”
“Either way, I got help, wanted and unwanted…you know how it all works…”
“Kara.”
At first, she refused to make eye contact until the human’s hand rested on her face. The vulnerability in her eyes escaped with the same intensity as the air trapped in her throat.
“Let it out.”
It was in that moment, lying in the same bed as her partner and her dog, clinging to the tranquility of a safe environment, that she lowered her eyelids and brought her head close to Kendra’s pillow. She felt a tingling sensation on her forehead and nose that almost overshadowed the rage with which she cried.
Raw and honest.
Tears free from any internal constraints to maintain her composure.
With Hawkgirl, Kara didn’t need to pretend. Being herself had won her heart and trust enough to let her cry out everything she hadn’t been able to during her race against time.
Everything she hadn’t had a chance to express with her fist clenched in the sheet and her bloodshot eyes staring into her girlfriend’s.
A soothing whisper on her lips was what Kara longed for, and Kendra didn’t wait to give it to her, accompanied by a gentle stroke on her temple. Her fingers tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear before tracing the nape of her neck and bringing their foreheads together as the Kryptonian trembled, overcome by tears.
They lost track of time in that embrace with Krypto nestled between them.
. . .
Eventually, Kara expressed her gratitude for the empathy of the woman lying beside her, wiped away her tears, sighed raggedly, and turned her face toward the bedroom ceiling, her own fingers clasped over her chest.
The moisture was still cool on her cheeks, and a hint of anguish lingered in her gaze, but at least she looked calmer.
Kendra didn’t change her posture; she watched the blonde as she slowly scratched the head of the dog, who was already asleep with his snout pointed toward her.
“You mentioned getting help.”
“Yeah…”
“Any new friends I should know about?”
“Just one, her name is Ruthye; the other…Mmmmhnah.”
“I suppose he didn’t leave a very good impression on you.”
“Imagine a member of Kiss on steroids, with no morals and tons of cocaine on him, only it’s not cocaine, but blood on his hands from all the heads he’s cut off in his life as a bounty hunter across the galaxy.”
“…”
“And with an awesome motorcycle. I’ll give him that.”
“…I see.”
“That’s how bizarre it was, though I won’t deny that his intervention turned out to be beneficial, in a way.” Kara reached out a hand to play with a dark strand of hair on her finger before running her fingertips through the rest of Kendra’s hair. “Ruthye is the one I can consider a friend. That kid is more reckless than any immortal.”
“Kid?”
“The bastard who poisoned Krypto also killed her family. She asked me for help to carry out her revenge, one thing led to another, and…the rest is obvious.”
The brunette looked at the blonde strangely. Not critically, not doubting her words, but with concern.
“I didn’t want someone so young to get carried away by hatred, even though I came to understand it and even…share it. That’s why I made sure to kill Krem.”
“Even the name is disgusting.”
“That’s right.”
“So, you saved your best friend, and also a little girl’s conscience.”
“Technically, I also saved her physically a bunch of times because let’s just say, she wasn’t exactly the most skilled. I said Ruthye is reckless; I meant that in both a good and a bad way because she gave me a lot of headaches.”
“What did you expect? She’s just a little girl.”
“I know-”
“I don’t think you expected to discover an expert world-destroyer.”
“She comes from a lineage of swordsmiths.”
“She’s still a kid.”
“I know…Ugh, stop cornering me with my own contradictions.”
“It’s not very hard, especially when you’re sober.”
The Kryptonian smiled out of habit, and some of that satisfaction was reflected on Kendra’s face as she leaned in to share a gentle kiss meant for nothing more than to convey affection.
The corners of Kara’s lips curved upward during the brief moments of contact until their eyes met again.
“Tell me you didn’t adopt her.”
“...what?”
“Right now, I don’t have the patience to put up with anyone other than you and Krypto, so I don’t want any surprises.”
“Why do you assume that I-?!”
“Keep your voice down; you’ll wake him up.”
“Why do you assume I’d adopt a girl who’s just been orphaned?”
“Knowing how impulsive you can be when it comes to certain decisions…”
“I’m mature enough to tell the difference between 'adopting' someone and 'ADOPTING' someone.”
“…”
“Ruthye still has her aunt and uncle; she stayed with them after she came with me to my last birthday bash.”
“Please tell me you didn’t make her drink with you.”
“My God. Do you really have such a bad impression of me? Don’t answer.”
“I can start to change that by seeing how responsible you’re becoming.” Her hand clasped Kara’s; she took a deep breath and opened her eyes again, not letting fatigue take hold of her just yet. “I’m proud of you, baby.”
What could have turned into a conversation to catch up on each other’s lives immediately turned into Kara leaning on her elbow, her mouth and eyes wide open, unable to believe what she’d just heard.
“Did you just call me ‘baby’? You never call me that.”
Hawkgirl realized her slip-up too late, and the blank expression on her face didn’t save her this time. She clicked her tongue as her partner went through a range of emotions; amazement, skepticism, and overwhelming excitement, in a matter of seconds.
Turning her back on her in bed didn’t help either.
“Say it again, please.”
“No.”
“Please, please, please.”
“Just go to sleep.”
“I’ll never be able to sleep again after what I heard.”
“I’m going to get some water.”
Krypto’s disoriented head snapped up as the brunette fled and the blonde followed her through the strip curtain, both oblivious to the fact that they had woken him.
“Hey, don’t run away.”
“I’m not running.”
“Then repeat what you said.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
Despite hearing the footsteps behind her, Kendra knew there was little she could do against Kara’s superhuman speed. Leaving the bedroom had been an impulsive and desperate reaction to avoid revealing the unease on her face, so she wasn’t surprised that, as soon as she reached for one of the glasses, a pair of hands grabbed her by the hips and, in the blink of an eye, she found herself face-to-face with the Kryptonian.
She frowned as the moonlight filtering through the window helped her make out the amusement in the eyes and mouth of the one who had her cornered against the edge of the sink.
The ghost of her tears seemed to vanish into thin air.
“I caught you.”
Her fingers tensed against the glass as she swallowed hard, her face expressionless.
“I seem to recall you were thirsty.” Kara held her close gaze as she took Kendra’s glass, filled it with water, and raised it to her nose. “Go ahead, it’s not good to deprive your body of what it needs. You’re the one who insists on prioritizing water over alcohol.”
Her smile grew even more cheeky when the apartment’s owner snatched the glass and drank half of it.
“That’s it, my sweet birdie.”
Kendra couldn’t help but roll her eyes, though with less frustration, and before she knew it, her excuse for getting out of bed was cast aside just as Kara pressed her lips against her without a shred of shame.
“I loved it when you called me that.”
There was another kiss.
“I really like it. A lot.”
And another, shorter than the last, just long enough to speak in between.
“Please, say it again.”
Hawkgirl’s inhibitions fell away to such an extent that she actively responded to the kiss, running her hands through the blonde hair and leaning back slightly. Supergirl lifted her until she was sitting on the edge of the sink with Kendra between her legs, and their hungry mouths found each other again.
The moment their tongues brushed against each other, Kendra pulled away slightly.
“What’s wrong?”
“You know what’s going to happen if we keep going.”
“So what?”
“It’s like two in the morning, and you’ve just been through a lot of emotions. It wouldn’t be very wise to go any further right now.”
“As if we hadn’t gone further hundreds of times on the table, or on the couch, or against the wall, or on the-”
Kendra covered Kara's mouth for quite a while, looking intently into her eyes.
“Are you done?”
“In the bathroom, on the terrace, on the door.”
“…”
“You can’t blame me when you’re the one who’s always tempting me by dressing so hot.”
“I’m literally wearing my pajamas.”
“No matter what you wear, you’re an irresistible temptation.”
The same fingers tried to slip under her clothes. She shuddered involuntarily before stopping Kara’s advance.
“Hey, I’m serious. Tomorrow we’ll do whatever you want, but right now-”
“Whatever I want? Oh, come on.”
“Almost anything.”
“Mmmmmh.”
“Right now, I want to sleep, and I’m sure you do too after everything you’ve been through.”
“Sleep or sex…sleep or sex…sleep…or sex. Sex and sleep.”
“Kara.”
“Fine! You win. You’re safe for the next eight hours, but on one condition.”
“What?”
“Call me ‘baby’ again.”
“Tsk.”
“Come on; say it, and I promise I’ll sleep like a log hugging you from behind.”
“Baby.”
“Oh, but don’t say it so coldly.
“You’re an idiot.”
“And you’re heartless, birdie.”
Kendra sighed for what she guessed was the twentieth time that night, looking away as her hand played with Kara’s tousled locks. Unconsciously, she crossed her ankles to keep her from walking away and let her knead her waist along the strip of exposed skin at the edge of her shirt.
The touch of their tongues made her reconsider the possibility of letting herself go a little without getting completely drunk.
After what seemed like an eternity, she turned her attention back to the mischievous, stubborn, and very handsome face waiting below her. She took it gently and lowered her voice to a tone so intimate that it made her own cheeks flush red.
“I love you, baby.”
“I love you too.”
“You’ll fix the window tomorrow.”
“…”
