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The curve of the contamination in the United States began to decrease in the following weeks, causing the governors of some states to relax the restriction measures, as was the case in California, to the delight of a Lena Luthor who could not stand to be locked in the house anymore. She even tried several times to ask the CDC for authorization to conduct research on the virus in the L-Corp laboratory, but all were denied. Apparently the structure of the laboratory was not ideal for working on this type of research. Lena thought about asking Alex's help to get authorization, but her friendship with the superfriends had not yet returned to that level of asking for favors.
Another thing that was making her anxious was that, even with the relaxation of isolation, Sam still could not begin the definitive move to National City. Both Lena and Samantha took a while to realize, but Ruby was the one who was most impatient with the delay. The teenager couldn't stand her mother hanging on the phone talking to her girlfriend practically all day long. If the two were attending the same environment, Ruby would not need to hear (almost) all the conversations of these lovebirds who are no longer enduring homesickness.
Ruby didn't want to admit it out loud, but the calls got in the way, not because she wanted to spend more time with her mother, but because Lena was much better at the video game than Samantha.
It was late afternoon, Sam and Ruby were watching some tv show on the television in the living room until a few long minutes ago, when Sam said she was going to the bathroom and never came back. Ruby then texted Lena asking if she was available to play Resident Evil with her. Before Lena answered, Ruby went up to the room to get the headset and when she got upstairs she realized the sound was on in her mother's room, she even thought about asking if she would still come back to continue watching, but she thought it was better not to disrupt whatever Samantha was doing.
Upon returning to the living room, Ruby looked at her cell phone and Lena had answered yes. She turned on the Xbox, plugged in the headset and the game and waited for her while answering some messages from the group of friends from National City who were also looking forward to her return.
“You took too long.” The teenager spoke the moment Lena connected.
“Sorry. I was making Theo's bed.” The brunette replied, sitting on the couch.
“Theo? Who is Theo?” Ruby had never heard Lena or Sam saying anything about any Theo, nor did she know that Lena was already receiving visitors at home.
“Oh...” Lena replied, but did not immediately reveal what she was talking about.
“Lena?”
“I may or may not have adopted a cat.”
“And you didn't think to tell me that?” The game had finally started after a delay by both parties to connect to the internet.
“Uh, it was just now. I went to get some documents from L- Corp and he was inside. Don't ask me how he got there because even the security guard didn't know how to answer me. He looked hungry so I brought him home. It's not even half an hour since I arrived.” They started playing, but were more interested in the conversation they were having than in what they were playing.
“Send me a picture later?” Five minutes of play and they still hadn't managed to kill any of the enemies that appeared, but luckily they hadn't been hit yet. “Does my mother already know?”
“No, I tried to talk to her since I arrived, but it looks like her phone is off? Shit...” Lena had been hit a few times.
“We were watching tv and she went up to the bathroom for over an hour, there’s music on, but I don't know what she's doing. I thought she was talking to you. What's he like?”
“No, I spoke to her before leaving.” Lena managed to renew the blood and continued. “He's very small, he has orange fur. I put food in the kitchen for him, but he liked the bookshelf by the fireplace so I put his bed there. I think he's sleeping now.”
“I want to see him, Lena. Didn't you take any pictures?”
“I came to play with you. Do you want me to play or take a picture of the cat?”
“Both. What do you have two hands for?” Ruby said and hold her laugh.
“Haha. Very funny, Ruby Arias.” Because she stopped to pay attention to what Ruby had said, the character Lena was playing ended up dying. “What part of the game is this that I have never seen?”
“Operation Racoon City. I was trying to get through it yesterday, but it's really annoying, I thought playing with you would be more fun, but you look like my mom playing.”
“What did I do to deserve this comparison?” Lena replied in a false offended tone. When it comes to video games, the brunette and the teenager take competitions very seriously, unlike Samantha. “What do you think if we play another game or I call you to meet Theo?”
“Didn't you say he was sleeping?” Ruby paused the game.
“He just used my leg to stroke his fur. Maybe he wants to get on the couch and can't because he is too small.”
“I'll get my mom's iPad and call to see this cuteness.” The teenager did not wait for Lena to respond, turned off the video game and immediately went upstairs to reach her mother's room.
Upon arriving in front of the room, Ruby knocked a few times on the door and called for Samantha, but she did not answer, probably because of the music that comes out of there. She then turned the handle and entered, taking advantage of the door being open. Ruby called again for her mother, who was nowhere visible in the room and once again she did not answer. She found her cell phone lying on the bed and turned the sound down a little, so she heard the sound of the hairdryer coming from the bathroom, a sign that Sam had probably just come out of the bath. Ruby saw the iPad next to the television and picked it up, leaving the room shortly thereafter.
When Ruby passed her own room, she went in to store the headset, as she would later use it to play with friends, and picked up the other wireless headset. On the way to the living room, she turned on the iPad and walked carefully so as not to end up knocking down the stairs, as Sam had done once with her cell phone, and when she arrived in the living room she threw herself on the sofa and called Lena.
“Where's my brother?” Ruby spoke even before Lena appeared on the camera.
“Wait.” Lena moved the cell phone away from her face and placed it on the coffee table. She then bent down and picked up the little kitty that was near the couch and placed him on her lap. Theo was very small, as Lena had said, almost fit in the palm of her hand. “Meet Theo, the boy cat.”
“Lena, how beautiful he is.” Ruby was already completely in love with the little animal. “He's so small, you'll end up stepping on him.”
“Girl?” Lena looked at the cell in horror and Ruby burst out laughing.
“May I know what my daughter and girlfriend are laughing at?” Samantha appeared at the end of the stairs.
“I'm laughing at Lena, specifically.” Ruby replied and sat on the sofa to look at her mother. “MOM!”
“What happened?” Lena asked almost totally unaware of the situation, considering that Ruby had a surprised expression on her face and the brunette didn't know why.
“Wow! What did you do?” Ruby left the iPad on the couch and got up to go to Sam. “You look beautiful. So this is what you were doing for so long locked in that bathroom?”
"Yes." Sam was looking at herself in the mirror that was on a column in the living room, next to the cabinet.
“Can anyone tell me what's going on?”
Ruby went back to the couch to get the iPad, but Sam stopped her by gesturing that she was going to do it herself. On the way to the living room, she heard her daughter's laughter and turned to face her. Ruby just whispered "you're going to kill her" and sat in the same place she was before her mom came.
“Hi, love!” Sam smiled as soon as the camera fully showed her face.
“Wha ... Bab...” Lena couldn't complete the sentence that was about to come out of her mouth. From Sam's side, there was another Ruby laugh and an “I told you so”.
Sam also laughed at her girlfriend's reaction. “Babe, are you okay?”
“You... Ho...”
She was interrupted by Ruby. “Breathe, Lena.”
Lena did exactly what the teenager had said and took a deep breath, eliciting another laugh from the girl. “When did you cut your hair?”
“Just now. Did you like it?”
“Wow! You are... Wow!”
“My God, you look like two teenagers.” Ruby rolled her eyes and received a pat from her mother on the arm.
That afternoon, when she was watching television with Ruby, in fact, watching would be just a way of talking, because Sam was distracted all the time, messing with her hair and thinking about some randomness. She went upstairs to go to the bathroom, but did not think of making any radical changes to the look. That changed when she looked in the mirror and also saw the scissors in the sink, which she had used to cut tape earlier.
Sam had never cut her own hair at home. She had some experience cutting her daughter's, but doing the job on her own was always considered a little more complicated by herself. As she looked at herself in the mirror, the idea began to appear more vivid until she, in an outbreak, took the scissors and cut a strand. At the same moment she regretted it, but when she looked at the lock in her hand, she saw that there was no turning back. Sam went back to the bedroom, turned on some music on her cell phone and locked herself in the bathroom, leaving only after she finished showering.
The brown strands that once reached the middle of her back were now shoulder-length. The cut had become a little peaked, nothing to show that there was some streak out of place, and the hair a little more wavy, leaving Samantha even younger. That had been the most radical change she had made to the look. Not because of the cut, but because she cut it herself.
“You look beautiful, babe.” Lena had finally managed to complete a coherent sentence and had a huge smile on her face.
“Glad you liked it, love.”
“Maybe, but what matters is that you liked it yourself.”
“I love you so much, you know?” Sam spoke looking at the camera, completely forgetting that they were not alone. Even without looking to the side she could see that Ruby was rolling her eyes at their emotional state.
“Uhum . I love you too.” When Lena replied, the little orange-haired kitten, which had left her lap, returned again to that cosiness.
“Who is this beautiful little thing?” Sam asked.
“Oh, this is Theo.” Lena picked him up and took him closer to the camera, so Sam could see more clearly. “I met him at L- Corp today.”
“Lena, he's beautiful. But he's so small, are you sure he won't miss his family?” Sam spoke with a pious look at the little animal.
“I thought about it, but I couldn't leave him there in the cold.” The brunette put him on her lap again and stroked his hair. “When I got home, Frank, the security guard for the afternoon shift, called me saying he found a box in one of the small trees at the front of the company and had some milk and food inside. Someone must have left him there to find someone who could look after him.”
“Oh! I'm glad he found you. And let's say that you finally heard that advice that I gave you months ago.” Sam said smiling again.
“Although you are finally going back to where you shouldn't have left, at least now I will have company while I wait for the day of the move that looks like it will never arrive.”
“Just a few more weeks, babe.”
That same night, before going to sleep, Sam and Lena talked again on the phone. They hadn't really talked since that morning, before Sam cut her hair and Lena went to L- Corp and found Theo. The younger brunette told what she was doing at the company that afternoon, apparently she had a meeting very early the next day and could not find the documents in the email, even though she was sure Jess had sent it. She also said that she tried several times to put Theo to bed with her, but he kept going to the edge as if he wanted to go down. Finally, she understood that he didn't want to sleep with her and not even close to her. The little kitten found comfort near the small bookshelf Lena has in the room. Clearly he was the reader type, just like her.
“What happened to you to cut your hair out of nowhere?” Lena asked when Sam said she had been bored most of the afternoon.
“I thought, since we are quarantined, I could be a little radical at least once in my life.”
“You talk like you dyed your hair blue and pink.”
“Hey, but I never cut my own hair. Only Ruby's when she was a kid.”
“Really?” Lena asked in surprise. “Not even in your teenage years?”
“No?” Sam said. “You won't tell me you already did that.”
“Yes... At boarding school.” Lena heard Theo meowing softly and got up to pick him up and take him to bed with her, at least for a little while. The puppy snuggled up next to her while she stroked his fur. “I wanted to do something to annoy Lillian and Andrea suggested that I cut my hair.”
“Oh... The ex-girlfriend.” Sam spoke in a slightly jealous tone. “I don't think she was a good influence.”
“Jealous, Samantha Arias?” Lena's brow was raised as she asked the question.
“What if I am?”
“It looks like it didn't happen 10 years ago.”
“It may be, but... I don't know... Now you live in the same city.” Sam managed to control the tone of her voice to make it sound like she meant it. In fact, she had a small smile on her face, but she could take advantage of what Lena was not seeing.
“Sam... Are you implying that...” Lena didn't even finish answering, she really felt offended by what Sam had said, not being able to be sure if she was serious or just playing. “I think I better go to sleep.”
“Lena...”
“I have a meeting early tomorrow. Good night, Samantha.” Samantha... She only called Sam by her name on a few occasions and one of them was when Lena was upset. “I love you...” And hung up before Sam had time to answer.
Lena thought it best to turn off her cell phone as soon as she ended the call. She didn't believe Sam thought she could cheat on her with Andrea even if it was just for fun. She also didn't want to deal with that discussion at the time. She got up and placed Theo on his bed, next to the bookshelf, so as not to risk him getting hurt if he wanted to get out of bed during the night, activated the alarm on her smartwatch and turned off the light to sleep. Perhaps the next day she would be more willing to talk about it with her girlfriend.
On the other side of the country, Samantha was lying in the darkness of her room, trying to visualize the ceiling, after calling Lena a few times and having the calls forwarded to the voicemail. She just wanted to relax a little, but it was only after the words came out of her mouth that she realized that this game could hurt Lena. Since what had happened to Kara, the subject of trust had become more sensitive to her and Sam had touched exactly that wound. She had done what she had promised to never do to Lena.
Realizing that she wouldn't be able to speak to her girlfriend again that night, Sam just sent a message and put her cell phone on the nightstand so she could sleep. Before locking the screen, she still looked at the photo she had on her lockscreen at first, thinking she was a complete idiot for what had happened a few minutes ago. The photo had been taken by Ruby on one of the weekends that Lena had gone to Metropolis, well before the quarantine started. She had gone on a trip to New York with the school class and when she got home Sunday afternoon, she found Lena and Sam sleeping on the couch with the television on. Sam was behind Lena with her arm around her waist being the big spoon. The fireplace was lit, which had left the photo a little yellow. It snowed a lot that weekend and they did practically nothing they had planned besides watching some movies having tea and looking for other more natural ways to warm up, normally without the use of clothes so Lena doesn't have to steal another sweatshirt from her girlfriend’s closet. In the photo, Lena was wearing a near dark sweatshirt that she had bought for Sam on a trip she made to Northern Ireland.
Sam closed her eyes and blocked the cell phone screen, then turned and opened her eyes again, trying to face the ceiling again. She barely slept...
Lena had also been unable to sleep well, but even so, she woke up earlier, took a shower to feel more willing and made a small breakfast. A few minutes before the meeting was about to start, she went to the bedroom to change her robe for a presentable outfit and put on some makeup. When she came out of the bathroom and took out her cell phone to send a message to Jess, who was also going to attend the meeting, it was that she realized she had forgotten to turn on the device when she woke up. When she turned it on, the first notification she received was a message from Sam, in addition to others saying that she had called a few times after Lena hung up.
“Babe, forgive me... Only after the words left my
mouth was that I realized how insensitive this attempt to
make a joke had been, which turned out to be very annoying.
I would never think that of you and yet I ended up
mistaking and breaking the promise I made of never
hurt you. I hope you can forgive me even though
I don't even think I deserve it. Please call me
as soon as you're ready to talk. I will not insist,
but know that I will be waiting for you.
I love you.
She thought it best not to respond and wait to deal with it after the meeting was over, even though she knew it could interfere with her concentration. Little did Lena know that what would most disturb her concentration would not be to think about the conversation with Sam, but rather the newest resident of that apartment.
In Metropolis, Ruby was already awake, drinking juice on the kitchen island, when Sam appeared in the room. She only managed to sleep for a few hours, but, as it took her a long time to fall asleep, she woke up a little later than she used to, missing breakfast in the company of her daughter.
“Spent another sleepless night talking to Lena?”
Lena... Just hearing the girlfriend's name, Sam wanted to lock herself in her room and spend the day hating herself for the bullshit she had done the night before.
“No, I just couldn't sleep properly.” Sam replied.
It was noticeable, thanks to the dark circles she had acquired from spending most of the night awake.
“My goodness!” Ruby said, taking the last sip of the juice. “You fought. What did you do?”
Sam rolled her eyes and went to the fridge to get the yogurt to eat with some fruit. “What makes you think we fought and why would it be my fault?”
“Oh, I don’t know?” Ruby shrugged, getting up from where she was sitting. “But did you fight or not?”
“No...” Sam didn’t want to tell the truth to her daughter because she was embarrassed by what happened and so she wouldn't worry.
“Okay, then.” The teenager gave her mother a kiss on the cheek and headed towards the stairs. “I'm going back to the bedroom. I don't know why I still need to attend these classes if you've already enrolled me in school in National City again, but I can't do anything about it.” She rolled her eyes and went upstairs.
Samantha continued in the kitchen, having breakfast and occasionally looking at the cell phone screen to see if Lena had answered her. With the lack of response, she decided that it would be better to make a special lunch, so maybe she would be distracted by something else.
The state of distress lasted almost the entire day. After lunch, still with no response from Lena, Sam started packing some things to lessen the work as the moving day approached. She was unable to last long in this task because, apart from the personal items that were used on a daily basis, few things would leave Metropolis in this change. Sam then went back to reading one of the huge books that Lena had left for her on some of the visits before they started dating again.
Early in the evening, while Sam was tidying up the closet to pass the time, the cell phone started ringing on the bed. She ran so fast she almost tripped over her own legs and fell in the middle of the room. When she took out her cell phone and saw who was calling, her heart started to beat faster.
“Hello!”
“Hey!” Lena spoke softly. “Sorry I didn't call you before... And didn't answer your message. After the meeting, I worked out some things with Jess and ended up forgetting.”
“Okay. I didn't mean to disturb you.” Sam sat on the bed and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself a little. “I'm sorry I said that to you yesterday.”
“Sam...” Lena started. “I know you didn't mean it, but several memories crossed my mind at that moment and I thought it best to hang up before we could end up really fighting.”
“I know, I regretted it the moment I spoke.”
“But it's okay.” Sam could see that Lena was smiling. “I missed you all day.”
“Me too. I had to find a thousand things to do and stop thinking that I had ruined the best relationship of my life.” She heard Lena laugh. One of the sounds she loved to hear the most.
“What did you do?”
“I cooked, I packed some things, I read and right now I was fixing the closet to pass the time.”
“Wow, you talking about packing makes everything seem so real. Sometimes I can't believe that in less than two weeks I will have you close to me again.” What Lena said made Sam smile with relief. It didn't even seem that a few minutes ago she was distressed to have done something stupid.
“Me neither. Today Ruby was complaining that she still had to attend classes even though she had already changed schools...”
“Love... I'm going to have to hang up now.” Lena spoke in a sad voice. “The cell phone is almost discharging and I'm sure I left the charger in the car because I haven't found it since I arrived from L- Corp yesterday and tried to connect to the other cell.”
“All right, babe.”
“I'll call you tomorrow as soon as I find this charger. Sleep well, okay? I love you.”
“I'm definitely going to sleep a lot better than yesterday.” Sam said laughing. “I love you too.”
In the week before the date that would be the definitive move, in one of the nightime conversations before bed, the two got back on the subject of that pool house that Sam had liked when Lena asked for her opinion. After much insistence and looking again at the images of the property together, Lena spoke the amount that had been passed on to her by the broker. The price was not so high for a relatively large house with a pool, located on the outside of National City, but the state of the property plus the amount of renovations that would need to be done left Sam with a foot in the back.
Even with Lena saying that the idea of buying the house was just one of the most effective excuses for her girlfriend to want to go back to the city, Sam didn't agree with them staying on Lena's penthouse, often saying that the place was too small for three people and a cat, even if it wasn't necessarily true.
“What do you think about building a house from scratch?” Lena, who had just come out of the bathroom, took Theo and lay on the bed, turning on the TV right after.
“What do you mean?” Despite being a little late, Sam was still in the livin room, watching Ruby play video games.
“Buy a yard and hire an architect to do the project the way we want. The architect who planned the renovation of the L-Corp forefront is also great at residential projects.
“I don't know, babe... Doesn't that take a lot of work?”
“But think with me, it will be difficult to find the perfect house with its garden, two offices...” Lena started to list all the things they had said when they talked about it on other occasions. “Movies room, a pool for Ruby...”
“You know that Ruby is not going to live with us forever, don't you?” Sam spoke in a relaxed tone and Lena could hear Ruby mutter "yeah I'm not really going" next to the saddle, followed by a "girl, pay attention to your game" that made the brunette laugh.
“The room may have thicker walls... soundproof...” Even without seeing, Sam knew that Lena had a malicious smile on her lips.
“As I said, Ruby will not live with us forever...”
“It costs nothing to prevent...”
They decided to talk more about it when Sam was already in town. It was Sam's idea, but, in Lena's mind, it was she who would benefit from the decision, because with Sam closer it was much easier to convince her that the CEO was right about building the house.
The next few days went by as slowly as possible. Anxiety did not let Lena and Sam enjoy the day even while working. They continued to go to sleep late and started to wake up much earlier because they were unable to spend much time sleeping. Samantha didn't know what else to do. Most of the bags were already packed, all the objects that would go to National City with them were already packed. Lena, on the other hand, had already organized Ruby's room and living spaces more than five times in the past three days.
The day before the move, Samantha received an email that turned all anxiety into frustration.
Due to the pandemic, many things have changed in the country, mainly the inhabitants' freedom to come and go. At least for a period of time it would be like that. The popularity of President Marsdin ended up falling because of some decisions she was forced to take, but it was the way it should be done. Some states, for example, residents needed a kind of 'green card' to circulate normally on the streets. That card said that the person had not had contact with the virus for a period of fifteen days, and may have been contaminated and cured or not come into contact in any way.
In Samantha's situation, she would need an authorization from the Disease Control and Prevention Center (CDC) and the Crisis Offices of both the state and the federal government, to change the city definitively. As the trip would be made on a private plane, the L-Corp's, the authorization arrived quickly. Hopefully, the use of the aircraft did not have to be authorized by the company's partners' council either because Samantha was CFO of the multinational. But, because of the landing of an unauthorized aircraft carrying a contaminated passenger, the airport had to be closed for the next seven days and, as the L- Corp plane would need to use the airport runway, the trip had to be postponed for another week.
The news had not been reported by the country's media yet. Sam only got the information first hand because of the runway's authorization and because a college colleague of hers worked at the airport. So, it was up to her to inform fer girlfriend about the unexpected.
“Hey!” Sam spoke as soon as Lena answered the phone. “Are you busy?”
“No...” Lena replied. “I just put food for Theo and I was going to take a shower. Did something happen?”
“Technically...” Sam didn't know exactly why She was so nervous. It's not like what happened was her fault. “I have two news to give you. Do you prefer the good first or the bad?”
“It depends... Is the news good enough not to upset me about the bad news?”
"No..." Sam said in a whisper .
“Tell me good first, then.”
“I found that shirt you bought in Milan and thought you had forgotten it at the hotel.” The brunette spoke in a relaxed tone. “It was hidden in my closet, apparently.”
“I must have left it there when I stole one of your sweatshirts...” Lena was silent for a while, perhaps for fear of asking what was the bad news, because the found a beautiful blouse that she bought at Milan Fashion Week and which had been very expensive, should leave a smile on her face at least until the next day. “What's the bad news.”
“Our reunion will have to wait until next week...”
The CEO did not respond immediately. It took a while to digest the information. It was almost perfect, for the first time in months she just needed to count the hours to see Sam again instead of months, weeks and days. What could have happened? What had they done wrong for the universe to turn against them that way?
“What happened?”
Sam told exactly what had been reported by both the CDC and the guy at the airport. She left out no details and spoke in a tone of voice that was serious enough that Lena didn't think it was more of a joke.
“Why do these people always have to break the quarantine and end up disturbing other people’s lives?” Lena spoke visibly frustrated.
“Technically he didn't break the quarantine because the quarantine is over, he just wasn't allowed to leave the house, much less to travel. I think he must have thought it was okay since he is asymptomatic.” Lena rolled her eyes as Sam spoke.
“It doesn't matter, Samantha.”
Sam laughed. “I think it's funny you talking about sticking the quarantine... It's not like you didn't do the same almost five months ago.”
“Samantha Arias, my dear... These are completely different situations, I wasn’t with the virus when I did the madness to break the quarantine to spend the weekend with the woman of my life.”
Sam blushed at the comment. She knew how much Lena was in love with her, but the reaction to hearing from her mouth was always the same.
“It's the same thing as a veteran saying it’s okay to have a gun because he knows how to use...”
“Samantha... Are you going to be defending the guy who delayed our reunion? Because if you go, you'll be talking to yourself because I'm going to take a shower because the water in the bathtub is getting cold.”
“You know I'm kidding, don't you?”
“Hm...” Lena rolled her eyes. “I think you've been joking a lot lately...”
“Will you really leave me talking to myself?”
“You are invited to join me...”
Samantha laughed nervously and looked at the other end of the couch, where Ruby was sitting browsing Netflix looking for a movie for them to watch. “I would love to, but I can't now.”
“I’ll do it myself then...”
“Lena... Babe...” She had hung up. “Ruby... While you choose there, I'll go to the bathroom, I’ll come back in no time.” Sam said already getting up and walking quickly up the stairs.
“Af, see if it doesn't take long like the other time...”
After the previous week had passed slowly, the week that Sam and Ruby shouldn't even be in Metropolis was able to pass even more slowly. Especially for Ruby who had packed the video game at the bottom of a box and Sam didn't let her mess up what was already done. As she was no longer taking classes at the old school, the teenager had to find other ways to be distracted when her friends were not available to talk to her.
On the day of picking up Sam and Ruby at the airport, something else happened, this time for Lena. She had planned to make a special dinner with Ruby's favorite food, but as she separated the ingredients, she realized that some of the essentials were missing. She went out to buy and halfway through she realized that she forgot the bracelet that had the authorization card to move around the city and had to return, wasting some time. She managed to prepare dinner in time, but when she got the car out of the building and headed for the airport, the exit gate of the parking lot had a problem preventing her from leaving. Lena waited a few minutes for maintenance to finish the repair, but when she looked at her watch, she saw that there would be no time to get to the airport even without facing traffic. Frustrated once again, she texted her girlfriend with a thousand apologies and asked the driver to come and get her. Luckily he lived much closer to the airport and was in possession of the company's corporate vehicle.
Lena took advantage of the time and in order not to be waiting or walking around, she took another shower, although she had already done that when she arrived from the supermarket, and set the table. She wouldn't be able to heat up dinner yet because when Sam and Ruby arrived they would have to go straight to the shower before they could move around the house. This would be one more impediment to killing homesickness even faster.
The Luthor was leaving the room ready when the driver sent a message saying he had already arrived at the building, but was waiting in the car's disinfection line before he could go up to the rooftop parking lot. He also said that the luggage would be left with an employee who would be responsible for cleaning the objects and would only be delivered to the apartment a little later. As the owner of the building, Lena was already aware of all this information, but it was always good to know again to make sure the job was being done well.
When the two finally reached the penthouse, the first thing Sam would do was to hug Lena, if she hadn't been pushed by Ruby. With the movement, she almost stepped on the tail of little Theo who was approaching them. The kitten got scared and ran to hide behind Lena's legs, near the door.
“Ruby... Why did you do that?” Sam spoke with her hand on her chest, scared to be taken by surprise like that.
“You can't embrace yet, have you forgotten?” She laughed and closed the door. She spoke quickly to Lena almost without looking at her and bent down to pick up the small animal on her lap. “She scared you, didn't she, baby?” Ruby caressed him and the cat snuggled in her arms as if he had known her for a long time.
Lena was just smiles. After the hardship that the unforeseen events had been throughout the day, nothing could take happiness from her face.
“Ruby, you already know the way to the bedroom. You can put the backpack there and there’s a new towel for you in the bathroom.” The CEO had told the girl that she wasn't going to stay in the same room she was in when she spent a few days with Lena when Sam was still struggling to get rid of Reign . The room had the best view of the two guest rooms in the apartment and was furthest from the suite, but Lena had said she had turned the room into an office.
“But I said I didn't want to stay in the room closer to yours. The walls tend to be thinner when you are talking about that nonsense of couples in love do and that leaves me with diabetes just a little bit.” Ruby said rolling her eyes and already walking towards the room with Theo still on her lap. “On the phone it was still good that I only listened to my mother, but now with you together in the same house I think I will have to move again and go live with Alex.”
“When did you become that annoying teenager, Ruby?” Sam said laughing. She knew that Lena was joking about choosing a room, but she wanted to have a little fun making her daughter angry.
“I think when I turned fourteen.”
Ruby was already near the bedroom door when Lena decided to speak. “I was playing with you, the room is the other one. I hope you like the new decor.”
The teenager ran to the bedroom and locked herself inside without saying anything else. Then Lena accompanied Sam to the suite. She had never entered her room in National City. It was much bigger than Sam had imagined, with floor-to-ceiling windows identical to the windows in the living space. The room also had a balcony slightly smaller than the other. The bed was huge and, the way they used to sleep when they were together, could even fit three more people in it. When looking around, Sam also found a small bed with a baby blue blanket next to a bookshelf, which was supposed to be Theo's bed.
As Lena knew that the suitcases would be retained in the building's disinfection process, she suggested that the two of them take a change of clothes in Ruby's backpack to change as soon as they got home. But even so, she put one of Sam's stolen sweatshirts on the bed along with leggings. She said the same thing she told Ruby about having fresh towels in the bathroom and left the room for Sam to take a shower. The longer they talked, the longer it would take for them to have physical contact again.
Taking advantage of the fact that Sam and Ruby were in the shower, Lena went to the kitchen to warm up dinner and make the pasta sauce, which would be even tastier if served on the spot. Before that, she took an album by Michael Bublé from the vinyl record collection she had on the shelf and put it to play. She was so focused on the task she was doing and at the same time lost in the soft melodies of the songs that she didn't notice when Sam left the bedroom, being taken by surprise when warm hands circled her waist and a kiss was placed on her neck.
Lena snuggled closer to that embrace just as long as the fire was on, because when the sauce was ready, she wasted no time and turned to put her arms around Sam's neck. They were lost in each other's eyes as they moved according to the melody, until the song ended.
“I missed you so much.” Lena spoke first, weaving her fingers through her girlfriend's wet hair.
“Me too.” Sam whispered. “I can't believe we're together again.”
Sam brought a hand that was on Lena's waist to her face, left a small caress on the spot and slowly approached until their lips, which had been so far apart, met again. The kiss started smoothly, but soon it was gaining intensity. Lena, who was barefoot, further tightened her arms around Sam's neck, standing on tiptoe while Sam brought her body closer to her.
The taller brunette guided Lena's body until it touched the island, using the new support to glue both bodies further. With one hand that was around Sam's neck, Lena intertwined her fingers again in her hair and tugged lightly, leaving a small bite on her bottom lip when her lips parted a few inches to get oxygen.
“My God!” The two were so focused on each other that they did not notice when Ruby left the bedroom. “What did I do to deserve two teenagers with the hormones in full swing.” She spoke already throwing herself on the sofa, with Theo still in her lap and holding the cell phone with one hand. “That's it, I'll have to call Alex and ask to live with her.”
"Ruby..." Lena said, still with her body pressed against Sam's and her chin resting on her shoulder. “You will reach that stage, just wait.”
The teenager looked at them, rolling her eyes. “Well, I hope I never fall in love, at least not with a woman... It seems that women make us more emotional.”
Sam laughed at her daughter's last words. “You know that Alex came back with the ex-fiancee, don't you? On top of that after a long time without seeing each other. I have no doubt that they are worse than us.”
“Mom, it is scientifically impossible for any other couple to be more emotional than you two. Your emotion may be the same as that of other couples, but it also has to be multiplied by ten.
“It's a sign that we love each other, Rubs. Shouldn't it be a reason for inspiration?” Sam spoke and Lena took advantage that she had loosened her grip on her waist and turned so she could look at Ruby too.
“Only if I were crazy.” The girl rolled her eyes again. “Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to listen to music and let you kill the nostalgia without being traumatized.”
“Don’t even think about it, young lady.” Lena said. “You can come sit here because dinner is ready.”
Dinner went normally. Ruby spared no praise for the food, especially since it was their favorite. The girl also did not stop talking for a minute, so as not to leave room for her "mothers" to start with yet another emotional speech and declaration of love. She recounted how the last “forced” classes at the other school were and how excited she was to see her old friends in National City when classes resumed. Lena also said that she had already bought the new The Last of Us in pre-order and that, when the game arrived, they would spend the entire weekend playing, with Sam's permission, of course, and if it didn’t disrupt her studies.
Ruby also did not miss the opportunity to make fun of both of them whenever their hands were on the table or when one looked with a giant admiration when the other was talking. She played with them a lot, but she was happy and thought that yes, the two were an inspiration, especially after all the obstacles that forced them to spend time apart. The girl remembered Sam and Lena's relationship a few years ago, when the two lived in Metropolis , she was still a child, but the memory of how happy Lena made her mother were still fresh in her mind.
After dinner, Sam allowed her daughter to play a little while she and Lena tidied up the kitchen. Ruby was relieved that she would be able to use the headset and she wouldn't have to listen to their conversations and kisses again, already accustomed that this was what always happened when the two were alone tidying up the kitchen.
The couple took much longer than normal to clean up the kitchen because they looked like two children waging a water war and two teenagers clinging to continue another kissing session. When they finished and went to the living room, Ruby asked Lena to play at least one game of Mario Kart with her. She accepted, making Sam roll her eyes and sat at the L-shaped sofa joint, put her legs on the sofa and pulled her girlfriend to lie between her legs. What was a match ended up being a competition of best of 3, best of 5, until the advantage increased and Ruby ended up winning.
As a reward, she asked her “mothers" to stop clinging for at least two hours, which caused the two to protest. To agree with his daughter's request, Sam suggested that they play something she could also participate in and that did not involve the Xbox of the PS4. The three played several matches of Uno, Ludo and Dominoes, which lasted until the early hours of the morning, when Ruby started showing clear signs of tiredness, saying goodbye to the two with a kiss on each of their faces and going to the bedroom, without forgetting to take Theo with her. Lena hadn't seen it yet, but when the two of them were tidying up the kitchen, Ruby went into the suite, took the kitty's small bed and carried it to her own room.
Lena and Sam stayed in the same position they were in while Ruby played video games, lying on the couch watching anything that was going on on television, without really paying attention. The Luthor ran her fingers through her beloved's hair, her head against her chest.
“You are here.” Lena spoke softly. Sam made a sly noise when she stopped stroking her hair and reached for Lena's hand to continue.
“Don’t stop.” Sam replied. Lena brought her free hand up to her girlfriend's chin and made her look at her.
“Come here.”
The older brunette understood what she meant and knelt on the sofa to be at the same height as Lena, before letting her body cover hers. Lena continued with her hand on her chin, pulling her closer and closer, until they were inches apart. Sam looked deep into those green eyes as if she could see beyond what was ahead, while Lena continued to caress her face.
“Hey.” Samantha whispered and took a shy smile to her lips.
“You are here.” Lena repeated what she had said earlier, closing her eyes soon after and feeling Sam's breath hit her face.
“Yes, babe.” Sam brought her lips to the tip of her girlfriend's nose and placed a kiss there, making her open her eyes. “I'm finally home.”
Lena closed her eyes again when she heard those words. She knew very well what they meant. She felt the same way when she was in the arms of that woman that she loved more than anything in life. At home.
Sam left a few kisses along the length of her girlfriend's face until she reached her lips, where she just brushed her own, when she was only a few inches away, she saw that Lena had parted her lips waiting for more contact. Sam pressed both lips together again, in a soft, emotional kiss. They stayed like this for a few seconds, taking advantage of the proximity and the taste of the other's lips, without anyone struggling to have control over the kiss.
After a while the kiss started to become more intense. Hands roamed every piece of skin they found, even under their clothes. Lena pushed herself off the couch, causing Sam to get off her and sit down too. Luthor parted her lips and left one last peck before getting up and pulling Samantha by the hand towards the bedroom.
When they entered the room, Lena turned her back on her girlfriend and locked the door with the key while Sam distributed kisses around her neck and ran her hands around her waist under the sweatshirt she wore. The kisses became even more desperate, accompanied by the hands that threw the pieces of clothing previously worn by them anywhere.
The two arrived in bed with only their underwear on. The kissing session continued as before, with Sam on top of Lena, sometimes with their lips together, sometimes leaving kisses on all of her exposed skin. The kisses stopped only when Sam felt Lena's hands reach for the clasp of her bra.
She pulled away and sat on the bed. “Are you sure we can...” Sam looked into Lena's eyes and then to the side, in the direction of where the other rooms were.
“Uhum.” Luthor followed her movement, but instead of sitting on the bed, sat on her lap. “Remember what I said about the walls of our future home?” She asked and left some kisses on Sam's chin and shoulders.
Samantha just nodded.
“Where do you think that idea came from?” Lena smirked and raised an eyebrow.
It was almost three in the morning and the two were still awake. Sam fought as hard as she could to overcome the tiredness of the trip and the last few hours that had been killing the homesickness from each other. They were lying down, covered to the waist and being lit by the light of the fireplace and the lights that were still on in the city and passed through the thin fabric of the curtain that covered the large windows of the room. Lena had her head on Sam's shoulder, while the fingers of the older woman's right hand were intertwined with her fingers.
“Babe... What you tell me about your first...” She pulled Sam’s hand who had a wristwatch to look at the time. “six hours back in National City?”
Sam sighed and brought a smile to her lips. “The best of the last five months.”