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Part One
Kara threw back the shot, swallowing the alien liquor in one go, desperately seeking the fuzziness and disconnection that only inebriation could bring.
“Woah, slow down there.” Alex laughed, “You know since adopting Esme my alcohol tolerance has plummeted.”
“Right… sorry.” Kara mumbled, moving to adjust her glasses only for her fingers to brush bare skin, the surprise of it and the sheer stupidity of the action making her gaze dart over to the spot she’d ordered herself not to look at.
She grimaced and quickly drank another shot.
Alex’s brow immediately pinched with concern, her head twisting round to track down whatever sight had provoked the discontent in her sister; before she had a chance to locate the issue, Nia was falling into the booth beside Alex, giggly and slightly sweat-sheened from dancing. Brainy slipped in next to Kara, looking equally flustered and energetic.
“This place is amazing! We should come every week!” Nia declared jubilantly.
“I concur!” Brainy agreed instantly, his smile wide, lopsided and smeared with a purple shade that matched Nia’s lipstick.
“Let’s see if you both feel the same in the morning…” Alex drawled, sipping her pint glass of water, having made the smart decision to alternate alcohol with hydration.
Nia either pointedly ignored this statement or had already mentally moved on from the conversation, Kara couldn’t really tell which, too busy sneakily taking another shot. Nia was already shifting in her seat, head rotating this way and that way, desperate to get back out on the dance-floor and burn more energy as she took hasty sips of the cocktail Alex and Kara had been guarding.
“Holy moly!” Nia exclaimed, going still as her eyes locked onto something. “Those two are about to get it on.”
“What? Who?” Alex asked curiously, even as Kara went rigid, eyes burning and heart racing.
“Talk about eat the rich, am I right?” Nia snorted, nudging Alex’s side as Alex slowly turned back to meet Kara’s gaze, her expression painfully sympathetic and understanding. “I knew Lena and Andrea had a whole thing but I had no idea it was heating back up again. I mean hot damn . Hey, Kara?” Nia murmured, leaning over the table, head lolling forward like an eager puppy with absolutely no filter. “Did you know? Do you think Lena’s going to go home with Andrea? Do you think they’re going to get together? Oh my god, can you imagine if they like properly date or… get married ? How rich would they be together? Do you-”
CRACK-BANG
The table of their booth splintered apart, thudding loud and heavy to the ground - Alex let out a wince of pain as it banged her knees on the descent, Nia and Brainy’s alcohol levels dulling them to the impact.
“Shi-Shoot, I… I am so sorry…” Kara said, staggering to her feet, stomping the debris harder into the ground and inadvertently making any repair impossible.
“Is everyone okay?”
Kara cringed, looking over to find Lena, Andrea and Kelly - all of them having rushed over the instant they heard the noise. Staff were approaching but a wave from Lena and promise to pay for the expenses kept them at bay. Kara could barely look at her best friend, shoulders hunched up high and body curled forward with shame and in a vain attempt to mitigate the ache in her chest.
Lena was in a black dress with a high cut up the thigh; her hair was loose, curly and voluminous like a dark-haired Sandy from Grease. Her cheeks were flushed a bright pink, eyes dark and sparkling and the neck of her dress was pulled off one shoulder to reveal the expanse of tempting flesh.
(Kara had watched Andrea’s hands tease at the split in Lena’s dress, fingertips kissing the flash of thigh before marking a path up Lena’s side, hooking around the edge of fabric to pull it to the side allowing Andrea’s nose and the ghost of her lips to trail along Lena’s collarbone).
“We’re fine.” Alex answered immediately, getting to her feet and reaching for Kara - only for Kara to sway backwards out of reach and nearly fall over.
Hands in all directions reached out to steady her but with her ears filled with the sound of Lena’s familiar thrumming heartbeat is it any wonder that she fell towards Lena who touched her like she was fragile rather than a wrecking ball?
“You okay?” Lena whispered, head ducking forward so the words were just between the two of them.
Kara blinked into caring green eyes, breath catching in her throat so stubbornly that she felt herself actually choke on it - words totally beyond her capability.
She shook her head, unable to stop the action.
Lena’s face instantly set , becoming determined and clear as if all the alcohol was instantly purged from her system. Hands that had been delicately placed on Kara’s shoulders to offer maximum stabilisation, traced down her arms until their fingers were tangled - locking them together.
“I’m taking Kara home.” Lena declared, barely glancing around at the rest of the group.
Kara knew her sister would frown, considering whether to step in but would ease back if Kara shuffled that little bit closer to Lena - proving that this was what she wanted. During the shuffle forward, Kara caught a glimpse of Andrea’s expression: strained, disappointed and not so slightly annoyed. Any sense of victory Kara would have felt at provoking such a reaction was diminished by how Lena released Kara’s hand to fleetingly squeeze Andrea’s forearm, murmuring a promise to call or text when possible.
The interaction soured the mix of liquids in her stomach and as Lena led her out of the side-exit of the club to avoid scrutiny, Kara had to stop them so she could throw up in the gutter. Lena held her hair back, fingers cold and soothing on the back of Kara’s heated neck, her words even more gentle. Lena guided Kara into her chauffeured car, forcing her to drink water and then letting her rest her head on her shoulder and play with Lena’s fingers for the whole journey.
They arrived back at Kara’s apartment, Lena still steering her with infinite care, helping drink more water and get changed into pyjamas - Lena purposefully looking away whenever bare skin was exposed which only made the ache in Kara’s chest all the more pronounced.
“Why does she get to touch you like that?” Kara asked when she could no longer hold the drunk-induced words back.
“Hmm?” Lena hummed, raising an eyebrow curiously as she tucked the duvet in around Kara’s heavy-limbed form, “Who gets to touch me like what?”
Kara pursed her lips, looking into the far corner of her room as she muttered darkly, “Andrea…”
Lena froze for a painful beat, and Kara was suddenly acutely aware of how her eardrums throbbed with the remnant bass of the club. Lena slowly pulled away standing up to her full height as she peered down at Kara, her expression inscrutable.
“Because she asked , because she showed interest.” Lena said eventually, the words clipped and sharp. “You’ve never even tried to touch me like that. Never given any indication that you would want to…”
Kara still adamantly refused to look at her, fingers fidgeting with the edge of her quilt.
“I know you went out on a date with William Day.” Lena murmured, and Kara cringed away at that.
She was aware that she had said yes to him because she hoped he would reduce how much she thought of Lena but all it did was make Lena feel all the more easily replaced and forgotten.
Lena sighed and pinched her brow with index finger and thumb as if this conversation - if Kara - was producing a migraine. “Nevermind. You should sleep.”
“Are you going to sleep with her?” Kara asked quietly, wanting the salt to be rubbed into her wounds, wanting the burn in the hope that the sheer sharpness of it would reduce the underlying ache .
“If she asks…” Lena whispered hesitantly - Kara lived and died a thousand times over in that minor pause -, “probably. Is there a reason I shouldn’t?”
“I don’t like her.”
“I didn’t like Mike or Mon-El.” Lena shot back, shaking her head. “That’s not a good enough reason.”
“Then what would be?” Kara demanded, head turning towards her, gaze focused on the white flash of thigh through the slit in Lena’s dress - still not able to look up into her green eyes.
“If you like me more.” Lena breathed.
Kara licked her lips, lungs inflating to put the long-awaited declaration out into the world only for her jaw to snap shut and her tongue to stick to the bottom of her mouth.
“You can’t say it, can you?” Lena laughed, the sound mournful and broken. “That’s the difference, you know? She’s not scared or embarrassed to like me, to ask to touch me.”
“Is that what you think: that I’m embarrassed?” Kara cringed, head bowing down as if she was praying to Lena, offering herself up in supplication.
“I don’t know,” Lena admitted, “but when I have no alternative… what should I default to thinking? If you say and do nothing despite my repeated invitations to it’s either because you don’t like me like that or you do but you don’t want to act on it.”
Another pause, another chance for redemption.
“It’s… I…” Kara began falteringly before trailing off into the heaviest of silences.
Lena sighed again, hand reaching out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind Kara’s ear, “Go to sleep, Kara.”
Part Two
“What’s wrong with me?” Kara asked as she slumped down on the sofa; Alex and Kelly watched her with concerned expressions. “I know how I feel about Lena, I know what I want with her so why can’t I…” she waved her arms in front of her as if offering an interpretative dance of action and decision making.
“And how do you feel about Lena?” Alex queried as Kelly leant back ensuring the conversation was more held between the two sisters.
“You know.” Kara harrumphed.
“I mean, do I?” Alex pressed. “I know you’re attracted to her. I know you care about her. Do you just want to sleep with her?” The question was like a kryptonite powered slap to Kara’s face. “You’ve never had a best friend, is it just that you feel like you’re losing her? What is it, Kara?”
“You know it’s more than that- She’s more than that .” Kara growled.
“And more is what?” Alex shrugged drolly, “ Your bestest best friend ?”
Kara’s expression scrunched up, waves and crinkles forming in a bid to serve as a barrier against the flood of emotion that Alex’s laissez-faire attitude provoked.
“Everything!” Kara shouted. “She’s everything !”
Alex didn’t react to her rage, she didn’t even blink - Kelly, meanwhile, placed a supportive hand on Alex’s back as if holding her up like a stabilising beam.
“Then why do you treat her like nothing ?”
“I don’t- I would never -” Kara blustered, outraged beyond comprehension.
“Nothing is probably too far.” Alex acknowledged, rubbing her chin, “But you don’t treat her like she’s special, like she’s anything more than a good friend.”
“That’s not…” Kara began, jaw working but unable to produce the necessary words. “I… I rewrote the universe for her.”
“Privately. Or should I say… secretively .” Alex said, the word quiet and cutting despite the sympathetic edge she gave it.
“I…” Kara withered, falling back in her seat and looking away in shame. “Why can’t I… why can’t I love her out in the open? Why can’t I say the words I want and do the things I want ? Not even out in the open… just… just to her.”
“Kara, how do you feel when you think about doing those things?” Alex pressed, “Imagine Lena is here right now. Imagine standing up and kissing her. How do you feel?”
She swallowed thickly, heartbeat accelerating to terminal velocity, her mouth opened and closed. She tried to cough out words, tried to even imagine her carrying out the fantasy but her brain grinded painfully - something obstructing the cogs' easy motions.
Alex waited and waited and waited.
Nothing.
Kara cringed away when the awkward silence became too much to bear.
“She’s scared into paralysis.” Kelly whispered, the words on the periphery of being audible.
Alex shifted then - Kara could hear her approach even as she curled in on herself - moving closer, kneeling in front of her sister. Carefully Alex covered Kara’s hands with her own, she didn’t tangle their fingers or interlock them in any way knowing that when emotionally stressed Kara’s powers slip out of her tight control and harm could be caused however accidentally.
“You won’t even let yourself dream it?” Alex murmured, voice rough with emotion but so soft and caring - the regret of pushing Kara earlier apparent.
“Alex…” Kara’s breath caught in her throat, a sob rising up to follow.
“Kara, you’re allowed to want , you know that, right?”
“I…”
“You’re allowed to want Lena.” Alex affirmed, “You don’t need anyone’s permission to feel however you want.”
“Then why do I feel like I do?” Kara asked, lifting her head up to reveal her tear-stained cheeks; Alex’s expression scrunched up in sympathy. “Why do I feel so guilty whenever I try to… whenever I even think …”
“I don’t know…” Alex admitted before straightening and moving to wrap her arms around Kara in the tightest hug she could manage, “But we’re going to figure it out, okay? We’ll figure it out.”
Part Three
Kara watched the group disperse after their debrief - they’d helped a ship of small creatures that thought as one greater being to escape Earth from a group of hunters that sold their furs on the black market. They were looking for the remaining members of the hunting group, Kara and Nia using CatCo to aid the investigation whilst Alex and Brainy investigated using old sources from the DEO.
Kara hung back, hands clasped behind her back and heart pounding in her chest. Alex walked by giving her a reassuring smile and squeezed her shoulder in encouragement. Kara smiled shakily back, breathing slightly quicker than normal, she’d been mentally preparing for this all day after talking it through with Alex and Kelly but now the moment was here and every positive reinforcement she’d given herself folded under the weight of her nerves.
She waited until Lena had finished speaking with Brainy, crossing the space between them as Lena pulled on her coat.
“Lena, can we talk?” Kara asked in one rushed breath.
“Of course.” Lena quirked an eyebrow at her, expression instantly growing concerned at Kara’s frantic state.
Kara gestured towards the balcony, granting them privacy. Lena stood facing out to the cityscape, hands folded carefully together and placed on the cold stone balustrade. Kara desperately wanted to reach out and take her hands, keeping them warm against the chill of the night air but she wasn’t sure yet if her touch was welcome (if she was even brave enough to make contact and she needed her strength for something else first).
“I…” Kara began as Lena side-eyed her.
“Is something wrong?” Lena prompted gently - far gentler than Kara deserved following the awkwardness that lay between them due to her failures since they went out to the club over a week ago.
“Yes, there is,” Kara said slowly; Lena instantly shifted round, whole body facing Kara as if her guard was dropped the instant Kara admitted that there was potential hurt or harm, “but I… I’m working on it.”
Lena pursed her lips, trying to parse the meaning of Kara’s haltingly offered answer. “Do you need help?”
“I…” Kara swallowed thickly, looking down to the floor, ashamed of the request she had to make, “I need something far more selfish than that.”
“Whatever it is…” Lena whispered, fingers slipping off stone, moving uncertainly through the air before lightly tracing the edge of Kara’s hand, “you need only ask , Kara.”
Kara grabbed Lena’s hand, holding tight and desperate with all the selfish ugliness she was about to reveal; craving the softness, the touch and everything it represented (the future it might one day provide).
Kara breathed in and held it, knowing when she next breathed in - her whole world could have shifted.
“Can you wait?” Kara asked, heart in her throat. “Can you wait for me? I know I have no right to ask. That it’s so unfair to you. That I’m always making you wait and I understand if you can’t. If you hate me for even asking. But I want… I want… Rao, I can’t… I can’t say it and I hate that I can’t because I want to say it. I want to say ‘I want’ and… I need time to get there. So, I’m asking if you’ll wait until… until I can ask for more?”
Lena had listened, head tilted to the side and green eyes studying her closely. She didn’t interrupt and didn’t overly react except for a slight flicker of something in the depths of her eyes. She finally looked away and Kara held her breath in the beats awaiting her reply.
“You’re working on it?” Lena checked, still not looking at her.
“I… yes… Yes, I am.” Kara promised, thumb running back and forth over Lena’s knuckles.
“Okay.” Lena sighed, nodding to herself and looking back, her expression a mixture of fondness and melancholy that made Kara’s heart feel like someone had wrapped a belt around it and was pulling it tight. “I’ll wait.”
Kara’s jaw dropped in disbelief, “You… you will?”
“Yes.” Lena confirmed.
“I… I don’t know what to say.” Kara murmured, lifting their joined hands up and pausing for one long second before pressing the lightest of kisses to the pale skin earning a small shocked gasp from Lena. “ Thank you .” She whispered, head lifting up to meet watery green eyes. “And why?”
“Because you asked .” Lena explained, taking the smallest of steps closer. “Because you’re working on it. And I… I’m hopeful..”
“Lena…” Kara said, hoping she could convey all of her mixed emotions - even those she can’t voice yet - in that singular word.
Lena smiled at her for the first time in a long time, “How about Chinese takeaway and a sitcom?”
“Yeah, that would… yeah…” Kara replied, breathing out in relief.
She didn’t let go of Lena’s hand all night.
Part Four
It didn’t change overnight. It was slow and steady, almost tedious.
She kept waiting for Lena to grow bored, to give up and call it quits, especially with Andrea in the wings always nudging forward and making offers that Kara simply couldn’t voice yet. Everytime Andrea drew close to Lena, the tension between them crackling and apparent to all - Andrea’s hands moving with a confidence that Kara begged Rao for - Kara wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole. (Lena always pulled away, leaning back and setting firm boundaries with Andrea.)
It started with holding hands in private. Fingers intertwining. Squeezing thrice - tight and comforting - as if to serve as stand-in for the three words Kara couldn’t give.
She grew used to Lena’s hands and their shifting temperatures. She knew when the sun set, they would shake and be cold as porcelain - Kara learned to take both hands in her own, lifting them up and pressing a kiss to each knuckle. Lena’s skin would flush and her heart would race, heat perfusing through her extremities.
She began sitting closer to Lena. She hadn’t realised how much space she kept between them. Sitting on the sofa and leaving enough room for all the superfriends, Jesus and Rao to fit in. She started to sidle closer, a necessity to allow them to comfortably keep their hands held in the space between them. The distance lessened and lessened until their hips and shoulders were pressed together each night.
And then - Kara’s heart racing faster than it ever had before - Kara shyly put an arm around Lena’s shoulders, exhaling heavily in relief and overwhelming joy when Lena curled towards her, her head tucking under Kara’s chin.
“This okay?” Kara checked.
“Hmm… nice.” Lena confirmed sleepily.
Lena fell asleep tucked against Kara, who didn’t move the entire night, basking in this moment - this closeness - she never thought she would have.
Kara worked on other touches next: fingertips tracing Lena’s forearm, a guiding hand on the small of her back, a respectful hand on Lena’s knee under the table (Lena’s hand over hers letting her know that some disrespect would be welcome), a supportive arm around Lena’s waist after a long day and lifting Lena’s legs to rest her feet in Kara’s lap when they were watching television.
“Can I ask you something? About this ?” Lena inquired one night, gesturing to their positioning.
Lena was sitting with her back against the sofa arm at Kara’s apartment, her legs in Kara’s lap; Kara was massaging the tense muscles of Lena’s calves after a day in heels with one hand, her other hand curling through Lena’s hair soothingly.
Kara froze for a moment, not expecting a query but nodding an instant later. Lena had been so accepting that she would always try to give the answers Lena deserved.
“Can I touch you?” Lena asked plainly. “No more than you touch me; I want you to set the pace, but can I initiate to the same level?”
Kara blinked, “I would like that.”
“Good to know.”
Then Lena turned back to watch television without a second thought.
It was the easiness of it all; a want communicated and answered and accepted. An open dialogue. (Kara had never experienced something so simple and wonderful).
The image of her bending forward and pressing her lips to Lena’s was quick and fleeting but once there, it was like sweet, sweet permission and Kara was going to seize it with everything she had.
“Can I kiss you?” Kara asked before she had a chance to second guess herself, the words and the desire slipping seamlessly from her mouth.
Lena’s eyebrows rose in surprise before settling on something pleased and excited. “Please do.”
And with a swoop in her stomach that Kara used to get when she first started flying, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to Lena’s.
It wasn’t quite like the image in her head. There was more shuffling involved to get the proximity and angle, but Lena’s little chuckle at the awkwardness was so beautiful Kara didn’t care how fumbled it was. Lena’s lips were somewhat dry and Kara’s breath still carried the pepperoni from the pizza earlier.
It was short, lips not even fully tucking around each other to hint at something other than chaste.
It was, undeniably, the best kiss Kara had ever experienced.
“Wow…” Kara breathed, falling back against the cushions.
Lena merely beamed at her, and Kara could hear how fast her heart was racing, “Wow, indeed.”
Kara kissed her cheek in public now, to an outsider it would merely look like close friends greeting each other after some time apart, but all the superfriends noted the change. None of them commented; Alex hadn’t revealed Kara’s struggles but she had made it clear that everyone should tread carefully leaving Kara and Lena room to figure this out for themselves.
(When it was just them Kara would duck forward and peck Lena’s lips fast and shy, Lena beaming at her every time.)
Lena didn’t initiate the kisses - leaving Kara in control of that new aspect - but she did touch Kara more now that she knew she was welcome to. When they were standing on the balcony, Lena would move closer, arms wrapping around Kara and head resting on Kara’s shoulder. When Lena slept over, Lena would comb her fingers through Kara’s tresses, fingertips tracing over her scalp until Kara fell asleep. When Kara came back after a hard fight or a stressful day at work, Lena would lift Kara’s hands and press a kiss to her palm and promise she could relax now, could uncurl and drop her responsibilities.
With each inching step forwards, Kara let herself dream and want. The kisses in her mind became longer, deeper and heated. Her hands wandered in her mind. She imagined the sounds Lena would make, how she might react to her confidence, how she might initiate. She indulged in fantasises in a way she never allowed herself to before.
“I think I figured it out.” Kara announced one night, the two of them in bed, Lena pressed against her side dropping the occasional kiss to Kara's collarbone exposed by her pyjama tank-top.
“Hmm?” Lena prompted.
“My mental block with you. With…” Kara licked her lips, eyes fixed on the ceiling, “With wanting you.”
Lena lifted her head up at that, remaining quiet, but Kara could feel the intensity of her stare.
“I’ve wanted you from the moment I saw you but I didn’t… I didn’t know that was what it was.” Kara explained falteringly. “I… thought about you more than I probably should. About… touching you… nothing too… uh… risque…”
“That’s disappointing.” Lena joked quietly, her tone light; she wasn’t ribbing, merely letting Kara know she was listening and was ready to vent some of the heaviness when needed.
“It really was.” Kara agreed, the corner of her lips ticking upwards. “I didn’t realise that my feelings were beyond friendship - I just assumed I really wanted to be your friend.”
“Best friends.” Lena affirmed, pressing another kiss to Kara’s collarbone.
“Best friends.” Kara confirmed, cheeks heating with embarrassment but also that flicker of arousal that Lena’s lips against her skin always sparked to life. “Then… Mon-El was there and I funnelled everything romantic to him… things that also belonged to you…”
“Wait…” Lena said, brow furrowed as she tried to understand what Kara was alluding to.
“Yeah…” Kara winced, jaw clenching. “I didn’t even know I was doing it.”
“It’s okay, Kara.” Lena soothed, hand moving to curl around Kara’s face, thumb stroking back and forth to ease away the tension.
“No, it’s not. It wasn’t fair to me, to him and to you. I let him think he had more of me than he did, and I thought I loved him in a way he hadn’t earned. And you… I’m sorry, Lena.”
“You didn’t owe me anything, Kara.” Lena pointed out gently.
“I owed you honesty.” Kara declared. “With Supergirl and my feelings. I gave you hope and then kept pulling away.”
“I don’t like the interpretation that you led me on. You never said you wanted more and you didn’t imply romantic reciprocation at any point.” Lena said.
“I gave you hope, though, didn’t I?” Kara repeated.
Lena pursed her lips but didn’t deny it.
“After that… I had lied to you for so long, that I didn’t allow myself to think about you like that. I told myself to not think about you like that.” Kara continued.
“Why?” Lena queried.
“Because it felt… morally repugnant.” Kara answered, nose wrinkling in disgust. “I was abusing your trust, your friendship, your kindness. To then think about you like that… it felt wrong . Like I was taking advantage. Because how can I imagine having more when whichever version of myself pushed for it was lying to you. It was… it was a desecration of consent and I hated myself for it.”
Kara’s voice was rising, the words falling faster and faster, pitch heightening as her eyes began to sting with tears.
“Kara, it’s okay, it’s okay.” Lena tried to soothe, lifting herself up more fully, fingers carding through Kara’s hair to calm her down, but Kara was spiralling.
“And then you found out, and I had hurt you so deeply. I had broken your trust. And how… how…” Kara cried, “how could I want you? How could I deserve wanting you when all I did was hurt you? All I ever did was hurt you. I didn’t deserve to think of you vulnerable or bare because I cut you so deeply. And you’re so beautiful in my mind and in reality, and every version of myself was so ugly when placed next to you that I couldn’t… my mind just glitched out and the words wouldn’t come. And I’m sorry, Lena. I’m so sorry.”
“Shhh… it’s okay, it’s okay.” Lena repeated endlessly, “You’re beautiful, Kara. So beautiful.”
“I’m not, I…”
“You are. You’re beautiful,” Lena repeated and then she was pressing a kiss to Kara’s shoulder ,“and strong,” her neck (Kara gasped), “and generous,” her jaw, “and kind,” her cheek, “and sweet,” her nose, “and funny.” (Kara let out a snorting bubbly laugh that only comes through choked back tears).
Lena looked down at her green eyes so bright and shining with love.
“So beautiful, Kara.” Lena breathed, before kissing her on the lips.
It was set to be as chaste as all those that Kara had initiated but when Lena went to pull back, Kara followed after her. She wanted to stay close, she felt beautiful under Lena, felt like they were beautiful.
Their lips slotted together, and Kara applied pressure to Lena’s bottom lip causing Lena to shudder and then melt back towards her.
“Are you sure?” Lena breathed when they parted.
“I’m sure.” Kara confirmed, hand on Lena’s neck encouraging her to return.
Part Five
They didn’t have sex, but Kara finally let her tight control slip. She indulged; hands tracing curves and lips blazing new paths. Whispers in ears of wants and needs.
She awoke the next morning with red, slightly swollen lips and her hand curled round the back of Lena’s thigh sneaking up under pyjama shorts towards a heat that made her mouth dry. Lena’s hair was in disarray and there was a plethora of purpling marks on her neck that revealed a possessive streak Kara had never been aware of before.
“Morning…” Lena mumbled, cool fingers tracing the planes of Kara’s abdomen under her pyjama shirt.
“Morning.” Kara returned, unable to take her eyes away from the woman pressed against her and all the evidence she bore of their night spent kissing and exploring.
“You doing okay?” Lena checked, one eyelid splintering open to check over Kara’s expression.
“Super.” Kara replied with a cheesy grin, feeling a small rush of bravery as she kneaded Lena’s thigh.
“Cute.” Lena smirked, nose tracing across Kara’s jaw before she pressed a kiss to the skin there making Kara shiver.
“Hey Lena?” Kara asked, biting her lip.
“Hmm?” Lena acknowledged even as she slumped back down and prepared to doze into late morning.
“Umm… does this mean… can we be…”
“Yes, we’re girlfriends.” Lena murmured, cutting through to the question
“How did you know I was going to ask that?” Kara gasped.
“Because I know you,” Lena revealed, “and if you weren’t going to ask that, we would be having a very serious conversation about the state of my neck.”
Kara winced apologetically even as she stroked the marks with a sense of pride, “Sorry about that.”
“No, you’re not.” Lena huffed.
“No, I’m not.” Kara admitted before adding seriously. “I won’t do it again if you don’t like it though.”
“I like it.” Lena paused, blinking her eyes open and lifting her head so Kara could see her expression, “I like having reminders that you want me. That you don’t mind the world knowing you want me.”
Kara pressed their lips to get fiercely, “I’m sorry it took me so long. Thank you for waiting, thank you-”
“Hey,” Lena soothed, “I wanted to wait. Thank you for trying for me. I know it wasn’t easy.”
“You’re worth it. You always have been.” Kara insisted.
“So have you.” Lena responded in kind, kissing her sweetly before settling back down.
Kara couldn’t stop touching or kissing Lena in the days that followed even if she tried.
It was as if she was trying to make up for all their missed time and chances in as short a window as possible. She kissed Lena hello and goodbye. Kissed her when she said something smart (which meant every other word), when she looked sexy or cute, when she smiled at Kara, when she laughed and sometimes just because Kara had felt it had been too long.
Lena didn’t seem to mind, if anything she seemed almost proud of the effect she was having on Kara, on Kara’s inability to go more than five minutes without pulling Lena into a corner of the tower for a heated make out session.
Kara was acutely aware of how she had made Lena feel over the years: like she was something shameful or to be embarrassed over, and Kara wanted to make sure Lena never felt that way again. She introduced Lena to everyone as her girlfriend. She told anyone in passing of Lena’s achievements and showed her off every chance she got. She refused to hide or bury her feelings ever again.
“You coming, Supergirl?” Lena asked, eyebrow arched and index finger curling back and forth in invitation.
“Oh Rao, yes.” Kara squeaked, slipping inelegantly out of the booth and rushing to close the distance between them as Alex rolled her eyes at her antics even as Kelly gently whacked her arm in reprimand.
Lena chuckled, low and seductive, hands moving to settle on Kara’s shoulders as she walked them backwards into the mess of bodies on the dancefloor.
The superfriends were out dancing and drinking, celebrating another day saved and another villain defeated. Brainy and Nia were getting drinks for the table, Alex and Kelly performing their check-in with Esme’s babysitter and Lena…
Lena was wearing black leather trousers, a flimsy black silk top that under the right light gave teasing glimpses of the lacy bra below. Her hair was wild and free and Kara couldn’t stop reaching for it when they had been pressed together in the booth.
Kara’s hands settled on Lena’s hips as Lena wrapped her arms around Kara’s neck, body swaying them back and forth to the rhythm of the bass. Kara followed the movements easily, utterly transfixed by how Lena’s body rolled, pale skin radiant under the flashing lights.
“Kara,” Lena breathed in her ear.
“Huh?” Kara inarticulately murmured back, senses in overdrive with the contact between them and the thrumming music and heaving motions surrounding them.
“You can touch, you know?” Lena reminded, teeth lightly nipping at Kara’s earlobe.
“I… I can?” Kara exhaled sharply.
“Mmhmm.” Lena hummed, green eyes staring up at her with a twinkle of challenge.
Before Kara allowed doubt or fear to seep in, she effortlessly spun Lena round, hands grabbing Lena’s hips tight and pulling them back against her own. With an easy motion established, she snuck her leg between Lena’s own and encouraged her to roll back and forth.
“Kara…” Lena groaned, half in surprise and half in delight.
Kara ducked her head, sucking on Lena’s neck prompting her girlfriend to throw back an arm and cup the back of Kara’s head keeping her in place.
“Love you, Lena.” Kara murmured, blowing cold air over Lena’s damp skin. “Love touching you. Love being yours.”
“God, Kara…” Lena whined, leaning back, most of her weight now supported by Kara. “Love you, too.”
“Can I take you home, Lena?” Kara begged, one hand slipping from Lena’s hip to her stomach, her little finger just creeping under the line of her trousers, hinting at what she wanted.
Lena paused, the slackness of her body turning more solid, control seeping back in. She turned her head, green eyes clear and assessing, “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.” Kara confirmed, she had only had two drinks and was clear-headed.
“Okay then, let’s go.”
Kara grabbed her hand and led her back off the dancefloor, they stopped by the table with their friends who all looked like they knew exactly what the couple had planned.
“So… uh… I think we’re going to call it night…” Kara said, rocking back and forth, smile too big and awkward to convey nonchalance.
“Uh huh…” Alex grimaced.
“You know, early morning and all that…” Kara swallowed; she could feel the embarrassed heat her cheeks were exuding.
(Nia face-palmed on her behalf.)
“Early morning? Tomorrow’s sunday.” Brainy pointed out, brow furrowed.
“Yes, see the thing is-” Kara began to ramble, only for Lena’s pale hand to lightly cover her mouth.
“Kara’s taking me home. We’ll see you all at the tower on Monday.” Lena declared, squeezing their joined hands once before pulling Kara away from the table.
“Bye, guys!” Kara yelled back to them as they departed, able to hear the whispered conversation as they left.
“They are so having sex.” Nia murmured.
“Good for them.” Kelly said.
“Eww… gross my sister.”
“You know how important this is to her, let her enjoy it.”
“Fine.”
“If it helps,” Brainy began, “you can think of it as Kara indulging in anti-capitalist activities.”
“I don’t follow?” Alex queried.
“I believe the term is: eat the rich.”
Kara laughed as her and Lena stepped out into the cold night air, no longer able to hear their friends’ conversation.
“What’s so funny?” Lena questioned.
“Nothing.” Kara replied, pulling Lena close, foreheads pressed together and misty breaths shared in the chill of the night. “I’m just… so happy to be going home with you.”
“Me too.” Lena affirmed with a kiss. “All you have to do is ask Kara.”
“I’m learning that.” Kara hummed, pulling back and wiggling her eyebrows, “Hey, any chance you want to help me in an act of anti-capitalism?”